By the middle of the summer of 1942, the battles of the Great Patriotic War had reached the Volga.
In the plan for a large-scale offensive in the south of the USSR (Caucasus, Crimea), the German command also includes Stalingrad. Germany's goal was to take over an industrial city, the enterprises in which produced military products that were needed; gaining access to the Volga, from where it was possible to get to the Caspian Sea, to the Caucasus, where the oil needed for the front was extracted.
Hitler wanted to carry out this plan in just a week with the help of the 6th Paulus Field Army. It included 13 divisions, where there were about 270,000 people, 3 thousand guns and about five hundred tanks.
From the side of the USSR, the forces of Germany were opposed by the Stalingrad Front. It was created by decision of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on July 12, 1942 (commander - Marshal Timoshenko, from July 23 - Lieutenant General Gordov).
The difficulty also lay in the fact that our side experienced a shortage of ammunition.
The beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad can be considered on July 17, when near the rivers Chir and Tsimla, the forward detachments of the 62nd and 64th armies of the Stalingrad Front met with detachments of the 6th German army. Throughout the second half of the summer, fierce battles were going on near Stalingrad. Further, the chronicle of events developed as follows.
Defensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad
On August 23, 1942, German tanks approached Stalingrad. From that day on, fascist aviation began to systematically bomb the city. On the ground, battles did not stop either. It was simply impossible to live in the city - you had to fight to win. 75 thousand people volunteered for the front. But in the city itself, people worked day and night. By mid-September, the German army broke through to the city center, the battles went right on the streets. The Nazis stepped up their attack more and more. Almost 500 tanks took part in the assault on Stalingrad, German aircraft dropped about 1 million bombs on the city.
The courage of the Stalingraders was unparalleled. Many European countries were conquered by the Germans. Sometimes they needed only 2-3 weeks to capture the whole country. In Stalingrad, the situation was different. It took the Nazis weeks to capture one house, one street.
In the battles passed the beginning of autumn, mid-November. By November, almost the entire city, despite resistance, was captured by the Germans. Only a small strip of land on the banks of the Volga was still held by our troops. But it was still too early to announce the capture of Stalingrad, as Hitler did. The Germans did not know that the Soviet command already had a plan for the defeat of the German troops, which began to be developed even in the midst of the fighting, on September 12th. The development of the offensive operation "Uranus" was carried out by Marshal G.K. Zhukov.
Within 2 months, in conditions of increased secrecy, a strike force was created near Stalingrad. The Nazis were aware of the weakness of their flanks, but did not assume that the Soviet command would be able to gather the required number of troops.
On November 19, the troops of the Southwestern Front under the command of General N.F. Vatutin and the Don Front under the command of General K.K. Rokossovsky went on the offensive. They managed to surround the enemy, despite the resistance. Also during the offensive, five enemy divisions were captured and defeated. During the week from November 23, the efforts of the Soviet troops were directed to strengthening the blockade around the enemy. In order to remove this blockade, the German command formed the Don Army Group (commander - Field Marshal Manstein), however, it was also defeated.
The destruction of the encircled grouping of the enemy army was entrusted to the troops of the Don Front (commander - General K.K. Rokossovsky). Since the German command rejected the ultimatum to end resistance, the Soviet troops proceeded to destroy the enemy, which was the last of the main stages of the Battle of Stalingrad. On February 2, 1943, the last enemy grouping was liquidated, which is considered the end date of the battle.
Results of the Battle of Stalingrad:
Losses in the Battle of Stalingrad on each side amounted to about 2 million people.
Significance of the Battle of Stalingrad
The significance of the Battle of Stalingrad can hardly be overestimated. The victory of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad had a great influence on the further course of World War II. She stepped up the fight against the Nazis in all European countries. As a result of this victory, the German side ceased to dominate. The outcome of this battle caused confusion in the Axis (Hitler's coalition). There was a crisis of pro-fascist regimes in European countries.
71 years have passed since the fascist tanks, like a devil from a snuffbox, ended up on the northern outskirts of Stalingrad. And hundreds of German planes, meanwhile, brought down tons of deadly cargo on the city and its inhabitants. The furious roar of engines and the ominous whistle of bombs, explosions, groans and thousands of deaths, and the Volga, engulfed in flames. August 23 became one of the most terrible moments in the history of the city. In total, 200 fiery days from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943, the great confrontation on the Volga continued. We recall the main milestones of the Battle of Stalingrad from the beginning to the victory. A victory that changed the course of the war. A victory that cost a lot.
