Dimensions
154 x 235 x 31mm
A Novel of Stalingrad
Stalingrad in 1942 is a city in ruins, its Russian defenders fighting to the last man to repel the invading German army. One of their most potent weapons is the crack sniper school developed by Vasily Zaitsev. Its members can pick off the enemy at long range, and their daring tactics - hiding for hours in no man's land until a brief opportunity presents itself - mean that no German, and particularly no German officer, can ever feel safe. This part of the battle is as much psychological as military, and to counter the continuing threat to German morale, the Nazi command bring to the city their own top marksman, Heinz Thorvald. His skill is legendary, his accuracy such that his bullet can pierce the crosshairs of an enemy sniper's gun before claiming its victim. His mission is simple; to identify, and kill, Zaitsev.
With calculating coldness and infinite patience, Zaitsev and Thorvald will draw each other out, each holding his fire until he is sure the other is his. The one who lives will become a legend, a hero.
Based on a true story, 'War of the Rats' is a brilliantly compelling thriller which brings vividly to life probably the most harrowing battlefront of the Second World War, in a story which combines the suspense of 'The Day of the Jackal' with the realism of 'Cross of Iron'.
