A Knife’s Edge at Stalingrad with Prit Buttar

Today on Little Wars FM, Greg interviews Dr. Prit Buttar to learn about the critical period of late November through December 1942. Dr. Buttar is a prolific historian with many published books, but today's conversation focuses on his 2018 book "On a Knife's Edge," which details the fall of Stalingrad and the failed relief effort to save Paulus's 6th Army. Should Paulus have initiated a breakout? Was a breakout even logistically possible? Is Manstein's legend overhyped in the context of Operation Winter Storm? And what about Zhukov's role...in his own memoirs did he steal the spotlight from other Red Army commanders? Why did Operation Winter Storm make such excellent progress on its first day before grinding to a halt in the ensuing week? Could Hitler have authorized the release of more divisions? Those questions are just the beginning of a fascinating, two-hour talk.

You can read Dr. Buttar's book, "On a Knife's Edge" and get a copy directly from the publisher, Osprey. Also, you can learn more about his work on his personal website. We want to thank Prit Buttar for being so generous with his time and chatting with Little Wars TV for our Winter Storm campaign series on YouTube!