In the spring of 1942, Hitler divides Army Group South into two parts. The first should capture the North Caucasus. The second is to move to the Volga, to Stalingrad. The summer offensive of the Wehrmacht was called Fall Blau.
Stalingrad, like a magnet, attracted German troops to itself. The city that bore the name of Stalin. The city that opened the way for the Nazis to the oil reserves of the Caucasus. The city is located in the center of the transport arteries of the country.
To resist the onslaught of the Nazi army, on July 12, 1942, the Stalingrad Front was formed. Marshal Timoshenko became the first commander. It included the 21st Army and the 8th Air Army from the former Southwestern Front. More than 220,000 soldiers of three reserve armies: the 62nd, 63rd and 64th were also brought into the battle. Plus artillery, 8 armored trains and air regiments, mortar, tank, armored, engineering and other formations. The 63rd and 21st armies were supposed to prevent the Germans from forcing the Don. The rest of the forces were thrown to defend the borders of Stalingrad.
Stalingraders are also preparing for defense, in the city they form parts of the people's militia.
The beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad was rather unusual for that time. There was silence, tens of kilometers lay between the opponents. The Nazi columns were rapidly moving east. At this time, the Red Army was concentrating forces to the Stalingrad line, building fortifications.
July 17, 1942 is considered to be the start date of the great battle. But, according to the statements of the military historian Alexei Isaev, the soldiers of the 147th Infantry Division entered the first battle on the evening of July 16 near the farms of Morozov and Zolotoy not far from the Morozovskaya station.
From that moment on, bloody battles begin in the big bend of the Don. Meanwhile, the Stalingrad Front is replenished by the forces of the 28th, 38th and 57th armies.
The day of August 23, 1942 became one of the most tragic in the history of the Battle of Stalingrad. Early in the morning, General von Wittersheim's 14th Panzer Corps reached the Volga in the north of Stalingrad.
The enemy tanks ended up where the inhabitants of the city did not expect to see them at all - just a few kilometers from the Stalingrad Tractor Plant.
And in the evening of the same day, at 4:18 pm Moscow time, Stalingrad turned into hell. Never before has any city in the world withstood such an onslaught. For four days, from 23 to 26 August, six hundred enemy bombers made up to 2,000 sorties daily. Each time they brought death and destruction with them. Hundreds of thousands of incendiary, high-explosive and fragmentation bombs were constantly raining down on Stalingrad.
The city was on fire, choking on smoke, choking on blood. Generously flavored with oil, the Volga also burned, cutting off people's path to salvation.
What appeared before us on August 23 in Stalingrad struck me as a severe nightmare. Incessantly, here and there, fire-smoke plumes of bean explosions soared upwards. Huge pillars of flame rose to the sky in the area of oil storage facilities. Streams of burning oil and gasoline rushed to the Volga. The river was on fire, steamships on the Stalingrad roadstead were on fire. The asphalt of streets and squares stankly smoked. Telegraph poles flared up like matches. There was an unimaginable noise, tearing the ear with its infernal music. The squeal of bombs flying from a height mixed with the rumble of explosions, the rattle and clang of collapsing buildings, the crackle of raging fire. The dying people moaned, wept angrily and cried out for help, women and children, - he later recalled Commander of the Stalingrad Front Andrey Ivanovich Eremenko.
In a matter of hours, the city was practically wiped off the face of the Earth. Houses, theaters, schools - everything turned into ruins. 309 Stalingrad enterprises were also destroyed. Factories "Red October", STZ, "Barricades" lost most of the workshops and equipment. Transport, communications, water supply were destroyed. About 40 thousand inhabitants of Stalingrad died.
The Red Army and the militias hold the defense in the north of Stalingrad. Troops of the 62nd Army are fighting hard on the western and northwestern borders. Hitler's aviation continues its barbaric bombardment. From midnight on August 25, a state of siege and a special order are introduced in the city. Its violation is punished strictly, up to execution:
Persons engaged in looting, robbery are to be shot at the scene of the crime without trial or investigation. All malicious violators of public order and security in the city should be tried by a military tribunal.
A few hours before this, the Stalingrad city defense committee adopts another resolution - on the evacuation of women and children to the left bank of the Volga. At that time, no more than 100,000 were taken out of the city with a population of more than half a million people, not counting those evacuated from other regions of the country.
