Secrets of the Dead (TV Series) Deadliest Battle (2010) User Reviews

Interesting, Informative, and Timely

[olihist · 8/10 · 6 March 2014]

"Deadliest Battle" provides a coherent overview of the famous Battle of Stalingrad - with attention paid to both German and Soviet sources. Perhaps the biggest "revelation" in this show is that the Battle of Stalingrad extended far beyond the city limits into the surrounding countryside, where arguably the most important fighting occurred. For a 50 minute documentary, "Deadliest Battle" does a good job tracing the history of one of the most significant confrontations in World War II, although viewers more familiar with the battle may find important details missing from the script (e.g. Hitler's famous "stand and fight" order to Paulus was influenced by Goering's confident claim that he could keep the German 6th Army resupplied via the Luftwaffe).

Overall, a good program to watch, especially with the events rapidly unfolding in the Ukraine. The Battle of Stalingrad, after all, was part of a much larger campaign launched by Hitler in 1942 to seize the Caucasus oil fields and the strategically located Crimean Peninsula.

Good but the surprises were hardly surprising.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 3 May 2013]

This episode of "Secrets of the Dead" is an exceptional account of the battle for Stalingrad during WWII. However, one thing that struck me as odd was the show's assertion that it had some 'new evidence' that draws doubts as to Stalin's contributions to the Russians winning the battle. They assert that Stalin mismanaged the war badly. However, this is certainly NOT new—and documentaries for decades in the West have said that Stalin bungled the war. It seemed as if the show was trying hard to unearth some amazing new evidence when there really wasn't any. Stalin was an idiot and the Russians won in spite of him—no news here! But, if you can ignore this error, the rest of the show is quite nicely done—and manages to provide a nice overview in only about 50 minutes. For someone wanting to know how the Soviets won, it's an invaluable show—as it also would be for history buffs and documentary nuts (like myself).