Introduction

Picture the scene, a world at war, Hitler wanting it all, and not caring about the cost. Stalingrad (Volgograd as it is known today), was named after Joseph Stalin, who was Hitler’s arch enemy and he could not resist the urge to crush this centre of manufacturing and communication. What followed next was one of the most brutal and bloody battles of World War II. It left the city destroyed, and what was left of the 6th army had no choice but to surrender to the Russians.

Review

This soft back book was first published in 2013, but has been reprinted in a different format this year by Frontline Books, which is a division of Pen and Sword Books Ltd. This publication consists of 242 pages of high quality paper, with a glossy section in the middle of black and white photographs. Written by Peter G Tsouras, with a forward by Ralph Peters and retails at £14.99.

In early September of 1942 the Sixth Army supported by the 4th Panzer Army was ready to advance on the Russian city of Stalingrad, the reason for this was to enable the fall of the Caucasus oil fields and to cut off vital communication and manufacturing along the Volga. What followed next is well known to those who have an interest in modern history. For the Sixth Army this was nothing more than a death sentence. Before this the Germans were unstoppable, but what followed after Stalingrad was blow after blow from the Russians that drove the Germans backward.

This publication consists of:

List of Plates
List of Maps
Forward - by Ralph Peters
Introduction - The Dancing Floor of War
15 Chapters:
1 Fuhrer Directive 41
2 A Timely Death
3 The Second Wannsee Conference
4 Race to the Don
5 The Battle of Bear Island
6 The Battle of 20o East
7 Counting the Victories
8 Those Crazy Mountain Climbers
9 The Terror Raid
10 New Commanders All Round
11 Der Rattenkreig
12 Danke Sehr, Herr Roosevelt!
13 Der Totenritt bei Leninsk
14 Manstein in Coming!
15 Coda
Appendix A Forces in the Battle of 20o East
Appendix 2 Soviet Forces in Operation Uranus
Notes
Bibliography

The siege of Stalingrad could have ended very differently if events went as the writer suggests in this highly thought provoking book. This book presents a scenario where if things took a slightly different course this alternate history could have been the result. An enjoyable read into a what if conclusion presented in a believable and realistic manner.

Conclusion

Although this is a alternative to the Stalingrad story, it is presented in a way that you can see what would have happened if things went slightly differently. At times it can be a bit wordy, but all in all an interesting read that sheds a different light on what might have happened during this most bloody period of the Second World War.