The remaining residents are called to the defense of Stalingrad:
We will not give up our native city to the Germans for desecration. Let us all stand as one to protect our beloved city, our home, our family. We will cover all the streets of the city with impenetrable barricades. Let us make every house, every quarter, every street an impregnable fortress. Everyone to build barricades! All who are able to carry weapons, to the barricades, to defend their native city, native home!
And they respond. Every day, about 170 thousand people go out to build fortifications and barricades.
By the evening of Monday, September 14, the enemy made his way into the very heart of Stalingrad. The railway station and Mamaev Kurgan were captured. Over the next 135 days, height 102.0 will be recaptured and lost again more than once. The defense was also broken through at the junction of the 62nd and 64th armies in the area of Kuporosnaya Balka. Hitler's troops got the opportunity to shoot through the banks of the Volga and the crossing, along which reinforcements and food were going to the city.
Under heavy enemy fire, the soldiers of the Volga military flotilla and pontoon battalions begin to transfer from Krasnoslobodsk to Stalingrad units of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Rodimtsev.
In the city there are battles for every street, every house, every piece of land. Strategic objects change hands several times a day. The Red Army soldiers try to stay as close to the enemy as possible in order to avoid attacks by enemy artillery and aircraft. Fierce fighting continues on the outskirts of the city.
Soldiers of the 62nd Army are fighting in the area of the tractor plant, "Barricade", "Red October". Workers at this time continue to work almost on the battlefield. The 64th Army continues to hold the defense south of the Kuporosny settlement.
And at this time, the Nazi German forces pulled together in the center of Stalingrad. By the evening of September 22, the Nazi troops reach the Volga in the area of \u200b\u200bJanuary 9 Square and the central pier. These days, the legendary history of the defense of Pavlov's House and Zabolotny's House begins. Bloody battles for the city continue, the Wehrmacht troops still fail to achieve the main goal and take possession of the entire bank of the Volga. However, both sides suffer heavy losses.
Preparations for the counteroffensive at Stalingrad began in September 1942. The plan for the defeat of the Nazi troops was called "Uranus". The operation involved units of the Stalingrad, Southwestern and Don Fronts: more than a million Red Army soldiers, 15.5 thousand guns, almost 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns, about 1350 aircraft. In all positions, the Soviet troops outnumbered the enemy forces.
The operation began on November 19 with massive shelling. The armies of the Southwestern Front strike from Kletskaya and Serafimovich, during the day they advance 25-30 kilometers. In the direction of the village of Vertyachy, the forces of the Don Front are throwing. On November 20, south of the city, the Stalingrad Front also went on the offensive. On this day, the first snow fell.
On November 23, 1942, the ring closes in the area of Kalach-on-Don. The 3rd Romanian army was defeated. Around 330 thousand soldiers and officers of the 22nd divisions and 160 separate units of the 6th German Army and part of the 4th Panzer Army were surrounded. From that day on, our troops begin the offensive and every day they squeeze the Stalingrad cauldron more and more tightly.
In December 1942, the troops of the Don and Stalingrad fronts continue to crush the encircled Nazi troops. On December 12, Field Marshal von Manstein's army group made an attempt to reach the encircled 6th Army. The Germans advanced 60 kilometers in the direction of Stalingrad, but by the end of the month the remnants of the enemy forces were driven back hundreds of kilometers. It's time to destroy the army of Paulus in the Stalingrad cauldron. The operation, which was assigned to the fighters of the Don Front, received the code name "Ring". The troops were reinforced with artillery, and on January 1, 1943, the 62nd, 64th and 57th armies of the Stalingrad Front were transferred to the Don Front.
On January 8, 1943, an ultimatum with a proposal to surrender was transmitted by radio to Paulus's headquarters. By this time, the Nazi troops were severely starving and freezing, the reserves of ammunition and fuel came to an end. Soldiers are dying of malnutrition and cold. But the offer of surrender was rejected. From Hitler's headquarters comes the order to continue the resistance. And on January 10, our troops go on a decisive offensive. And already on the 26th, units of the 21st Army joined the 62nd Army on Mamaev Kurgan. The Germans surrender by the thousands.
On the last day of January 1943, the southern grouping ceased resistance. In the morning, Paulus was brought the last radiogram from Hitler, counting on suicide, he was given the next rank of Field Marshal. So he became the first field marshal of the Wehrmacht to surrender.
