Operation Blau: The Siege Of Stalingrad

Thus, this article can serve as a foundational text for the American perception of the German military and its tactics. Although the article focuses on a particular commander, the level of respect showed towards Brauchitsch reveals the writer’s understanding of the power of Germany. The modern connotation of the word (quick and hard striking maneuver warfare) as a form of military strategy is used and explained here by the author as if it is the official German military doctrine. Historians argue endlessly over the idea of an “origin” and it remains the same here. When was “Blitzkrieg” introduced to the American public? Was it invented by Western journalists to for sensationalism purposes or rather, German propaganda that was “swallowed up” by the Allied press? The author of the article seemed very educated in the concept of Blitzkrieg (if it indeed is an official military concept) and used appropriate language to emphasize the speed aspect of the tactic. Some phrases depicting Blitzkrieg included “a war of quick penetration and obliteration,” “Swift columns of tanks… plunged through Poland…broken down the Polish defenses before they had time to

As Germany advanced on the city of Stalingrad, Hitler decided to rush the battle and try to finish it quickly. Because of this mindset, his army was severely underprepared to fight a drawn out battle in the Russian winter. German general Blumentritt recalled “The railheads (train tracks) were as much as 200 kilometers behind the front, and the bare nature of the countryside meant that there was little timber (wood) available for constructing defenses. There were no proper trenches or fixed positions” (Document 3). The Soviets had a major advantage over the Germans of the aspect of being resupplied. While they could receive support from nearby or within the city, Germany had to rely on supplies coming from a long way out. If supply shipments were cut off by the Soviets, the Germans were forced to continue fighting with limited resources. Also, the Battle of Stalingrad is a prime example of how much changed between the first and second world war. The vast majority of World War I was fought out of trenches, with soldiers moving very little. World War II was fought in the style of urban warfare, surrounded by streets and buildings, nearly the polar opposite of trench warfare. The Germans were not trained to fight an urban style battle, and thus struggled upon reaching the city of Stalingrad. When the cold Russian winter came, German suffering reached an all time high. A soldier named Wilhelm

The Battle of Stalingrad is considered the turning point of the Second World War as the German forces failed to overcome the defense of the Russian army leading to their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Russians. It is commonly believed that this loss was due to Hitler’s lack of trust in his own generals and his selfish desire to conquer an essentially useless piece of land. American writer Edwin Palmer Hoyt believes that if Hitler had granted his generals more flexibility, then Von Paulus could have saved some of his divisions from complete annihilation. Another perspective of the outcome is that it stemmed from Stalin’s decision to allow for how own generals and commanders to take control over the battle while he put his focus on other things which would lead to the Soviet domination over the German army in a seemingly hopeless situation.

On January 8, German troops withdrew from the tip of the "bulge”. The losses caused by this battle were critical. The last of the German reserves were gone, the Luftwaffe was weaker than ever, the German army in the west was being forced to retreat back, and the Eastern Front was open to be taken by the Soviets. With most of its military power gone, Germany had just about nothing left to defend itself, and its final defeat loomed just a couple months away.

The Battle of the Bulge, a massive German counteroffensive which began in December 1944, ultimately produced the largest casualty rate in any one battle throughout World War II. The Allied Forces alone lost almost 80,000 at the Battle of the Bulge. This casualty rate could have been much higher if Hitler would’ve grasped the importance and value of supply and logistical support. As a result, more than 1,500 tanks within Hitler’s most elite Panzer units simply ran out of gas only days after the “Bulge” broke through the Allied western front lines. However, the purpose of this paper is not to examine what could

General Patton's role was to rescue American troops from the Nazis, and defeat Hitler's plans to surprise attack the allies in the west. Their roles were very different from each other, for the fact that Hitler wanted to gain power and allies, whereas America was trying to protect its people from Hitler’s power and the corruption of the Nations. Even though Hitler's Generals and Commanders had advised against the attack, Hitler still wanted it to progress forward. The Allies missed several early warning signs of an offensive, A bad phone connection helped lead to catastrophe for one U.S. Division, German troops used stolen U.S. Army uniforms to wreak havoc behind Allied lines, U.S. troops mounted a famous defense of the town of Bastogne, It marked the first time the U.S. Army desegregated during WWII, Weather patterns played a major role in the battle’s outcome, and Fuel shortages helped doom the German offensive (Evan Andrews).

