To Save An Army Hardback

Description

Using the diaries of Luftwaffe commanders and other previously unpublishedsources, and augmented by a selection of rare contemporary photographs, RobertForsyth analyses the human, strategic, tactical and technical elements of one of themost dramatic operations arranged by the Luftwaffe.Stalingrad ranks as one of the most infamous, savage and emotive battles of the 20thcentury. It has consumed military historians since the 1950s and has inspired manybooks and much debate. This book tells the story of the operation mounted by theLuftwaffe to supply, by airlift, the trapped and exhausted German Sixth Army at Stalingradin the winter of 1942/43. The weather conditions faced by the flying crews, mechanics,and soldiers on the ground were appalling, but against all odds, and a resurgent andactive Soviet air force, the transports maintained a determined presence over theravaged city on the Volga, even when the last airfields in the Stalingrad pocket had beenlost.Yet, even the daily figure of 300 tons of supplies, needed by Sixth Army just to subsist,proved over-ambitious for the Luftwaffe which battled against a lack of transport capacity,worsening serviceability, and increasing losses in badly needed aircraft.Using previously unpublished diaries, original Luftwaffe reports and speciallycommissioned artwork, this gripping battle is told in detail through the eyes of theLuftwaffe commanders and pilots who fought to keep the Sixth Army alive and supplied.Sales and Marketing HighlightsFeatures rare, unpublished and graphic descriptions of the battle from seniorGerman commanders, plus detailed day-to-day analysis of operations anddescriptions of the aircraft deployed.While much of the historiography has focused on land actions and Hitler'sdecision-making, this book analyses the action from the air perspective.The book features human, strategic, tactical and technical elementsdescribed in a fast-moving, accessible and dramatic style appealing to bothmainstream and informed readerships