In the basement of the Central Department Store in Stalingrad, they also took the entire headquarters of the 6th field German army. In total, 24 generals and more than 90 thousand soldiers and officers were captured. The history of world wars has never seen anything like it before or since.
It was a disaster, after which Hitler and the Wehrmacht could not come to their senses - they dreamed of the "Stalingrad cauldron" until the end of the war. The collapse of the fascist army on the Volga convincingly showed that the Red Army and its leadership were able to completely outplay the vaunted German strategists - this is how that moment of the war was assessed army general, Hero of the Soviet Union, participant in the Battle of Stalingrad Valentin Varennikov. - I well remember with what merciless jubilation our commanders and ordinary soldiers received the news of the victory on the Volga. We were incredibly proud that we broke the back of the most powerful German grouping.
Total > 1 million Human.
| The Great Patriotic War |
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| Invasion of the USSR Karelia arctic Leningrad Rostov Moscow Sevastopol Barvenkovo-Lozovaya Kharkov Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad Rzhev Stalingrad Caucasus Velikiye Luki Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh Voronezh-Kastornoye Kursk Smolensk Donbass Dnieper Right-Bank Ukraine Leningrad-Novgorod Crimea (1944) Belarus Lviv-Sandomierz Iasi-Chisinau Eastern Carpathians the Baltic States Courland Romania Bulgaria Debrecen Belgrade Budapest Poland (1944) Western Carpathians East Prussia Lower Silesia Eastern Pomerania Upper Silesia Vein Berlin Prague |
Battle of Stalingrad- a battle between the troops of the USSR, on the one hand, and the troops of Nazi Germany, Romania, Italy and Hungary during the Great Patriotic War. The battle was one of the most important events of World War II. The battle included an attempt by the Wehrmacht to capture the left bank of the Volga near Stalingrad (modern Volgograd) and the city itself, a confrontation in the city, and a counteroffensive by the Red Army (Operation Uranus), which resulted in the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht and other German allied forces inside and around the city were surrounded and partly destroyed, partly captured. According to rough estimates, the total losses of both sides in this battle exceed two million people. The Axis powers lost large numbers of men and weapons and subsequently failed to fully recover from the defeat. I. V. Stalin wrote:
For the Soviet Union, which also suffered heavy losses during the battle, the victory in Stalingrad marked the beginning of the liberation of the country and the victorious march through Europe, which led to the final defeat of Nazi Germany in.
Previous events
The capture of Stalingrad was very important to Hitler for several reasons. It was the main industrial city on the banks of the Volga (a vital transportation route between the Caspian Sea and northern Russia). The capture of Stalingrad would provide security on the left flank of the German armies advancing into the Caucasus. Finally, the very fact that the city bore the name of Stalin, Hitler's main enemy, made the capture of the city a winning ideological and propaganda move. Stalin may also have had ideological and propaganda interests in defending the city that bore his name.
The summer offensive was codenamed Fall Blau. variant blue). It was attended by the XVII armies of the Wehrmacht and the 1st tank with the 4th tank armies.
Operation Blau began with the offensive of Army Group South against the troops of the Bryansk Front to the north and the troops of the South-West to the south of Voronezh. It is worth noting that despite the two-month break in the active hostilities of the troops of the Bryansk Front, the result was no less disastrous than for the troops of the South-Western Front, battered by the May battles. On the very first day of the operation, both Soviet fronts were broken through for tens of kilometers and the Germans rushed to the Don. Soviet troops could oppose the German only weak resistance in the vast desert steppes, and then they began to flock to the east in complete disorder. Ended in complete failure and attempts to re-form the defense, when the German units entered the Soviet defensive positions from the flank. Several divisions of the Red Army in mid-July fell into a cauldron in the south of the Voronezh region near the village of Millerovo
The offensive of the German troops
The Sixth Army's initial offensive was so successful that Hitler intervened again, ordering the Fourth Panzer Army to join Army Group South (A). As a result, a huge "traffic jam" was formed, when the 4th and 6th armies needed several roads in the zone of operations. Both armies were firmly stuck, and the delay turned out to be quite long and slowed down the German advance by one week. With the slow advance, Hitler changed his mind and reassigned the target of the 4th Panzer Army back to the Stalingrad direction.
