Book Review on Blood Red Snow

Hillenbrand aims the story towards anyone with a military backgroud or someone who is fond military survival stories. Hillenbrand references many WWII figures, places, techniques, or objects that people without knowledge of WWII or wars in general may not understand. This book could also be intended for anyone who is looking to gain determination or hope of their

Both the Battle of Stalingrad and the Russian campaign are commonly considered ‘turning points’ when it comes to the Allied victory in the European War. However, before proceeding further in this report it is important to acknowledge the fact that the Battle of Stalingrad and the Russian campaign alone did not lead to the Allied victory. But, nonetheless, they were both incredibly significant contributors.

Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege 1942-1943 is book written by the British military historian, Antony Beevor. Stalingrad covers the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II. Stalingrad was a city in Russia where Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union fought for control. This was part of Adolf Hitler’s plan to crush the Soviet Union and extend his Third Reich into Russian territory. The battle lasted from August 1942 to February 1943. However, the battle ended up with the destruction of the entire German 6th army and with a victory for the Soviet Union. Beevor has won three awards for this book. I wish to give brief summaries of the five sections of the book and give reviews on their main content.

The Battle of Stalingrad was a major turning point in World War II. The Soviet Union would successfully protect one of its major industrial cities from German siege. The battle would have a lasting impact on the remainder of the war, as Germany struggled to recover from the loss. The defeat and many subsequent effects of it were due large in part to the mistakes of Germany’s leader Adolf Hitler. The statement that Hitler’s biggest mistake was how he conducted the Battle of Stalingrad is true due to his refusal to surrender despite facing dire circumstances, the lack of preparation his army had, and the effect his ego had on his decision making, even in the most crucial situations.

In All Quiet on the Western Front author and World War I veteran Erich Maria Remarque tells the story of a young soldier named Paul Bäumer who enlists in the German army with a group of his classmates. In the novel the reader comes discover the many horrors that Paul has to endure during his service before his untimely death in October 1918, only weeks before the war ended. The events that happen in the novel to Paul and his friends in his company during the war are very similar, if not identical, to what the German soldiers had to endure while World War I raged on in the real world. The way that the novel portrays the soldiers’ rations and reliance on food, their life on the front and in camp, how the young soldiers’ lives were destroyed before they even began, how the older generations pushed the younger ones to enlist, the death of soldiers in battle, and the refusal to surrender matches almost perfectly to how things were during World War I, particularly for the German soldiers.

Soviet powers were coming nearer and nearer to the Fatherland from the east, and in the west Allied strengths had crossed the German fringe. German Chancellor Adolf Hitler proposed to dispatch an unexpected assault in the west that would isolate and dampen the Western Allies and, maybe, persuade them to join Germany in its war against the communists of the Soviet Union. In May 1940, he had bet on an unexpected assault through the thick Ardennes Forest into Belgium and France and had won a shocking triumph. Presently he anticipated history to rehash itself: again German defensive player would progress through the hiding woods of the Ardennes to strike his foes off guard.

In chapter one Bartov tackles the issue of the modernization and structure of the Wehrmacht. Bartov walks the reader through the unsuspected events the Wehrmacht faced when it entered Russia. When the Wehrmacht invaded Russia their tanks were outnumbered five to one. It was hard to understand how the Wehrmacht lost so many men when the Wehrmacht made the French army crumble in six weeks. It seemed that everyone, even the Allied powers, had greatly underestimated the power of

Western Front.” Remarque he explains the horrors of war by gives his knowledge of his days as

The first of seven introduces the reader to the Battle of Stalingrad by mentioning dates, statistics, significant developments in

Mansur Abdulin takes his experiences on the front ranks and shares them in great detail in his book Red Road From Stalingrad. By describing all the things that are happening in the day to day combat, Abdulin is also giving the readers a glimpse at himself. He tells of mental and physical aspects of battle and shows how it effects all involved. His descriptions and feelings bring the readers into his mind and heart and they see the real Abdulin. His intent is to show and share the “real” life of war and battle. He cares for the cause and is a strong passionate Soviet soldier; however he also creates a different kind of hero by letting his loyalty and conscience to be his guide.

In the opening remarks of the first chapter, Ernst Junger describes the idealistic origins of many of the soldiers called to action. Most of the soldiers drafted into the war were students and factory workers, all of whom lived a fairly sheltered life beforehand. Being drafted was seen as the adventure of a lifetime. They “shared a yearning for danger, for the experience of the extraordinary.” Much like his comrades, Junger had the same sense of adventure, seeing the war as merely a new challenge to conquer. After his first real experience with war however, his enthusiasm is quickly dashed. The harsh reality set in that this war was not, in fact, an adventure. Junger and the former schoolboys and craftsmen quickly learned that life in the trenches was a challenge of endurance. As the war persists, reality slowly sets in and Junger learns the true violent nature of the war and the constant threat of imminent danger through which he must persevere. Ernst Junger’s accounts in the memoir Storm of Steel show the reality of a soldier in World War I and the taxation of enduring such great trauma.

All Quite on the Western Front and Storm of Steel are two of many influential pieces of literature that reflect World War one from a German point of view. It is important to note that All Quite on the Western Front is a work of fiction that is based on the events of the war, Were as Storm of Steel is memoir that is based on the events of Ernst Junger on the western front. Junger is criticized that he takes a positive stance on the war, were as Erich Remarque’s novel tries to show the reality behind the war. The two authors believed the Great war had effects on those who fought in it through the influence of their perception of the war and how new technology had changed the way it is understood. The psychological implications on the soldiers were a direct link between survival, technology and their rural life style. This phenomenon can be seen in both Remarque and Jungar’s works.

In Ernst Junger’s memoir, Storm of Steel, the first remarks are of him stepping off the train at Bazancourt, France. Junger eliminates any details about his life before the war, already contrasting most war memoirs written. This serious demeanor that Junger takes on, one that removes emotion from the equation, persists throughout the memoir and can be clearly seen by the way Junger processes the death of his comrades. By getting down to brass tacks, Junger is able to give a detailed recollection of what the life of a soldier in the German Army was like. Ernst Junger’s accounts in the memoir Storm of Steel show the reality of what World War I was truly like, and how he slowly realizes that there’s more nuance to war than he anticipated.

Referring to the Battle of Stalingrad, one soldier wrote, “But what is death in reality here? Here they croak, starve to death, freeze to death-it's nothing but a biological fact like eating and drinking. They drop like flies; nobody cares and nobody buries them,” (Schneider 344) making sense of the severe conditions and its effect on German soldiers in Stalingrad.

A poem is an experience, not a thought. It is an experience both the author and the reader share with one another. Authors of poems use tones, keywords, hidden messages, irony, and diction to create their work. They use these tactics so the reader thinks about what they are reading and try evaluating what the message is that the reader wants to get across. In the poem “Snow” by Louis MacNeice, he uses these same characteristics to get the readers mind active in the words. Let’s examine the poem “Snow” and see what the meaning behind this poem is.