The new and much hyped blockbuster film Enemy at the Gates is about the Battle of Stalingrad, in World War II, and a duel between a Soviet and German sniper. This big-budget blockbuster has dramatic scenes of military action, but unfortunately historians are now saying that the story of the legendary duel between the snipers which was fought in the rubble of Stalingrad and which is the main story of the film is just that, a legend. According to the book (published originally in 1973, but of course now republished) the Soviet sniper Zaitsev, a shepherd from the Urals trained to shoot wolves by his grandfather, became so feared by the Wehrmacht's 6th Army, as it endured the winter of 1942 in Stalingrad, that the Germans sent for the only man considered capable of killing him, an aristocratic Berliner named as Major Konig. But Major Konig did not exist! Anthony Beevor, author of the bestselling and highly-regarded book Stalingrad, says ‘The story of the duel is almost certainly a complete fiction of Soviet propaganda’, adding that it appears nowhere in the archives of Soviet General Chuikov's 62nd Army and that no trace of ‘Major Konig’ has been found in German archives. Other inaccuracies in the film include a lingering shot to establish the exterior of General Paulus's headquarters showing dozens of German panzers perfectly lined up in a triumphal avenue leading to the entrance (and which would in fact be an ideal parade-ground target for the Soviet air force). In fact the bitter truth for the Germans was that there was no worthwhile panzer reserve near Paulus's headquarters, 60 kilometres to the rear of Stalingrad and close to the River Don. The bulk of their tank force was committed in the city itself, so when the Soviet trap was sprung, there were few tanks there to resist them. The Germans in Stalingrad were consequently encircled and trapped. The film's dialogue has also been criticised for its interesting variety of accents. And the final scene is again dramatic licence, and intended by the director of the film to be a personal tribute to Sergio Leone. The forthcoming Greenhill book At Hitler's Side describes the scene in the Fuhrer Headquarters at the time of the battle for Stalingrad, and Hitler’s involvement. Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 107 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com