In July, when the German intentions became quite clear to the Soviet command, they developed plans for the defense of Stalingrad. Additional Soviet troops were deployed on the eastern bank of the Volga. The 62nd Army was created under the command of Vasily Chuikov, whose task was to defend Stalingrad at any cost.
Battle in the city
There is a version that Stalin did not give permission for the evacuation of the inhabitants of the city. However, no documentary evidence of this has yet been found. In addition, the evacuation, albeit at a slow pace, but still took place. By August 23, 1942, out of 400 thousand inhabitants of Stalingrad, about 100 thousand were evacuated. On August 24, the Stalingrad City Defense Committee adopted a belated decision to evacuate women, children and the wounded to the left bank of the Volga. All citizens, including women and children, worked on the construction of trenches and other fortifications.
A massive German bombardment on August 23 destroyed the city, killing thousands of civilians and turning Stalingrad into a vast area covered in burning ruins. Eighty percent of the housing in the city was destroyed.
The burden of the initial struggle for the city fell on the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment: a unit staffed mainly by young female volunteers with no experience in destroying ground targets. Despite this, and without the proper support available from other Soviet units, the anti-aircraft gunners remained in place and fired on the advancing enemy tanks of the 16th Panzer Division until all 37 air defense batteries were destroyed or captured. By the end of August, Army Group South (B) had finally reached the Volga north of Stalingrad. Another German advance to the river south of the city also followed.
At the initial stage, the Soviet defense relied to a large extent on the "People's Militia of Workers", recruited from workers not involved in military production. Tanks continued to be built and manned by voluntary crews, consisting of factory workers, including women. The equipment was immediately sent from the conveyors of factories to the front line, often even without painting and without sighting equipment installed.
Street fighting in Stalingrad.
The Headquarters considered Eremenko's plan, but considered it unfeasible (the operation was too deep, etc.)
As a result, the Headquarters proposed the following version of the encirclement and defeat of the German troops near Stalingrad. On October 7, the directive of the General Staff (No. 170644) was issued on the conduct of an offensive operation on two fronts to encircle the 6th Army. The Don Front was asked to strike the main blow in the direction of Kotluban, break through the front and go to the Gumrak area. At the same time, the Stalingrad Front was advancing from the Gornaya Polyana region to Elshanka, and after breaking through the front, the units advanced to the Gumrak region, where they connected with the DF units. In this operation, the front command was allowed to use fresh units. Don Front - 7th Rifle Division, Stalingrad Front - 7th St. K., 4 Apt. K. The operation was scheduled for October 20th.
Thus, it was planned to encircle and destroy only the German troops fighting directly in Stalingrad (14th Panzer Corps, 51st and 4th Infantry Corps, about 12 divisions in total).
The command of the Don Front was dissatisfied with this directive. On October 9, Rokossovsky presented his plan for an offensive operation. He referred to the impossibility of breaking through the front in the Kotluban region. According to his calculations, 4 divisions were required for a breakthrough, 3 divisions for the development of a breakthrough, and 3 more divisions for cover from German attacks; thus, 7 fresh divisions were clearly not enough. Rokossovsky proposed to strike the main blow in the Kuzmichi area (height 139.7), that is, everything according to the same old scheme: surround the units of the 14th Panzer Corps, connect with the 62nd Army, and only after that move to Gumrak to join units of the 64th th army. The headquarters of the Don Front planned 4 days for this: -24 October. The "Orlovsky ledge" of the Germans haunted Rokossovsky since August 23, so he decided to "insure" and first deal with this "corn", and then complete the complete encirclement.
The Stavka did not accept Rokossovsky's proposal and recommended that he prepare an operation according to the Stavka's plan; however, he was allowed to conduct a private operation against the Oryol group of Germans on October 10, without attracting fresh forces.
In total, more than 2,500 officers and 24 generals of the 6th Army were taken prisoner during Operation Ring. In total, over 91 thousand soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht were taken prisoner. Trophies of the Soviet troops from January 10 to February 2, 1943, according to a report from the headquarters of the Don Front, were 5762 guns, 1312 mortars, 12701 machine guns, 156,987 rifles, 10,722 machine guns, 744 aircraft, 1,666 tanks, 261 armored vehicles, 80,438 vehicles, 10,679 motorcycles, 240 tractors, 571 tractors, 3 armored trains and other military property.
Battle results
The victory of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad is the largest military and political event during the Second World War. The great battle, which ended in the encirclement, defeat and capture of a select enemy group, made a huge contribution to achieving a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War and had a decisive influence on the further course of the entire Second World War.
