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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was an battle which was fought between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union between 23rd August 1942, through 2nd February 1943. This battle is known as the turning point of World War 2 in the Eastern Front. About 2 Million people died during the course of this battle
198 Questions
What is the Battle of Stalingrad about and why was it important?
The Battle of Stalingrad is considered by many historians to have been the turning point in World War Two in Europe. The battle at Stalingrad bled the German army dry in Russia and after this defeat, the Germany Army was in full retreat. One of the ironies of the war, is that the German Sixth Army need not have got entangled in Stanlingrad. Army Groups A and B were well on their way to the Caucasus in south-west Russia, when Hitler ordered an attack on Stalingrad. From a strategic point of view it would have been unwise to have left a major city unconquered in your rear as you advanced. However, 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.
The Battle for Stalingrad was fought during the winter of 1942 to 1943. In September 1942, the German commander of the Sixth Army, General Paulus, assisted by the Fourth Panzer Army, advanced on the city of Stalingrad. His primary task was to secure the oil fields in the Caucasus and to do this, Paulus was ordered by Hitler to take Stalingrad. The Germans final target was to have been Baku.
Stalingrad was also an important target as it was Russia's centre of communications in the south as well as being a centre for manufacturing.
In early September 1942, the German Army advanced to the city. The Russians, already devastated by the power of Blitzkrieg during Operation Barbarossa, had to make a stand especially as the city was named after the Russian leader, Joseph Stalin. For simple reasons of morale, the Russians could not let this city fall. Likewise, the Russians could not let the Germans get hold of the oil fields in the Caucasus. Stalin's order was "Not a step backwards".
The strength of both armies for the battle was as follows:
Germany: 1,011,500 Soldiers, 10,290 artillery guns, 675 tanks and 1,216 Aircraft
USSR: 1,000,500 Soldiers, 13,541 artillery guns, 894 tanks and 1,116 Aircraft.
The battle for the city descended into one of the most brutal in World War Two Individual streets were fought over using hand-to-hand combat. The Germans took a great deal of the city but they failed to fully assert their authority. Areas captured by the Germansduring the day, were re-taken by the Russians at night. On November 19th, the Russians were in a position whereby they could launch a counter-offensive.
Marshal Zhukov used six armies of one million men to surround the city. The 5th tank regiment led by Romanenko attacked from the north as did the 21st Army (led by Chistyakov), the 65th Army (led by Chuikov) and the 24th Army (led by Galinin). The 64th, 57th and 521st armies attacked from the south. The attacking armies met up on November 23rd at Kalach with Stalingrad to the east.
The bulk of the Sixth Army -some 250,000 to 300,000 men - was in the city and Zhukov, having used his resources to go around the city, north and south, had trapped the Germans in Stalingrad.
Paulus could have broken out of this trap in the first stages of Zhukov's attack but was forbidden from doing so by Hitler. It says
Supreme Commander to 6 Army, January 24, 1943
"Surrender is forbidden. 6 Army will hold their positions to the last man and the last round and by their heroic endurance will make an unforgettable contribution towards the establishment of a defensive front and the salvation of the Western world."
-Hitler's communication with von Paulus.
Unable to break out, the Germans also had to face the winter. Temperatures dropped to well below zero and food, ammunition and heat were in short supply. Heres a quote from an German Soldier who were their at the time. "My hands are done for, and have been ever since the beginning of December. The little finger of my left hand is missing and - what's even worse - the three middle fingers of my right one are frozen. I can only hold my mug with my thumb and little finger. I'm pretty helpless; only when a man has lost any fingers does he see how much he needs then for the smallest jobs. The best thing I can do with the little finger is to shoot with it. My hands are finished."
