Book Review of
Stalingrad Death of an Army
Author: Ben Skipper
Pen & Sword Books
Battle Craft Series
ISBN: 078-1-39900-774-0
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2023
MSRP: $28.95
Battle Craft Series
ISBN: 078-1-39900-774-0
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2023
MSRP: $28.95
HISTORY:
The very name Stalingrad has become synonymous with military folly and political arrogance. Its capture by the Wehrmacht was a crushing defeat, both militarily and politically, for the Red Army. The 6th Army was a highly experienced key element of Army Group South.
In late June1942 it rolled eastwards as part of the summer offences to capture the vital oilfields of Baku and secure the city on the Volga that bore the name of the Soviet leader. The 6th Army was the acme of German military might and on paper it should have easily overwhelmed the defenders of Chuikov’s 62nd Army.
However, its commander, General Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus, lacked field experience. His army would pay the price. Stalingrad was a new type of battlefield and it would test the mettle of attacker and defender to the very limit, all the while the thermometer plunged.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Books is based in the UK.
The book is of soft-cover of 65 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a color side profile of a German Ju-87 Stuka that is in a camouflage of a base of sand-yellow with a pattern of small green dots. It has a yellow fuselage band and black serial no. T6 + Q7 and a black swastika on the rudder.
The center of the cover shows a black and white wartime photo of 2 German infantrymen behind a wall of rubble. Both wear field grey uniforms and steel helmets. One of the helmets has a camouflage cloth cover on it. Both men are armed with M-40 sub machine-guns. A small black and white wartime photo shows 3 Soviet infantry-men behind the demolished wall of a building. All are armed with sub machine-guns.
The bottom of the cover shows a color side-view profile illustration of a T-34 that is in a camouflage of sand, red-brown and dark-green wave pattern. It has a red star, outlined in white and a white slogan in Russian on the side of the turret.
The back cover shows 2 black and white wartime photos of Soviet soldiers in Stalingrad.
This book is aimed at the new and returning modeler. Featuring an easy guide to copy, building, painting, weathering and detailing techniques to help bring models to life. It features inspirational photographs and maps as well as providing a synopsis of the battle and key personalities. It also features technical and historical details as well as overviews showcasing model builds of iconic vehicles and aircraft that took part: the T-34, Stug III, Ju-87 Stuka and Yak-9.
The book builds on the tradition of quality, that has become synonymous with Pen & Sword ‘craft’ modeling titles. Allowing the modeler to start a library they’ll return to time and time again.
The Battle Craft title also looks at four pieces of military hardware that were involved in these legendary battles, innumerable T-34’s, which often rolled of local assembly lines unpainted and straight into battle, took on the Stug III assault guns as it supported troops fighting for mere meters of territory.Overhead, in the frigid air, deadly Ju-87 Stukas and the Yak-9s were locked in battle for air superiority over the shattered remains of a once vibrant city.
The Quartermaster section of the book provide the modeler with an insight into the development and operational use of the four chosen vehicles an aircraft that were involved in the battles of El Alamein. A selection of historical and contemporary photos and illustrations, feature alongside stunning showcase builds, providing the modeler with subjects to whet the creative appetite. It also features details of model kits and extras that can really help the modeler bring military history to life.
The author of the book, Ben Skipper, is a freelance writer with over 100 articles on art, military and field sports subjects. He’s a member of the Society of Authors, the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists and the NUJ as well as being an honorary member of the Pen & Sword Club (military journalists and writers).
It contains 12 wartime color photos, 4 partially colorized maps, 125 black and white wartime photos, 4 color photos of tanks in museums, 5 color photos of aircraft in museums, a modeling section that has 11 pages of armor kit builds and 10 pages of aircraft ones.
The black and white show Soviet and German officers and men. Including Hitler. Soviet and German vehicles and aircrafts, battle damage in Stalingrad.