In the Battle of Stalingrad, new features of the military art of the Armed Forces of the USSR manifested themselves with all their might. Soviet operational art was enriched by the experience of encircling and destroying the enemy.
As a result of the battle, the Red Army firmly seized the strategic initiative and now dictated its will to the enemy.
The outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad caused bewilderment and confusion in the Axis. A crisis of pro-fascist regimes began in Italy, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. The influence of Germany on its allies sharply weakened, and the differences between them became noticeably aggravated.
Defectors and prisoners
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According to some other sources, from 91 to 110 thousand German prisoners were taken prisoner near Stalingrad. Subsequently, 140 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were buried on the battlefield by our troops (not counting the tens of thousands of German soldiers who died in the "boiler" for 73 days). According to the German historian Rüdiger Overmans, almost 20 thousand "accomplices" captured in Stalingrad - former Soviet prisoners who served in auxiliary positions in the 6th Army - also died in captivity. They were shot or died in the camps.
The reference book “World War II”, published in Germany in 1995, indicates that 201,000 soldiers and officers were captured near Stalingrad, of which only 6,000 returned to their homeland after the war. According to the estimates of the German historian Rüdiger Overmans, published in a special issue of the historical journal Damalz dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad, about 250,000 people were encircled near Stalingrad. Approximately 25,000 of them managed to be evacuated from the Stalingrad pocket and more than 100,000 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht died in January 1943 during the completion of the Soviet operation "Ring". 130,000 people were captured, including 110,000 Germans, and the rest were the so-called “voluntary helpers” of the Wehrmacht (“Hiwi” is an abbreviation for the German word Hillwillge (Hiwi), literal translation; “voluntary helper”). Of these, about 5,000 survived and returned home to Germany. The 6th Army had about 52,000 Khivs, for whom the headquarters of this army developed the main directions for the training of "voluntary assistants", in which the latter were considered as "reliable comrades in the fight against Bolshevism." Among these "volunteers" were Russian support personnel and an anti-aircraft artillery battalion manned by Ukrainians. In addition, in the 6th Army ... there were about 1000 people of the Todt organization, consisting mainly of Western European workers, Croatian and Romanian associations, numbering from 1000 to 5000 soldiers, as well as several Italians.
If we compare the German and Russian data on the number of soldiers and officers captured in the Stalingrad region, then the following picture appears. In Russian sources, all the so-called “voluntary assistants” of the Wehrmacht (more than 50,000 people) are excluded from the number of prisoners of war, whom the Soviet competent authorities never classified as “prisoners of war”, but considered them as traitors to the Motherland, subject to trial under the laws of wartime. As for the mass death of prisoners of war from the "Stalingrad cauldron", most of them died during the first year of their captivity due to exhaustion, the effects of cold and numerous diseases received during the period of being surrounded. Some data can be cited on this score: in the period from February 3 to June 10, 1943 alone, in the camp of German prisoners of war in Beketovka (Stalingrad region), the consequences of the "Stalingrad cauldron" cost the lives of more than 27,000 people; and out of 1800 captured officers stationed in the premises of the former monastery in Yelabuga, by April 1943 only a quarter of the contingent survived
For the German command, the capture of Stalingrad was of key importance. This city greatly interfered with the Nazi troops - in addition to the fact that there were many defense plants in it, it also blocked the path to the Caucasus, a source of oil and fuel.
Therefore, it was decided to capture Stalingrad - and with one swift blow, as the German command liked. Blitzkrieg tactics at the beginning of the war worked more than once - but not with Stalingrad.
July 17, 1942 two armies - the 6th German Army under the command of Paulus and the Stalingrad Front under the command of Timoshenko - met on the outskirts of the city. Fierce fighting began.
The Germans attacked Stalingrad with tank troops and air raids, and infantry battles raged day and night. Almost the entire population of the city went to the front, and the remaining residents, without closing their eyes, produced ammunition and weapons.
The advantage was on the side of the enemy, and in September the fighting moved to the streets of Stalingrad. These street battles went down in history - the Germans, who were used to capturing cities and countries in a couple of weeks with swift throws, were forced to fight fiercely for every street, every house, every floor.
Only two months later the city was captured. Hitler had already announced the capture of Stalingrad - but this was somewhat premature.
Offensive.
