199 Days: The Battle for Stalingrad

The battle of Stalingrad (September 1942-February 1943) was the turning point in the Soviet Union's war against Hitler, marking the German army's change from an offensive to a defensive strategy in Russia. The German war machine failed to recoup after seven Soviet armies and some 2000 artillery pieces trapped and crushed Field Marshal Friedrich von Paulus's Sixth Army at Stalingrad. Hoyt ( Hitler's War ), a prolific writer of well-regarded military histories, here delivers a thrilling account of war on a grand scale. His chronicle encompasses the strategic thinking of the opposing warlords, Stalin and Hitler, and their prickly relations with the generals who served under them. Hoyt's superb account, which incorporates new information from Russian archives, is a fitting memorial to the three million who died at Stalingrad. Photos not seen by PW. (Feb.)