[BOOK REVIEW] Stalingrad Pocket - by Akhil Kadidal

[Kandu]

Full Title: Stalingrad Pocket - The Advance To Stalingrad and the Destruction of the Sixth Army.
My OPINION; an Interesting but horribly irritating read.

First the bad news - 'horribly irritating read'. In a previous book review I have complained how modern books have gone downhill in terms of editing and grammar. Well, this small book is by far the worst edited publication I have ever read. By far. Hardly a page is turned without one or more errors in grammar or misplaced, dupicated or omitted words. I want to SCREAM it's so horrible. I think that even a standard computer based spell/grammar checker would do better than this. And that after an author's foreword in which he self-extols the quality of his original (lost due to hard-drive crash) manuscript. Ugh.

Now the good news. Putting aside the murder of the English language and good literature, I found the historical account sufficiently engaging. I have not previously read any accounts of the battle of Stalingrad. Within that context, I found sufficient scope and detail to satisfy my curiosity and interest in this battle. It touched briefly but adequately upon the personalities involved as well as the overall strategic situation but primarily focused upon the battle itself.

Would I recommend it? That's difficult given my lack of reading other accounts about this battle. You see, if there was another source which delved into the matter with a similar scope and detail but was properly written and edited, I would recommend that publication instead and toss this one. But that's not the case so I'm back to repeating my opening opinion, 'an Interesting but horribly irritating read.' I don't dare recommend it out of fear that it irritates you more than me. On the other hand I cannot recommend that you pass it by. Who knows? You might like it.

 

[Monty's Mighty Moustache]

If you want to continue reading about Stalingrad I’d recommend trying Jason Mark’s books. He self-publishes out of Australia (look up Leaping Horseman books) so buying direct can be expensive due to shipping rates if you are not local but his work is excellent. A couple of his books have been republished by Stackpole and can be bought on Amazon for much cheaper (Island of Fire and Death of the Leaping Horseman), I’m working my way through Island of Fire at the moment which is about the battle for the Barricady Gun Factory. There are more books in the post too!

Then of course there is David Glantz’s 4 part Stalingrad “trilogy” which everyone recommends. I have them but haven’t started on them yet.

MMM

 

[Kandu]

If you want to continue reading about Stalingrad I’d recommend trying Jason Mark’s books. He self-publishes out of Australia (look up Leaping Horseman books) so buying direct can be expensive due to shipping rates if you are not local but his work is excellent. A couple of his books have been republished by Stackpole and can be bought on Amazon for much cheaper (Island of Fire and Death of the Leaping Horseman), I’m working my way through Island of Fire at the moment which is about the battle for the Barricady Gun Factory. There are more books in the post too!

Then of course there is David Glantz’s 4 part Stalingrad “trilogy” which everyone recommends. I have them but haven’t started on them yet.

MMM

Thank you for the recommendations.

 

[HOA_KSOP]

I am currently reading Anthony Beevor's Stalingrad book. An easy read, chock full of veteran experiences and detailed enough to give you an idea of the flow of the battle and the major figures involved. Beevor's books are well crafted and you will not be disappointed if you read it.

 

[MeatEtr]

I am currently reading Anthony Beevor's Stalingrad book. An easy read, chock full of veteran experiences and detailed enough to give you an idea of the flow of the battle and the major figures involved. Beevor's books are well crafted and you will not be disappointed if you read it.

Read this one like 20 yrs ago back when it came out! I do recall enjoying it! Also recommend picking up his Berlin downfall book, that was good as well!

 

[Captain K]

Read this one like 20 yrs ago back when it came out! I do recall enjoying it! Also recommend picking up his Berlin downfall book, that was good as well!

Good books. I wonder if his market garden book is just as good.

 

[Guardsman]

If you want to continue reading about Stalingrad I’d recommend trying Jason Mark’s books. He self-publishes out of Australia (look up Leaping Horseman books) so buying direct can be expensive due to shipping rates if you are not local but his work is excellent. A couple of his books have been republished by Stackpole and can be bought on Amazon for much cheaper (Island of Fire and Death of the Leaping Horseman), I’m working my way through Island of Fire at the moment which is about the battle for the Barricady Gun Factory. There are more books in the post too!

Then of course there is David Glantz’s 4 part Stalingrad “trilogy” which everyone recommends. I have them but haven’t started on them yet.

MMM

Just started reading 'Island of Fire' after your recommendation, got it for xmas! Boy is it brutal ! Just the opening paragraphs leave you open jawed at the combat description. Very detailed and informative. Has there ever been a worse meat grinder in history than Stalingrad? Maybe some of the later battles in ww2 were just as brutal but war was even more fluid and mechanised by then.

 

[Monty's Mighty Moustache]

Just started reading 'Island of Fire' after your recommendation, got it for xmas! Boy is it brutal ! Just the opening paragraphs leave you open jawed at the combat description. Very detailed and informative. Has there ever been a worse meat grinder in history than Stalingrad? Maybe some of the later battles in ww2 were just as brutal but war was even more fluid and mechanised by then.

Good stuff, I know what you mean, I was a bit taken aback by the ferocity of the opening. The account near the beginning of the 5 Soviet soldiers holding on to that house and repelling attack after attack for 4 days is simply unbelievable. I must admit I haven't had much time to read recently so I've not got very far into it, will have to pick it up again.

