Stalingrad Turning Point

Both the Battle of Stalingrad and the Russian campaign are commonly considered ‘turning points’ when it comes to the Allied victory in the European War. However, before proceeding further in this report it is important to acknowledge the fact that the Battle of Stalingrad and the Russian campaign alone did not lead to the Allied victory. But, nonetheless, they were both incredibly significant contributors.

Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege 1942-1943 is book written by the British military historian, Antony Beevor. Stalingrad covers the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II. Stalingrad was a city in Russia where Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union fought for control. This was part of Adolf Hitler’s plan to crush the Soviet Union and extend his Third Reich into Russian territory. The battle lasted from August 1942 to February 1943. However, the battle ended up with the destruction of the entire German 6th army and with a victory for the Soviet Union. Beevor has won three awards for this book. I wish to give brief summaries of the five sections of the book and give reviews on their main content.

The Battle of Stalingrad in 1942 was one of the major turning points in World War Two. It was a major turning point for a number of reasons, the first being that Germany lost considerable amounts of manpower and equipment in this battle; losses from which they never recovered. In addition, the Battle of Stalingrad had a sizeable effect on the German’s and the Allies moral that ultimately led to Nazi Germany’s downfall. Moreover, the Battle of Stalingrad stopped the German advance into Russia, denying them access to the Caucasus oil wells, exacerbating Germany’s fuel crisis and crippling the German army. Finally, the Battle

<br>The plan to capture the Soviet Union, operation Barbarossa, was initially very successful. The German attack, comprising 134 divisions or just over 3 million soldiers, took the Russians by surprise and they quickly advanced towards Moscow. But the rough country and appalling roads were taking its toll, and the German advance started to slow. Hitler himself took control of the campaign. Hitler was a very determined man. He was very determined to avenge the loss and humiliation of world war

“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,

World War II was full of conflicts between countries all over the world. Although most people only know things about the holocaust or Hitler 's affect on the World War II, there are other important events that have affected many countries. The Battle of Moscow was a major battle between the Soviet Union and Germany. Ironically, the Soviet Union and Germany previously had a secret agreement (the nonaggression pact) not to go to war on each other, but the promises turned to be broken when Germany 's plan to capture Moscow went into action. (German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, History Site)

Captain Dennis W. Dingle’s dissertation, presented before the faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1977, concerns the significance of the Soviet Union’s decisive victory at Stalingrad and its impact on the outcome of the Second World War. While much of this information is irrelevant for the purpose of answering the thesis question I have proposed, it does contain indispensable statistics showcasing the economic and military might of the two most pertinent combatant nations in the Second World War in the timeframe of December of 1941 and July of 1943.

The production focuses on the period before and during Koschorrek’s station in Stalingrad and places Hitler’s decision for a two-front war in a historical context. The documentary covers the massive success of ‘Operation Barbarossa’, Hitler’s artillery barrage strategy in 1941 up until the retreat of the German army in 1943. Hitler Turns East tells the audience how the German army ultimately failed despite its initial success. Although the German army quickly and powerfully dissolved Soviet defenses, the Red Army bought the German troops to a standstill. These aspects of the documentary are clearly accounted by Koschorrek in far more, firsthand detail in his memoir. The Soviet Army continually drives the German troops from their positions and this is specifically shown in Koschorrek’s entry of November 20th and December 13th 1942. Stationed along the Don, a river running along Stalingrad, Koschorrek records “the Russians have also broken through,” Romanian lines in the south, “and are coming at us from both sides, trying to take us in a pincer movement”. The documentary specifically remarks on the pincer strategy of the Soviet troops, a method that attempts to encircle and surround troops but cutting off defense lines at both sides. The documentary also remarks on the involvement of Romanian troops while Koschorreck goes into more detail of their social behavior (as soldiers) rather than

“Death is the solution to all problems. No man - no problem.” This is a direct quote from one of the most notorious men in history, Joseph Stalin. Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid 1920’s until his death. The period in which he ruled over the Soviet Union was known as the Reign of Terror because he was a malicious leader who was ready to do anything to maintain the level of power he achieved. He will forever be remembered as a cold blooded and heartless leader, who took the lives of millions without remorse. This research paper will cover this notorious and deceitful dictator and his early life, rise to power, his reign of terror, and the aftermath of his actions.

By successfully defending the city of Stalingrad the Soviet Union were able to deny Hitler his

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

It was nearly unimaginable to the world when Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrendered his German forces to the Soviet Union on February 2, 1943. The Battle of Stalingrad, a major Second World War battle began with the German’s offensive on July 17, 1942 and ended with the German surrender on February 2, 1943. It was on August 5, 1942 that Adolf Hitler ordered an attack on the city of Stalingrad. This battle went down as one of the bloodiest battles in history, taking large tolls on both sides and most importantly marking the turning point for Hitler in the Second World War. The “master race” had taken its first major blow, proving to the world that they were not invincible. And in fact, Germany would not rise again after this truly

The Battle of Verdun and the Battle of Stalingrad may well be the most gruesome battles in recent history. Both are excellent examples of how important morale is in winning a war. If either of these cities would have fallen to the Germans, history might have unfolded in a very different way than what we see here today.