Red Army Resurgent - World War Ii

World War II #20

by John Shaw

Book by Shaw, John

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

208 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1979

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book in the Time-Life series deals mainly with the battle at Stalingrad, the deadliest battle in history.

The German march across the steppes was seemingly unstoppable, and it was at this city on the Volga that the Soviet army would have to make its last stand or retreat into the Asian part of the USSR. Changes among the Russian generals and the refusal to retreat across the Volga created a bloody stalemate where about 20 million died in the battle for the city as both sides refused to yield.

This was a good telling of the story, and it was interesting, but it took me a long, long time to get through the book, because of the sheer volume of the destruction (and the fact that the Soviets and Nazis were both murderous regimes, killing their own people as well as minorities and foreigners within their borders). I recommend it for the content even though the subject isn’t pleasant.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found that the writing style in this book departs a little from the norm in this series and because of that, unfortunately, I don't think it quite measures up to the standards set elsewhere. The writer does a little more overt editorializing than I've seen elsewhere, referring to one person as an "ignoramus," one area of Stalingrad as "ugly." Rather than providing the reader with these conclusions, the writer should instead provide readers with information that will allow them to make their own conclusions. Elsewhere, he notes that something "came a cropper," a phrase that would undoubtedly be informative to British readers but would just as undoubtedly be meaningless to 90% of American readers (including myself). Moreover, the writer seemed just a little too enamored of the Soviets. This book was heading toward a two-star review, until I got to the final two chapters and their account of the Battle of Stalingrad. Shaw does an excellent job, sometimes using firsthand accounts, of putting the reader in the besieged city and watching as the besiegers in turn became the besieged.

[D-day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Time-Life series on WW2, this volume discusses the War in the East in 1942

Chapters:
1- The Soviet Winter offensive, the Soviet spring offensive and the German siege of Sevastopol (Jan 1942 to Jun 1942)
2-The life of Soviet civilians in the first part of the war
3- The start of Operation Blau, The German summer offensive towards the Caucasus and Stalingrad (Jul 1942 to Aug 1942)
4-The Siege of Stalingrad (Sep 1942 to Nov 1942)
5- The Soviet counter attack and the turning point of the War (Nov 1942 to Jan 1943)

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarity does not ensue. Provides a closer view of the Battle of Stalingrad than I had previously taken, doesn't pull any punches.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of the Red Army's transformation in 1942, the colossal mechanization of the Soviet Union, and the gut-wrenching battle for Stalingrad!

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating account that introduced me to the most costly battle in history, Stalingrad. Even though they were the facist invaders, one eventually feels for the average German footsolider, who was ill rationed and ill fitted for a long, severe Russian winter. I find it unfathomable that of Paulus' 6th army, 250,000 plus that entered Stalingrad triumphantly in the summer of 1942, by February 1943 less than 100,000 were alive to surrender to the Red Army. The rest, frost bitten and starving, were taken off to Russian internment camps. Only 10,000 would ever see Germany again.

War is truly hell.

[Robert Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this Life Time series in the early 1980's on WWII, a volume came to the house every 2 or 3 months so I could take my reading. It was very informative and enjoyable read, I still use it for reference.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account of the war in Russia from 1942 to the end of the battle for Stalingrad. Also includes the definitive account of that battle.