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Format: Häftad (Paperback / softback)
Språk: Engelska
Antal sidor: 368
Utgivningsdatum: 2016-04-30
Förlag: Casemate Publishers
Illustratör/Fotograf: 16pp photos
Illustrationer: 16pp photos
Dimensioner: 234 x 158 x 19 mm
Vikt
Antal komponenter: 1
ISBN: 9781612003924

When Germanys Sixth Army advanced to Stalingrad in 1942, its long-extended flanks were mainly held by allied armiesthe Romanians, Hungarians, and Italians. But as history tells us, these flanks quickly caved in before the massive Soviet counter-offensive which commenced that November, dooming the Germans to their first catastrophe of the war. However, the historical record also makes clear that one allied unit held out to the very end, fighting to stem the tidethe Italian Alpine Corps. When the Don front collapsed under Soviet hammer blows, it was the Alpine Corps that continued to hold out until it was completely isolated, and which then tried to fight its way out through both Russian encirclement and General Winter to rejoin the rest of the Axis front. Only one of the three alpine divisions was able to emerge from the Russian encirclement with survivors. In this all-sides battle across the snowy steppe, thousands were killed and wounded, and even more were captured. By the summer of 1946, only 10,000 survivors returned to Italy from Russian POW camps.

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Another brilliant tale of one of the most costly battles of WWII in terms of lost lives, this time Italians. Fascinating. * Books Monthly * Sacrifice on the Steppe and its many remarkable anecdotes will not simply bring you in touch with your most empathetic side, it will make you thankful for every opportunity you have in your life after travelling alongside a group of soldiers who had none. * Italian America *

Hope Hamilton, fluent in Italian and having spent many years in Italy, has drawn on many interviews with survivorsincluding two of her uncles who served in the Alpine Corpsas well as massive research, in order to provide this first full English-language account of one of World War IIs legendary stands against great odds.