'This is vintage history at its best...The author provides fascinating insights into the epic Battle of Stalingrad including a skilful examination of the profound consequences of its outcome.' Albert Axell'Roberts makes excellent sense of events on the battlefield, but his book is more than just a good story. It also places the battle definitively in the historical and political context of World War II and Stalin's dictatorship.' Mark Harrison'fresh, lucid and highly readable...combines compelling narrative with powerful analysis.' Edward Acton'Geoffrey Roberts has written a brilliant introductory survey of the battle of Stalingrad' Dennis OgdenSixty years ago the Battle of Stalingrad determined the outcome of the Second World War and the shape of Europe for the rest of the 20th century.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 powers:their 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 ambition: 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.