Hitler ordered that Paulus should fight to the last bullet, and to encourage Paulus, he promoted him to field marshal. However, by the end of January 1943, the Germans could do nothing else but surrender. Paulus surrendered the army in the southern sector on January 31st while General Schreck surrendered the northern group on February 2nd, 1943. Heres an quote from an german soldier who saw this "I was horrified when I saw the map. We're quite alone, without any help from outside. Hitler has left us in the lurch. Whether this letter gets away depends on whether we still hold the airfield. We are lying in the north of the city. The men in my unit already suspect the truth, but they aren't so exactly informed as I am. No, we are not going to be captured. When Stalingrad falls you will hear and read about it. Then you will know that I shall not return."
Why was Stalingrad so important to Germany and the Third reich. an simple is that
the failure of the German Army was nothing short of a disaster. A complete army group was lost at Stalingrad and 91,000 Germans were taken prisoner. With such a massive loss of manpower and equipment, the Germans simply did not have enough manpower to cope with the Russian advance to Germany when it came. Despite resistance in parts - such as a Kursk - they were in retreat on the Eastern Front from February 1943 on. In his fury, Hitler ordered a day's national mourning in Germany, not for the men lost at the battle, but for the shame von Paulus had brought on the Wehrmacht and Germany. Paulus was also stripped of his rank to emphasise Hitler's anger with him. Hitler commented: "The God of War has gone over to the other side."
What month day and year did Battle of Stalingrad begin?
The Battle of Stalingrad started on Sunday 23rd August 1942.
Is Battle of Stalingrad a cause or effect?
Is was both a cause and a effect. The Battle of Stalingrad was the cause for the Axis decline from the Eastern Front. It was an a effect when Hitler split Army Group south to Army groups A and B to go for 2 targets, Stalingrad and the key Soviet Oilfields.
What was the significance of the loss of the Battle of Stalingrad for the German army?
When Nazi Germany loss the Battle of Stalingrad on 2nd February 1943, the impact of it shock both the Wehrmacht (German army) and the Waffen-SS (SS Military branch). Due to the loss, it shattered Nazi Germany's army of being dominate, superior, powerful, invincible and skilled. Germany gained these reputations between September 1st 1939 - February 2nd 1943. After the loss, the Nazi Germany's armies began to slowly retreat back to Germany and still battled against the advancing USSR. From February 1943 - April 1945, Germany started to loss a lot of battles that it fought in, this was because, the Nazi German Armies morality and their confidence was low. So the Importance is that after the Battle of Stalingrad, Germany and it's 2 main armies morality and confidence in winning the war was low.
Why people call the Battle of Stalingrad a turning point in the war?
People call it a turning point of WW2 in the European Front because it was the first major allied victory and Nazi Germany defeat. From this point, the Nazis began to retreat due to not enough resources left for any major comeback. The only come back were many battles in the Ukraine areas such as battle of Kursk.
Why was the Battle of Stalingrad important to the US?
Because it taught them that the Germans could be defeated and also drained Germany's manpower before D-day
What was the US role in the Battle of Stalingrad?
The US had nothing to do with the Battle of Stalingrad. Battle of Stalingrad took place on the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union which the US had never been involved with during World War 2. The US was only involved with the War in the Pacific Theater and later on the Western Front.
How many tanks in german fourth panzer army during the Battle of Stalingrad?
During the Battle of Stalingrad, 1,100 tanks were in the German 4th Panzer Army.
What clothing did they wear in Battle of Stalingrad?
Most of the Russians were well equipped to fight in Winter conditions whereas the Germans were poorly clad for such extreme cold .
The Russians would be wearing felt-lined boots , fur caps along with quilted jackets .
The Germans , however , suffered terribly from the cold due to a lack of proper clothing where many would be wearing whatever clothing was at hand such as women's scarves on their head , some managed to have made a rope outer-covering for their boots . Frostbite was a very real problem for common German soldier .
Hitler failed to see the necessity for supplying his men with the clothing necessary for Winter operations because he felt that the war in the East would be over with before Winter had set in .
The weather in 1942-43 was the coldest since Napoleon's retreat from Moscow .
What two key decision determine the final outcome at Stalingrad?
