Product Description

The author, Adelbert Holl, was a 23-year-old infantry Leutnant when he rejoined his unit in Stalingrad after recovering from wounds he suffered in April 1942. This book records his own experiences as a junior infantry commander during Stalingrad. The infantry bore the most laborious and difficult role during the battle. They were not propelled forward by engines, were not protected by armour-plating. They stood eye to eye with the enemy. That is why this report is so impressive, so enthralling, so stirring. It is sobre, factual, without pathos ­ as written by a front-line soldier. Holl was awarded many medals, including the Wound Badge in Gold, which demonstrates that he had never spared himself from the dangers of combat. This book does not glorify the war: it shows the terrible true face of it. 25 photos, 24 maps, 19 aerial photos, 40 supporting documents

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #663580 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-01
• Binding: Hardcover
• 250 pages

Customer Reviews

Absolutely superb work - a must have for Eastern Front buffs!
This book is of the highest quality, from its hard cover, to its glossy pages, to the photographs and historical records. This is one of the most detailed account of urban warfare in Stalingrad I have read. The book is fast-paced, easy to follow, thoroughly researched, and extremely informative. I could not put this book down and learned more about the streetfighting in Stalingrad than from all the other books I have read combined. If you want to learn about the horrific fighting in Stalingrad from a first-person perspective, this is the highest quality work I have encountered. I recommend it to anyone with an interest on the subject and can assure you that you will not be disappointed. A first class historical work all the way. Impressive!

(On a side note, I specifically looked for the author emphasizing that he was only doing his job and only found one reference. So, I have to respectfully disagree with the other reviewer who stated that this was a repeat issue.)

Well worth the money.
Well, I ordered this book right from the publisher on his site.
This book is a translation from the German copy, and was done really well as it flowed with no problems.
I found this book excellant with pictures and maps. The publisher has air shots of the city and has super-impossed lines/boundaries where the author was. I found this to make the story really easy and INTERESTING to follow. When the author describes a certain building ie" the transformer" there is air shots with the transformer in them and you are able to see what the author saw. Nicely done with photos of other commanders and vehicles though there isn't a lot of them. In no way does this detract from the book.
If the author talks about a certain soldier, the publisher has researched them and gives the dates of birth and fate ie: died in Stalingrad or survived the war etc. I found this also informative though the author made a few mistakes with names.....
The only part that was sort of repeated was the author continuously repeating that they were doing their job. The battle descriptions are also very well described and you can feel yourself in the battle or in the cold bunker with him.
The book ends with the author waiting to surrender and I found myself wanting to know more about his survival in the POW camps and the end of war. Instead of fighting it out to the last bullet he decides to go back to the wounded after he finds out they are to be left to their fate.
HIGHLY recommended !!!!

Well done
The book is a pleasure to own. Publishers don't often take the time to produce a book this well. It has high quality pages and presented nicely.

It's a gem of information. Very well researched. Farily well written. The best first hand account of the battle I am aware of.