The path from Moscow to Stalingrad was littered with successes and
losses for both the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, with tensions remaining
high and culminating in one of the harshest battles of the Second World
War. Part of the Casemate Illustrated series, this volume outlines how
it was that, less than a year after their defeat at Moscow, the German
army had found a way to make the Soviet troops waver in their defense,
with their persistence eventually leading to the Battle of Stalingrad.
The successful expulsion of the German troops from Moscow in the winter
of 1941 came at a cost for the Red Army. Weaknesses in the Soviet camp
inspired the Wehrmacht, under Adolf Hitler's close supervision, to make
preparations for offensives along the Eastern Front to push the Russians
further and further back into their territory. With a complex set of new
tactics and the crucial aid of the Luftwaffe, the German army began to
formulate a deadly two-pronged attack on Stalingrad to reduce the city
to rubble.
Initially only on the periphery of operations, bit by bit German
ambitions focused on Stalingrad. In the lead up to this, Timoshenko's
failed attack on Kharkov followed by the Battle of Sebastopol in June
1942 prompted Operation Blue, the German campaign to advance east on
their prized objective. This volume includes numerous photographs of the
ships, planes, tanks, trucks, and weaponry used by both sides in battle,
alongside detailed maps and text outlining the constantly changing
strategies of the armies as events unfolded.
