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The Battle of Stalingrad
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Nicholas Donati
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Battle of Stalingrad
• Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
• Dates: July 17, 1942 – February 2, 1943
• Location: Stalingrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet
Union
• Countries: Germany (Romania, Italy,
Hungary, Croatia) vs. Soviet Union
• Result: Decisive Soviet victory
Commanders
• Germany - Adolf Hitler
–
–
–
–
Romania
Italy
Hungary
Croatia
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/flags/large/it-lgflag.gif
– Soviet Union - Joseph Stalin
Major Aspects
• The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II
in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet
Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd)
in southwestern Russia.
• Often cited as one of the turning points of the war.
• The battle was the bloodiest in the history of warfare, with
combined casualties estimated at nearly two million.
• The battle involved more participants than any other, and
was marked by brutality and disregard for military and
civilian casualties by both sides.
• The German offensive to take Stalingrad, the battle inside
the city and the Soviet counter-offensive—which eventually
trapped and destroyed the German Sixth Army and other
Axis forces around the city—was the first substantial
German land defeat of World War II.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/02/10/international/soviet.184.1.450.jpg
http://ww2-aircraft.com/images/battles/Stalingrad-4.jpg
http://www.arthistoryclub.com/art_history/upload/thumb/3/38/295px-Nagasakibomb.jpg
Cause of War
• It was the stubborn battle to occupy the city itself
to the last ruined meter, and later Hitler's refusal
to retreat from Stalingrad, that cost him his entire
southern campaign, and horrible losses to both
sides. Once his forces entered the city named
after Stalin, the Soviet dictator and Hitler's arch
enemy, Hitler became obsessed with occupying
Stalingrad, and remained obsessed with it despite
everything, until the large German force in and
near Stalingrad was destroyed to the last man.
Importance of
Stalingrad
• The capture of Stalingrad was important to Hitler
for two primary reasons:
• First, it was a major industrial city on the Volga
River – a vital transport route between the
Caspian Sea and northern Russia. As a result, the
German capture of the city would effectively
sever the transportation of resources and goods
to the north.
• Second, its capture would secure the right flank
of the German armies as they advanced into the
oil-rich Caucasus region – with the strategic goal
of cutting off fuel to Stalin's war machine.
War Casualties
• Various scholars have estimated the Axis
suffered 850,000 casualties (killed,
disabled, captured) among all branches of the
German armed forces and its allies.
According to archival figures, the Red Army
suffered a total of 1,129,619 total
casualties.
• In all, the battle resulted in an estimated total
of 1.7 million to 2 million Axis and Soviet
casualties.
Scope of the Battle
– A significant factor in Germany's failure at Stalingrad was
Hitler's pursuit of too many simultaneous objectives.
– To the South of Stalingrad, Army Group A was committed
to capturing oilfields in the Caucasus and in particular at
Baku in Azerbaijan. These oil fields were the original
objective of the 1942 campaign, and were seen as vital to
winning the war. Capture of the oilfields may have been
achievable if Army Group B were also committed to them
rather than to Stalingrad.
– As a result, Baku was never in serious threat from the
Germans. If Hitler had cancelled the Caucasus campaign,
he could have used Army Group A to bolster Army Group
B's flanks around Stalingrad and perhaps to aid in fighting
within the city. Clearly Hitler's ambitions were well beyond
German means.
SOURCES
• Source: Wikipedia Encyclopedia (The
Battle of Stalingrad)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle of
Stalingrad
• Photo source:
http://www.2worldwar2.com/stalingrad.
htm