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The Stalingrad Cauldron
The encirclement of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad in mid-November 1942 and its final collapse in February 1943 was a signature defeat for Hitler, as more than 100,000 of his soldiers were marched off into captivity. Frank Ellis tackles this oft-told tale from the unique perspective of the German officers and men trapped inside the Red Army's ever-closing ring of forces. This approach makes palpable the growing desperation of an army that began its campaign confident of victory but that long before the end could see how hopeless their situation had become. Highlighting these pages are three previously unpublished German army division accounts, translated here for the first time by Ellis. Each of these translations follows the combat experiences of a specific division-the 76th Infantry, the 94th Infantry, and the 16th Panzer-and take readers into the cauldron (or Kessel) that was Stalingrad. Together they provide a ground-level view of the horrific fighting and yield insights into everything from tactics and weapons to internal disputes, the debilitating effects of extreme cold and hunger, and the Germans' astonishing sense of duty and the abilities of their junior leaders. Along with these first-hand accounts, Ellis himself takes a new and closer look at a number of fascinating but somewhat neglected or misunderstood aspects of the Stalingrad cauldron including sniping, desertion, spying, and the fate of German prisoners. His coverage of sniping is especially notable for new insights concerning the duel that allegedly took place between Soviet sniper Vasilii Zaitsev and a German sniper, Major Konings, a story told in the film Enemy at the Gates (2001). Ellis also includes an incisive reading of Oberst Arthur Boje's published account of his capture, interrogation, and conviction for war crimes, and explores the theme of reconciliation in the works of two Stalingrad veterans, Kurt Reuber and Vasilii Grossman. Rich in anecdotal detail and revealing moments, Ellis's historical mosaic showcases an army that managed to display a vital resilience and professionalism in the face of inevitable defeat brought on by its leaders. It makes for compelling reading for anyone interested in one of the Eastern Front's monumental battles.
eBook
Desert Fox : the storied military career of Erwin Rommel
\"This is the strange and fascinating life of Erwin Rommel, from his days as a youth in Imperial Germany--when he had a child out of wedlock with an early girlfriend--through his lauded military exploits during World War I to his death by suicide during World War II, after he attempted a failed coup against Hitler. Rommel was a man of contradictions, a soldier who wrote a bestselling book about World War I, a commander who went from commanding Hitler's bodyguard to trying to kill him, a serious military mind who was known for participating in practical jokes. In Desert Fox, author Samuel Mitcham (Bust Hell Wide Open) confronts the truth about Rommel and takes a close look at his military actions and reflections.\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Kiev 1941
In just four weeks in the summer of 1941 the German Wehrmacht wrought unprecedented destruction on four Soviet armies, conquering central Ukraine and killing or capturing three quarters of a million men. This was the Battle of Kiev - one of the largest and most decisive battles of World War II and, for Hitler and Stalin, a battle of crucial importance. In this book, David Stahel charts the battle's dramatic course and aftermath, uncovering the irreplaceable losses suffered by Germany's 'panzer groups' despite their battlefield gains, and the implications of these losses for the German war effort. He illuminates the inner workings of the German army as well as the experiences of ordinary soldiers, showing that with the Russian winter looming and Soviet resistance still unbroken, victory came at huge cost and confirmed the turning point in Germany's war in the East.
eBook
War in the Wild East
In Nazi eyes, the Soviet Union was the \"wild east,\" a savage region ripe for exploitation, its subhuman inhabitants destined for extermination or helotry. An especially brutal dimension of the German army's eastern war was its anti-partisan campaign. This conflict brought death and destruction to thousands of Soviet civilians, and has been held as a prime example of ordinary German soldiers participating in the Nazi regime's annihilation policies.
