Stalingrad: City on Fire by Alexey Isaev and Richard W Harrison

Alexey Isaev is a well-known author/researcher among Russians and I'm glad to see that more of his work is being translated into English.  For those who might be asking the question, do we really need another book on Stalingrad?  The answer is a hesitant...yes.  Much of the information that readers will find here is not available anywhere else in Western literature.  For that reason alone, this is in many ways a needed addition to the history of one of the most consequential battles on the Eastern Front.

Isaev's work is a dense operational history akin to what David Glantz usually puts out, except Isaev relies more heavily on Soviet/Russian archival information which means he's able to give more detail at a lower level (regiments and battalions) than what Glantz usually covers (divisions and corps).  Having as much detailed information as is presented here continually helps put the various phases of the Sixth Army's advance on and into Stalingrad, and Soviet attempts to stem the German offensive, into a better and more critical context.  This is in part a result of Isaev utilizing German and Western source material as well as Russian.  The pictures he paints on the approaches to Stalingrad is that of Soviet forces operating at a consistent disadvantage due to a lack in artillery, experience in combined arms operations, and relatively newly created units and trained formations and recruits who could not match up to their German counterparts.  The end result featured Wehrmacht forces constantly encountering new Soviet formations (in part a rehashing of 1941) that slowly bleed German divisions.  Continued operations in urban combat only worsened German positions in and around the city.

While Isaev tries to address some of the 'myths' and 'legends' that have accumulated over time, that information is less interesting than the overall narrative of how this battle unfolded and the desperation of the engagements that continuously took place.  Regiments that were to number over a thousand men were regularly reduced to a few hundred or dozen within a matter of days.  Unfortunately, there is not much eye-witness testimony about the fighting, which would have added a lot of value to this volume, but what Isaev has done is showcase the chaotic and complicated nature not just of the fighting that happened in the city, but on its approaches and on its flanks as well. 

Minor weaknesses in the volume include typos and at times a lack of citations.  Overall though, compared to many other Russian volumes, Isaev does cite his sources, which is a tremendous help for researchers and academics.  A very much recommended volume if you can deal with dense operational histories from the Eastern Front.