The Battle of Stalingrad- A Turning Point in the Second World War

764 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Outcome of battle of stalingrad

The battle of Stalingrad raged from August 1942 until the German surrender on 2 February 1943. Significantly, it was the first catastrophic defeat to befall the Wermacht Army who not only lost the battle but were severely humiliated. Indeed, the German Army never fully recovered from this blow to its morale. Upwards of 270,000 troops were killed and 91,000 prisoners were taken by the Red Army; included in this latter number were 23 German Generals. Conversely, morale in the Red Army soared as a consequence of Stalingrad giving the Russians increased strength and confidence. This battle represented a turning point in the Second World War.

By successfully defending the city of Stalingrad the Soviet Union were able to deny Hitler his summer 1942 objective of paralysing the Soviet war effort by interrupting Russian oil supplies and seizing the Caucasus oil fields. This achievement was made possible through the stubborn and ferocious resistance of the Red Army within the confines of Stalingrad and the meticulously planned counteroffensive which led to the encirclement of the entire 6th army outside the city. In addition, compared with their German counterparts, the Red Army were highly organized, they had superior lines of communication and were better equipped.

Stalingrad, reduced to a burning shell within days of the first German assault, was defended by the Soviet 62nd Army led by General Chuikov. Although German troops captured 90% of the city, Chuikov maintained his hold on a strip of land a mile long. Stalin had issued the order 'not a step backwards' therefore discipline was harsh and traitors were killed without sentiment. The Red Army were merciless, executing over 13,000 of their own men. It was however the counteroff...

... middle of paper ...

...man POWs. Stalin personally took credit for the victory and military defeats prior to Stalingrad were depicted as part of his pre-arranged plan.

Stalingrad was a turning point in the war but not a decisive one. Stalin believed victory placed him in a greater position of strength within the Grand Alliance. He was therefore more confident during 1943 in pushing negotiations for the opening of a second front. The Red Army fought with renewed vigor on the 'E' front and within 18 months had recovered all Russian territory taken by Germany. In 1943, the question was no longer 'if' Germany could be defeated but 'when'. However, Stalingrad alone did not turn the tide of war in favor of the allies. The battle did play a vital role but other factors must be considered; American victories in the Pacific, allied landings in North Africa and the defeat of Rommel at el-Alamein.

Show More
Related

  • Comparison Of Stalingrad And The Battle Of Okinawa

    238 Words  | 1 Pages

    The battle of Stalingrad and the battle of Okinawa were turning points for the Americans and their allies during World War II. The battle of Stalingrad started in summer of 1942, and Germany was in dominating position at first. However, German army was not ready for the coming of winter. German soldiers did not have enough clothes and food. At the mean time, Soviet Union had new tanks and soldiers. This led to the victory of Soviet Union and Allies. The battle of Stalingrad was a significant battle because it was the first battle that Allies captured the German military leader alive. It stopped the German invasion of Soviet Union and inflicted serious damage on Germany. Germany was in defensive position since it lost this battle, and the war

    Read More

  • Battle Of Stalingrad Dbq Analysis

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    “In Stalingrad, in addition to its heavy losses, the German army also lost its formidable image of being invincible,” Document 8 reveals.” In fact, with the loss of Stalingrad, the German army began to lose battles all across the Eastern Front and in North Africa”(Document 8: Graphics). The men did not lose their lives in the Battle of Stalingrad did lose the image that had been built for themselves. The following loses after that battle prove that the German army was weakened and could no longer keep all of their word and the image Hitler had built up for them. Without pushing the soldiers to stay at Stalingrad, Hitler and the Germans could have salvaged the war and their reputations. Although the end of World War II was 2 ½ years after the Battle of Stalingrad, the result of the battle influence who won the war. Because the Germans lost at Stalingrad, they began to lose other battles and suffered questioning and disbelief of their previous reputation of being invisible. The biggest mistake Adolf Hitler made was how he conducted the Battle of

    Read More

  • Operation Barbarossa Significance

    1605 Words  | 4 Pages

    General Guderian termed the conflict as a critical setback. The losses experienced in the battle could not be simply replaced and the Soviets were now outnumbering the Germans with armoured vehicles. By August, the Red Army had 8200 tanks on the battlefield, whilst the Germans scraped the surface with 2500. Overy states that, “The struggle for Kursk tore the heart out of the German army, Soviet success at Kursk, with so much at stake, was the most important single victory of the war. It was the point at which the initiative passed to the Soviet side.” Overy clearly defines that the battle of Kursk undoubtedly changed the course of the

    Read More

  • How Did The Great Terror Lead To Joseph Stalin's Death

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Red Army was a massive and strong army, but they had no intellect or skills. Stalin of course had many who had animosity towards him, and the generals of the Red Army sure did. They betrayed him during World War II, and he had them all imprisoned. He wanted them to be tortured and feel pain because of their

    Read More

  • Cold War's Impact on America Politically, Socially, and Economically

    1741 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the Soviet Union approaches Berlin from the East, the allied forces invade from the west. Hitler’s German war-machine was crumbling. The United States had to make an enormous decision. Should they attack the Red Army of the Soviet Union? Should they keep the increasingly shaky alliance with the Russians and end the war in Europe? America chose to remain allies, resulting in a decision that affected the world for the next 46 years. World War 2 had concluded but now there was a new enemy, the Soviet Communist.

