[rbg81]

Watch “Enemy at the Gates”, it is about Vasily Zaitsev, a Soviet sniper in Stalingrad.

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Forget the movie. Not the worst movie in the world, but very misleading. Makes it seem like Zaitsev won the battle singlehandedly. Not even close.

Instead, I highly recommend the book of the same name by William Craig. Lays out how the entire battle played out, with Zaitsev being a tiny part. It drives home just how desperate things got for the Germans once they were encircled and ordered by Hitler not to retreat (which they easily could have for at least a month).

You know things are very bad when:
1. Your men kill their horses — not so much for the horse meat as for the protein in their brains
2. The men are so demoralized, they don’t even bother off loading the supply planes.

[dfwgator]

Forget the movie. Not the worst movie in the world, but very misleading. Makes it seem like Zaitsev won the battle singlehandedly. Not even close.

That sniper duel was but a chapter in the book. One of the things on my Bucket List is to visit Mamayev Kurgan.