The Battle of Stalingrad

Stalingrad before the war

Ever since the beginning of Russia's involvement in WWII Stalingrad had gained significant importance. Stalingrad had become one of Russia's largest arsenals of the war and was tasked with the production and maintenance of tanks, artillery, mortars,sub-machine guns, and various other military supplies. It was for this reason that Stalingrad had gained strategic significance during the war. The Wehrmacht believed that the capture of Stalingrad was essential to the war effort and believed that the Soviets had an inferior army and could easily be decimated. 

Soon after the Nazis had acquired Stalingrad as a primary objective, the Soviets began a defensive campaign by forming a 2,800 Kilometer defensive line to prevent the advancement of enemy forces. 250,000 citizens of Stalingrad aided in the construction of this line; forming four defense contours at "the approaches to the city: the outside one, the middle one, the inside one and the urban one." These defensive zones were ill equipped, but provided much needed support for the Soviet forces mostly by stalling the Nazi advance.

Stalingrad during the war

After the battle had begun it took the Nazis three weeks from July 17th to the 10th of August to force the Soviets into retreat.The Soviets sought refuge at the close approaches of the city however, this victory was bitter-sweet for the Nazis because they failed to drive back tank division and advance on the city.

By the 23rd of August the Nazis had successfully broken through the defensive lines and made an attempt to capture the city. Inside the perimeter of Stalingrad the Nazis faced not only the 10th rifle division of the Soviets, but also the armed workers of the Stalingrad plants and factories. In the weeks that ensued Soviets were forced into violent and bloody cases of close-quarters combat in an urban setting, which was a relatively new concept. Despite the Soviets resolve however, on the 14th of September the Germans had a major success in breaking through the Soviet defense, captured the village of  Kuporosone, and reached the Volga in the southern region of Stalingrad. However, reaching the Volga would be the final success the Nazis had during the battle.

Russian artillery barrage

The Soviets than began to devise a plan to defeat the German advance and push them out of the region. The beginning counterattack was formed out of 900 tanks and 13,500 armaments and mortars. By strategically concentrating bombardments from the tanks, artillery, and also aviation units; the Soviets successfully brought new rifle formations into the region to aid in the counterattack. In some areas of the offensive to push the Nazis back, the Soviets outnumbered their enemy two to one and in some cases three to one. The goal of the counterattack was to encircle the Nazis, cut off supply lines, and destroy them from all the sides. This operation received the codename "The Ring" and would be the downfall of the Nazis in the battle of Stalingrad.
 

By the time the Germans were fully encircled a total of 22 divisions and 160 separate units were forced into the center of the Soviet onslaught. Soon-after, the Germans attempted to supply their units through airdrops but were unsuccessful. In total the Germans lost approximately 700 planes to the Soviets and were unable to reach their troops. The battle was over. From the 10th of January to the 2nd of February the Soviets imprisoned 91,000 soldiers and officers. By the end of the conflict the Germans lost more than 800,000 soldiers and officers and the Soviets had lost more than 1.1 million people.

The battle of Stalingrad's significance was paramount in the war for the Soviets. Not only did it force the enemy into a retreat that would not end until the battle reached Berlin, but it proved the military capabilities of the USSR to the world. Until this point there was not a major conflict where the Soviets could prove their military might, and after the embarrassment of needing to withdraw from WWI in the USSR's founding days, no one knew how the Soviets would perform in the war. Also, Japan refused to take active action against the USSR because they had proved there military might and Japan could not handle a two front war against two capable opponents. The battle of Stalingrad was the turning point in the war against the Nazis and proof that the USSR had a capable army that could not be easily trampled.


The following link is out of the information center for Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) and is a rough translation from Russian to English.

The Battle of Stalingrad 

Bibliography

Stalingrad Battle. n.d. http://battle.volgadmin.ru/osn_eng.asp?np=20 (accessed April 4, 2012).