Ben Shepherd enters the heated debate over the wartime behavior of the Wehrmacht in a detailed study of the motivation and conduct of its anti-partisan campaign in the Soviet Union. He investigates how anti-partisan warfare was conducted, not by the generals, but by the far more numerous, average Germans serving as officers in the field. What shaped their behavior was more complex than Nazi ideology alone. The influence of German society, as well as of party and army, together with officers' grueling yet diverse experience of their environment and enemy, made them perceive the anti-partisan war in varied ways. Reactions ranged from extreme brutality to relative restraint; some sought less to terrorize the native population than to try to win it over. The emerging picture does not dilute the suffering the Wehrmacht's eastern war inflicted. It shows, however, that properly judging ordinary Germans' role in that war is more complicated than is indicated by either wholesale condemnation or wholesale exoneration.
This valuable study offers a nuanced discussion of the diversity of behaviors within the German army, as well as providing a compelling exploration of the war and counterinsurgency operations on the eastern front.
eBook
German military travel papers of the Second World War
\"In every movie, every television show, every novel of wartime intrigue, one phrase stands out as typically German: 'Show me your papers.' The German Wehrmacht ran on paperwork, evidenced by the complicated maze of interrelated forms necessary for troops to move either on leave or for official business from one end of the Third Reich to another. This work, a unique and thorough compendium of original paperwork carried by the soldiers themselves, documents the forms required for German soldiers to travel, go home on leave, or visit the spoils of occupation. A methodically detailed collection that parallels the meticulous nature of the era that produced it, this work is the most thorough collection of original travel ephemera from Nazi Germany assembled to date, one that any collector would be proud to add to his or her collection\"--Publisher description.
BOOK
The Kaiser's Army
In this comprehensive book, David Stone describes and analyses every aspect of the German Army as it existed under Kaiser Wilhelm II, encompassing its development and antecedents, organisation, personnel, weapons and equipment, its inherent strengths and weaknesses, and its victories and defeats as it fought on many fronts throughout World War I. The book deals in considerable detail with the origins and creation of the German army, examining the structure of power in German politics and wider society, and the nation's imperial ambitions, along with the ways in which the high command and general staff functioned in terms of strategy and tactical doctrine. The nature, background, recruitment, training and military experiences of the officers, NCOs and soldiers are examined, while personal and collective values relating to honour, loyalty and conscience are also analysed. There is also an evaluation of all aspects of army life such as conscription, discipline, rest and recuperation and medical treatment. In addition the army's operations are set in context with an overview of the army at war, covering the key actions and outcomes of major campaigns from 1914 to 1918 up to the signature of the Armistice at Compiègne. For anyone seeking a definitive reference on the German Army of the period – whether scholar, historian, serving soldier or simply a general reader – this remarkable book will prove an invaluable work.
eBook
Retreat from Moscow : a new history of Germany's winter campaign, 1941-1942
\"A gripping and authoritative revisionist account of the Soviet Winter Offensive of 1941-1942.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Dying to Learn
In Dying to Learn
, Michael Hunzeker develops a novel theory to explain how
wartime militaries learn. He focuses on the Western Front,
which witnessed three great-power armies struggle to cope with
deadlock throughout the First World War, as the British, French,
and German armies all pursued the same solutions-assault tactics,
combined arms, and elastic defense in depth. By the end of the war,
only the German army managed to develop and implement a set of
revolutionary offensive, defensive, and combined arms doctrines
that in hindsight represented the best way to fight.
Hunzeker identifies three organizational variables that
determine how fighting militaries generate new ideas, distinguish
good ones from bad ones, and implement the best of them across the
entire organization. These factors are: the degree to which
leadership delegates authority on the battlefield; how effectively
the organization retains control over soldier and officer training;
and whether or not the military possesses an independent doctrinal
assessment mechanism.
Through careful study of the British, French, and German
experiences in the First World War, Dying to Learn
provides a model that shows how a resolute focus on analysis,
command, and training can help prepare modern militaries for
adapting amidst high-intensity warfare in an age of revolutionary
technological change.
eBook