Jones offers a radical reinterpretation of the Battle of Stalingrad, using eyewitness testimony and fresh archive materials, Jones gives insight into the thinking of the Russian command, and the mood of the ordinary soldier... -- From the publisher.

Maps and Documentsxxiii -- Introduction: The Last of the Mohicans 1 -- Veteran Testimony 2 -- How the Battle was Seen by Others 5 -- Stalingrad: A Brief Overview 6 -- Tactical Innovation 9 -- Psychological Dimension 11 -- Anatoly Mereshko - a Key Witness 12 -- Leadership - the Vital Factor 14 -- Morale and Motivation 15 -- A Daunting Opponent 17 -- Chapter 1 Not a Step Back! 19 -- German Plan 20 -- Russian Experience 23 -- Battle on the Don 27 -- Ineffective Leadership - the Story of the Bear Catcher 38 -- 'Not a Step Back!' Order 41 -- Chapter 2 Stalin's City 45 -- Stalin's Railway 46 -- Vulnerability of the City 48 -- Defence Lines 50 -- 'Inner Defence' 52 -- Terror Raid 56 -- Mass Panic 59 -- Orlovka Salient 61 -- Gorokhov's Northern Group 63 -- Chapter 3 Lion on the Volga 64 -- Time is Blood 65 -- Leadership and the 62nd Army 67 -- A Crucial Confrontation 70 -- 'A Son of the Century': Military Career of Vasily Chuikov 72 -- Achilles Heel 82 -- Chuikov and Krylov: A Vital Partnership 92 -- Rival Commanders: Chuikov and Paulus 94 -- Chapter 4 First Crisis 96 -- Alexander Rodimtsev: The Importance of Divisional Command 98 -- 62nd Army and the NKVD 101 -- German Breakthrough 103 -- Rodimtsev's 13th Guards - What Really Happened 106 -- Race for the Ferry Point 110 -- Preparation of the Troops 111 -- Crossing 112 -- Chapter 5 Courage Born of Desperation. The September Battles 116 -- Grain Elevator 117 -- Central Railway Station 121 -- Storming the Mamaev Kurgan 127 -- September Snapshots 131 -- Day of Death 135 -- German Night Attack 143 -- Chapter 6 Pavlov's House 145 -- Emergence of Storm Groups 146 -- Commander 152 -- Fifty-Eight Days 152 -- Garrison 153 -- House's Name 153 -- Strongpoints 156 -- Everyday Life 159 -- Communal Singing 160 -- A Tale of Two Pavlovs 161 -- Chapter 7 Mikhail Panikakha Anatomy of a Heroic Deed 163 -- Battle Situation 164 -- Tank Fright 167 -- A Broken Chain of Command 169 -- Impact of Smekhotvorov's Leadership 172 -- Last Hours of Mikhail Panikakha 173 -- Inspiration 174 -- Chapter 8 Birth of 'Sniperism' 176 -- 'My First Ten' 177 -- Letters Home 179 -- Opening an Account 'of Revenge' 180 -- Chuikov's Decision 181 -- Hunting the Enemy 183 -- Communist Version of the Battle 184 -- Zaitsev's Duel 185 -- Chapter 9 Turning Point 188 -- Defending the Orlovka Salient 189 -- Balance of Forces 194 -- Zholudev's Redoubt 197 -- Onslaught 201 -- Council of War 208 -- Day of Decision 214 -- There is No Land for us Beyond the Volga 219 -- Chapter 10 An Army of Mass Heroism 223 -- In the Main Line of Attack 223 -- Camaraderie 227 -- Rituals 233 -- A Village on the Volga 235 -- Loss of the 62nd Crossing 236 -- How Steel is Formed 238 -- Chapter 11 Victory Parade 241 -- Lyudnikov's Island 243 -- Bullet-Proof Batyuk 244 -- German Surrender 245 -- Conclusion: The Mamaev Kurgan 248 -- Mist Over the Volga 250 -- 62nd Army Order of Battle - 1 November 1942 251 -- List of Veterans 252 -- Further Veteran Testimony 257 -- Russian Ministry of Defence Archive, Podolsk 258 -- Corresponding German Material 258.