Armageddon in Stalingrad Volume 2 the Stalingrad Trilogy: September - November 1942(Modern War Studies)

The German offensive on Stalingrad was originally intended to secure the Wehrmacht's flanks, but it stalled dramatically in the face of Stalin's order: ""Not a Step Back!"" The Soviets' resulting tenacious defense of the city led to urban warfare for which the Germans were totally unprepared, depriving them of their accustomed maneuverability, overwhelming artillery fire, and air support—and setting the stage for debacle.

Armageddon in Stalingrad continues David Glantz and Jonathan House's bold new look at this most iconic military campaign of the Eastern Front and Hitler's first great strategic defeat. While the first volume in their trilogy described battles that took the German army to the gates of Stalingrad, this next one focuses on the inferno of combat that decimated the city itself.

Previous accounts of the battle are far less accurate, having relied on Soviet military memoirs plagued by error and cloaked in secrecy. Glantz and House have plumbed previously unexploited sources—including the archives of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) and the records of the Soviet 62nd and German Sixth Armies—to provide unprecedented detail and fresh interpretations of this apocalyptic campaign. They allow the authors to reconstruct the fighting hour by hour, street by street, and even building by building and reveal how Soviet defenders established killing zones throughout the city and repeatedly ambushed German spearheads.

The authors set these accounts of action within the contexts of decisions made by Hitler and Stalin, their high commands, and generals on the ground and of the larger war on the Eastern Front. They show the Germans weaker than has been supposed, losing what had become a war of attrition that forced them to employ fewer and greener troops to make up for earlier losses and to conduct war on an ever-lengthening logistics line.

Written with the narrative force of a great war novel, this new volume supersedes all previous accounts and forms the centerpiece of the Stalingrad Trilogy, with the upcoming final volume focusing on the Red Army's counteroffensive.

About the Author :
David M. Glantz and Jonathan M. House have collaborated previously on three books, including To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet-German Combat Operations, April-August 1942 (Stalingrad Trilogy, Volume 1), When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler, and The Battle of Kursk.

Review :
Fifteen years ago the late John Erickson wrote that the research of Glantz and House reflected an ‘encyclopaedic knowledge’ of the Nazi-Soviet war and constituted a benchmark for excellence in the field. The Stalingrad trilogy reflects the fact that they maintain that standard, while bringing to light a new understanding of many old questions.""- War in History;

""This work will stand the test of time.""- Parameters;

""This volume will stand as the definitive study of the fighting in one of the critical battles of World War II. It will be of interest to anyone desiring to understand the conduct of the campaign.""- New York Military Affairs Symposium Review;

""A critical addition to the growing literature on the German-Soviet War. . . . A unique account of perhaps the most important battle of the Second World War.""- The Russian Review;

""Trawling through the endnotes and noting the research that has gone into this and the previous volume, it is increasingly apparent that it is unlikely in the short-medium term that this work or its predecessor will be challenged as operational histories of the fighting for Stalingrad, and it is in this regard that this work will stand the test of time and represent a significant contribution to the literature.""- Historian;

""Glantz and House have produced seminal studies of major events: the Battle of Kursk and the campaign on the Eastern Front. In terms of research, insight, and revision, Armageddon is their best yet.""- Slavic Review;

""This book not only gives a vivid and fascinating narrative of the Verdun-like struggle for Stalingrad. . . . Highly recommended. Of value to both the specialist and armchair historian. When all three volumes can be collected, it will be a comprehensive source of information for any question on the battle.""- RUSI Journal;

""What sets this book apart from other books on Stalingrad is the wealth of detail. The authors were granted unparalleled access to records from both Russian and Wehrmacht sources.""- Military Review;

""Glantz and House are writing the definitive history of the Stalingrad campaign. Their trilogy, backed by meticulous scholarship and refreshingly fair minded, significantly alters long-accepted views of several important aspects of the campaign. . . . A monumental work that is unlikely to be surpassed as an account of the most important single campaign of the Second World War.""- Evan Mawdsley, author of Thunder in the East: The Nazi-Soviet War, 1941–1945;

""A magisterial study that draws on a wealth of previously inaccessible Red Army records and will be indispensable reading for all serious students of the battle.""- Michael K. Jones, author of Stalingrad: How the Red Army Triumphed