When the German Sixth Army first reached and pushed into Stalingrad, the Russians had built up their defenses and reinforcements. When the army started into Stalingrad, the defenses stopped them and both sides were fighting in bitter street warfare.
Russian general Zhukov launched his counter offensive to encircle the enemy, which ultimately led to the German defeat.
The German Army surrendered because of the lack of food and warmth, the Russians outlived them.
The Battle of Stalingrad was a just turning point in the war and a crucial engagement of WW2. The Germans needed this victory to get the Volga River to launch more assaults on the Caucasus.
Both leaders, Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, recognized the importance of this city and its influence in the war. Both sides believed that the
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Some soldiers said they had to lay their dead horses by the path so they wouldn't get lost in the huge snowdrifts.
Hitler's main goal had been to destroy Britain and France and then move to capture Russia, and when Britain refused to give up, he decided in 1942 that now was the time to break the treaty with Russia and
Hitler’s conduction of the Battle of Stalingrad was his biggest mistake. The decisions that Hitler made during the Battle of Stalingrad influenced the outcome of following battles and World War 2. Adolf Hitler kept sending men into the front line even though generals advised him to withdraw the troops and surrender. According to William L. Shirer, “When General Zeitzler got up enough nerve to suggest to the Fuehrer that the Sixth Army should be withdrawn from Stalingrad, Hitler flew into a fury. ‘Where the German soldier sets foot, there he remains!’"(The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Document 1) Hitler aspires to take over the world so a loss could make his leadership appear to be weak and expose flaws to the rest of the world creating a downward spiral of his reputation, of being
Why Hitler Decided to Bomb Major Cities in 1940-1941 Before 1940, there was a large battle in the air between England and Germany, for control over the English Channel. This was later to be known as “The Battle of Britain.” As well as the domination over this area, each of the powers would intend to take advantage of being the leader in technical warfare (in this case aeroplanes). The main reason why this battle started and the bombing of English cities, in my opinion, is that Germany was trying to knock Britain out of the war; this was to try to avoid an unmanageable war on two fronts, Russia and Britain. I believe that Hitler was also trying to demonstrate his authority by showing that Germany was now (as he promised) more powerful than the treaty of Versailles and could break it whenever it pleased.
...ced to retreat or be cut off from their supplies. The German High Command, at this point, knew that they could no longer continue to fight and needed to surrender or face annihilation.
The Soviet Union’s massive success in this battle marked the war turning in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was fought from July 1942 to February 1943. On 19 November 1942, the Red Army launched a carefully planned counteroffensive led by General Georgy Zhukov. By the time of the counteroffensive, the Germans were outnumbered 1,011,000 to 1,103,000.
... was spread too thin. Germany mistook Russian advancement as a serious threat, when in actuality, it turned out to be poorly supplied and may have been easily defeated with a full German force that was expected to encounter it. This retreat of the Germans led to the French being able to gain a much more even battle on the western front, which was where the majority of the war was to be fought. Thus, the war that could have ended in only three weeks lasted for over four years.
Russian Tactics During World War II The Russians began the war in a disorganised way as a result of the
As an Austrian born soldier-turned-politician, Hitler was fascinated with the concept of the racial supremacy of the German people. He was also a very bitter, very evil little man. In addition, having lost the war, the humiliated Germans were forced by the Allies to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 that officially ended World War I. According to the harsh terms of the treaty, Germany had to hand over many of its richest industrial territories to the victors, and was made to pay reparations to the Allied countries it devastated during the war. Germany lost its pride, prestige, wealth, power, and the status of being one of Europe's greatest nations.
After a two year stalemate, both the Russians and Germans awaited major confrontations that would define the momentum for either side. Up until this point in the war, although the Germans had captured many European countries and were victoriously advancing with their keen tactics, such as the blitzkrieg and their cogent weapons, battles on the Eastern front seemed impossible to win. Upon a dismal loss at the Battle of Stalingrad earlier in 1943, German morale was greatly lowered and the German forces finally apprehended the strength of the Russian troops. The momentum would finally be settled with the decisive battle near the town of Kursk, a town on the Moscow-Rostov railway, in Southern Russia. The goal of the Battle of Kursk was to regain German morale and to pinch off a large salient in the Eastern front, which would make Russians much more vulnerable to German attack. Being such an important battle to the overall success of the Germans, they formulated several unique plans; however, due to the lack of good judgement, these plans were doomed from the very start.
In 1812, it was a different story, the French invaded Russia. It led to a change of fates.
From the initial plans of Operation Barbarossa to Hitler's suicide, the Battle of Stalingrad played a key role in flipping the switch against the Germans. Hitlers over-aggressive battle strategy and his excessive pride caused him to lose sight of the capabilities of his armies. At Stalingrad, he lost what was most vital to continue his takeover; drive. His soldiers lost their will to fight and eventually, the Germans lost their ability to trust Hitler. The Battle at Stalingrad was the main catalyst behind a dramatic series of events that turned what was the greatest power in the world into a crumbling empire and eventually, nothing.
His future plans for the nation were set by his strategic, racial, economic and ideological motives: • One of Hitler’s long-term aims was live-in-a-room. He planned on creating an empire of 250 million Aryans. For this to be successful, he would need more living space. A powerful nation such as Russia would not only provide land, but also grain, oil and other assets, which would support the German empire. Kenneth Macksey – British Historian: Macksey believes the invasion of Russia was destined to fail at the beginning due to the unpreparedness of the German forces and their overconfidence in a swift victory.
The Germans wanted to get the war over with France so that they didn't have to fight Russia at the same time, so when they got delayed, they were in trouble.
...t, Hitler believed that the British government would reconsider its policy of appeasement. He thus decided to invade Poland on September 1st 1939, on 3rd, British declared war against Hitler (Scaife 121). Hitler’s invasion of Poland was from the hope that the policy of appeasement would be used to solve the matter, but it failed.
The armies wanted Stalingrad because of the industrialization of the city, the easy communication the city offered, and the main reason being that it was set along the side of the Volga River. The armies knew that if they captured this city they could cut the waterway which supplied water from south to central and northern Russia; this would be a huge accomplishment. This river was a major transportation route that led to the Caspian Sea. Not only was the city of Stalingrad important, but so were the people involved in this significant battle.
Despite Hitler's orders to hold the city, German forces abandoned Kharkov and the Red Army recaptured the city on 16 February. Hitler immediately flew to von Manstein's headquarters at Zaporizhia. Von Manstein informed him that an immediate counterattack on Kharkov would be fruitless, but that he could success...