Stalingrad - Introduction

The Battle of Stalingrad is considered by many historians to have been the turning point in World War Two in Europe. It was after this war that the German Army started its full retreat. Now we are going to present you in a very short way why this battle begun. The German army Groups A and B were on their way to the Caucasus in south-west Russia when Hitler ordered and attack on Stalingrad. 

Many historians believe Hitler order this attack because the city had the name of one of his enemies, Joseph Stalin. The Battle for Stalingrad was fought during the winter of 1942 to 1943. The strategic purpose of this battle was to control the Russian center of communication in the south. In early September of 1942 the German army advanced to the city. 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. Areas captured by the Germans during the day, were re-taken by the Russians at night. Finally the official armies met on November 23rd where they fought for the city of Stalingrad.

Technology and Tactics used in Stalingrad

Would the technology and tactics were used to make the invasion possible?

To begin with, the Germans started the invasion of Stalingrad by two ways: air and ground. They sent the Luftwaffe to start bombing the city, because of that the city was reduced to rubble. German's 16th Panzer Division was the first to reach the river Volga, entering from the northern part of the city and starting to attack the city where a lot of civilians were taken by surprise.

 In the first scenario they had began well; they had air superiority with the Luftwaffe bombing all the city. However, when they entered the city by the northern part of the city hey found themselves fighting with brave soviet men and women that did not gave up. This became a war of will and honor between the two dictators: Hitler and Stalin. They both lost a lot in this battle, but the technology and tactics used made the invasion possible? In our opinion, it didn't.

As we said Germans had lots of powerful weapons and control over the area, but it was just a matter of time for their struggle to begin. The battle was becoming fair because of the supplies and reinforcements that Soviets received from the other side of the Volga, which helped them counter with weapons such as the Yak 1 and tanks that were still created in the factories located in the city.

Pavlov's House: Fortified apartment that resisted lots of German's attacks. Pavlov's House: Fortified apartment that resisted lots of German's attacks.

  

At different moments the Germans had controlled 90% of the city, but the German's strategy started to suffer. The cold winter affected the Germans a lot. However, the mistake that we think started it all was leaving the German northern flank vulnerable, as they were defended by  ill Hungarians that weren't in the conditions of fighting. The Soviets used this and shattered the Hungarians encircling the Germans inside the city. 

Being surrounded by the soviets another big fail was asking for air support, because the amount of food and ammunitions they could airdrop was not enough for everybody; this and Hitler's order of not retreating led to the starvation and death of Germans. There were also problems of communication, people did not know what to do; the Germans were lost since Hitler had ordered that they should fight "to the last soldier and last bullet".

Finally, to conclude this we can say that the invasion was not even possible from the start, being Germany's major mistakes: invading the city and following orders of their leader, Hitler.

Hitler's Tactical mistakes in Stalingrad

Tactical mistakes Hitler could have made and how he could correct these errors?

Hitler, a rigid, insecure, close minded, rare, serious, extremely discipline man. The characteristics of this man led him to mistakes. His closed mind that thought that there was only one way to do things, made him commit some tactical mistakes mostly made after Germany was losing the war, due to the strategic mistakes. 

"From where once the German soldier plants his foot, he never withdraws!” this idea that Hitler had; as a result, he lost many soldiers. German troops were often forced to stand and die in a place instead of withdrawing and fighting another day. 

Once Hitler invaded Russia his next mistake was on being to impulsive in his actions. He wanted to take Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad and the Caucuses oil fields. There were simply not enough troops and supplies to do it all at once. Hitler was so utterly besotted with his idea of German superiority, that he could not accept the idea that everything he ordered to be done was very risky and it could not be done. Thus he absolutely refused to listen to anyone who ever tried to tell him that something was not possible. And he wasted hundreds of thousands, if not millions of troops only to defend a place that could have been abandoned.

Der Kessel and the Geographic challenges

The negligence of Adolf Hitler, to not appreciate the topographical and climatic conditions of Stalingrad and its environs, resulted a faulty decision responsible for the subsequent annihilation of the German Sixth Army.

