BATTLE OF STALINGRAD IN WORLD WAR II
The Battle of Stalingrad is considered by many historians to be one of the most important battles of all of World War II and a major turning point in the European Theater of the war. It took place from July 17th, 1942 to February 2nd, 1943 and was fought between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The battle of Stalingrad was a major battle in the Nazi plan of attack against the Soviet Union during World War II, which was codenamed Operation Barbarossa. Operation Barbarossa involved German forces carrying out blitzkrieg tactics against the Soviet Union and pushing far into the borders of the Soviet Union.
Operation Barbarossa was part of Adolf Hitler’s ultimate plan of lebensraum which he discussed in his auto-biographical and ideological book titled Mein Kampf. Lebensraum is a German term that related to the idea that Germany needed more living space for German-speaking peoples to carry out their lives. Ultimately, Hitler’s plan was to invade the Soviet Union and empty it of its citizens and use the land to harvest agriculture in order to feed a growing German population.
The Battle of Stalingrad, saw the German 6th Army enter the city of Stalingrad, which was named after the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin in the summer of 1942. The battle was different from other battles in that Nazi blitzkrieg tactics proved ineffective or impractical during the street-fighting of the battle. The German Luftwaffe had bombed the city and leveled much of it to rubble, but that did not stop Soviet citizens from defending their homeland. When the German 6th Army entered the city it found a determined defence from Soviet citizens and the German forces had to abandon their hopes of a quick capture of the Soviet city.
Operation Barbarossa was part of Adolf Hitler’s ultimate plan of lebensraum which he discussed in his auto-biographical and ideological book titled Mein Kampf. Lebensraum is a German term that related to the idea that Germany needed more living space for German-speaking peoples to carry out their lives. Ultimately, Hitler’s plan was to invade the Soviet Union and empty it of its citizens and use the land to harvest agriculture in order to feed a growing German population.
The Battle of Stalingrad, saw the German 6th Army enter the city of Stalingrad, which was named after the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin in the summer of 1942. The battle was different from other battles in that Nazi blitzkrieg tactics proved ineffective or impractical during the street-fighting of the battle. The German Luftwaffe had bombed the city and leveled much of it to rubble, but that did not stop Soviet citizens from defending their homeland. When the German 6th Army entered the city it found a determined defence from Soviet citizens and the German forces had to abandon their hopes of a quick capture of the Soviet city.
Instead, the German 6th Army invaded the city and began to carry out a street-by-street battle against the Soviet defenders. This type of warfare caused the battle to slow considerably and led to the Battle of Stalingrad being considered one of the bloodiest battles in history with nearly 2 million soldiers wounded, killed or captured. At its height, the German 6th Army was able to command control over more than 90% of Stalingrad but struggled to overcome the remaining Soviet defenders. While the German forces were still trying to fully capture the city, the Soviet’s launched their attack against the German 6th Army.
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In November of 1942, the Soviet Union launched its attack against the German forces in Stalingrad. The Soviet attack was called Operation Uranus and saw the Soviet forces overrun the flanks of the German forces, causing the German 6th Army to be fully surrounded and cut-off from German supply lines or assistance. Adolf Hitler refused to allow the German 6th Army to surrender and ordered them to continue to fight. The Soviet forces bombarded the German 6th Army with heavy artillery and caused devastating losses for the Germans. Finally, the German 6th Army surrendered in February of 1943 under the command of Friedrich Paulus and the battle of Stalingrad was over.
Today, the Battle of Stalingrad is viewed at Nazi Germany’s first major loss of its war effort in Europe. The German 6th Army was lost and with it the Nazi’s lost their ability to control the war in the east against the Soviet Union. Many historians view the Battle of Stalingrad as a major turning point in World War II because it is considered the high point of Nazi expansionism. After the loss at Stalingrad, the German forces would be on a continual retreat to Germany as the Allied forces pushed the Germans back. The battle was one of the largest in history with over 2.2 million soldiers participating and also one of the bloodiest with over 2 million total casualties.