Beyond Stalingrad: Manstein and the Operations of Army Group Don [Hardcover]

Dana V. Sadarananda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 1990

This study fills a void in the military history of World War II by focusing attention upon individual battles and operations on the Eastern Front--a subject largely neglected in the literature. Basing his study on in-depth analysis of contemporary war diaries, author Dana Sadarananda examines Field Marshal Erich von Manstein's conduct of operations as the commander of the German Army Group Don from November 1942-March 1943. Sadarananda traces the course of the Winter campaign of 1942-43--the aftermath of the Soviet counteroffensive that trapped the German 6th Army in the city of Stalingrad--and illuminates the reasons why the Army Group Don was able to achieve a dramatic reversal of fortune and enable the German Army to regain the initiative along the critical Eastern Front. He concludes that the German successes during the period in question were largely due to the perceptive and decisive leadership of Field Marshal von Manstein. Sadarananda demonstrates that the battles that Manstein directed during the winter of 1942-43 were among the most critical of the entire war. In fact, he shows, failure to succeed would have meant the collapse of the entire Eastern front and an earlier victory for the Allies. Piecing together the course of the campaign, Sadarananda identifies four distinct phases of the operations, beginning in November 1942 when the 4th Panzer Army aborted its relieve drive on Stalingrad and culminating in the elimination of Russian forces and the German recapture of the Donets River line. Throughout, the author analyzes Manstein's military decisions as well as his relationship with Hitler during a period in which the German leader's behavior was characterized by uncertainty and indecision. Sadarananda argues that Manstein's genius was not only his ability to anticipate enemy moves but also his effectiveness in dealing with Hitler.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Beyond Stalingrad makes a valuable contribution to the historiography of World War II. Sadarananda admirably succeeds in his quest to stimulate interest in discovering the individual engagements and operations conducted on the Eastern front.”–NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW

About the Author

DANA V. SADARANANDA graduated from Villanova University and received his doctorate from Temple University, both located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While at Temple, he studied under noted military historian Dr. Russell F. Weigley.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Publishers; First edition (June 26, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275934403
• ISBN-13: 978-0275934408
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,087,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent analysis, but there are some annoying errors of editing, May 31, 2009

By 

Dimitrios (Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Stalingrad: Manstein and the Operations of Army Group Don (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent source for the operations of Manstein's Army Group Don during the winter of 1942-43 and the spring of 1943. It covers in detail the failed attempt to save the trapped 6th Army in Stalingrad, the terrific defensive battles along the rivers Don, Mius and Donets and, of course, the famous "backhand blow" against the Soviet Southwestern and Voronezh Fronts. It's clear that the author has studied his subject in depth and the bibliography he uses is top notch. Unfortunately there are some annoying spelling errors regarding German names and Soviet place names which persist throughout the book (like Knoblesdorf instead of Knobelsdorf etc.) The maps included are numerous but very crude and there are no photos. In summary, this is a book for the serious student of the Eastern Front rather, than the casual enthusiast of military history.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Book, BUT!, February 26, 2009

By 

Frederick D. Clements "F4E" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Beyond Stalingrad: Manstein and the Operations of Army Group Don (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book in many ways about an Eastern Front campaign that has received very little attention in English historical literature. The results of these battles firmly cement Field Marshal von Manstein as belonging in the ranks of the very best generals of World War II and indeed, military history. Von Mainstein's genius ranks right up there with "Stonewall" Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign.

My major compliants about about the book concern:

1- It's costs. The book is short--154 pages printed on rather cheap paper and hard binding and it costs anywhere from $80 to $100+ !
Grossly overpriced!
2- The accompaning maps are rather crudely rendered and appear to be hand drawn and hard to follow. Surely the author and publisher could come up a better set of maps that are cross-referenced in the text. An overall map would have rendered the text much clearer. There's not even one or a set of photos that could explain the costs. While the author has produced a useful book about one of the more important campaign's on the Easern Front, this book could have been so much more!

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A REAL Historian, March 9, 2007

By 

DrBig (Laguna Niguel, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Beyond Stalingrad: Manstein and the Operations of Army Group Don (Hardcover)

A well done operational anaylsis of a much overlooked battle...the struggle for Southern Russia in the immediate post-Stalingrad period when had the Russians been a little bit better, and the Germans a little bit slower, would have dealt Nazi Germany a crippling blow of Napoleonic proportions, which certainly would have seen the war end sooned than it did.

Based largely on German records, yet they are all PRIMARY records...and were analyzed, dissected, and interwoven into a first rate telling of the battle.

This book is an example of what can be done, and should be done, even if an author is not fortunate enough to have the appropriate Soviet archival records for his study. The German records readily available in the West still have much to offer, & their analysis even in the 21st century, is still a novel contribution to the study of WW2. Don't kid yourselves; the study of the German records is still an unfinished science.