More Songs About Сталинградская битва and питание.

Having watched a movie and a documentary, I thought that I was qualified to begin reading To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet-German Combat Operations, April-August 1942 by David Glantz and Jonathan M. House. I was hoping to dispel the impression that I'd gained from said movie and documentary: that the Russians had the upper hand vis-à-vis the battle. But the first few pages of the book actually seemed to reinforce that impression. Hmpf.

I don't know why it's important to me that the Russians be the underdogs here. It's not like I have any great love for them. I suppose it's just the idea that the weaker defenders can turn away the stronger aggressors. Come to think of it, isn't that the theme for just about every great story ever told?

I also quickly discovered that Misters Gantz and House have written a book that I may be incapable of reading. It is interesting, for sure, but (I'm sorry to say) I don't have a lot of patience with non-fiction. 

And having said that, I am now ashamed and have decided to have another go at the book. I hereby resolve that I shall not allow myself to quit until I have read at least one hundred pages of To the Gates of Stalingrad.  

I also found a hopeful sign (with respect to my desired perception of the battle) in Wikipedia: 

Writing in his diary on 1 January 1943, British General Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, reflected on the change in the position from a year before:

I felt Russia could never hold, Caucasus was bound to be penetrated, and Abadan (our Achilles heel) would be captured with the consequent collapse of Middle East, India, etc. After Russia's defeat how were we to handle the German land and air forces liberated? England would be again bombarded, threat of invasion revived... And now! We start 1943 under conditions I would never have dared to hope. Russia has held, Egypt for the present is safe. There is a hope of clearing North Africa of Germans in the near future... Russia is scoring wonderful successes in Southern Russia.

In fact,  this ups the ante considerably with the implication that without the Russian victory at Stalingrad, World War II might have gone sideways on the Allies. 

In my brief first foray into At the Gates of Stalingrad, I was surprised to read that Finland was in league with Nazi Germany. (Something I probably would have already known if I'd paid more attention in history class, I suppose.) As a person who routinely thinks of Sweden, Norway, and Finland as one big, cold, very morally progressive nation, I was disappointed. It also made me wonder what other nations were allied with the Axis powers that I didn't know about, so I again consulted the Wiccans. There were several more surprises for me. (HERE if you can also be surprised about this.) As a devotee of László Krasznahorkai, I was particularly upset about Hungary being one of them. The blow was softened a mite by learning that the countries affiliated with the Axis powers were divided into four different categories, and that one of these was known as the "Co-belligerent States." That is most awesome, don't you think?

Anyway . . . more Stalingrad news as it happens.