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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First-Rate Account of Eastern Front Air Ops!, July 24, 2008
This review is from: Stalingrad: The Air Battle: 1942-January 1943 (Hardcover)
Christer Bergstrom's previous air war titles such as BLACK CROSS - RED STAR have been notable for their impeccable research, illustrative material, balanced treatment and sometimes awkwardly worded texts. Happily, Bergstrom's STALINGRAD volume, published in 2007 by Midland Publishing, displays all those aforementioned strengths with nary a convoluted participle in sight!
Drawing upon a wealth of German and Russian archival material and personal accounts, Bergstrom chronicles the momentous developments on the Eastern Front from early 1942 to January 1943, events that resulted in the destruction of the 6th Army at Stalingrad. Luftwaffe and Red Air Force units were key players in the sometimes titanic land battles waged during this time. Equipped with superior aircraft flown by combat-experienced crews using proven tactics, German fighter, bomber, ground-attack and recce units overwhelmed the opposition, lending valuable support to the Panzers while decimating their poorly-trained and -led VVS contemporaries operating a smorgasbord of biplane and monoplane designs. While Russian units were being re-equipped with more potent aircraft such as IL-2s, Pe-2s, Yak-1s, LaGG-3s, etc., they often lacked time to develop effective tactics before thrown into battle. Yet despite wholesale slaughter of VVS units, Germany, as Bergstorm relates in the book, couldn't hope to win the war of attrition Stalin was willing to wage. In time Luftwaffe bombers and fighters, their numbers dwindling, became fire-brigades, switched back and forth across fronts to provide needed - if temporary - strength to a threatened location or air support for a new offensive. Germany's transports were likewise called upon for tasks - such as the aerial resupply of Stalingrad - beyond their capabilities. In the end, quantity conquered quality.
STALINGRAD is first-class history. It interweaves strategic concerns with tactical developments and adds individual combat details to provide the reader with a compelling 'big picture/little picture' narrative. The wealth of documentation Bergstrom utilized is truly impressive. Axis and Russian air combat claims, for example, are compared whenever possible to give an accurate account of the air war. What is so surprising, given all the documentation Bergstrom presents in the book, is that STALINGRAD is such an engaging read.
Bergstrom packs a great deal of history into the book's 134 pages of text. Although the primary thrust of the book is the role Axis and Russian fighters, bombers, ground-attack, transport and recce units played in the fighting, Bergstrom includes separate sections on notable Luftwaffe and VVS commanders, the restructuring of the Red Air Force, comparisons between the Stalingrad and Demyansk airlifts, the effect of Lend-Lease aircraft on Soviet air ops, 'Night Witches,' etc.
Over 100 black and white photographs compliment the text along with a two-page painting diagramming the Stalingrad airlift operation, five color maps and various tables summarizing order of battle, sorties flown, losses and so on.
Given the tremendous amount of information Bergstrom wields and the able manner in which he presents it, I'd give STALINGRAD six stars if that was possible. His portrait of Eastern Front air ops is fresh, authoritative, informative and compelling. After 60 years we're finally getting a true picture of the Eastern Front air war! This gets my highest recommendation.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Rare View Of WWII Air History, April 16, 2008
This review is from: Stalingrad: The Air Battle: 1942-January 1943 (Hardcover)
The story of WWII's Eastern Front conflict has been rarely told, in part because of Soviet secrecy regarding its part in the war. Since glasnost, however, information from the Russian side has been forthcoming, but little of the published scholarship involving this history relates the part aircraft played in both sides of the conflict.
Bergstrom's book partially resolves this historical gap. He pays close attention to the strategic influence of the Soviet Air Force as well as to that of the German Luftwaffe. However, the author seems more fascinated with fighter statistics than with those of bombers, once again allowing a bit of a distortion in his view of air strategy and tactics as they evolved during this conflict. Still, Bergstrom's text, along with rare pictures, moves an invaluable step forward in understanding the air aspects of this conflict.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
could have been better, November 1, 2009
This review is from: Stalingrad: The Air Battle: 1942-January 1943 (Hardcover)
I was actually slightly disappointed with this book.
While it is a beautiful work giving a fair overview of the battle, it is not the definite book on the subject.
It does contain many nice photos, and provides a balanced account. This is its main strength but also one of its weaknesses. It sometimes feels as if the desire to provide an unbiased story by including tales from both sides has been too meticulously adhered to (this applies to all of the books in this series, actually).
The book can be a little confusing regarding losses . Sometimes claims are checked against reported losses, sometimes they are just accepted at face value. Often included in total losses are the aircraft that were badly damaged or those that were scrapped after returning to base, and while there might be some justification in using this yardstick, few other authors do so.
The author also compares the Demyansk airlift to the one carried out at Stalingrad. He then draws the conclusion that the main reason it failed at the latter city, was the resurgence of the VVS (Soviet Air Force) and the Russian flak.
While not neglecting the role the VVS had in the eventual outcome, it is just too simple to give them the main credit. The Demyansk airlift was conducted in late winter/ early spring thus the weather was better, the encircled force was only a fraction of the one at Stalingrad, the flight distance was way shorter and the airlift was flown out of much better bases and near proper railheads. In addition, it is claimed that the Luftwaffe was much better prepared to operate in winter conditions than the previous season. Even if they had gathered much experience, many of the crews failed to utilize proper winter procedures. (This is taken from the book Stopped at Stalingrad by Joel Hayward).
The latter book is much better for serious students of the battle, and while it is highly readable, it does not contain as many photos and firsthand accounts.
Conclusion: Buy this book for a general overview of the battle and for its pictures and accounts, but do not expect to be satisfied if you want the definite story.
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