The initial assault began on 16 December 1944, at approximately 0530; Germany began the counteroffensive with a 90-minute artillery barrage using approximately 1,600 artillery pieces across an 80 mile front vital to the Allied forces. The Allied forces were caught by surprise and unable to leverage their air assets, due to heavy snow storms in the Ardennes. The storm front effectively hindered both forces. On the northern shoulder, Germany’s 6th Panzar division pushed forward attacking American positions on Elsenborn Ridge and Losheim Gap. Deitrichs men were committed to battle, having met heavy resistance from the United States 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions. The smaller inferior Allied force was able to hold up the German advance,

The Battle of the Bulge is remembered as Adolf Hitler’s final effort to escape total defeat during World War II (WWII). His initial efforts were successful, however the Allied force commanders proved superior through there demonstrated adaptive and decisive decision making. These actions helped to overcome the military force and military intelligence failures during the battle. If these failures had been avoided, the Germans would have been defeated much quicker, effectively preventing the casualty numbers and damage inflicted on the Allied forces during the Western Front of WWII.

While Germany controlled Stalingrad, “an estimated 15,000 civilians remained in the city, hungry and freezing. They bedded down among ruins and in holes in the ground.” (dw.com) All of this angered Joseph Stalin and the Red Army so they decided to retaliate. This action on the Soviet Union would also affect the Soviet's allies, This invasion was a ploy to defeat the axis

The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad (present day Volgograd) in the U.S.S.R during World War II. The battle for Stalingrad was fought between the Soviet Union and the Axis of Germany, Romania, Italy, Hungary, and Croatia from August 23, 1942 to February 2, 1943. The major parts of the battle occurred in Eastern Europe in present day Ukraine and into the Soviet Union up to the Volga River which splits the city of Stalingrad. The battle of Stalingrad only occurred because of Adolf Hitler’s hatred for Soviet President Joseph Stalin and the city being named after him.

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.

The original plan called for all of Hitler’s reserves, plus the 6th and 5th Panzer and the 7th Armies. Chosen to command these troops were Josef Dietrich, Hasso Von Manteuffel, and Erich Brandenberger. The 6th PZ was assigned priority for supplies, and given the most direct lane to Antwerp. The 5th PZ was to contribute in the attack as well. The 7th was to shield the left against attack from Montgomery’s Army Group. More than 200,000 troops were assigned to make this miracle happen. The plan would rely on frictions between the Allied commanders, as well as a thick overcast to neutralize the Allied airpower. Rapid progress must be achieved, before the US had time to reinforce 1st Army.

Hitler had two aims while he was in the USSR, which were capturing Stalingrad and capturing the oil fields in Caucasus. As he had these two aims, he decided to split the German Army into two parts where one could take on Caucasus and the other take Stalingrad. The division that had gone to Stalingrad, the 6th Army, lacked enough resources and knowledge to defeat the Soviet Army. The army consisted of 1,000,000 men, 675 tanks, 1,200 aircrafts, and 10,000 guns and mortars, where a lot of the men were poorly trained. The lack of knowledge of the 6th Army was a tactical error, as they did not know how to fight in Stalingrad, nor were they thought how to. The 6th Army were used to fighting in the open and wide areas of the USSR, but Stalingrad consisted of many buildings and streets, and the German Army made another tactical error by bombing Stalingrad prior to the 6th Army’s entrance, as they thought that it would have weakened Russian resistance, but the opposite had occurred. The bombing had caused buildings to collapse and large pieces of cement to fall, which were used by the Soviet Army as cover. In To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet-German Combat Operations Historian David M. Glantz states, “The Luftwaffe’s rubbling of the city only exacerbated things,” reinforcing the fact that it was a

World War 1 and World War 2 brought immense devastation to people and countries in the 20th century. A variety of battles took place in both wars, in which developed significant turning points for the war. Many momentous battles defined the outcome of the war. Turning points in the war were either advantageous or unfortunate for the rivalry powers. The Allies and the Axis Powers participated in many cruel, blood shedding battles in order to advance and dominate countries.

The German Army never fully recovered from the beating it took in Russia around Moscow and elsewhere during the winter of 1941-42 when it suffered over a million casualties. For a time, the entire Eastern Front had teetered on the verge of collapse as division upon division of well-equipped Russians materialized seemingly out of nowhere and attacked.