''Enemy at the Gates'' (''Stalingrad'' in France and ''L'Ennemi aux portes'' in Canada) is a 2001
war film
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...
directed, co-written, and produced by
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud (; born 1 October 1943) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for directing ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), '' The Bear'' (1988), '' The Lover'' (1992), '' Seven Years in ...
, based on
William Craig's 1973 nonfiction book ''
Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad'', which describes the events surrounding the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
in the winter of 1942–1943.
The screenplay was written by Annaud and
Alain Godard
Alain Godard was a French screenwriter born on in Boulogne-Billancourt, France,. and who died on in Paris.
Biography
Godard was a copywriter at the Publicis agency from 1967 to 1969, managing director of Doyle Dane Bernbach from 1970 to 19 ...
. The film's main character is a fictionalized version of
Vasily Zaitsev, a
sniper
A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
and
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
It includes a snipers' duel between Zaitsev and a ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
'' sniper school director, Major
Erwin König
Erwin König was a German ''Wehrmacht'' sniper reportedly killed by the Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev during the Battle of Stalingrad.
König is mentioned both in Zaytsev's memoirs ''Notes of a Sniper'' (a "Major Konings", potentially '' SS'') an ...
.
The cast includes
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...
as Zaitsev,
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award.
We ...
as
Tania Chernova Tania Chernova (1920? – c. 2015?) was a Russian-American woman known for serving in the Red Army as a sniper during World War II. She traveled to Belarus to get her grandparents out of Russia, but upon arriving learned that German invaders had ...
, and
Ed Harris
Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...
as König, with
Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor of film, stage, and television. Journalist Zoe Williams observed that "he seemed to be the go-to actor for English cultural history". Fiennes is particu ...
,
Bob Hoskins
Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor. His work included lead roles in films and television series such as '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Long Good Friday'' (1980), ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), ''Who ...
,
Ron Perlman
Ronald Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–199 ...
,
Eva Mattes
__notoc__
Eva Mattes (; born 14 December 1954) is an Austrian-German actress. She has appeared in four films directed by director Rainer Werner Fassbinder (''The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'', ', ''Effi Briest'' and ''In a Year of 13 Moons' ...
,
Gabriel Marshall Thomson
Gabriel Francis Marshall Thomson (born 27 October 1986) is an English former actor, best known for his role as Michael Harper in the British situation comedy series '' My Family''.
Career
Thomson began his acting career at the age of four, per ...
, and
Matthias Habich
Matthias Habich (born 12 January 1940) is a German actor who has appeared in more than 110 film and television productions since 1965. Habich was born in Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland) and lives in Paris. In the 2001 film ''Enemy at the ...
in supporting roles.
Plot
Vasily Zaitsev is a soldier in the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
and is sent to the front line of the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
in 1942. Forced into a suicidal charge without a rifle, he hides while a tank shell incapacitates a car. The occupant,
Commissar
Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Eas ...
Danilov, hides among numerous bodies, coincidentally next to Vasily, who uses his exceptional marksmanship to kill the German soldiers nearby.
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
demands ideas from his subordinates on morale. Danilov, now a senior lieutenant, suggests that the people need "an example to follow" and recommends Zaitsev for the job. Soon after, Danilov begins publishing heroic tales of Vasily's exploits in the army's newspaper. Vasily is transferred to the
sniper
A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
division and becomes friends with Danilov. Both also become romantically interested in
Tania Chernova Tania Chernova (1920? – c. 2015?) was a Russian-American woman known for serving in the Red Army as a sniper during World War II. She traveled to Belarus to get her grandparents out of Russia, but upon arriving learned that German invaders had ...
, a private in the local militia. In fear for her safety, Danilov has her transferred away to an intelligence unit, ostensibly to make use of her
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
skills in translating radio intercepts.
With the Soviet snipers taking an increasing toll on the German forces, German Major
Erwin König
Erwin König was a German ''Wehrmacht'' sniper reportedly killed by the Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev during the Battle of Stalingrad.
König is mentioned both in Zaytsev's memoirs ''Notes of a Sniper'' (a "Major Konings", potentially '' SS'') an ...
is deployed to kill Vasily and crush Soviet morale. When the Red Army command learns of König's mission, they dispatch König's former student Koulikov to help Vasily kill him. König, however, outmaneuvers Koulikov and kills him, shaking Vasily's spirits. Khrushchev pressures Danilov to bring the sniper standoff to a conclusion. Sasha, a young Soviet boy, volunteers to act as a
double agent
In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...
by passing König false information about Vasily's whereabouts. Vasily sets a trap for König and manages to wound him with help of Tania, who has come to rescue Vasily. During a second attempt, Vasily falls asleep, and his sniper log is stolen by a looting German soldier. The German command takes the log as evidence of Vasily's death and plans to send König home, but König does not believe that Vasily is dead.