For all their strength, the Germans had weak flanks. The Soviet command took advantage of this. Back in September, a grouping of troops began to be created, the purpose of which was to strike back.
And just a few days after the alleged "capture" of the city, this army went on the offensive. Generals Rokossovsky and Vatutin managed to surround the German forces, inflicting significant damage on them - five divisions were captured, seven were completely destroyed. At the end of November, the Germans tried to break the blockade around them, but failed.
Destruction of the army of Paulus.
The encircled German troops, who found themselves at the beginning of winter without ammunition, food and even uniforms, were asked to surrender. Paulus understood the hopelessness of the situation and sent a request to Hitler, asking for permission to surrender - but received a categorical refusal and an order to stand "to the last bullet."
After that, the forces of the Don Front almost completely destroyed the encircled German army. On February 2, 1943, the last resistance of the enemy was broken, and the remnants of the German forces - including Paulus himself and his officers - finally surrendered.
Significance of the Battle of Stalingrad.
The Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point of the war. After it, the Russian troops stopped retreating and launched a decisive offensive. The battle also inspired the allies - in 1944, the long-awaited second front was opened, and the internal struggle against the Nazi regime intensified in European countries.
Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad.
- Pilot Mikhail Baranov
- Pilot Ivan Kobyletsky
- Pilot Pyotr Dymchenko
- Pilot Trofim Voytanik
- Pilot Alexander Popov
- Pilot Alexander Loginov
- Pilot Ivan Kochuev
- Pilot Arkady Ryabov
- Pilot Oleg Kilgovatov
- Pilot Mikhail Dmitriev
- Pilot Evgeny Zherdiy
- Sailor Mikhail Panikakha
- Sniper Vasily Zaitsev
- And etc.
The Battle of Stalingrad is the largest land battle in world history that unfolded between the forces of the USSR and Nazi Germany in the city of Stalingrad (USSR) and its environs during World War II. The bloody battle began on July 17, 1942 and continued until February 2, 1943.
Causes and background of the Battle of Stalingrad
As everyone is well aware, the forces of Nazi Germany launched a massive attack on the USSR on June 22, 1941, and their troops advanced rapidly, defeating units of the regular army of the Union one after another.After the defeat in the attempt to capture Moscow, Adolf Hitler wished to strike where the Soviet leadership did not expect, this target was the city of Stalingrad. This city was an important strategic point that opened the way to oil deposits, as well as the Volga River, the main water artery of the USSR. Hitler understood that the capture of Stalingrad would be a strong blow to industry for the Union.
After the defeat of the Red Army offensive near Kharkov in May 1942, the road to Stalingrad was completely open to the Germans. Hitler hoped, by capturing this city, to undermine the morale of the Soviet army and, most importantly, to motivate his regular units, because the city bore the name of the leader of the Soviet Union.
Composition of forces
Before the Battle of Stalingrad itself, the German army had 270 thousand soldiers, more than three thousand guns and almost a thousand tanks. The German army had air support in the form of 1200 aircraft of the latest fighter models.The number of soldiers of the Red Army before the start of the battle became almost 600 thousand soldiers, but a small amount of equipment, guns and aircraft. The number of aircraft was more than two less, tanks, by about a third.
The course of the Battle of Stalingrad
The Soviet leadership, realizing that the German army would hit Stalingrad, began preparing for the defense of the city. Most Union soldiers are recruits who have not yet seen combat. In addition, some parts suffered from the absence or small amount of weapons and ammunition.The Battle of Stalingrad began on July 17, when the advanced units of the Red Army clashed with the German vanguard. The forward detachments of Soviet soldiers held the defense tightly and the Germans had to use 5 out of 13 divisions in this area in order to break their defense. The Germans managed to break the forward detachments only five days later. Then the German army advanced to the main defensive lines of Stalingrad. Seeing that the Soviet army was desperately on the defensive, Hitler reinforced the Sixth Army with even more tanks and aircraft.
On July 23 and 25, the forces of the northern and southern groups of the Germans launched a large-scale offensive. The Nazi army, thanks to technology and aviation, successfully pushed through the direction and took up positions in the Golubinsky area, reaching the Don River. As a result of a massive enemy attack, three divisions of the Red Army were surrounded, a catastrophic situation developed. A few days later, the Germans managed to push the Red Army even further - now the defense of the Red Army was located behind the Don. Now the Germans needed to break through the defenses along the river.
