Prit Buttar

To Besiege a City (eBook, ePUB)

Leningrad 1941-42

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

'[An] excellent account.' - Richard Overy, The Telegraph Shortlisted for the Military History Matters Book of the Year Award 2024 A ground-breaking history of one of the greatest ever sieges. Masterfully brought to life by a leading expert using original Russian and German source material. This new history of the first two years of this crucial battle for the heart and soul of Russia is the first in over a decade and also the first to look comprehensively at the wider military strategies of both sides. At a huge cost, the Red Army and the civilian population of Leningrad ultimately endured a bitter 900-day siege, struggling against constant bombing, shelling, and starvation. Throughout the siege, Soviet forces tried to break the German lines and restore contact with the garrison. To Besiege a City charts the first of these offensives which began in January 1942 and was followed by repeated assaults. Acclaimed Eastern Front historian Prit Buttar details how although the Red Army suffered huge casualties in the swampy and forested terrain, the German infantry divisions were also steadily eroded. Indeed, by keeping control of parts of the shores of Lake Ladoga, the Soviet Union was able to sustain Leningrad through the winters of the siege via the 'road of life', constructed across the frozen lake. This epic history details the dramatic race to create the road across the ice and first-hand accounts from both Soviet and German soldiers, many never previously translated, bring the horrific series of battles and assaults to life. Ultimately the determination of the defenders to hold out during this first phase of the siege and the desperate attempts to break it became a hugely significant part of Russian wartime history. The echoes of the battle persist to this day helping to define both a country and its politics. There is no better time to fully understand this history and To Besiege a City is the most comprehensive account to date.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury eBooks UK
• Seitenzahl: 432
• Erscheinungstermin: 14. September 2023
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781472856548
• Artikelnr.: 68492332

Autorenporträt

Prit Buttar studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. After leaving the army, he worked as a GP. He is extensively involved in medical politics, both at local and national level.

An established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th-century military history, his previous books include the critically acclaimed two-volume series on the siege of Leningrad: To Besiege A City (Osprey 2023) and Hero City (Osprey 2024). He now lives in Kirkcudbright in Scotland.

Inhaltsangabe

List of Illustrations
List of Maps
Dramatis Personae
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Window to the West
Chapter 2: Stalin's Purges
Chapter 3: Flawed Plans for War
Chapter 4: Barbarossa Unleashed
Chapter 5: The Approach to Leningrad
Chapter 6: Sinyavino and Tikhvin
Chapter 7: Starvation: The First Winter
Chapter 8: Bandenkrieg: The Partisan War
Chapter 9: Lyuban: The Price of Optimism
Chapter 10: Lyuban: Attrition and Failure
Chapter 11: Summer 1942
Chapter 12: A Bloodstained Autumn
Chapter 13: Towards the Second Winter
Chapter 14: A Bitter Stalemate
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Rezensionen

This is another masterly account by this excellent Osprey author, covering the first year of the siege of Leningrad.