The German general takes König's dog tags to prevent Soviet propaganda from profiting if König is killed. König gives the general a
War Merit Cross
The War Merit Cross (german: Kriegsverdienstkreuz) was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit ...
that was posthumously awarded to König's son, who was a lieutenant in the
116th Infantry Division and killed in the early days of the battle. König tells Sasha where he will be next, suspecting that the boy will tell Vasily. Tania and Vasily have meanwhile fallen in love. That night, Tania secretly goes to the Soviet barracks and makes love with Vasily. The jealous Danilov disparages Vasily in a letter to his superiors.
König spots Tania and Vasily waiting for him at his next ambush spot, confirming his suspicions about Sasha. He then kills the boy and hangs his body to bait Vasily. Vasily vows to kill König and sends Tania and Danilov to evacuate Sasha's mother. Tania is wounded by shrapnel en route to the boats. Thinking she is dead, Danilov regrets his jealousy of Vasily and expresses disenchantment over his previous ardour for communism. Finding Vasily waiting to ambush König, Danilov intentionally exposes himself in order to provoke König into shooting him and revealing his position, sacrificing his life. Thinking that he has killed Vasily, König goes to inspect the body and is then in Vasily's sights. Accepting his fate, König turns to face Vasily, who shoots him squarely in the eye and takes his rifle. Two months later, after Stalingrad has been liberated and German forces have surrendered, Vasily finds Tania recovering in a
field hospital
A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...
.
Cast
*
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...
as
Vasily Zaitsev
** Alexander Schwan as young Vasily
*
Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor of film, stage, and television. Journalist Zoe Williams observed that "he seemed to be the go-to actor for English cultural history". Fiennes is particu ...
as
Commissar
Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Eas ...
Danilov
*
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award.
We ...
as
Tania Chernova Tania Chernova (1920? – c. 2015?) was a Russian-American woman known for serving in the Red Army as a sniper during World War II. She traveled to Belarus to get her grandparents out of Russia, but upon arriving learned that German invaders had ...
*
Bob Hoskins
Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor. His work included lead roles in films and television series such as '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Long Good Friday'' (1980), ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), ''Who ...
as
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
*
Ed Harris
Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...
as Major
Erwin König
Erwin König was a German ''Wehrmacht'' sniper reportedly killed by the Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev during the Battle of Stalingrad.
König is mentioned both in Zaytsev's memoirs ''Notes of a Sniper'' (a "Major Konings", potentially '' SS'') an ...
*
Ron Perlman
Ronald Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–199 ...
as Koulikov
*
Eva Mattes
__notoc__
Eva Mattes (; born 14 December 1954) is an Austrian-German actress. She has appeared in four films directed by director Rainer Werner Fassbinder (''The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'', ', ''Effi Briest'' and ''In a Year of 13 Moons' ...
as Mother Filippova
*
Gabriel Marshall-Thomson as
Sasha Filippov
*
Matthias Habich
Matthias Habich (born 12 January 1940) is a German actor who has appeared in more than 110 film and television productions since 1965. Habich was born in Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland) and lives in Paris. In the 2001 film ''Enemy at the ...
as General
Friedrich Paulus
Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). The battle ende ...
*
Sophie Rois
Sophie Rois is an Austrian actress. She has appeared in such films as ''Three (2010 film), Three'', ''180°'', ''Enemy at the Gates'' and television programmes such as ''Polizeiruf 110'' and ''Die kleine Monsterin'' (voice).
In 2014, she appea ...
as Ludmilla
*
Ivan Shvedoff
Ivan Shvedoff (russian: Иван Шведов; born 21 September 1969) is a Russian actor.
Biography
Shvedoff was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the Russian SFSR.
Shvedoff first started his acting career as a theater actor in the ...
as Volodya
* Mario Bandi as Anton
*
Gennadi Vengerov
Gennadi Aronovich Vengerov (russian: Геннадий Аронович Венгеров; 27 August 1959 – 22 April 2015) was a Soviet, Russian and German film and theatre actor, narrator and voice-over artist.
Biography
Vengerov was born on 2 ...
as Starshina
* Mikhail Matveyev as Grandfather
*
Clemens Schick
Clemens Schick (born 15 February 1972) is a German actor, model, political activist and human rights advocate.