Russian Side: The Russian General chose to pull back a little once winter came about so he could let the Russian Winter do its damage to the Nazis. Excellent decision on his part. The Nazis started starving and freezing to death. He also managed to get ships and planes sunk so the Nazis could not resupply their men in Stalingrad. He also had some units of his army take out the Nazi force sent to relieve the Nazi forces in Stalingrad. So The Russian General (whose name I cannot spell!) Zhukov I guess it is, did another brilliant move. He surrounded the entire Nazi Force.
German Side: Adolf Hitler of the demise of his force. He ordered them not to retreat or withdraw. Lousy decision considering his forces became surrounded and they did not have winter clothing, food or ammo. He promised to send a relief force who were stalled by Winter mud and snow. So the poor Nazis were stuck, surrounded and dying off by the thousands each day. As they sat around freezing, unable to fight, the Russians would just walk up to their encampment and just toss in grenades. The Russians had a great laugh over that!
When Hitler was told he had to send clothing, ammo, food, medicine or get his people out of there he just yelled at his generals and told them the army had to keep fighting to the death. He simply could not understand or cared that his men would die from exposure to 20 below zero temperatures. The General finally surrendered to the Russians in hopes of getting his men food, clothes and warmth. No such luck. They were made to march to Siberia.
What are 3 reasons that d day is more important than the battle of Stalingrad?
D-Day is often viewed as more significant than the Battle of Stalingrad for several reasons. Firstly, D-Day marked the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation, establishing a crucial front that contributed to the eventual defeat of Germany. Secondly, the scale and complexity of the D-Day invasion demonstrated the Allied powers' unity and strategic planning, highlighting a turning point in the war. Lastly, D-Day's success helped to solidify the Allies’ momentum towards victory, while Stalingrad, though pivotal, primarily focused on the Eastern Front and did not have the same immediate impact on the overall war strategy in Europe.
What was the first and last names of the commanders in the Battle of Stalingrad?
The Nazi German commanders are:
-Erich von Manstein
-Friedrich Paulus
-Hermann Hoth
-Wolfram von Richthofen
-Petre Dumitrescu
-C. Constantinescu
-Italo Garibold
-Gusztáv Vitéz Jány
-Viktor Pavičić
The Soviet commanders are:
-Georgy Zhukov
-Nikolay Voronov
-A.M. Vasilevsky
-Andrei Yeremenko
-Nikita Khrushchev
-K.K. Rokossovsky
-Nikolai Vatutin
-Vasily Chuikov
How did the Battle of Stalingrad happen?
the battle of Stalingrad happened because the Germans needed oil
What happened after the Battle of Stalingrad?
When the Battle of Stalingrad officially ended on February 2nd 1945, a few things happened/ Such as, even though the axis surrendered, 11,000 Germans still fought to the death for another month. Also after the surrender, the axis began to decline from the eastern front.
Did Americans fight in the Battle of Stalingrad?
No. This battle was between the German army trying to advance east against Russian defenders.
What was the final outcome of battle of Gallipoli?
When British Generals realised that the fight at Gallipoli was hopeless, they ordered the evacuation. On the Anzac's part this was the most successful mission so far because it resulted in only two casualities. The forces in Gallipoli were evacuated from late November to early December 1915 after less than a year of battling.
When was Medal 'For the Defence of Stalingrad' created?
Medal 'For the Defence of Stalingrad' was created on 1942-12-22.
What communist leader defeated Hitler and his forces at the Battle of Stalingrad?
The communist leader who defeated Hitler in the battle of stalingrad was Joseph Stalin. He was the leader of the USSR who defeated Germany in the battle of Stalingrad.
Was Battle of Stalingrad fought in the pacific or in Europe?
The Battle of Stalingrad was fought between the Germans and the Russians. It marked the southerly & eastern limit of advance of the Germans in Russia. It is seen as a turning point in the 2nd world war. There is no connection between Stalingrad & the war in the Pacific.
How many Soviets were wounded in the Battle of Stalingrad?
650,383 Soviets were wounded in the Battle of Stalingrad.
