The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: The Hidden Truth at the Centre of WWII's Greatest Battle

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Surprisingly, however, when Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, Stalingrad was not an immediate target. The city was initially just a name on the map for the German High Command, symbolic perhaps but not as strategically important as Moscow or Leningrad (the renamed St Petersburg) or the oil fields deep in the southern Caucasus. It very nearly worked. With their path cleared by the merciless aerial bombing of Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (cousin of the Red Baron), Army Group B, the bulk of which was formed by the German Sixth Army, commanded by Friedrich Paulus, reached deep into the city – as far as the banks of the Volga – by early September. Key landmarks, such as the State Bank, the Univermag Department Store, and one of the city’s main railway stations, fell into German hands. Soon, it was joked, the Berlin to Stalingrad express would be up and running. Toe hold

The Lighthouse of Stalingrad by Iain MacGregor | Hachette UK The Lighthouse of Stalingrad by Iain MacGregor | Hachette UK

Most Russians need no convincing that the Red Army’s grueling victory at Stalingrad was the most important event of World War II. Many Western historians concur that it was the turning point of the war on the Eastern Front, which means its significance can hardly be overstated. “The Battle of Stalingrad in my opinion is quite simply the most staggering feat of human endurance, sacrifice, and arms in the history of warfare,” writes British historian Iain MacGregor. It was all going swimmingly for these two and then last weekend, to put it bluntly, Sale and Gloucester got slapped. Let’s start with Sale. The 2023 runners-up put in one of their worst performances in recent memory as they were battered by Exeter Chiefs 43-0 — the first time Sale have been left pointless since a defeat... Sale Sharks v Gloucester Stalingrad is regarded as one of the pivotal battles of the Second World War. Over two million civilians and combatants were either killed, wounded, or captured during the brutal fighting of September 1942. Within this life-and-death struggle for the heart of the city and situated on the frontline was a key strategic building, codenamed: ‘The Lighthouse’. Here, a small garrison of Red Army guardsmen withstood German aerial bombardments and fought off daily assaults of infantry and armour. Red Army newspaper reports at the time would be seized upon by the Moscow media needing to place a positive spin on the fighting that had at one point looked beyond salvation. By the end of the war, the story of this building would gather further momentum to inspire Russians to rebuild their destroyed towns and cities until it became the legend it is today, renamed after the simple sergeant who had supposedly led the defence –‘Pavlov’s House’.UK: Rishi Sunak hosts talks with Kamala Harris, vice-president of the US, at No 10, followed by a private dinner; Harris also delivers a policy speech on the future of AI at the US embassy in London; Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, speaks at the annual conference of the King’s Fund, a health think tank; start of Movember, the moustache-growing charity event held during November each year to raise funds and awareness for men’s health. By contrast, Stalingrad was a more impressive triumph, making it “the ultimate touchstone for any Russian leader,” Mr. MacGregor writes. Yet what actually happened was never enough for Soviet propagandists: they felt compelled to spin an unabashedly heroic narrative that overlooks inconvenient truths. This valuable addition to the body of work about Stalingrad goes a long way toward righting the balance between myth and reality. The Russians fought the Germans hard for this city. It was completely destroyed during the fall and winter of 1942. Brezhnev had long admired Chuikov, the “Legendary One.” While he himself had made his way up the ladder during the Great Patriotic War as a political commissar, it had not stopped him from inflating his own contribution to the war effort, awarding himself the military honors that commanders such as Chuikov had spilled blood for. Both men had endured an uneasy relationship with Brezhnev’s predecessor as first secretary—Nikita Khrushchev. Brezhnev respected Chuikov’s bluntness, and laughed at the way he had publicly questioned where Khrushchev had been during the fighting in Stalingrad. 12 And more important, Brezhnev had counted on his support when the time came to oust the erratic leader and take control of the Central Committee himself in 1962. He owed Chuikov.

‘The Lighthouse of Stalingrad’ Review: Truth and Lies After

Beevor's book is off the whole battle, this book covers a much smaller aspect which is no less riveting. The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: The Hidden Truth at the Heart of the Greatest Battle of World War II," by Iain MacGregor (ISBN: 781982163587), publishing date 29 November 2022, earns a strong four stars. The Lighthouse of Stalingrad goes into a lot of detail about the fighting between Russian and Germany over Stalingrad. There are also some maps of the battles at the beginning of some of the chapters. It also has a small section of photos. Within this deadly struggle Soviet war correspondents such as Vasily Grossman lauded the fight for a key strategic building in the heart of the city, 'Pavlov's House', situated right on the frontline, codenamed: 'The Lighthouse'. Standing a few hundred metres from the river the legend grew of a small garrison of Russia guardsmen holding out against overwhelming odds right up until the battle had been won.

About Iain MacGregor

An excellent book on the greatest battle of World War Two, the Battle of Stalingrad which gave Germany it's first major defeat and altered the course of the war. It's mostly a book of tactical battles, not strategic, describing in great detail the brutal, victious, house-to-house and room to room fighting. My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Scribner for an advance copy of this history of Stalingrad and its legacy. A harrowing expedition to Antarctica, recounted by Departures senior features editor Sancton, who has reported from every continent on the planet. Carefully researched . . . This valuable addition to the body of work about Stalingrad goes a long way toward righting the balance between myth and reality. . . . compelling." — Wall Street Journal

The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: The Hidden Truth at the Centre The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: The Hidden Truth at the Centre

Soon, national Soviet newspapers like Isvestia and Pravda took up the story and ran their own increasingly feverish versions. The image of the defiant house – representative not just of Stalingrad’s defence, but of the resistance of every family and every home across the Soviet Union – was too good a piece of propaganda to pass up. An authoritative and unforgettable insight into the decisive days of that most terrible struggle on the banks of the Volga’– Jonathan Dimbleby The foolhardiness of Hitler thinking he was a military strategist stood behind at least in part, the inability of his generals to build on their initial momentum that took them almost to the East banks of the Volga River.The Lighthouse of Stalingrad is the finest of military history, utterly riveting, based on revelatory and superb research, and a heart-rending account of arguably the most impactful battle to defeat Nazism in WWII. A wonderful and important and timely book." — Alexander Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Bedford Boys