Stalingrad: The Infernal Cauldron, 1942-1943 (Hardcover)

~ Stephen Walsh (Author) "When Hitler launched the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, he anticipated a repeat of the Wehrmacht's earlier successes in defeating Poland, Norway..." (more)
Key Phrases: mechanised corps, operational rear, panzer corps, Red Army, Soviet Union, Don Front (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stalingrad was the most significant battle of WWII on the eastern front, marking the turning of the tide against Hitler in an epic struggle between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army. It extended over 141 days and resulted in the utter destruction of the city and annihilation of the 300,000-strong German 6th Army. Stephen Walsh, a specialist in Soviet military history at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, furnishes an exceptionally cogent and comprehensive narration of the background, progressive phases and aftermath of the action in Stalingrad: 1942-1943: The Infernal Cauldron. The merits of the text notwithstanding, even more forceful are the 200 well-chosen, black-and-white photographs, integrated into a coffee-table book format.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

The German invasion of Russia was Hitler's biggest gamble in his quest for "Lebensraum" in the East--and it was at Stalingrad that his gamble failed. Stalingrad: The Infernal Cauldron is a detailed history of Hitler's great failure, and a comprehensive account of one of the most important battles of World War II. With full-color strategic maps, 170 black and white photographs, over half of which have never before been published, and detailed appendices that contain information on orders of battle, losses, and equipment, Stalingrad is an exhaustive account of the battle that bled the German army dry, and turned the war in the East decisively against the Germans.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (February 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312269439
• ISBN-13: 978-0312269432
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #742,990 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not great., June 7, 2003

By	"catherinemair" (London SW1W 9NF) - See all my reviews

I was pleased to see Dr Joel Hayward's review of this book below. His own book "STOPPED AT STALINGRAD: The Luftwaffe and Hitlers Defeat in the East" (also available from Amazon.com) is, alongside John Erickson's book, easily the best book on Stalingrad. I strongly recommend these Stalingrad authors as best: Joel Hayward, Anthony Beevor, John Erickson, Graig. Your library is not complete without all these.

But when we look at this book, by Stephen Walsh, we find a different type of book. It focuses too much on ground operations, ignoring the Red Air Force (VVS) and the Luftwaffe. And it is weak on explaining strategy. To counter these weaknesses are terrific black and white photos, many of them appearing in print for the first time.

Walsh's narrative is average. You won't find it as thorough and authoritative as Hayward's or as compelling and racy as Beevor's, but it does the job.

Overall, I still recommend this book and give it 4 stars.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just good enough to be pretty good, December 24, 2002

By	F. A Castellon "Prime" (Silver Spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews

I gave this book Four stars because it really does give you just the overall Picture of the battle. It has few quotes but the overall strenght of the book is that it goes a long way to explain where each army is and their objective. The movements of each army group and the statistics.
I think this book would better be served called "Operation Blue" because it concentrates a lot on that and that is where all the author gives us the unpersonal view of the battle. He does also talk a lot about Stalingrad but not in a way to actually describe the battle but just to show you where each Corps, Battalion wants to go and who is there to stop them. The book does that really well. Which is if you want a book that explains just that than this book is it.
If you want to know the battle from a personal view, the soldiers, comamders on BOTH sides then Anthony Beevor's "The fateful Seige" is your book. But for what this book does, it does it really well. If you would read this book and Beevor's book at the same time than you would know everything about the battle. But then who has the time for that.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A decent overview - brief and well illustrated, March 27, 2001

By	Vincent Toolan (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Walsh is the very best type of military historian - that is, both a soldier and a scholar. He's done a good job of putting together a brief, slim overview of the battle of Stalingrad (including the lead-up to it, Operation Barbarossa, and the aftermath). It's most notable for its illustrations - many photographs have never been published before - and for its brevity, presenting almost a bullet-point account of the whole saga.

Walsh sometimes tries too hard to interpret the photographs, and the feelings of the men in them: for instance, many have captions on the lines of "the full enormity of the defeat sinks in...". Conversely, the bulk of the prose is very dry, almost as though trying to offset the picture captions.

The history seems reasonably straightforward, relying on dependable sources. For example, the one German soldier's private diary which is extensively quoted is the very same one used in the magnificent BBC "World at War" documentary. The narrative would have benefitted a little from being more tightly linked to the maps, to help those of us who are geographically challenged, or less familiar with tank battle tactics.

All in all, a good single source for those wanting a reliable overview that's quick to read, and for completists looking for more pictorial evidence; but for those with more time to invest, Beevor's book is more sweeping, comprehensive and dramatic.