War of the Rats

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Sail the sea searching for your raft parts, expand your territory and team to defeat ‘em all! Choose a color, fortify your raft with other pieces floating in the ocean and face your opponents head-on!

There are four main characters, two Russians and two Germans. The Russian snipers are certainly real. Vasily Zaytsev became famous during World War 2 in the Battle of Stalingrad, the bloodiest battle of the war. He was so successful as a sniper that he eventually started his own sniper school. Tania Chernova was one of his students and lover. The two Germans, not so real. One is a corporal named Nikki Mond, who I think is pure fiction, the other, Heinz Thorvald, is mentioned in Zaytsev's diaries as a main sniper in the German army that he had a duel with. There is no other record of him existing. Robbins uses as touch points a number of known Stalingrad events, including Pavlov's House, the Grain Elevator, Goebbels's Stalingrad "choir," and the Cauldron offensives. Although the figures Tonia (more specifically Tania Chernova, often mentioned in books about the time period but never historically verified) and Thorvald (mentioned in Vasily Zaytsev's book, but again not historically verified) are in doubt, it's known that Russian women were snipers, and there is no doubt that Zaytsev was a sniper of great renown. This book thoroughly expresses the tension edured, physical effort, and mental acuity required of snipers. After listening to an audio version, I also enjoyed reading the print version of the Stalingrad sniper duel. The book ending interview on tape of one of the primary characters was a pleasant surprise and encouraged the print read. German soldiers call the battle Rattenkrieg, war of the rats. The combat is horrific, as soldiers die in the smoking cellars and trenches of a ruined city. Through this twisted carnage stalk two men -- one Russian, one German -- each the top sniper in his respective army. These two marksmen are equally matched in both skill and tenacity. Each man has his own mission: to find his counterpart -- and kill him.Colonel Heinz Thorvald was joined by Corporal Nikki Mond in his search to find and kill Vasily Zaytsev. Nikki acted as a spotter and general accomplice to Thorvald. Zaitsev's rate of success, and his known proficiency at training others, prompt the Germans to bring in their own "super" sniper and teacher, Heinz Thorvald. Thorvald's only assignment in Stalingrad is to kill Zaitsev. We follow Thorvald's efforts, and get more of an overview of the horror of Stalingrad from Nikki, the German Corporal who is charged with guiding and supporting him.

For six months, Stalingrad is the center of a titanic struggle between the Russian and German armies, the bloodiest campaign in mankind's long history of warfare. The outcome is pivotal. If Hitler's forces are not stopped, Russia will fall. And with it, the world. German soldiers call the battle Rattenkrieg, war of the rats. The combat is horrific, as victories are measured in meters and soldiers die in the smoking cellars and trenches of a ruined city. Through this twisted carnage stalk two men—one Russian, one German—each the top sniper in their respective armies. These two marksmen are equally matched in both skill and tenacity. And each has his own mission.... For six months in 1942, Stalingrad is the center of a titanic struggle between the Russian and German armies -- the bloodiest campaign in mankind's long history of warfare. The outcome is pivotal. If Hitler's forces are not stopped, Russia will fall. And with it, the world.... Fast-paced and explosive, War of the Rats is a stunning amalgam of deepest history and thrilling fiction. A frighteningly realistic patchwork depicting the long siege that changed the course of the war. Based on a true story, the novel deftly captures an extraordinary time and place in history...[in a] vivid, authentic representation of men of unusual skill and focus in the midst of a barbarous war." --Richmond-Times Dispatcha good candidate for the thriller of the summer award... gives a compelling and graphic sense of the heroism-filled nightmare called Stalingrad...A readable, gritty adventure story." "-- The New York Times" David Robbins has a way with words. He has a way with characters. He is by far a master of character development, a task made all the more difficult when one is constrained by reality. Vasha Zaitsev, Tania Chernova, Nikki Mond and Heinz Thorwald are all historical characters in a compelling setting. You can't help but bond with the two protagonists. You share their fears, their joys, their passions, and their accomplishments. A frighteningly realistic patchwork depicting the long siege that changed the course of the war. Based on a true story, the novel deftly captures an extraordinary time and place in history...[in a] vivid, authentic representation of men of unusual skill and focus in the midst of a barbarous war." "-- Richmond-Times Dispatch" And now, on to the writing itself. It is not good, rather it is like a man who has found a list of metaphors is writing very poor descriptions of something he hasn't read nearly enough about. The writing is just plain not very good. It's clumsy and overly-wordy and clearly not properly edited at all.

Stalingrad was hell and a huge turning point in the second world war. In only 6 months, 1.9 million people died. All that was left of Stalingrad was rubble. The germans called it Rattenkrieg, War of The Rats. This book with the same name uses all true history mixed in with a little fiction to make it better story wise. The war of Stalingrad was fought with alot of Snipers, the urban environment was perfect for them. This is the story of Vasily Zaytsev, a master sniper who killed 32 people with a standard rifle and a whopping 225 with a sniper rifle. I hate guns personally, but am always fascinated by Snipers for some reason, and to read this book was a blast. Germany sends their own master Sniper to catch Zaytsev, a man who is a bit of a coward but an excellent marksman. The sort of cat and Mouse game they play with eachother is brilliant, and makes this book a very fast paced read. Recommended for history buffs and everyone that enjoys a thrilling story between two master Snipers. The Battle of Stalingrad is likely the most costly battle in human terms of any in recorded history. History repeats itself as von Paulus' 6th Army is totally destroyed by the Russian forces under Chuikov, as Napolean was defeated earlier. Without losing sight of the larger picture, Robbins focuses on a small segment of the battle and the incredible people who form one small part of the total operation. We learn about the tactics of snipers and their specialized skills as hunters. We witness street battles and door to door combat within the ruins of a great city. But most important, we learn how ordinary people become heroes. Interesting historical fiction on the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II. We don't get a full view of the battle; we get thumbnail sketches through the eyes of Russian snipers - including Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily "Zaitsev" and "Tonia Chernova" - and their counterparts. For six months in 1942, Stalingrad is the center of a titanic struggle between the Russian and German armies—the bloodiest campaign in mankind's long history of warfare. The outcome is pivotal. If Hitler's forces are not stopped, Russia will fall. And with it, the world....David L. Robbins’s novel War of the Rats tells the story of the siege of Stalingrad from a very personal nature. One character sets the tone by asking, “Will this war overlook nothing? Is it beginning to hunt for us now by name, one at a time?”. The story centers around four viewpoint characters- two Russian, two German, and tells the story of how the battle for the city became a battle between two snipers. Colonel Heinz Thorvald, also known as Erwin Konig, may or may not even be a real person in the Battle of Stalingrad. Both were popular German names at the time and there is much debate on whether Thorvald's "character" was a fabrication or if he was actually real. Yet at the same time, by the end, I found myself a little perplexed regarding what it was about - it both began long before and ended after the supposed central conflict of the novel, a sniper's duel. This off-center presentation was very appropriate, since war shouldn't be reduced to a simple high concept narrative, but it was rather noticeable by the end. Zaitsev was a senior sergeant of the 2nd Battalion, 1047th Rifle Regiment, 284th Tomsk Rifle Division. He was interviewed by Vasili Grossman during the battle, and the account of that interview, lightly fictionalized in his novel, Life and Fate (Part One, Chapter 55), is substantially the same as that portrayed in the novel, without putting a name to the German sniper that he dueled with. On the other hand, the duel is portrayed quite differently in Zaitsev's own book, Notes of a Sniper, [1] and in William Craig's 1974 history Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad.