To the Gates of Stalingrad

Soviet-German Combat Operations, April-August 1942
The Stalingrad Trilogy, Volume I

by David M. Glantz and Jonathan M. House

Series: Modern War Studies

Sales Date: April 2009

678 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in

Hardcover
9780700616305
Published: April 2009

$59.99

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eBook
9780700634392
Published: March 2023

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Description
Authors
Praise
Contents

The confrontation between German and Soviet forces at Stalingrad was a titanic clash of armies on an unprecedented scale—a campaign that was both a turning point in World War II and a lasting symbol of that war’s power and devastation. Yet despite the attention lavished on this epic battle by historians, much about it has been greatly misunderstood or hidden from view—as David Glantz, the world’s foremost authority on the Red Army in World War II, now shows.

This first volume in Glantz’s masterly trilogy draws on previously unseen or neglected sources to provide the definitive account of the opening phase of this iconic Eastern Front campaign. Glantz has combed daily official records from both sides—including the Red Army General Staff, the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs, the German Sixth Army, and the Soviet 62nd Army—to produce a work of unparalleled detail and fresh interpretations. Jonathan House, an authority on twentieth-century warfare, adds further insight and context.

Hitler’s original objective was not Stalingrad but the Caucasus oilfields to the south of the city. So he divided his Army Group South into two parts—one to secure the city on his flank, one to capture the oilfields. Glantz reveals for the first time how Stalin, in response, demanded that the Red Army stand and fight rather than withdraw, leading to the numerous little-known combat engagements that seriously eroded the Wehrmacht’s strength before it even reached Stalingrad. He shows that, although advancing German forces essentially destroyed the armies of the Soviet Southwestern and Southern Fronts, the Soviets resisted the German advance much more vigorously than has been thought through constant counterattacks, ultimately halting the German offensive at the gates of Stalingrad.

This fresh, eye-opening account and the subsequent companion volumes—on the actual battle for the city itself and the successful Soviet counteroffensive that followed—will dramatically revise and expand our understanding of what remains a military campaign for the ages.

"Fifteen years ago the late John Erickson wrote that the research of Glantz and house reflected an ‘encyclopaedic knowledge’ of the Nazi-Soviet war and constituted a benchmark for excellence in the field. The Stalingrad trilogy reflects the fact that they maintain that standard, while bringing to light a new understanding of many old questions."—War in History
“Glantz is the world’s top scholar of the Soviet-German War.”—Journal of Military History
"No previous work matches, or even approaches, the accuracy, detail, and fresh interpretation offered in this book. The trilogy is an essential addition to the library of any institution whose students study World War II. It is indeed a monumental work."—Slavic Review
"I strongly recommend this book to serious World War II students; it certainly provides readers with a far greater understanding of this phase of history’s greatest land war."—Armor
"A very important addition to all World War II collections. Highly recommended."—Choice
"The combination of David Glantz’s accrued knowledge of the war on the Eastern Front during World War II and the rich source material in the extensive notes makes this book arguably the most authoritative operational study of the initial phases of the Stalingrad campaign ever published in English, or any language for that matter."—Parameters
"Although he offers a deeply detailed, comprehensive operational history, Glantz nonetheless steps back just enough to offer cogent analysis and interpretation. . . . Glantz has made good use of the most recent Soviet and German sources and historiography to craft a nitty-gritty of the key 1942 summer campaign in Russia. As always, his information is substantial and his judgments are sound."—H-Net Reviews
“A magisterial new survey that draws on a wealth of previously inaccessible Red Army records and will be indispensable reading for all serious students of the battle.”—Michael K. Jones, author of Stalingrad: How the Red Army Triumphed
“In a way never before attempted, Glantz reveals how the battle proceeded through the step-by-step, day-by-day efforts of leaders to plan, supervise, and conduct combat operations amidst the fog of war.”—Roger R. Reese, author of Red Commanders

List of Maps, Tables, and Illustrations

Preface

Prologue: Along the Sukhaia Vereika River, 23 July 1942

1. The Wehrmacht

-Rebuilding the Wehrmacht
-Satellite Armies
-The Strategic Picture
-Plan Fall Blau
-Axis Force Dispositions
-German Commanders
-The German Soldier

