Victory at Stalingrad

by Geoffrey Roberts

Victory at Stalingrad tells the gripping strategic and military story of that battle. The hard-won Soviet victory prevented Hitler from waging the Second World War for another ten years and set the Germans on the road to defeat. The Soviet victory also prevented the Nazis from completing the Final Solution, the wholesale destruction of European Jewry, which began with Hitler’s "War of Annihilation" against the Soviets on the Eastern Front. Geoffrey Roberts places the conflict in the context of the clash between two mighty world views and their leaders. He presents a great human drama, highlighting the contribution made by political and military leaders on both sides. He shows that the real story of the battle was the Soviets’ failure to achieve their greatest to deliver an immediate, war-winning knockout blow to the Germans. This provocative reassessment presents new evidence and challenges the myths and legends that surround both the battle and the key personalities who led and planned it.

Genres: History, Russia, Russian History, Military History, War, Soviet Union, World War II

282 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Geoffrey Roberts was born in Deptford, south London in 1952. A pupil of Addey and Stanhope Grammar School, he left aged 16 and started his working life as a clerk with the Greater London Council. In the 1970s, he was an International Relations undergraduate at North Staffordshire Polytechnic and postgraduate research student at the London School of Economics. In the 1980s, he worked in the Education Department of NALGO, the public sector trade union. He returned to academic life in the 1990s following the publication of his acclaimed first book The Unholy Alliance: Stalin’s Pact with Hitler, 1989.

Roberts is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and teaches History and International Relations at University College Cork, Ireland. He has won many academic awards and prizes, including a Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard University and a Government of Ireland Senior Research Fellowship. He is a regular commentator on history and current affairs for British and Irish newspapers and a contributor to the History News Service, which syndicates articles to American media outlets. He has many radio and TV appearances to his credit and has acted as an historical consultant for documentary series such as Simon Berthon's highly praised Warlords, broadcast in 2005.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting, Roberts provided a high level overview of the battle for Stalingrad, setting it in its broader context of the eastern front campaigns in 1942 and 1943. Some of the historiography of the battle is also covered including film. High level but broad coverage which is valuable.

The author contends that the primary front of the war was the eastern front with the allies primary contribution after 1941 being supplied to Russia. There is a growing and convincing debate from contemporary historians that though the highest casualties were experienced on the eastern front the war should be viewed as a ‘material war’ and thus the western front (including the battle of the Atlantic) actually held primacy. This latter argument is more convincing to my mind. Roberts contextualises Soviet atrocities, particularly the rape culture, and strategic issues such as the pause before Warsaw, but at times this can feel quite close to attempts to justify.

This is a good intro to one of the most important battles of the Second World War, a key turning point in the myth of Wehrmacht invincibility. Worth reading as a prompt to more in-depth study

[Mark Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best history books I've read. The writing itself wasn't overly stuffy, as Roberts was able to include some grim humor, which you rarely see in this type of book. The writing was never dry, and the narrative was extremely well laid out, so it never felt like a chore to read. That said, it was also incredibly well balanced, with both German, Soviet, and Allied perspectives examined through primary sources, which were themselves then scrutinized for their reliability. It was scholarly without being stuffy. Just a fantastic read about an awful battle.

[Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for a broad outline of the Battle of Stalingrad and Roberts absolutely delivers. He approaches the battle from many different angles and provides details balanced out with broad commentary about the way the story of the battle was told in real time as well as how it's told 70 years later. Concise, well written, informative, memorable, Geoffrey Roberts is my new favorite historical writer. So glad that I read this before I delved any deeper into any of the wide catalog of books about Stalingrad.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Demonstrates that the European theatre of WWII was a war between Germany and the Soviet Union. The US and Britain fought to maintain their colonies, and only intervened in Europe when the Soviet Union pushed Germany back beyond Soviet borders.
The Soviet planned economy's ability to outproduce Germany in war materiel was central to the Soviet Union's shocking victory over the powerful German military, beginning with its victory in Stalingrad.

[Collin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Victory at Stalingrad" was a medium-to-high-level book on the great Soviet victory at Stalingrad. It began by briefly covering the battles on the Eastern Front leading up to Stalingrad, before going much more in depth on Stalingrad itself, and concluding by discussing the historical and sociological importance of the battle. The sheer scale of the battle is hard to comprehend. There were more Soviets (and Germans) casualties in the city than all UK and US deaths in WWII combined. In Western history, much more attention is paid to D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge than any engagements on the Eastern Front. However, as Roberts points out, the Soviets likely won the war (against Germany) at Stalingrad, and much more importance should be placed on this battle. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for an accessible introduction to the Battle of Stalingrad.

[Ryan Splenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing book that talks about one of the most important battles of World War II. The Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point in the campaign of Eastern Europe. With Hitler's chances of getting the rich oilfields of the Balkans dashed, it spells doom for the Nazi war machine. The USSR deserves as much credit for defeating the Nazis as do the Americans.

[Marshall Smiland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed, concise account of the battle that turned the tide on the Eastern Front.

[Von Mund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, informative