Christmas at Stalingrad

by Antony Beevor

Antony Beevor's Stalingrad, published by Penguin in 1998, was a worldwide bestseller, telling one of the most harrowing stories of the Second World War and reminding everybody of the power of narrative history in the hands of an expert storyteller. In this extract Beevor takes us back to December 1942 when the German 6th Army was surrounded by the Russians and facing annihilation. Only thoughts of Christmas kept German soldiers' hopes alive.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, World War II, Russia

57 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2005

About the author

Sir Antony James Beevor is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works, mainly on the Second World War, the Spanish Civil War, and most recently the Russian Revolution and Civil War.
Educated at Abberley Hall School, Winchester College, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Beevor commanded a troop of tanks in the 11th Hussars in Germany before deciding in 1970 to leave the army and become a writer. He was a visiting professor at Birkbeck, University of London, and the University of Kent. His best-selling books, Stalingrad (1998) and Berlin: The Downfall 1945 (2002), have been acclaimed for their detailed coverage of the battles between the Soviet Union and Germany, and their focus on the experiences of ordinary people. Berlin proved very controversial in Russia because of the information it contained from former Soviet archives about the mass rapes carried out by the Red Army in 1945.
Beevor's works have been translated into many languages and have sold millions of copies. He has lectured at numerous military headquarters, staff colleges and establishments in Britain, the US, Europe, and Australia. He has also written for many major newspapers.

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excerpt from Stalingrad, this portion taking place around Christmas 1942, when the German 6th Army was surrounded by the Russians and facing annihilation. It is a moving and sad book, demonstrating the futility of war the arrogant refusal to back down of both Hitler and Stalin.

The writing is packed with facts, figures, names and quotations. I don't mind admitting to being way outside of my sphere of knowledge, so a lot of it I found a bit confusing with the 16th Panza Division going here, the 57th army going there, the 96th Rifle Division doing this, the Hessian 389th Infantry Division reporting that! I am sure for a person knowledgeable in WW2 history it all reads very easily, but with all that, and all the Russian and German names of the senior officers it all made for lots of referring back!

For me 3 stars, but for others probably more.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antony Beevor published what may be the definitive book on the Battle of Stalingrad (modern-day Volgograd) in 1998 - Christmas at Stalingrad is a short extract from that book, focusing on the bitter winter of 1942-43 when the fate of Hitler’s doomed Sixth Army was sealed.

For context, the Battle of Stalingrad wasn’t just the worst battle of WW2 but it’s considered one of, if not the worst, battles in human history. It’s certainly the worst urban battle of all time. In this book, Beevor picks up the story as the tide is turning and the Soviets have begun pushing the Nazis out of their country for good.

Part of the reason for this was the infamous and unstoppable Russian winter but also the logistical nightmares that the Nazis failed to overcome, where the Luftwaffe simply weren’t delivering the requisite supplies, leading to severe food, as well as fuel and ammunition, shortages. By December, the German soldiers not dying in combat were dying up to 20 a day from a combination of exhaustion, hunger and cold.

Beevor writes about how the young German soldiers tried to celebrate Christmas on their pathetic rations and I kinda felt sorry for some of them - they couldn’t all have been true-blue Nazis who believed in the cause. I’m sure some of them were poor bastards who got drafted, who hated Hitler, and, through no fault of their own, this would be their last Christmas, dying in the Russian snow for nothing. That’s strong writing from Beevor - showing the humanity of his subjects rather than the cartoonish villainy with which how the Wehrmacht are often portrayed in popular media.

The book has the same pitfalls I’ve encountered before when reading military history: too many unit/officer/operation names, all coming at you too quickly that makes it hard to follow at times.

Also, this particular edition has some detail missing that I would’ve liked to have seen included. You eventually find out the date but I wanted to know from the start when this was taking place (Dec ‘42 to Jan ‘43), and the final, vital outcome is missing. How soon after the envoys’ attempt to reach Field Marshal Paulus did the Sixth Army fall? What became of Paulus and the remnants of the army? I know now but I had to read about it online, which I feel is a failing of a history book and makes it a less satisfying read. That’s a problem with the short format of this paperback, but still.

