2 Great Books (Eastern Front WWII)

[Glorified Ape]

I just finished reading "Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad" by W. Craig. I'm not sure what the relationship is between this book and the movie, as they're extremely different. Contrary to the movie, this book focuses on numerous characters and only makes brief mention of Vasili Zaitsev and Tania Chernova. The author spent 5 years researching on 3 continents before writing the book and interviewed endless numbers of civilians and soldiers (both Russian and Axis). It's a great read - interspersed with explanations of the larger picture are accounts by soldiers of every rank about their experiences in and around Stalingrad. Craig does an excellent job of "developing" the "characters" using their own diaries, the accounts of others, and interviews with the individuals themselves. The book is very entertaining, as it's written more like a story than a dry historical account, though it's definitely not fiction.

The second book is "On the Road to Stalingrad: Memoirs of a Soviet Woman Machine Gunner" by Zoya Matveyevna Smirnova-Medvedeva. The title is a little deceiving as Zoya never actually saw combat in Stalingrad but fought at (and around) Odessa, Sevastopol, and several other areas. The story recounts her experiences both as a machine gunner and a medic. Her accounts of combat, conditions on the front lines, the relationships between soldiers and between enlisted men and officers are fantastic.

 

[scoutfinch]

I second this opinion on "On the Road to Stalingrad: Memoirs of a Soviet Woman Machine Gunner" 

 

[Amsdell]

I tried to find both these books in a Chapters store and failed miserably.  They did not have one copy (but for some reason there's a billion YaYa Sisterhood books stacked everywhere) of either.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Craig's book is relatively easy to find in used book stores - it has been reprinted many times and is an older title - the original Squad Leader notes in 1977 quoted it.   It suffers from lack of footnotes and some parts (notably the Vasily Zaitsev/Major Koenig parts) may be partially fictionalized, but I agree it is well written and very readable.

 

[vonGarvin]

Craig's book is relatively easy to find in used book stores - it has been reprinted many times and is an older title - the original Squad Leader notes in 1977 quoted it.   It suffers from lack of footnotes and some parts (notably the Vasily Zaitsev/Major Koenig parts) may be partially fictionalized, but I agree it is well written and very readable.

And here is the quote that is in the designer notes for Squad Leader:
"A battalion led by Captain Mues cleared the area south of town, reached the Volga, and turned north. It was Mues’ intention to shake hands in the centre of Rynok with German units cutting into it from other directions. Fog and light snow began to obscure vision but the aggressive Mues pushed on. Fearless, revered by his men as “immortal”, he was tracked by a Soviet sniper, who put a bullet in his brain. The attack stopped abruptly as Mues’s troops gathered around the stricken officer, now unconscious and near death. They ignored the bullets and cried over the man they loved.
An officer from another regiment finally came, lifted Mues in his arms and staggered away with the heavy burden. Soldiers who had fought with the captain through Russia broke down and collapsed. Others became fearful and timid as news of his death spread like a bushfire."
This quote was used in the designer notes to explain their reasoning for the rule that when a leader is eliminated or "breaks" under fire, any squads with him may also break as a result.

Gawd, I love that game.  http://www.advancephase.com or http://www.wargameacademy.org/sqla

Yes, I play that game, in case you can't tell

Garvin out

 

[Glorified Ape]

I just played a game like that for a course I took. Myself and another guy were the only students and we hung out in the prof's office for 3 hours on thursdays, playing a simulation of WWII in the Pacific. Great way to earn 3 credits.

 

[Nieghorn]

I'm three chapters into Through Hell for Hitler, by Henry Metelmann.  It's pretty good, thusfar.  Anyone read it?

Finished A Stranger to Myself, by Willy Peter Reese which was the contemporary writing (very depressing, but also somewhat poetic) of a German soldier on the Eastern Front, and who died before the war ended..

 

[Michael Dorosh]

SOLDAT by Siegfried Knappe is also worth finding for those interested in German accounts of the Russian Front. He was a staff officer, which is an interesting perspective to write from - carmine striped pants and all.

 

[3rd Herd]

see:http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/37380.0.html

cheers

 

[patrick666]

Has anybody had the chance to read the book on Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor? I saw it in Chapters the other day and didn't have the money to buy it but wanted to in the future. I have his Fall Of Berlin book which, though I read it quite some time ago, I thought was decent enough to purchase another of his works.

"Enemy at the gates" was a great book. I couldn't put it down - I am a slow reader and it only took me a matter of days to finish it.

Cheers.