    Read More

  • D-Day: A Turning Point in World History

    1858 Words  | 4 Pages

    On June 6, 1944, in the midst of the Second World War, the Allied forces brought in "the

    Read More

  • History Of The Good Neighbor Policy

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    This operation started on June 22, 1941. By the time December of 1941 came around, Germany 's troops had reached the gates of Moscow. Germany believed they were going to be successful, so they were pretty confident. For a short time in the spring of 1942, the Germans regained the military scheme, and by June, the Germans were making their way toward the city of Stalingrad.

    Read More

  • The Battle Of Stalingrad: The Turning Point Of World War II

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Stalingrad: Turning Point Of The Second World War II

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    The dissension between Hilter and his generals was sparked at the beginning of the operation in July, and eventually grew stiff in September, with the bone of contention that the Stalingard, a city which carried no meaning in the early planning, little by little became the primary focus of the directives, overweighed the operations of German forces on other areas of the Eastern

    Read More

  • Battle of Kursk

    443 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The History of Stalingrad

    4706 Words  | 10 Pages

    The battle fought between the Soviet Red Army and the Nazi Wehrmacht over the “city of Stalin” for four long months in the fall and winter of 1942-3 stands as not only the most important battle of the Eastern front during World War II, but as the greatest battle ever fought. Germany’s defeat at Stalingrad ended three years of almost uninterrupted victory and signaled the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. In this way, Stalingrad’s significance was projected beyond the two main combatants, extending to all corners of the world.

    Read More

  • The Battle of Stalingrad

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    World War II was seen around the globe as a war to end all wars. Combat like this had never been experienced before and it was the largest scale battle in recent history. The death tolls for all sides skyrocketed to heights that had never been reached in any battle ever before. There was one man at the center of it all, one man who came to personify the root of living, breathing evil. That man was Adolf Hitler and to the rest of the world, he was a superhuman military machine who had no other goal but to achieve world domination through destruction. But the roots of the Battle of Stalingrad all began in 1941 when Hitler launched operation Barbarossa. Hitler’s powerful army marched across the east, seemingly unstoppable to any force. Stalin’s Red Army was caught completely off guard and their lines were completely broken apart. A majority of the country’s air force was destroyed when airfields were raided and many of the planes never even got the chance to leave the ground. Hitler’s army finally came to Leningrad where the city was besieged. The city held for 900 days and never gave way to the relentless Germans. At the cost of 1.5 million civilians and soldiers, the Red Army stopped Hitler from advancing further and postponed his plan to sweep over the south. Another cause for the retreat of Hitler was the brutal Russian winter, which Hitler and his army were completely unprepared for and the icy cold deaths would continue to haunt the Germans.

    Read More

  • Russia in World War Two

    3805 Words  | 8 Pages

    in the war in between 1939 and the end of 1941, was largely based on a

    Read More

  • Stalingrad How The Red Army Triumphed Summary

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main words that I noticed reoccurring in Jones’s book is courage, morale, inspiration, leadership and pride for their country. Overall, out of all those great qualities morale is most significant. Jones makes the argument that morale was the factor that the Russians the boost to push back the Germans and sustain their city. I believe those were all contributing factors for the final stand and victory of the Russian army in Stalingrad. Moreover, a series of battles lost or won can deplete an army rather quickly especially if you don’t have the available resources such as tanks, guns or troops. At that point what do you have? Hopefully your comrades or a commander that you believe can inspire you by his great leadership and bring your fellow comrades together. However, the red army had more than that they had a brotherhood, a love for their country and the will to never give up or retreat. It is nearly impossible to have those types of characteristics still standing after seeing the amount of casualties continuing to raise and your city dwindling away. In order for the Russians to make a stand their mindset had to change. As the Germans continued to push the Russian forces back and surround them the Russians soldiers had to make a choice give up or fight. Often times the Germans told the Russians soldiers to surrender and there is no way they will win, but the Russians refused to give in. Thus, referring to the three reasons they never gave up the slogan “ there is no land beyond Volga “, soldiers morale and great commanders that cared for their

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Siege Of Leningrad

    2334 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Siege of Leningrad is one of the most deadly and largest artillery battles of World War II. The Siege will claim nearly two million lives including innocent civilians. Two million more will be captured or wounded. Taking place from September 8th 1941 to January 27th 1944, the battle will last eight hundred and seventy-two days (The Siege of Leningrad, 2014). Some reports suggest that over one hundred and fifty thousand artillery shells shot from German Artillery positions into and around the city. The opening of the Eastern front caused Germany to shift some of its forces from Europe to invade the Soviet Union and the eventual loss of the war.

    Read More

More about The Battle of Stalingrad- A Turning Point in the Second World War

Open Document