Battle of Stalingrad: Brief Information on the course of the military operation

The Battle of Stalingrad is a very important period in history. Let's find out in more detail.

The battle of Stalingrad took place from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943. Stalingrad was the main task of the offensive operation of the German troops. But for the successful capture of the city, it was necessary to master the defense of Crimea.

The reasons for the attack

The unpreparedness of the Soviet troops and the wrong command strategy simplified the task of penetrating the enemy and taking control of the southern territories. The Soviet Army suffered a mass defeat near Kharkov and was forced to move on to retreat.

• German troops held successful positions, they managed to implement the crossing of several tank divisions across the Don River. The German offensive was successful for the second year in a row. And until July 1942, the Soviet Army was losing the line of defense step by step, the only strategic skill was to prevent the enemy from taking himself into the ring.
• Closer to mid -summer 1942 Front battles reached the Volga River. The military command of the German troops is developing a plan for a global offensive throughout the south - Crimea, the Caucasus. The attack plan includes Stalingrad - as a promising city with military industry enterprises.
• The enemy needed these enterprises to strengthen the forces during the crossing On the Volga in the Caspian Sea - Where in the future it was planned to capture the Caucasian oil fields. The command of Germany sent the allies to the south - the troops of the army of Italy, Romania and Hungary.

• According to Hitler, the operation should have been realized within a week. The sixth field army was intended to lead the operation under the Office of Paulus.
• For the offensive were allocated 3 thousand units of guns, 270 thousand soldiers and 500 tanks. In terms of the capture of Stalingrad, it was decided to use the tactics of a sudden attack - such a strategy worked more than once and allowed the enemy to take a leading position.
• In contrast to the Nazis, the Stalingrad Front founded on July 12, 1942, under the command of Marshal Tymoshenko. Later, the command was headed by Lieutenant General Gordov. The difficulty of fulfilling the task of defense was a lack of ammunition.

The beginning of the battle of Stalingrad

The Stalingrad Front under the command of Tymoshenko and the sixth German army of Paulus July 17, 1942 The years entered the battle near the Chir River on the way to Stalingrad. This battle went down in history as the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad - the largest battles of World War II.

• During the events, more than two million people died - the life span of the military officer was one day. Fierce battles allowed the Germans to approach 80 km and August 23, 1942 - German troops invaded the Stalingrad tanks.
• The Soviet troops defending the city, the command was given an order - to hold their positions by any forces and not to retreat. The enemy’s aggression was growing - the city turned into ruins.

• German aviation regularly bombarded the city. Each house turned into a battlefield, local residents had to adapt to survive. Many joined the forces of the Soviet Army - the number of volunteers reached 75 thousand.
• The remaining population worked for the benefit of the front of two shifts. By mid -September, enemy troops recaptured part of the city and made their way to the center. Germany strengthened the offensive, the battles took place right among residential buildings. With the capture of Stalingrad, Germany’s aircraft used more than a million bombs.
• The enemy forces much exceeded the resources of the Stalingrad Front. But still, the Germans' strategy, to take the city in a week-did not come true. Thanks to the courage and stamina of the inhabitants, the enemy had to spend several weeks to capture one house or one street. Which significantly exhausted the enemy.
• Until mid -November, battles continued. And only two months later the enemy managed to take Stalingrad. Soviet troops were supplanted to the banks of the Volga, where they held their positions.
• For Hitler, the capture of Stalingrad was not only a strategically important decision, but also the condition of ambitious plans. In August 1942, Hitler made a hasty statement about the capture of the city, named after Stalin himself. The command of Germany at that time did not imply on the existence of a plan of the devastating strategy of German troops in a row of the Soviet Army.

• Offensive response strategy called "Uranus" led by the Commander -in -Chief Zhukov, was planned in advance - just during fierce battles on September 12, and kept in the strictest confidence.

Operation of the offensive

For two months with increased secrecy, Soviet troops have pulled their strength and create a shock group for counterattacks. And literally a few days after Hitler's statement about the capture of Stalingrad - the Soviet Army goes on the offensive. The German command knew about its weak places at the borders, but did not expect that the Soviet army can find such a number of combat -ready troops.

The strategy of the Soviet troops included attacking the flanks of the fascist allies, which were less motivated and poorly equipped with weapons. As a result, the German army was surrounded and defeated by the forces of the troops of Generals Vatutin and Rokossovsky.

The defeat of the Paulus army

German troops at the beginning of winter, being surrounded - were completely disoriented. Ammunition and food are exhausted, soldiers are deprived of winter equipment. The command of the Soviet Army invited the enemy to surrender. Realizing the inequality of forces - Paulus sent a message about the current state of the German army and the possibility of surrender.

• Hitler did not accept the proposal of retreat, commanding the surrounded army of Paulus to join the battle. The Germans tried to break through the defense three times, and each time defeated.
• The German command organized the Don army led by Manstein to break through the blockade - this tactic did not work and the army was destroyed. The enemy tried to create an air bridge, but this attempt was also neutralized by Soviet aircraft.
• The refusal of the fascist command from surrender was the reason for the start of the Soviet Army and the complete liquidation of the enemy troops. General Rokossovsky headed the military operation - entrusting the destruction of the enemy to the Don Front.

• February 2, 1943 The enemy’s forces were finally defeated, the German officers and commander Paulus were captured. At least 91 thousand enemy soldiers surrendered.
• About 147 thousand killed enemy soldiers. Within 200 days of the battle - the enemy army lost the killed and wounded more 1.5 million people. The city turned entirely into ruins.
• The Soviet command was faced with the need to form an additional group of troops to cleanse the city and stripping from the bodies of the dead. So in historical events, the period of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad is considered to be February 2, 1943.

The results and role of the Battle of Stalingrad

This battle is of key importance in the future development of the situation in the Second World War. The success of the battle of the Soviet Army had a great turning point - initiating resistance to fascist invaders throughout Europe.

The result of this victory was - Germany loss of leading positions in the world. The countries of the Nazi coalition were concerned and gradually renounced profane interests. In connection with the defeat, Germany announced a three -month mourning.

Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad

Representatives of various nationalities participated in the battle of Stalingrad. The famous multinational 62 army under the command of Chuikov in its combat composition totaled:

• 51% of Russians
• 34% of Ukrainians
• 4% Tatars
• 2% of Belarusians and Kazakhs each
• 1.5% of Georgians and Bashkir
• as well as about 2.5% of soldiers of other nationalities

It is worth noting the 38th shooting division under the command of Safiulin, formed from the Kazakhs. The division made a significant contribution to the fighting - reflecting the attack of the tank forces of the Goth army and securing its positions in the southern part of the city, waiting for the counter -offense of the Soviet Army. Later it received the name - 73 Stalingrad division. The victory near Stalingrad brought the Soviet Army the Triumph of the Strategic Military Plan and the Command Tactics.

The heroism of soldiers and officers forced the spirit of patriotism in other military units and rear. As a result of a historical battle - 700 thousand military were awarded the orders of combat glory and medals "For the Defense of Stalingrad."  308 The military received the highest state award - the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union."

Video: About the Battle of Stalingrad