Stalingrad: The Infernal Cauldron, 1942-1943

by Stephen A. Walsh

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. 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.

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

176 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 2000

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this in between finishing Vassily Grossman's Stalingrad and starting his Life and Fate. The goal was to get an adequate understanding of the course of the Battle of Stalingrad so that the scenes in Grossman's novels fit into the big picture. He could assume that his readers had lived through these events so that he didn't need to explain so much. Although of course the journalist in him meant he offered a lot of detail.

Walsh does a good job of this. There is a lot of detail regarding exactly which military units on each side (e.g. by regiment number and type) fought on which day in exactly what location. I didn't try to remember it all, but certainly one can follow some of the major units as they move about. He explains both the strategic and tactical plans, and then tells what actually happened as officers reacted to events on the ground.

One of the most fascinating parts of the story is how the Soviets ferried amazing amounts of supplies and troops across the Volga by night, despite the Luftwafte's unceasing bombing. It also fills in a bit about the Soviet artillary commander's insubordinate but essential decision to evacuate the guns to the east side of the river early on.

One of the strong points of the book is the hundreds of archive photos of officers (many named), soldiers, and cityscapes, along with several maps.

Caution, there is a lot of repetition of his core points. Among them are some that are surely well known to readers familiar with WWII military history but were new to me:
-- that Hitler ignored the obvious fact that Germany didn't have the resources to accomplish the objectives he set for his military across so many fronts
--that Hitler ignored the physical reality of topography, logistical support (e.g. roads, trains, etc.), weather and so forth when setting impossible schedules for achieving victories
--that one of the key turning points was when Hitler stopped listening to his generals and started micro-managing operational affairs, at the same time as Stalin began to relinquish his role in operations and let his general direct things instead
--that the Soviet soldiers and officers were a lot quicker to adapt to close-quarters fighting in city streets. Germans were too tied to their open field strategy. They couldn't use the Luftwafte as much because it might bomb their own troops.

Walsh also details the horrific pounding that the Soviet army endured throughout the long months of the battle. The almost-victorious final assault by the Germans in late November 1942 comes within a hair's breath of breaking through enough of the thin strand of remaining Soviet troops and taking control of the Volga. Because it's a fairly quick-paced account, I really felt the relentless day-after-day grinding down of the Soviet troops. Then Walsh quickly pivots and describes the unexpected strategic counterattacks that, along with a bit of luck, lack of food and fuel, and the Russian winter, meant that the Germans who usually used a surround and annhililate strategy were themselves surrounded and annhililated.

Russian are justifiably proud of their resistance and victory at Stalingrad. How said to betray that glory today.

[Rick Brindle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book detailing the build up, actual campaign and the aftermath. Very well told, readable, and accompanied by some excellent photographs.

[Peter McNulty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very moving and a great insight into some of the tactics used during this appalling period in human history.

[J.N. Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, only 3.5 stars? I thought this book was fantastic! LOADS of information, details the buildup to the Battle of Stalingrad and I think also covers what happened afterwards, not to mention the huge amount of pictures from the era. For anyone who wanted a book about the Eastern Front of WWII, I can't see how you can go wrong with this. Sure there's no fictional characters, fictional events, or such things that would typically constitute an historical fiction, but that's because it's not a fiction, it's essentially a book about the history of the Battle of Stalingrad while also touching on the before-and-after of the Eastern Front during the Great Patriotic War as I think the Russians call it. For anyone who wants to learn more about what was the bloodiest Front of what was arguably the bloodiest conflict in human history, I can't recommend this book enough.

There's one stat in particular that I recall from early on in the book. In the first 6 months of Operation Barbarossa (Invasion of USSR by Nazi Germany in Summer 1941), essentially from July-December 1941, the USSR suffered about 6,000,000 casualties, 2,000,000 POWs, and over 20,000 tanks taken out of commission. It really was a rough start for the Soviet Union, but those rugged buggers certainly held their own and showed those pact-breaking invaders what-for! Did you know that SKS-45 prototypes were used during the capture of Belin? HUGELY popular rifle in Canada, and relatively common in America too, I hear. Fires the same round as the AK-47/AKM, but with a longer barrel for improved velocity/accuracy, and a fixed 10-rnd mag instead of a detachable 30-rnd mag. Also has a bayonet fixed beneath the barrel that can be folded backwards when not in use, then easily flicked forward when it's 'fix bayonets' time. Great design, even if the fixed mag makes it seem somewhat antiquated these days. Sadly, I don't recall any images of SKS prototypes in the book...

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this after reading Grossman's Life and Fate which was set during the period of the Battle of Stalingrad. But this book is basically a military history which is something I struggle with at the best of times. The text is often like this:

On 18 December 2nd Guards Army forward detachments had moved into the Soviet line between the 5th Shock Army on the Chir, and 51st Army on its left. Vasilevsky transferred 4th Mechanised and 4th Cavalry Corps from Trufanov's 51st Army along with the brand new 6th Mechanised Corps to 2nd Guards Army.

I find this sort of thing difficult to follow, but I persevered. If you love this level of military description then you'll love this book.

On the plus side the book has an amazing amount of photographs; I think I would have been better of just looking at them together with the captions.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled initially with the format if this book. Large case bound big pictures coffee table book, matched with a heavy going academic text.

The author felt it necessary to be exact on who he was talking about in every paragraph. So instead of generalist descriptors like German or Russian troops, he would detail the Unit, Division, Group and their respective leaders. As some names are similar I got lost frequently on which side he was talking about.

Once I got over this, I thoroughly enjoyed the story, which is set out as it happened nearly hour by hour. The determination of both sides to gain ground no matter what, was inhuman; and yet they persisted despite political interference, egos, poor strategy, winter and non existent supplies by the end. A terrible battle that went for less than 5 months and took a horrendous toll on both sides.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of an epic WW2 battle. Many pictures. Somewhat technical as far as units and commanders but not beyond the reach of the casual reader.