To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941–42

The armed forces of the Soviet Union were in a frazzled state when Nazi Germany violated a previous treaty and invaded in 1941. Operation Barbarossa was launched by Hitler’s forces in June 1941, intent on capturing Leningrad before moving on to Moscow. Despite warnings from various intelligence sources, Soviet leader Josef Stalin sloughed off the threat.

The strength of the Nazi forces was met by a decimated Red Army, which had been depleted by various purges undertaken by Stalin and his underlings over the previous decade. Hitler was determined to strike a knockout blow against his previous ally and then concentrate on the Western Front of the war. However, like Napoleon before him, Hitler underestimated the conditions of Russia and the deep resolve of the Russian people.

To Besiege a City brilliantly captures a perilous time in Russian history when its very survival along with the course of the war hung by a thread as the unforgiving cold and starvation exacted a devastating toll on both sides. Author Prit Buttar deftly reanimates the dog days of war that left few unaffected by its brutality. This is essential reading for history and World War II researchers.