Battle of Stalingrad

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Recommended: Outcome of the battle of Stalingrad

From July 1942 to February 1943, Soviet forces defended the city of Stalingrad from Nazi attack. The battle began during the summer offensive of 1942, Nazi Army groups A an B had already pushed past Stalingrad to take oil fields in south west Russia, when Hitler ordered Stalingrad be attacked (Trueman, n.d.). “Some historians believe that Hitler ordered the taking of Stalingrad simply because of the name of the city and Hitler's hatred of Joseph Stalin. For the same reason Stalin ordered that the city had to be saved” (Trueman, n.d.). Stalingrad was also the center of Soviet communications and manufacturing in the south. Since Stalingrad had such a significance to the soviet war effort and because the Soviets could not allow the Nazi's to hold the oil fields in south-west Russia, Stalin issued the “Not a step back” order (Trueman, n.d.). The battle would eventually turn into one of the bloodiest in World War II with enormous civilian and military casualties.

At the beginning of the battle, General Friedrich Paulus commanded the attacking Nazi force. His army consisted of “250,000 men, 740 tanks, 1,200 aircraft, and 7,900 guns and mortars” (Luther, 2004). Paulus was known as efficient but lacking in decisiveness (Luther, 2004). General Georgy Zhukov commanded the Soviet defense of Stalingrad. His army consisted of “187,000 men, 360 tanks, 337 aircraft, and 7,500 guns and mortars” (Luther, 2004). Zhukov was an adaptive leader well known for assessing the battlefield and adjusting his tactics as the situation changed (Luther, 2004). The Nazi force had an advantage in personnel, tanks, and aircraft while the Soviets had the advantage in leadership.

During the Battle of Stalingrad, Nazi forces were eventually cut off ...

... middle of paper ...

...s during the Battle of Stalingrad have been documented and repeated through out history. The lessons are simple yet difficult to implement because of a myriad of reasons. The difficulties should not stop leaders from implementing the lessons learned from this battle, ultimately it is up to the individual leaders to decide if they want to follow in Paulus's steps or in Zhukov's steps.

Works Cited

Beevor, A (1998), Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943, New York, NY, Viking Penquin

Luther, T. (2004), The Strategic Implications of the Battle of Stalingrad, Retrieved from: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA424054

The Eastern Front, (n.d.), Operation Uranus, Retrieved from http://www.theeasternfront.co.uk/battles/operationuranus.htm

Trueman, C (n.d.), The Battle of Stalingrad, Retrieved from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_stalingrad.htm

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