The Siege of Leningrad

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II / the Violent Century: Battle #5

by Alan Wykes

On Christmas day 1941 the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet instituted a medal for the courageous defence of Leningrad. And on that same day three thousand seven hundred Leningraders died of starvation. Yet the city was to suffer not just through that winter, but for nine hundred days.

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Julio The Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stayed up nights reading in bed under a neon light to finish this chronicle of daily horror of the Nazi siege of Leningrad during Barbarossa. Citizens slurping glue from books and eating tree bark, and eventually other people, were just daily routine. But, Leningrad did not lose hope, and relief came when the Soviet Army launched its offensive to clear the Baltic states of the Germans. This book does not replace but compliments Harrison Salisbury's THE 900 DAY SIEGE. A Red Star Hero City.

[carl theaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ballantine books was the main source for WW2 books in the 60 & 70s and
this was part of an innovative illustrated series, a godsend to history
fans.


160pgs w/b&w photos and ample text telling the story.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

When this book came out in 1968, at the height of the Cold War, Western readers were more fascinated by the privation of the Siege of Leningrad in WWII, than they were by the combat involved. Soviet logistics could be dodgy at the best of times, and with incoming supply routes either cut off, needing to be rebuilt , or directly under the guns of the Nazi invaders, the caloric intake of the average citizen of the city plummeted to horrific depths. Alan Wykes was a writer in the Ballantine Illustrated History stable with an expertise in WWII topics. Here his narrative is more about the sacrifice the Soviets called for and got from their citizens than it is about the movements of the front lines. At first I was not happy with this approach, but as the siege continues , I saw that that WAS the real story to this campaign.

Stalin had fought a whole war, the Winter War with Finland, to move borders a few more kilometers away from Leningrad (the present St Petersberg), so his paranoia about the city's vulnerability was already in play. Then the Nazis and the Finns attacked in Operation Barbarossa, and things got really dark fast. From late 1941 to early 1943, the city was cut off and privation walked the streets. Lack of both food and fuel- in Northern Baltic climes- are both deadly and took their toll. And these subjects of Stalin's did it for an empire ostensibly a worker's paradise, but in fact a massive police state. Western readers will read the wonder in Wykes' prose, the awe for the power of the Soviets over a public that got so little from their adulation of the Georgian Criminal Dictator. As usual, with this series of books, the narrative is accompanied by a ton of photos, line drawings, and maps that help the reader understand the material.

There are a lot of adult themes (people did anything for food and fuel) and a few graphic injury and starvation passages so this book is best ofr the Junior Reader over 14/15 years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this book is not very fruitful. Gamers tend to stay away from sieges in miniature games, although board game folks may find useful morsels amongst the prose. The Modeler is also not pandered too- sieges don't really translate in builds and dioramas. The Military Enthusiast gets a short history of an event that may lead the reader to read more on the topic- or may leave the reader having enough of death and privation on every page, I liked the book- but saw it as much of a Cold War document as it was a WWII history. book. I think it still holds up- but am looking for more recent books on the topic to see what else we've learned since the 1970s.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is honestly a battle I knew very little about as the Battle of Moscow and the Battle of Stalingrad get more emphasis. This book spent very little time describing or detailing much of the battle and more the internal struggle of Leningrad and their survival while the Germans parked outside and rained shells down. So I guess that would be my one critique against this book as I didn't get too much of a feel for both sides of the battle more just the challenges and survival problems of those within Leningrad. I get the impression there wasn't much there and perhaps there wasn't with the Germans diverting most of their resources to the Center and South theaters and left it up to the wearing down of Leningrad's spirit. Anyway, the most striking moment for me was when the one eye witness account spoke of how families were breaking down and hoping for their parents to die so they could have their bread. The battle against starvation was where this book focused and that was the weapon that the Germans used to break Leningrad and they failed at it but it cost a lot of lives in the process.

[George Kasnic · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great opportunity missed. This book is a rambling connection of anecdotal stories, which actually delivers as narrative, but not solid history. The maps work well. But the story itself is of the city during the siege, with a focus on the inhabitants and civil administration. But it is a series of stories. Knowing the ability of these books to deliver excellent line drawn graphics, there is so much potential unrealized. As a “battle book” series entry it is sparse on military history. But it missed the chance to explore the infrastructure under attack in such a conflict. The list of missed opportunities includes: road and rail maps, city maps including demographic and industrial data, presentation and analysis of the electrical grid, the water and sewer system including pumping stations. Another lost opportunity was the ability to take a deep look into the logistics of relief. There was no detail of the Finns, except for one sentence, unaddressed was why they neither intervened nor assisted. And there should have been tables of data to make the anecdotal real.

[Mateo Toledo · Rating 3 out of 5]

La versión clásica. Muy corto.

[Book_read]

weer wat geleerd

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wykes often seems to be trying to come off as a real card, and that tends to hamper his stuff. Here though every once in a while he does manage to convey the great anguish of that time (and place), as for example when he's describing the painstaking attempts to traverse the (weak) ice on that lake. These sorts of things managed to overcome his incessant drolleries at the expense of those much less fortunate than he.

[Rat Boy Hedonist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why didn't the fascists just pack actual coats lol

[Carmenchu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si te interesa el tema está muy bien