The last page of the book shows 12 black and white cover arts of other Pen & Sword books and a listing of the titles of 31 more of their books.
This book is a neat picture album of the battle and some great model builds.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Pen & Sword books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The very name Stalingrad has become synonymous with military folly and political arrogance. Its capture by the Wehrmacht was a crushing defeat, both militarily and politically, for the Red Army. The 6th Army was a highly experienced key element of Army Group South.
In late June1942 it rolled eastwards as part of the summer offences to capture the vital oilfields of Baku and secure the city on the Volga that bore the name of the Soviet leader. The 6th Army was the acme of German military might and on paper it should have easily overwhelmed the defenders of Chuikov’s 62nd Army.
However, its commander, General Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus, lacked field experience. His army would pay the price. Stalingrad was a new type of battlefield and it would test the mettle of attacker and defender to the very limit, all the while the thermometer plunged.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Books is based in the UK.
The book is of soft-cover of 65 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a color side profile of a German Ju-87 Stuka that is in a camouflage of a base of sand-yellow with a pattern of small green dots. It has a yellow fuselage band and black serial no. T6 + Q7 and a black swastika on the rudder.
The center of the cover shows a black and white wartime photo of 2 German infantrymen behind a wall of rubble. Both wear field grey uniforms and steel helmets. One of the helmets has a camouflage cloth cover on it. Both men are armed with M-40 sub machine-guns. A small black and white wartime photo shows 3 Soviet infantry-men behind the demolished wall of a building. All are armed with sub machine-guns.
The bottom of the cover shows a color side-view profile illustration of a T-34 that is in a camouflage of sand, red-brown and dark-green wave pattern. It has a red star, outlined in white and a white slogan in Russian on the side of the turret.
The back cover shows 2 black and white wartime photos of Soviet soldiers in Stalingrad.
This book is aimed at the new and returning modeler. Featuring an easy guide to copy, building, painting, weathering and detailing techniques to help bring models to life. It features inspirational photographs and maps as well as providing a synopsis of the battle and key personalities. It also features technical and historical details as well as overviews showcasing model builds of iconic vehicles and aircraft that took part: the T-34, Stug III, Ju-87 Stuka and Yak-9.
The book builds on the tradition of quality, that has become synonymous with Pen & Sword ‘craft’ modeling titles. Allowing the modeler to start a library they’ll return to time and time again.
The Battle Craft title also looks at four pieces of military hardware that were involved in these legendary battles, innumerable T-34’s, which often rolled of local assembly lines unpainted and straight into battle, took on the Stug III assault guns as it supported troops fighting for mere meters of territory.Overhead, in the frigid air, deadly Ju-87 Stukas and the Yak-9s were locked in battle for air superiority over the shattered remains of a once vibrant city.
The Quartermaster section of the book provide the modeler with an insight into the development and operational use of the four chosen vehicles an aircraft that were involved in the battles of El Alamein. A selection of historical and contemporary photos and illustrations, feature alongside stunning showcase builds, providing the modeler with subjects to whet the creative appetite. It also features details of model kits and extras that can really help the modeler bring military history to life.
The author of the book, Ben Skipper, is a freelance writer with over 100 articles on art, military and field sports subjects. He’s a member of the Society of Authors, the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists and the NUJ as well as being an honorary member of the Pen & Sword Club (military journalists and writers).
It contains 12 wartime color photos, 4 partially colorized maps, 125 black and white wartime photos, 4 color photos of tanks in museums, 5 color photos of aircraft in museums, a modeling section that has 11 pages of armor kit builds and 10 pages of aircraft ones.
The black and white show Soviet and German officers and men. Including Hitler. Soviet and German vehicles and aircrafts, battle damage in Stalingrad.
The last page of the book shows 12 black and white cover arts of other Pen & Sword books and a listing of the titles of 31 more of their books.
This book is a neat picture album of the battle and some great model builds.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Pen & Sword books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.