I learned more about the final stages of the Battle of Stalingrad and enjoyed reading enough of it. Even in this brief book, it’s not something you can casually read - you definitely have to be paying attention to get anything out of it - but it is also accessible; Beevor is a really good writer as well as historian. Christmas at Stalingrad is definitely worth a look for readers interested in this extremely dark episode of the darkest of wars but aren’t willing to commit to Beevor’s full length work.

[Spencer Fancutt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This extract from Beevor's Stalingrad serves as an excellent reminder of the human costs of war. It documents the stranded and doomed German 6th Army, 150,000 strong, as the Russian noose tightened around Stalingrad. One cannot help feeling sorry for the men as they try to deal with being sacrificed through poor decisions, with dwindling fuel, munitions, food and clothing. The futility of their predicament is clearly drawn, and the merciless Russian winter which claimed more lives than gunfire is almost painfully palpable through well-chosen example. I am not a war history fan, and was slightly dreading endless battle formation descriptions etc, and I was relieved that this focused on the physical and mental burdens of the soldiers on both sides through a mixture of first-hand letters and academic research. In all, a brief and accessible account of the terrible siege on the Eastern Front, Dec 1942.

[Ian McHugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excerpt from Beevor's "Stalingrad" that outlines the Christmas fighting in 1942. The grimness of war is evident here and the human spirit evident in the decoration of German lines with any semblance of 'home' and Christmas tradition.

The futility of the final defence - began early in 1943 - and the utter detachment from reality of Hitler and the German high-command is here to see. The ruthlessness of Stalin is also evident in the way the enthusiasm to crush the 6th Army is communicated in message after message to go on the offense.

Sobering.

[Ian Willey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a pocket book though worth reading it's very short

[Joe Pickert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief yet haunting, another powerful reminder of how lucky we are to have been spared the horrors of the Eastern Front.

[Coenraad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally I would not choose to read a book like this. In fact, I would choose not to read it - the depiction of the stupidity of war is just too upsetting. This excerpt of Beevor's book about the events at Stalingrad during the Second World War is deceptively light, but gives enough information about the starvation of the German soldiers because of the lack of food and the severe winter to demonstrate the futility of the whole undertaking (not to forget about the even worse plight of the Russians kept as prisoners of war by the Germans!). A number of things struck me: the ideologically motivated hardheadedness of both Hitler and Stalin, which had clear and devastating consequences; the role of propaganda (radio broadcasts and pamphlets particularly); the flickering of hope and humanity regarding the Christmas celebrations; the fact that so many letters could be written and sent home, and were available for later research; the stoic respect for the chain of command (which had the German commander in chief in Stalingrad Paulus reject negotiations with the Russians despite the friendly conversation between the Russian negotiators and lower level German officers). The final words of the extract hits the final nail in the argument: " ... many men were to die for no purpose."

Ek vermy gewoonlik boeke oor die onnoselheid van oorlog: die hardkoppigheid en gebrek aan insig van die topleiers - hier Hitler en Stalin - is net té ontstellend. Hierdie uittreksel uit Beevor se boek oor Stalingrad in die Tweede Wêreldoorlog is bedrieglik lig, maar demonstreer die willose wreedheid van die omstandighede uitstekend.

[Roelof Kotvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding account of what happened to the German 6th Army, trapped in the 'Kessel' on the Western bank of the river Volga, in late December 1942. Presenting lots of information in an easily readable fashion is an art, one in which Antony Beevor excels. The many quotes from primary sources ensure that the dazzling numbers of casualties preserve their human faces; "Christmas at Stalingrad" is not the story of a handful of generals, it's the story of thousands of soldiers left to freeze and starve because of the twisted ideas and empty promises of their commander-in-chief.

[Lynn]

This was a gift from my fiance which I received, catalogued and shelved for reading at another time. The time came when I needed a book to tide me over for a day between other longer books. It was an enjoyable excerpt. I am sure I would slog through the whole book, but the excerpt was just what I needed and gave an interesting perspective on the "Russian Front."

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much tenderness and horror in so few pages but only a taster of the full Stalingrad book. Definitely want to read the rest though.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disturbing account of life on the eastern front

[Rhoobarb H · Rating 4 out of 5]

How does the world still continue, after Stalingrad?

[Lex Redding · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small insight into the stupidity of war.