War of the Rats

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I've been trying to branch out in my reading lately, and every time I do, I get reminded why I don't. try to get the history right. Particularily such obscure facts as which month Germany invaded the Soviet Union. And that is just one of the small mistakes that add up to make this novel not a very good piece of historical fiction. There are *many* errors about World War 2 history that even an amateur such as myself found glaringly obvious and severely detracted from what should be a historical scene set in Stalingrad. I will not detail all of them because they are simply too many and the novel does not work as a work of historical fiction, though it might fall into the genre of alternate history. For six months in 1942, Stalingrad is the center of a titanic struggle between the Russian and German armies—the bloodiest campaign in mankind’s long history of warfare. The outcome is pivotal. If Hitler’s forces are not stopped, Russia will fall. And with it, the world….

A supporting character siding with the Red Army is Captain Igor Semyonovich Danilov, a reporter for the Red Star, a Russian newspaper. He joins Zaitsev at the school and on a few of his missions to report Zaitsev's heroic events and ingenious tactics as a sniper. Danilov eventually is shot down by Thorvald when he spots Thorvald through a periscope and jumps up to yell.

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The Battle of Stalingrad is likely the most costly battle in human terms of any in recorded history. History repeats itself as von Paulus' 6th Army is totally destroyed by the Russian forces under Chuikov, as Napolean was defeated earlier. Without losing sight of the larger picture, Robbins focuses on a small segment of the battle and the incredible people who form one small part of the total operation. We learn about the tactics of snipers and their specialized skills as hunters. We witness street battles and door to door combat within the ruins of a great city. But most important, we learn how ordinary people become heroes. For six months in 1942, Stalingrad is the center of a titanic struggle between the Russian and German armies -- the bloodiest campaign in mankind's long history of warfare. The outcome is pivotal. If Hitler's forces are not stopped, Russia will fall. And with it, the world.... For six months in 1942, Stalingrad is the center of a titanic struggle between the Russian and German armies—the bloodiest campaign in mankind's long history of warfare. The outcome is pivotal. If Hitler's forces are not stopped, Russia will fall. And with it, the world.... David L. Robbins was born in Richmond, Virginia, on March 10, 1954. He grew up in Sandston, a small town east of Richmond out by the airport; his father was among the first to sit behind the new radar scope in the air traffic control tower. Both his parents, Sam and Carol, were veterans of WWII. Sam saw action in the Pacific, especially at Pearl Harbor. Sail the sea searching for your raft parts, expand your territory and team to defeat ‘em all! Choose a color, fortify your raft with other pieces floating in the ocean and face your opponents head-on!

After listening to an audio version, I also enjoyed reading the print version of the Stalingrad sniper duel. The book ending interview on tape of one of the primary characters was a pleasant surprise and encouraged the print read. The writing was beautiful and poignant, the plot hooked me, the characters moved me, the well-researched historical details fascinated me. None of the characters is a wanton, laughing killer, as I think I'd feared I'd find in a war novel; in their own ways, they all recognize the gravity, terror, and tragedy of the war, but without being whiny or unrealistically philosophical. The relationship between Tania and Vasily is genuinely romantic - and it's the historical real deal, not something the author threw in, Hollywood-style. (Indeed, I've read that the movie added a love triangle - as if, "we're in the middle of wartime Stalingrad being hunted by a Nazi supersniper" isn't enough tension for the relationship.)David L. Robbins’s novel War of the Rats tells the story of the siege of Stalingrad from a very personal nature. One character sets the tone by asking, “Will this war overlook nothing? Is it beginning to hunt for us now by name, one at a time?”. The story centers around four viewpoint characters- two Russian, two German, and tells the story of how the battle for the city became a battle between two snipers. German soldiers call the battle Rattenkrieg, war of the rats. The combat is horrific, as victories are measured in meters and soldiers die in the smoking cellars and trenches of a ruined city. Through this twisted carnage stalk two men—one Russian, one German—each the top sniper in their respective armies. These two marksmen are equally matched in both skill and tenacity. And each has his own mission.... The final chapter features Nikki Mond, Thorvald's accomplice while he was alive. Nikki is wandering about the German camps, talking with soldiers and thinking about the war. The German's are surrounded by a huge amount of Russian troops and they have almost no chance of escaping without being taken prisoner. Their resources were being depleted and some men had resorted to cannibalism. He sums it up with one good thought: I loved this book. That's quite something, coming from a person of notoriously squishy sensibilities whose last encounter with what you might call a war novel was a required reading of The Killer Angels in tenth grade. Mr. Robbins doe an excellent job in describing not only the supposed duel between Zaitsez and Thorvald (which is still being debated by historians) but his ability to paint the picture of a city ravaged by the opposing forces is phenomenal. He puts you in the heart of the dieing city. Can you imagine the closets metropolitan town in your vicinity being decimated to hulks of sagging I-beams, burning timbers and crumbled concrete structures. Yes, it is worse than the current destruction we witnessed in Joplin, Mi and Tuscaloosa,Ala (all weather related).