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The original version of the classic novel of the epic World War II battle, confiscated by the Russian secret services in 1949, and now rediscovered in the Russian archives.Stalingrad, November 1942. Lieutenant Breuer dreams of returning home for Christmas. But he and his fellow German soldiers will spend winter in a frozen hell - as snow, ice and relentless Soviet assaults reduce the once-mighty Sixth Army to a diseased and starving rabble.
Breakout at Stalingrad is a stark and terrifying portrait of the horrors of war, and a profoundly humane depiction of comradeship in adversity.
The book itself has an extraordinary story behind it. Its author fought at Stalingrad and was imprisoned by the Soviets. In captivity, he wrote a novel based on his experiences, which the Soviets confiscated before releasing him. Gerlach resorted to hypnosis to remember his narrative, and in 1957 it was published as
The Forsaken Army. Fifty-five years later Carsten Gansel, an academic, came across the original manuscript of Gerlach's novel in a Moscow archive. This first translation into English of
Breakout at Stalingrad includes the story of Gansel's sensational discovery.
Praise for Breakout at Stalingrad: 'One of the greatest novels of the Second World War'
The Times 'So deftly handled and well constructed... It is astonishing that [this] is Gerlach's first attempt at fiction'
Sunday Times
About the author
Heinrich Gerlach (1908–1991) served as a lieutenant in the 14th Panzer Division at Stalingrad. Wounded and then captured by the Soviets, he wrote Breakout at Stalingrad while being held in captivity in the USSR. He died in 1991.
Summary
The original version of the classic novel of the epic World War II battle. Stalingrad, 1942: 300,000 Germans have been fighting the Soviets for control of the city since August - but now they are to endure a hellish winter, and only 91,000 of them will survive.
Foreword
The original version of the classic novel of the epic World War II battle, confiscated by the Russian secret services in 1949, and now rediscovered in the Russian archives.
Additional text
Anyone who wants an idea of what Stalingrad was really like should read this book... Gerlach records the lives and feelings of soldiers of all ranks'
