Is it true that the unprecedented ferocity of the Battle of Stalingrad is explained not so much by military as by ideological reasons—and that if the city hadn’t been named after the Leader, the Red Army wouldn’t have defended it at any cost? Did Soviet command throw entire unarmed divisions into battle, as shown in the scandalous film “Enemy at the Gates”? What role in this battle did the penal battalions and blocking units created by Order No. 227 “Not one step back!” play—and how dearly did victory cost us? Is it true that the fate of Stalingrad was decided by sniper duels and mice that, at the critical moment, ate through the electric wiring of German tanks? Who actually authored the famous Operation Uranus to encircle Paul’s army—Marshal Zhukov or an unknown colonel Potapov?
In this book, the leading military historian analyzes the most common myths about the Battle of Stalingrad, refuting numerous legends, clichés, and speculations. This is undoubtedly the best modern study of the turning-point battle of the Great Patriotic War—based not on propaganda fakes, but on recently declassified archival documents.