I haven't read all that much on the Ostfront so I've been spending far too much money bolstering my collection recently. I read Beevor's Stalingrad book years ago but it never grabbed me as I like detail and Mark's books hit that spot, I have bought a few more of his but haven't read them yet. Stalingrad was indeed horrific, urban warfare at its most visceral and probably only topped by the battle for Berlin I should think for ferocity, the Soviets lost more men in those 2 weeks than they did in the 5 months of Stalingrad.

Need to read more.

 

[Guardsman]

The Prit Buttar books on the eastern front are pretty detailed too. I really enjoyed his 'On a knifes Edge' which describes the desperate battles around stalingrad as the russians tried to seal off the pocket whilst Mansteins panzers battled desperately to break through it. Though i found his other book on Battleground Prussia in 44-45 not as easy reading for some reason and i put it down to finish later whilst i read others, which is unlike me. He has several books covering different stages of the Ost front.

RE Island of Fire, can see me wanting 'Leaping Horsemen' next at a fair whack !

 

[Monty's Mighty Moustache]

I have a couple of Prit Buttar's books, Battleground Prussia and Between Giants but they are recent purchases so not even close to starting them yet I'll have a look at On a Knife's Edge and maybe add it to the list for later.

Jason Mark is writing a book about the Luftwaffe`s Special Purpose Rifle Battalion (who were supplemented with a company of Fallschirmjäger) at Stalingrad, this year could be quite expensive again!

 

[Guardsman]

boy, this Island of Fire is an excellent book. So much research must have gone into it. Am at the part where they gather 5 pioneer battalions for a 'final push' to close upto the Volga and try to eliminate the big Russian bridghead. Its gripping stuff and hard to put down. This book should have its own thread really.

 

[Hardradi]

Island of Fire is an amazing book. I read it quite a while ago. Lyudnikov and his Division really got me interested in the Soviets for the first time.

Into Oblivion, Panzerkreig and Besieged (about Cholm/Kholm) are also stand outs for me. Living in Australia, I have them all except for Angriff and Turning Point. I am part way through the Croatian Legion book. I even ordered his new photo book (Guderian's Foxes). I do not regret buying any of them.

 

[Hardradi]

Then of course there is David Glantz’s 4 part Stalingrad “trilogy” which everyone recommends. I have them but haven’t started on them yet.

MMM

Its a bit of a slog. I finished the third book a few months ago. I recommend a good magnifying glass for the maps. I bought one specifically for it, with a light and different magnifications.

 

[Monty's Mighty Moustache]

Into Oblivion, Panzerkreig and Besieged (about Cholm/Kholm) are also stand outs for me. Living in Australia, I have them all except for Angriff and Turning Point. I am part way through the Croatian Legion book. I even ordered his new photo book (Guderian's Foxes). I do not regret buying any of them.

I have quite a few of Leaping Horseman's books, it's easier to list the ones I don't have and those are Panzerkrieg Vol 1 (I came to LH late and they were out of print), Besieged, Croation Legion, Ponyri and Iron Cross Brigade. PayPal makes it way too easy to pay in instalments.

I received my copy of Guderian's Foxes just before Christmas, top quality work once again.

 

[Guardsman]

what amazes me is the level of detail and personal accounts that exist for such an epic traumatic battle that occured relatively early in the war and the armageddon that followed (in Germanys case). You would think that not only most of the people involved would be killed/badly injured/die in salt mines, but also that all the records would be destroyed in the remaining war years.
I have a lot of books on the eastern front but sounds like there are many more for me to buy!

 

[Monty's Mighty Moustache]

I really need to stop buying books on the Ostfront, I had very few this time last year and now I'm running out of space!

 

[Hardradi]

I have quite a few of Leaping Horseman's books, it's easier to list the ones I don't have and those are Panzerkrieg Vol 1 (I came to LH late and they were out of print), Besieged, Croation Legion, Ponyri and Iron Cross Brigade. PayPal makes it way too easy to pay in instalments.

I received my copy of Guderian's Foxes just before Christmas, top quality work once again.

That's a shame they are no longer available. They are actually a good investment if you go by the second hand prices these days.
EDIT: A lot of those ones look like they are still available on his website.

We have to wait until Feb to get Guderian's Foxes, global shipping crisis or something.

Did you get his article on Vorenehz in that military magazine?

 

[Monty's Mighty Moustache]

It's just Panzerkrieg that is not available, the rest are, I'm hoping that when he release Vol 2 it will be reprinted. I didn't see his article no, I will try and find it I think.

 

[Hardradi]

Its one of the best. I hope there is a vol II coming.

Have you seen Autumn Gale and Kampf Walther?
http://www.autumngale.com/

 

[Monty's Mighty Moustache]

There is a Vol 2 coming, there's a big advert for it in the back of Guderian's Foxes. It's going to focus on Panzer Regiment 2 from the 16. Panzer Division from Barbarossa all the way to their fighting on the northern end of Stalingrad and their demise in the pocket. The Panzergraf looks like he may feature quite a bit.

I have seen the Autumn Gale website, it's on the list for when funding is more freely available. Looks to be an awesome book.