Hitler's Defeat: The Battle Of Stalingrad

It was the first major German loss during World War Two (it significantly decreased their front line power and determination): Prior to Stalingrad the German’s had been on an immense roll since the beginning of the war, and their defeat proved to the Allies that Germany wasn’t invincible. After Stalingrad, there was not any significant German victory in the war. Hitler commented: “the God of war has gone over to the other side”(1943).

They were relying on the capture of the Russian oil fields to supply their army with fuel after their stockpiles had run out. Their lack of fuel is evident even in this battle as Friedrich Von Paulus, who was commanding the sixth army’s assault on Stalingrad, advance towards the city was very slow due to the fuel rations and at one point his army was even brought to a complete halt outside Kalach, as they had completely exhausted their fuel supply. The outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad exacerbated the Germans shortage of fuel, limiting the vital supply for their planes and tanks. Without fuel, the German panzer tanks and the mighty German Luftwaffe would be useless, thus rendering two of Germany’s greatest assets worthless. The Germans could not win the war without a reliable source of fuel. Therefore, the Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in World War Two because it stopped the German advance into Russian thus denying them access to the Caucasus oil wells, exacerbating Germany’s fuel crisis and crippling the German army.

“While the German army had success the first day, it was Hitler’s desire to occupy the entire city that cost him the battle” (Background). Despite being in a favorable position early on, Hitler decide to continue to push on and quickly take over the city of Stalingrad. Logically, Hitler would have been content with the position he had, and held it for some time. Despite throwing large amounts of men into the fighting the Germans only made small amounts of progress, losing absurd amounts of men and supplies to take over a single building. Once Hitler had started this push, however, he could not pull out of it. It would be a defeat in his eyes, and avoiding defeat was more important to him than the lives of his men. “Fresh divisions were thrown in and were soon ground to pieces in the inferno (a fiery hell). To Hitler [Stalingrad’s] capture was now a question of personal prestige” (Document 1). After a certain point, a victory under his name became won important to Hitler than the territory won in the battle. Especially due to the city's importance to Stalin himself, it was more of a personal battle for Hitler than a battle between nations. The Battle of Stalingrad became a test of Hitler’s prestige and what he was willing to do to protect it. The answer to that question would turn out to be too much, as the Soviets would be on the front foot for the

Stalingrad - Site of critical World War II Soviet victory that reversed Germany's advance to the East. In late 1942, Russian forces surrounded the Germans, and on Feb. 2, 1943, the German Sixth Army surrendered. First major defeat for the Germans in World War II.

The strategies of these two battle were both equally successful and had a large impact on the opposite side in the case of the battle of Stalingrad they had operation blue and in the case of the Britain’s they had no specific strategy other than to deny the Luftwaffe the freedom of action by attacking the incoming raids, get through the protective screen of fighters,

In the first stages of the Russian counter attack against the German army, led by General Friedrich Paulus, the German plan for strategic retreat was stopped by Hitler himself who, in a radio message to Paulus, would say that surrender is not an option and to continue fighting until the German’s were unable to continue. This evidently selfish and stubborn behavior from the leader of Nazi Germany forced the German army to brave the Russian winter and later force their surrender in 1943 by restricting the power of his generals on the front lines. The loss of manpower from this defeat would start the downfall of the power of Nazi

The battle of Stalingrad was a very intense battle for the Russians as the Germans closed in on them with support from the sixth panzer division and bombings from the Luftwaffe. This battle lasted from April to February, and was mostly house to house fighting. The Germans managed to push the defending Russians back to the Volga River. The Russians were desperate, so they formed the idea of “Project Uranus”. This was a plan to surround the Germans on two sides with the Mongolians and the Romanians. Finally, in February, the attacking German forces were repelled and Stalingrad was held. If the Germans had taken Stalingrad, they could attack the Russians on two

In the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942, the power of Hitler 's influence would make itself especially apparent. The role of the USSR in its defense of Stalingrad cannot be understated, but Soviet defeat would have been likely had Hitler not demanded that

Hitler concentrated too much of his military strength on Stalingrad. The capture and destruction of the city was of more symbolic value than strategic advantage. The military high command was in disarray due to a combination of disagreements and dismissals. Hitler frequently interfered in detailed operations overriding the decisions of his military commanders. This caused confusion throughout the chain of command and resulted in a distinct lack of unity. One consequence was the existence a long and vulnerable flank along the Don River manned by troops from Hungary, Italy and Romania. These troops lacked motivation and were left ill equipped, making the task of the Red Army an easier one. It is interesting to speculate that had Hitler kept out of military planning, events may have been considerably

The Russian’s determination to hold Stalingrad is probably best seen in this entry in the war diary of the Russian 62nd Army on October 14, 1942, “1220: radio message from unit of 416th Regiment from hexagonal block of flats: ‘Surrounded; have water and cartridges; will die rather than surrender’ ” (qtd. in “The Long Agony,” 883). This determination is only further presented by this statement made by the commander of the 62nd Army,

Although Stalin was distraught by Hitler’s disloyalty he did not give in. As the German troops approached Moscow, he made sure that they did not gain access to supplies or resources that could benefit them. From August 1942 to 1943, during the battle of Stalingrad, the Red Army defeated the Nazi Germans. “Joseph Stalin.” History.com

In the days that followed the German forces fought their way into Stalingrad against intense resistance. This was urban street fighting of the most brutal type, with vast losses on both sides. The ruins of houses and factories began to stink as hot winds carried the smell of decaying corpses into every hole and crevice (History.com 4). For simple reasons of morale, the Russians could not let this city fall just as the Russians could not let the Germans get hold of the oil fields in the Caucasus. Stalin issued an order that was “Not a step backwards” He also refused the evacuation of any civilians, stating that the army would fight harder knowing that they were defending residents of the city (Truman 1). The halted Germans was running short

The German army lead the offensive into Stalingrad using the German 6th Army and their elite 4th Panzer tank Army. The Luftwaffe, the German

One may wonder why Stalingrad was so important to Hitler. Well, Stalingrad was the capital of the Soviet Union, the heart of their industry and their largest city. As an industrial city, Stalingrad contained numerous factories that provided tanks, guns and ammunition for the Soviet war effort. Without the war supplies and the oil fields in Caucasus, nothing would be supporting the Soviet forces. And more importantly, a World War Two database describes Stalingrad as a “city [that] bore the name of Hitler’s nemesis, Joseph Stalin, [which] would make the city’s capture an ideological and propaganda coup” (http://en.allexperts.com). As both Hitler and Stalin recognized, taking Stalingrad would prove essential to their country’s propaganda, boosting their nation’s morale and destroying the others. Stalingrad was named after Stalin and thus symbolic to both sides of the war. Basically, to the Germans, taking Stalingrad meant the crushing the Soviets; taking them out of the war once and for all.

The geography in Western Russia was set to play a big part in Operation Blue. Two German brigades were to be sent south of Stalingrad and into the Caucasus to seize the main Russian oil supplies. The two brigades would then surround Stalingrad and capture the city. Stalingrad, located right on the banks of the Volga river, would be the key city in cutting the river off from the rest of Russia. The Volga River was the lifeline to many other important Russian cities and if the Germans were able to control it, then the entire Eastern front would be theirs. Along with the Germans, their Axis allies of Hungary, Italy, and Romania would join the brigades on their flanks during their march to Stalingrad.