Topography:

To reach Stalingrad, German forces had to travel over one thousand miles through hostile, foreign territory. The distance affected not only the communication and supply lines but also the psychological effects of the soldiers who felt overwhelmed by the vastness of the Russia landscape. For the 6^th army, Russia seemed like a desert, all was flat and desolate.

Climate:

Another big problem was the harsh climatic conditions in the Stalingrad region. During the summer the temperature can reach 30 degrees centigrade, which can make the soldiers fatigue increase during the long marches. During autumn, there was so much rain that even tanks couldn’t pass the mud. And during the winter the temperatures were too low and everything seams to freezing.

A russian soldier that captured a german soldier

Der Kessel (supply problems)

With his army trapped inside a ring of Soviet armor, Paulus informed Hitler that he only had 6 days of food for his troops. One of the finest armies in history was about to die from starvation, disease and exposure. Hitler promised to re-supply the 6th Army from the air. Luftflotte 4 didn't have that many aircraft on hand and a good portion of what they did have was down for maintenance. Von Richthofen pressed He-111 bombers into service as transports and struggled to maintain what effort he could. Soviet fighters now controlled the corridors his planes used to approach Stalingrad and the daily toll of aircraft was mounting.

Soviet fighters attack and went to controlled the corridors of supply planes used to approach Stalingrad. Also the severity of the Russian winter made flying impossible on some days and nothing would reach Paulus' forces. Quite often a transport would crash while attempting to land.

Despite Richthofen's best efforts, the airlift never had a remote chance of success. The lack of airplanes, the horrible flying weather and the distances involved doomed it from the outset. Richthofen's appeals for more aircraft, Hitler started to collect every available airplane in Germany and the occupied countries into service for the airlift. Pilot fatigue, improperly trained aircrew, ice and Soviet fighters soon left a trail of downed aircraft strewn across the steppe on the approaches to Stalingrad. As the airlift mission failed, Paulus cut his troops rations in an effort to conserve food. As ammunition began to be depleted, 6th Army's capacity to resist were decaying.

 The 6th Army's fuel and ammunition situation had deteriorated to the extent that most heavy equipment, trucks and armor would have had to be abandoned. Whatever the case, Paulus was not about to proceed with an evacuation without Hitlers permission. Hitler steadfastly refused to consider the withdrawal of 6th Army from Stalingrad, saying that without their heavy guns and armor such a retreat could only have a "Napoleonic ending". 

Conclusion of Geographicall Challenges:

Winter in Russia was one reason of why the airlift supply mission failed.

Severe weather conditions, over stretched supply lines, unfavorable terrain, causes the German Sixth Army to defeat and annihilation

Stalin and Hitler tactics in Stalingrad (opinion)

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.

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. The biggest mistake of Hitler was that he didn’t know when to stop.

The Russian tactic was to attack the Germans with some surprise attacks. This produced an advantage for the Russian army because the German army was not prepared to fight. The other tactic that the Russians used was to block Germany’s communication with its soldiers. Other factor such as the winter and the lack of food, help the Russians to win the battle.

We think as a group that the first thing you have to do is to move your cards one by one, and not to move the next one until you are sure that card is safe. The ambitious and pride of Hitler and the winter in Russia, were the best allies that Russia had and they knew how to play with these factors. Finally it was strategic more than brute force that won this battle.

Stalingrad Games

Winter has come to Stalingrad, but the siege continues. Can you purge the city?
Game Instructions: Left / Right Arrow Keys - Move. A - Shoot. S - Throw Grenades.

Play Game at GamesList.com

Stalingrad - Conclusions

As a conclusion, we think that the two biggest mistakes of Germany were: to invade Stalingrad in winter and to follow the orders of their compulsive leader. To invade Stalingrad in winter was a mistake that made them lose a lot of Germany's army.

And second the impulsivity of Hitler was Germany's worst enemy. It was this impulsivity that caused the death of thousands of people and finally the lost of WWII. Hitler never knew when to withdraw, although many of his men were starving and that his power in all Europe was decreasing. 

This war was no only Germany's greatest failure, but it also caused a lot of death within both sides. This war not only change the course of World War II but also the course of history because it was the begining of the end of Hitler's atrocities.