The Spanish Civil War, Berlin in 1945, Stanlingrad – Anthony Beevor has carved out a niche writing histories of particularly brutish battles where both sides could be classed as “baddies”. Oh, I know you’re not supposed to say that nowadays but after reading about the horrible things the Nazis and the Russians did (countenancing mass rapes, killing Jews, torture, etc)… I’m sorry, the Western Allies were far and away better. Anyway, that’s something you’ll get more from Beevor’s book on the fall of Berlin; Westerners are not very prominent in this account of the epic, brutish battle of Stalingrad.
Focusing on one event allows Beevor to concentrate on more on the personal and little details that he was unable to in his book on the Spanish Civil War. Full of interesting bits – the German troops obsession with Christmas, the number of times the Germans came close to winning the thing only to have Hitler ruin it, the use of Russian dogs to blow up Germans, the variety of methods the Russians used to get drunk, Stalin’s outright cowardice at the beginning of the German invasion but the fact that he had no scruples ultimately made him more effective a military leader than Hilter, the bravery shown by German allies. It seems this battle really was the turning point in the war, as well as giving the biggest fillip to communism since the Great Depression. A book full of violence, depressing stories, brutality. Can be wearying. But so powerful.
No comments:
Post a Comment