Stalingrad

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Beevor riesce a spiegare molto bene e in maniera persino avvincente per un disastro di tal portata, raccontando gli antefatti dell’Operazione Barbarossa, la blitzkrieg dell’estate 1941 che porterà le armate di Hitler a pochi chilometri da Mosca, la ritirata e infine lo sturm und drang travolgente dell’estate del 1942 fino a Stalingrado e al Caucaso.

Storie terribili che ricordano e anticipano le spietate battaglie di Kobane e Mosul, in cui il fanatismo, l’odio sadico e distruttivo la fanno da padroni. By the time the battle of Stalingrad commenced – the conflict on the Eastern front had been going for 12 months - soldiers on both sides were already exhausted before the battle for Stalingrad commenced.

It possessed "savage intimacy," which horrified German generals, who felt they were rapidly losing control over events. An extraordinary story of tactical genius, civilian bravery and the nature of war itself, which changed how history is written, Stalingrad is a testament to the vital role of the Soviet war effort. Ambushes out of basements, wall remnants, hidden bunkers, and factory ruins produce heavy casualties among our troops. While they are pitted against each other in a fanciful cat-and-mouse Hollywood contest, the visuals--the devastation of the city and deprivation of citizens unable to escape--bring Beevor's account to life.

No-one, least of all the Germans, could foretell the deep well of Soviet resolve that would become the foundation of the Red Army; Russia, the Germans believed, would fall as swiftly as France and Poland. Yes, the Soviet Special Brigades posted just behind the front lines to execute any who retreat and the NKVD squads roaming the rear for deserters and escapees account for some of the reasons why the Soviets held out. So, I'm watching a movie in German about the siege of Stalingrad last night while I'm knitting and my first thought was 'but I won't have a clue what is going on' and my second is 'fair enough. An extraordinary story of tactical genius, civilian bravery, obsession, carnage and the nature of war itself, Stalingrad will act as a testament to the vital role of the soviet war effort.It is vibrant and succinct, with an attention to detail which nicely fleshes out the picture, but is never overdone. This book covers a lot of ground, starting with Operation Barbarossa (well, really even a little bit before that) and follows through some prison camps that extended into the 1950s! Stalingrad is a narrative history written by Antony Beevor of the battle fought in and around the city of Stalingrad during World War II, as well as the events leading up to it. Some soldiers were optimistic about Hitler’s declarations about how he would relieve the army at Stalingrad but pray to be taken away via Pitomnik airfield.

A Ukrainian translator said there were "significant differences" between the Russian translation and the original English version, with the English text referring to "two police battalions" that participated in the Babi Yar massacre, while the Russian translation refers to "two battalions of Ukrainian nationalists", and another instance regarding the 1941 Bila Tserkva massacre where "Ukrainian militiamen" was translated to "Ukrainian nationalists".

The half-year battle for the streets of Stalingrad was an unremitting horror, with not only two armies, but thousands of civilians jammed into a city that was being bombed into rubble while everyone was starving or dying of thirst. It's a good book to read while sitting in an armchair on a frigid February day (so you can sympathize, without having to empathize).