2. The Red Army

-Rebuilding the Red Army
-The Strategic Debate
-The Khar’kov Plan
-Force Dispositions
-Red Army leadership
-The Soviet Soldier

3. Preliminaries, May-June 1942

-Operation Bustard Hunt [Trappenjagt]: The Battle for Kerch’
-Planning the Second Battle of Khar’kov
-Disaster on the Northern Donets, 12-29 May
-Rival Assessments, June 1942
-Sevastopol’, 7-30 June
-Wilhelm, 10-15 June
-Operation Fridericus, 22-25 June
-The Reichel Affair
-On the Eve

4. Punch and Counterpunch, Blau I, 28 June-12 July 1942

-Area of Operations
-Penetration and Encirclement, 28 June-3 July
-The German Advance to Voronezh, 4-6 July
-5th Tank Army’s Counterstroke, 6-12 July
-Hitler, Bock, and Blau II (Operation Clausewitz)
-Conclusions

5. Blau II, 9-24 July 1942

-Area of Operations
-Blau II: The Battle for the Donbas, 9-17 July
-The Formation of Stalingrad Front
-Hitler Alters Course
-The Advance to the Don: The Millerovo Encirclement and the Battle for Rostov, 17-24 July
-Hitler’s Directive No. 45
-Conclusions

6. The German Advance into the Great Bend of the Don, 23-31 July 1942

-Area of Operations
-Sixth Army’s Advance to the Don, 17-25 July
-Stalingrad Front’s Counterstroke, 26-31 July
-The Orel and Voronezh Axes, 20-26 July
-Not a Step Back!
-Conclusions

7. Endgame in the Great Bend of the Don, 1-19 August 1942

-Hitler Alters Course
-Fourth Panzer Army’s Advance to Abganerovo, 31 July-14 August
-Sixth Army’s Advance to Kalach, 1-11 August
-Organizing Stalingrad’s Defenses
-Sixth Army’s Advance into the Northeast Corner of the Great Bend,
15-19 August
-Conclusions

8. The German Advance to the Volga River, 20 August-2 September 1942

-Army Group B’s Offensive Plan
-Stalingrad Front’s Plans
-Sixth Army’s Assault and Advance to the Volga, 21-23 August
-The Struggle for the Volga Corridor: The Soviet Counterstrokes at Kotluban’ and Orlovka, 23-29 August
-62nd Army’s Struggle, 23-29 August
-Fourth Panzer Army’s Advance, 17 August-2 September
-The Situation in Stalingrad
-The Sideshows at Serafi movich and Kletskaia, 21-28 August
-Conclusions

9. The Struggle on the Flanks, 25 July-11 September 1942

-Operation Edelweiss, Army Group A’s Advance into the Caucasus
Opposing Forces
-The Initial Advance, 25-31 July
-Command Decisions and Opposing Forces
-Army Group A’s Exploitation to Stavropol’, Maikop, and Krasnodar,1-15 August
-The Initial Exploitation, 1-5 August
-The Soviet Reaction
-The Maikop Operation, 7-11 August
-The Krasnodar and Kuban’ Operations, 12-15 August
-Army Group A’s Advance to the Caucasus Mountains,
16 August-11 September
-The Mozdok Operation, 16-31 August
-Reorganization of Soviet Defenses
-The Novorossiisk and Taman’ Operations, 19 August-11 September
-The Battle for the Caucasus Mountain Passes, 16 August-September
-The Northern Flank
-Voronezh Dj Vu
-The Struggle for the Rzhev Salient, 30 July-23 August
-The Zhizdra River Operation, 23-29 August
-The Battle for the Demiansk Pocket, August 1942
-The Flank Battles: An Assessment

10. Conclusions

Appendix: The Experiences of the Commanders of Tank Armies and Tank Corps assigned to Briansk, Southwestern, Southern, and Crimean Front and the Stavka Reserve from 1 May to 1 July 1942 and Stalingrad Front on 1 August 1942

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

Books

Authors

On The Site

To the Gates of Stalingrad

Soviet-German Combat Operations, April-August 1942
The Stalingrad Trilogy, Volume I

To the Gates of Stalingrad

Soviet-German Combat Operations, April-August 1942 The Stalingrad Trilogy, Volume I

Related Books

Soviet-German Combat Operations, April-August 1942
The Stalingrad Trilogy, Volume I