Midland Publishing

Stalingrad - The Air Battle: 1942 through January 1943

by  Christer Bergström

Reviewed By  Clare Wentzel, IPMS# 1096

MSRP: $49.95 ISBN (10) 1-85780-276-4 ISBN (13) 978-1-85780-276-4 Distributed in North America by Specialty Press (www.specialtypress.com) The Battle of Stalingrad is recognized as one of the turning points of World War II. This marked the end of German victories and the start of a long decline that ended in Berlin in 1945. The Battle of Stalingrad has been covered many times from the standpoint of the ground battles but this 144 page hardcover book provides a detailed and highly illustrated account of the air battles and the role of air power in determining the outcome from both sides. This book is great from several different standpoints. First, it is an excellent history reference. This book will provide the reader with a very good chronological narrative of the battle. A number of maps and diagrams are included to ensure that the reader completely understands the various tactical situations. The rear cover of the dust jacket shows a portion of one of the diagrams depicting the Luftwaffe Airlift to supply their troops during January of 1943. The book contains eighteen chapters, which cover the progression of the battle from the standpoint of both sides. They start with "The First Air Bridges" which shows how the Germans were able to shore up their troops that were falling back from Operation Barbarossa in early 1942. The final chapter is "A Critical Review" which summarizes the key elements and defines the overall effect of the battle on the larger strategic battle of the eastern front. The book also includes seven appendices, which provide lots of data for the detail conscious reader. They include such items as air losses, structures of the air forces, awards etc. As a history reference, the book certainly covers the subject in a complete, easy to understand manner. Tied in with the history, the book contains 125 photos. The photos cover aircraft, aces, aircraft, buildings, aircraft, commanders and more aircraft. As a modeler who loves to peruse as many photos as I can in order to get my current model as accurate as possible, I was impressed with the photo content of the book. Many photos of the aircraft of both sides are shown. Lots of Luftwaffe aircraft with markings and camouflage details as well as many, many VVS aircraft with hand painted slogans, markings and camouflage. A lot of ground equipment is also shown to make that model all the more accurate. A third area where the book excels is in the inclusion of a number of stories in the words of the pilots. These little bits of information provide an additional insight into the actual people who were involved in the various battles. The author, Christer Bergström, is a noted air historian. He has authored or co-authored a number of excellent reference books on the Second World War. These include the Black Cross/Red Star series, Graf & Grislawski: A Pair of Aces, a number of the Jagdwaffe books and many others. He brings his usual style to this book which makes it easy to read, very detailed and including lots of great photos. This book is well recommended for modelers and history buffs alike. Anyone interested in World War II subjects will enjoy this book. The book can be ordered in North America from Specialty Press by contacting their web site at www.specialtypress.com or calling them at 1-800-895-4585. The price of the book is $49.95 plus a shipping and handling fee of $6.95. Their web site features a number of very interesting books on aircraft, automotive and rail subjects. The book can also be purchased from other booksellers. I would like to give a big thanks to Specialty Press for providing the sample and to IPMS/USA for letting me continue to explore the key battles of the Great Patriotic War.

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