To Save An Army

The Stalingrad Airlift

By: Robert Forsyth

Narrated by: Mark Meadows

Bloomsbury presents To Save An Army by Robert Forsyth, read by Mark Meadows.

Using the diaries of Luftwaffe commanders and other previously unpublished sources, Robert Forsyth analyzes the human, strategic, tactical and technical elements of one of the most dramatic operations arranged by the Luftwaffe.

Stalingrad ranks as one of the most infamous, savage and emotive battles of the 20th century. It has consumed military historians since the 1950s and has inspired many books and much debate. This book tells the story of the operation mounted by the Luftwaffe to supply, by airlift, the trapped and exhausted German Sixth Army at Stalingrad in 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 and active Soviet air force, the transports maintained a determined presence over the ravaged city on the Volga, even when the last airfields in the Stalingrad pocket had been lost.

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Using previously unpublished diaries and original Luftwaffe reports , this gripping battle is told in detail through the eyes of the Luftwaffe commanders and pilots who fought to keep the Sixth Army alive and supplied.(P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Critic reviews

Robert Forsyth's skill at unearthing rare primary material has produced a remarkable and revelatory narrative. It gives a true insight into the near Herculean effort of the Luftwaffe to keep the trapped Sixth Army alive in history's bloodiest campaign.

In this detailed account of the doomed attempt to keep the encircled German Sixth Army alive in Stalingrad by air, Robert Forsyth gives readers a fresh look at the precedents that led to the fatal decision to rely on an airlift and the tragedy that then unfolded. For anyone interested in both the detail and the difficulties of mounting the Stalingrad airlift, this book is essential reading.

To Save An Army: The Stalingrad Airlift is easily the most detailed, day-by-day narrative of that critical moment in the Second World War which has been written to date. … [It] is a rich, data-driven military history, interlaced with compelling personal vignettes from pilots, aircrew, staff officers and evacuated soldiers.

It is military history at its best.

A highly impressive work in all regards, and an essential read.

There is no greater compliment than to say this is a worthy companion to Antony Beevor's acclaimed history of the ground battle, Stalingrad.

A title which is absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in the Battle of Stalingrad and operations on the Eastern Front, generally.

FYI: This audiobook is for those love details

this audiobook was very good, as other reviews have said it is very detail heavy, so maybe also getting a physical copy of the book could be helpful to understand the details that are being said about certain things like organization and specifications, however this was still a very good audiobook with very interesting personal details

So much information

Fantastic book, so much new information that I never read in previous works on Stalingrad

Too many details

Useless details are crammed into this book. Which made it very tiresome to complete the book.