Forgive me if this was already posted, but i am new to the forum, and thought this might be a good book to share. It is called “Notes of a Sniper”, the first hand accounts of the russian sniper, Vassili Zaitsev. The book came out in the 60’s or 70’s. Im not to sure, and it was the main reason “Enemy at the Gates” was written. You will see, if you read, the many differences between the movie, and the actual events. For example, when Vassili was a child, he was a great hunter, not a scared hunter. He was bascilly, in american terms, a hillbilly. haha
But, there are many other, many many other, skirmishes Vassili was involved in. One, he was buried alive in a tomb. The second, his activities on Mamyev Hill, which are non existant in the movie. Also, Zaitsev was a nerd for the most part. Before being sent to stalingrad, he was a bookkeeper and shopkeeper in the pacific. He wore his Telnyashka proudly, as he was in the navy, not the army. And originally he was placed in a Ppsh platoon, until a midget sniper found out he could shoot and had him placed in his company.
Its a great book, you just have to keep in open mind due to soviet censorship and editing that im sure was made. Such as the last chapter: Why I am a communist.
But a good read, and good for anyone into the eastern front.