More and more German forces were converging near Stalingrad, at the end of July there were already desperate battles for the outskirts of the city. At the same time, an order came from Stalin, which said that Soviet soldiers should stand to death and not give the enemy not a centimeter of land without a fight, and anyone who refuses to fight and runs should be shot without delay in the same place.
Despite the onslaught of the Germans, the soldiers of the Red Army firmly held their positions and the Germans' plan - a swift, massive blow to immediately break into the city, did not work out for them. In connection with such resistance, the German command somewhat reworked the offensive plan, and already on August 19 the offensive began again and this time successfully. The Germans managed to cross the Don and fortify themselves on its right bank. On August 23, Stalingrad was hit by a powerful air strike, the total number of German bomber sorties was about 2 thousand, entire neighborhoods were badly destroyed or completely wiped off the face of the earth.
A massive attack on Stalingrad began on September 13, and as a result, the Germans managed to enter the city for the first time, the Soviet soldiers did not expect such an onslaught and could not resist it, fierce battles ensued for every street and house in the city. In August-September, the Red Army made several attempts to organize a counterattack, but only a few kilometers were able to break through and with very heavy losses.
Before the Germans managed to break into the city, they managed to evacuate only a quarter of the entire population of the city (100 thousand out of 400 thousand). Many women and children remained on the right bank and were forced to help organize the defense of the city. On the day of August 23, the German bombardment claimed the lives of more than 90,000 civilians, a terrible figure paid by a mistake in the evacuation of the city. Terrible fires raged in the city, especially in the central regions, caused by incendiary shells.
A fierce battle was fought for the tractor factory, where tanks were now being built. Right during the battle, the defense and work of the plant did not stop, and the tanks released from the assembly line immediately went into battle. Often even these tanks went into battle without a crew (having only a driver) and without ammunition. And the Germans moved deeper and deeper through the city, but suffered heavy losses from Soviet snipers in assault groups.
From September 13, the Germans continue to advance mercilessly and by the end of the month they completely push back the 62nd Army and capture the river, now it is in full fire for the German troops, and the Soviet army has lost the opportunity to transport its forces without huge losses.
In the city, the Germans could not fully use their ability to interact with different types of troops, so the German infantry was on a par with the Soviet and she had to fight for every room of a residential building without the cover of her powerful tanks, artillery and aircraft. In the fire of Stalingrad, sniper Vasily Zaitsev was born - one of the most productive snipers in history, he has more than 225 soldiers and officers, 11 of them snipers.
While the fighting in the city continued, the Soviet command developed a counteroffensive plan, which was called "Uranus". And when it was ready, the Red Army went on the offensive on November 19. As a result of this attack, the Soviet army managed to surround the 6th army of the Wehrmacht, which interrupted its supply of supplies.
In December, the German army went on a new offensive, but was stopped on December 19 by fresh Soviet forces. Then the offensive of the Red Army resumed with renewed vigor, and a few days later, fresh tank troops were able to break through to a depth of 200 km, the German defense began to burst at the seams. By January 31, the Soviet army during the operation "Ring" managed to divide the 6th army of the Wehrmacht and capture parts of Paulus. It was soon defeated, and the rest of the 6th Army and about 90 thousand soldiers were taken prisoner.
After the surrender of Paulus, almost all parts of the Wehrmacht began to capitulate, and the Soviet army liberated the city and its environs inexorably, although some parts of the Germans were still firmly on the defensive.
Battle results
The Battle of Stalingrad went down in history as the bloodiest battle in the history of mankind. Also, this battle was decisive during the Great Patriotic War, as well as during the Second World War. After this victory, the Soviet army continued to advance inexorably along the entire front, and the Germans could not stop this offensive and retreated to Germany.The Red Army acquired for itself the necessary experience of encircling enemy forces and their subsequent destruction, which later came in very handy during the offensive.
It’s sad to talk about the victims of the Battle of Stalingrad - both the German and the Soviet side lost many of their best parts, the amount of destroyed equipment went off scale, but besides this, German aviation also weakened forever, which later perfectly reflected on the attack of the Soviet army.
The world highly appreciated the victory of the Soviet army. It was also the first time during the Second World War that the German army had suffered such a crushing defeat, and in fact it had won one victory after another before. The world saw that the ingenious tactics of the Germans could crack. The leaders of many states (Churchill, Roosevelt) wrote to Stalin that this victory was simply brilliant.
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