The Destruction of 6th Army at Stalingrad

By Ian Baxter

The scale of death and destruction during the Battle of Stalingrad during late 1942 and early 1943 remains unprecedented in the history of warfare.

The annihilation of General von Paulus’ 6th Army epitomized the devastating defeat of Hitler’s ambition to conquer Stalin’s Soviet Union. After the successful Operation Blue offensive 6th Army reached the River Volga north of Stalingrad in summer 1942. With overextended supply lines and facing steely opposition, increasingly desperate attempts to seize the city repeatedly failed. Slowly 6th Army became encircled. The German High Command attempted a number of relief attempts, notably Field Marshal von Manstein’s ‘Winter Storm’ but all were defeated by the tenacity of the enemy and the Russian winter. To their credit the men of 6th Army fought to the end but by February 1943 the last pockets of German resistance were either destroyed or had surrendered.

Thanks to a superb collection of unpublished photographs, this Images of War book provides an absorbing insight into the dramatic events of the last months of 6th Army’s doomed existence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
• Release date: Jul 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781526747969

Ian Baxter

IAN BAXTER is a military historian who specialises in German twentieth century military history. He has written more than twenty books and over one hundred articles. He has also reviewed numerous military studies for publication, supplied thousands of photographs and important documents to various publishers and film production companies worldwide. He also lectures to schools, colleges and universities throughout the United Kingdom and Southern Ireland.