He has appeared in more than seventy films since 1998, including leading roles in both German and international productions. He has ap ...
as Voigt
* Hans Martin Stier as General Prudius
*
Gennadi Vengerov
Gennadi Aronovich Vengerov (russian: Геннадий Аронович Венгеров; 27 August 1959 – 22 April 2015) was a Soviet, Russian and German film and theatre actor, narrator and voice-over artist.
Biography
Vengerov was born on 2 ...
as Kushnir
*
Robert Stadlober
Robert Stadlober (born 3 August 1982) is an Austrian actor and musician. His sister is Anja Stadlober, also an actress.
Life and career
Robert Stadlober was born on 3 August 1982 in Friesach in the Austrian province of Carinthia, and grew up in ...
as Spotter
*
Holger Handtke as Baumann
*
Werner Daehn
Werner Daehn (born 14 October 1967) is a German actor, who has worked with Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson in '' XXX'', with Jason Priestley in ''Colditz'' an ITV1 2005 miniseries, with Bill Pullman in '' Revelations'' and with Steven Seagal in ...
as Anosov
*
Birol Ünel
Birol Ünel (18 August 1961 – 3 September 2020) was a Turkish-German actor who played in German and Turkish films, television, and theatrical productions. He was perhaps best known for his role as the alcoholic Cahit Tomruk in Fatih Akin's 200 ...
as Kuklin
*
Valentin Platareanu as General
Arthur Schmidt
*
Tom Wlaschiha
Thomas Wlaschiha (born 20 June 1973) is a German actor. Internationally, he is known for his roles as Jaqen H'ghar in the second, fifth and sixth seasons of the TV series '' Game of Thrones'', as well as Sebastian Berger in the TV series ''Cr ...
as Soldier
*
Lenn Kudrjawizki
Lenn Kudrjawizki (born 10 October 1975) is a German actor and musician.
Biography
Lenn Kudrjawizki came with his parents at the age of two months from Leningrad to East Berlin, where his father had a job as a scientist and his mother worked a ...
as Comrade in Train
Production
The filming of ''Enemy of the Gates'' took place in Germany. The crossing of the
Volga River
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
was shot on the
Altdöberner See, a man-made lake near the village of
Pritzen, in the south of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
. A derelict factory in the village of
Rüdersdorf
Rüdersdorf is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany, near Berlin.
It is served by the Schöneiche bei Berlin tramway which runs from Rüdersdorf through Schöneiche to Berlin-Friedrichshagen station on the B ...
was used to recreate the ruins of Stalingrad's tractor factory. The massive outdoor set of Stalingrad's Red Square was built at
Krampnitz, near
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
. It was a former ''Wehrmacht'' riding school that had served as a Soviet barracks during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. Set construction began in October 1999 and took almost five months to complete. The scene at the end with the waving coats is a reference to
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...
.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to ''Enemy at the Gates'' was written by
James Horner
James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music.
Horner's first film score was in ...
and released on 31 March 2001.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has a 53% approval rating from 139 critics with a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 5.70/10. The website's consensus says: "Atmospheric and thrilling, ''Enemy at the Gates'' gets the look and feel of war right. However, the love story seems out of place."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalized rating, calculated an average score of 53 out of 100, based on 33 reviews.
Military historian
David R. Stone
David Russell Stone (born 1968) is an American military historian and the William Eldridge Odom Professor of Russian Studies in the Strategy and Policy Department at the U.S. Naval War College.
Stone received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history ...
praised the cast and said the film is "a good thing for the study of the Eastern Front during World War II" but criticized its historical inaccuracies and presentation, concluding: "To end on a brighter note, ''Enemy at the Gates'' has at the very least boosted the number of my students who drop by the office to ask questions about Stalingrad. I only wish it had done a better job of giving them good answers."
For the
Society for Military History
The Society for Military History is a United States–based international organization of scholars who research, write, and teach military history of all time periods and places. It includes naval history, air power history, and studies of technol ...
, historian Roger Reese wrote: "As a work of fictionalized history this movie serves a useful purpose beyond entertainment, that of bringing to the attention of movie-goers in the West the sacrifices Soviet soldiers made in defending their country and defeating Hitler and giving a face to those legions still largely anonymous to us."
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' gave the film three stars out of four and wrote that it "is about two men placed in a situation where they have to try to use their intelligence and skills to kill each other. When Annaud focuses on that, the movie works with rare concentration. The additional plot stuff and the romance are kind of a shame." ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
''s Peter Ranier was less kind, declaring: "It's as if an obsessed film nut had decided to collect every bad war-film convention on one computer and program it to spit out a script."
Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' admitted the film had faults but said that "any flaws in execution pale against those moments when the film brings history to vital life."
The film received unenthusiastic reviews in Russia but had good box office in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Some
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
Stalingrad veterans were so offended by inaccuracies in the film and how the Red Army was portrayed that on 7 May 2001, shortly after the film premiered in Russia, they expressed their displeasure in the
State Duma
The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
, demanding a ban of the film but their request was not granted. The film was also received poorly in Germany. Critics stated that it simplified history and glorified war. At the
Berlinale
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
film festival, it was booed. Annaud stated afterwards that he would not present another film at Berlinale, calling it a "slaughterhouse" and said that his film received much better reception elsewhere.
Historical accuracy
As a film inspired by real events, it was dramatized and the plot was fictional in several ways.
It contained several inaccuracies,
including about
Vasily Zaitsev, developments of the war, graphic details, and maps depicting a modern map of Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic states as independent countries, as well as Turkey being invaded by Nazi Germany.
Zaitsev was a senior sergeant (russian: ста́рший сержа́нт) in the 2nd Battalion, 1047th Rifle Regiment,
284th ''Tomsk'' Rifle Division, during the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
. The film uses events from
William Craig's 1973 nonfiction book ''
Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad'' but is not a direct adaptation. Historian
Antony Beevor
Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works on the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War.
Early life
Born in Kensington, Beevor was educated at two ...
said he believed Zaitsev's story to be fictional.
There is no documentation about the duel between Zaytsev and Major
Erwin König
Erwin König was a German ''Wehrmacht'' sniper reportedly killed by the Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev during the Battle of Stalingrad.
König is mentioned both in Zaytsev's memoirs ''Notes of a Sniper'' (a "Major Konings", potentially '' SS'') an ...
.
The film overdramatizes the role of
blocking detachments in the Red Army. Although there was
Order No. 227
Order No. 227 () was an order issued on 28 July 1942 by Joseph Stalin, who was acting as the People's Commissar of Defence. It is known for its line "Not a step back!" (, ''Ni shagu nazad!''), which became the primary slogan of the Soviet press i ...
(russian: Директива Ставки ВГК №227) that became the rallying cry of "Not a step back!" (russian: Ни шагу назад!, translit=Ni shagu nazad!),
machine gunners were not placed behind regular troops with orders to kill anyone who retreated, and they were used only for
penal troops. As per Order No. 227, each detachment would have between three and five barrier squads per 200 personnel.
At the same time, the film understates the role of women. In the film, two women snipers appear but never shoot at anyone, but in fact, Soviet women snipers have been credited with killing over 10,000 enemies in combat.
The film's first scene shows new Soviet troops, including Zaitsev, arriving at the Stalingrad front, being screamed at, threatened, and in general humiliated by their commanders. They are then transported and locked in crowded boxcars to stop them from deserting. According to military historian
Boris Yulin, that was forbidden and is unrealistic, as the soldiers would have then been killed in case of a German air raid or shelling.
According to historian Alexey Isaev, who has written several books about the Battle of Stalingrad,
blocking detachments
Barrier troops, blocking units, or anti-retreat forces are military units that are located in the rear or on the front line (behind the main forces) to maintain military discipline, prevent the flight of servicemen from the battlefield, capture spi ...
were mostly used in Stalingrad as "usual combat regiments" although the film emphasizes the message that "most Soviet soldiers needed a literal gun in the back in order to go into battle". As there were many cases of heroism, it is argued it was unlikely that Soviet soldiers were motivated only by fear.
In regards to lack of weapons, which happened early in the war and changed by 1942, Isaev said: "There were no unarmed soldiers sent to the attack.... What is shown in ''Enemy at the Gates'' is pure nonsense."
See also
* ''
American Sniper
''American Sniper'' is a 2014 American biographical war drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Jason Hall. It is loosely based on the memoir '' American Sniper'' (2012) by Chris Kyle, with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. The film ...
''
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enemy At The Gates
2000s American films
2000s British films
2000s French films
2000s German films
2000s war drama films
2001 drama films
2001 films
American war drama films
American World War II films
British World War II films
Cultural depictions of Nikita Khrushchev
Eastern Front of World War II films
English-language French films
English-language German films
English-language Irish films
Films about Nazis
Films about snipers
Films about the Battle of Stalingrad
Films based on non-fiction books
Films directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
Films scored by James Horner
French World War II films
German World War II films
Irish drama films
Mandalay Pictures films
Paramount Pictures films
Siege films
Sniper warfare
War epic films
War romance films
World War II films based on actual events