The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: The Hidden Truth at the Centre of WWII's Greatest Battle

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Join Iain MacGregor as he brings to light the story of the small garrison of Red Army guardsmen based in this strategic front-line building, who held out against the German Sixth Army. UK: Rishi Sunak hosts talks with Kamala Harris, vice-president of the US, at No 10, followed by a private dinner; Harris also delivers a policy speech on the future of AI at the US embassy in London; Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, speaks at the annual conference of the King’s Fund, a health think tank; start of Movember, the moustache-growing charity event held during November each year to raise funds and awareness for men’s health.

The Lighthouse of Stalingrad - A Titanic Book Review: The Lighthouse of Stalingrad - A Titanic

The book's title, and its sleeve description, is a bit misleading. There is very little about this "Lighthouse", or "Pavlov's House". (I knew about this house mostly from platoon level computer games I'd played). He breezes past it in passing; but then spends most of the epilogue on the house and its legacy, primarily as a symbol and piece of propaganda used by the Soviet Union during the war. It was one house of many, and Pavlov was one soldier of many. A harrowing expedition to Antarctica, recounted by Departures senior features editor Sancton, who has reported from every continent on the planet. This is the historian’s history as opposed the accounts by Vasily Grossman, done in the form of the novel Life and Fate, or his subsequent account, Stalingrad. The ferocious fighting for control of the city on the Volga, now known as Volgograd, lasted from early September 1942 to Feb. 2, 1943. Troop losses on both sides numbered in the hundreds of thousands; official statistics tally 64,224 civilian deaths in the fighting, with most buildings reduced to rubble. But Stalingrad, Mr. MacGregor maintains, “broke the cycle of continual German victories, thus ensuring that it was now a case of when and not if the Allies would eventually defeat the Nazis.”Within this life-and-death struggle for the heart of the city and situated on the frontline was a key strategic building, codenamed: 'The Lighthouse'. Here, a small garrison of Red Army guardsmen withstood German aerial bombardments and fought off daily assaults of infantry and armour. Red Army newspaper reports at the time would be seized upon by the Moscow media needing to place a positive spin on the fighting that had at one point looked beyond salvation. By the end of the war, the story of this building would gather further momentum to inspire Russians to rebuild their destroyed towns and cities until it became the legend it is today, renamed after the simple sergeant who had supposedly led the defence - 'Pavlov's House'. Rugby union | Premiership guide Why omens are bad for Gloucester at Sale, Exeter’s stat kings and Leicester on alert The most memorable event in my grandfather’s life was, of course, the Battle of Stalingrad. [When he died] he wanted to lie in the ground next to his soldiers.” 1 As we talk on the phone, Nikolai Chuikov’s voice suddenly breaks, lost in his memories of the day the citizens came out onto the streets of the city that had decided the fate of the Second World War in Europe, to say farewell to their adopted son.

The Lighthouse of Stalingrad by Iain MacGregor review — the The Lighthouse of Stalingrad by Iain MacGregor review — the

WEDNESDAY TIPS BET OF THE DAY Royal Tapestry (1.30 Lingfield Park) This well-bred colt caught the eye at... Racecards Stunning. History at its very best: a blend of impeccably researched scholarship, genuinely revelatory primary sources, and a beautifully written narrative’– James Holland But in his carefully researched new book “The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: The Hidden Truth at the Heart of the Greatest Battle of World War II,” Mr. MacGregor points out that “the mythologizing of the struggle for Stalin’s city can sometimes distort the true history, which in itself is unambiguously heroic.” Particularly at a time when Vladimir Putin is invoking the cult of the Great Patriotic War, as World War II is called in Russia, to justify his disastrous invasion of Ukraine, Mr. MacGregor argues that it is vital to separate fact from propagandistic fiction. The Lighthouse of Stalingrad is the finest of military history, utterly riveting, based on revelatory and superb research, and a heart-rending account of arguably the most impactful battle to defeat Nazism in WW2. A wonderful and important and timely book. -- Alexander Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Bedford Boys and First Wave

First night reviews

A wonderful and important and timely book' - Alexander Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Bedford Boys and First Wave The Red Army heroes of yesteryear who fought in the titanic conflict that raged in and around Stalingrad between September 1942 and the end of January 1943 would not recognise their successors. The drunken, terrified, mutinous conscripts who are being asked to fight in Putin’s self-glorifying war would seem utterly alien to them. The contrast between the martial myth of Stalingrad and the present tawdry – though still lethal – reality is astounding. MacGregor delights in capturing some of the lies told by the propagandists on both sides, particularly though those in Berlin, who brag about the soon to come Berlin-Tsaritsyn express after Goebbels learns that at least for now the central Stalingrad (Tsaritsyn before, Volgograd now) train station is in German hands. The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: The Hidden Truth at the Heart of the Greatest Battle of World War II," by Iain MacGregor (ISBN: 781982163587), publishing date 29 November 2022, earns a strong four stars.