Surprisingly - using the recently released combat records of the 62nd Army, the defenders of Stalingrad, and fresh veteran testimony - there are a lot of new things that can be said about Stalingrad.

The accepted version of events for the two critical days of fighting in the city - 14 September 1942, when the Germans first broke into Stalingrad, and 14 October, when they launched their assault on the Tractor Factory - disguises how desperate the Red Army's position really was.

On 14 September Rodimtsev's 13th Guards Division was supposed to cross the Volga and join the 62nd Army at nightfall: German bombing made a daylight bombing too dangerous. But an alarming collapse of morale amongst the defenders after the Germans captured the Mamaev Kurgan meant the leading detachments had to be ordered across at 5.00pm in broad daylight. Most of these men drowned in the river. But the remainder - showing incredible bravery - held the main ferry point against the Germans, allowing the rest of their division to reach Stalingrad that night, providing vital reinforcement for the defence.

During 14-15 October the Soviet position looked so bleak that Chuikov - Stalingrad's commander - twice requested permission to move his HQ to the eastern bank of the Volga, which would have been tantamount to surrendering the city. Permission was refused - and somehow the defenders hung on.

Many of the oft-repeated descriptions of the city fighting are incorrect. The defence of the Central Railway Station - usually described as lasting between 5 and 10 days - was in fact over within 24 hours. The defence of Pavlov's House and the birth of the sniper movement have become similarly distorted.

The real story does not diminish the Red Army's achievement. On the contrary, I believe it allows us to properly appreciate the astonishing courage of its soldiers and commanders at Stalingrad.