Battle of Stalingrad: The turning point of WWII
What was the Battle of Stalingrad, and how did it shape the final outcome of World War II? Here’s a look at the bloodiest urban conflict ever recorded.
Image: Gerhardt's Mill - a steam mill building destroyed during the days of the Battle of Stalingrad and not restored | stock.adobe.come
When German soldiers invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, it wasn’t long before they had Moscow in their sights. Not that they did much more than sight it. Hitler’s forces were repelled at the Battle of Moscow, having gotten within 20 miles of the Soviet capital.
None of this was enough to deter the Germans from regrouping before attempting further escapades deep into Soviet territory. This time around, the big prize would be Stalingrad, a strategically significant stronghold named after Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
So, what was the Battle of Stalingrad, and how did it go for both sides? It’s one of many conflicts analysed in Sky HISTORY’s World War II with Tom Hanks, starting 26 May at 9pm, but arguably marked the war’s biggest turning point. Here’s the ‘how’ and ‘why’…
The events leading up to Stalingrad
In 1941, German chancellor Adolf Hitler had Western Europe at his feet, his armies having conquered France, the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark. However, he remained paranoid about the potential threat lurking to the east – the Soviet Union.
Though the Nazis had signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviets two years earlier, Hitler saw communism as the ideological enemy of Nazism. It was surely only a matter of time before these opposing sides would come to blows, but Hitler wanted to at least strike first.
That was enough incentive for him to launch Operation Barbarossa – a German invasion of the Soviet Union – in June 1941. The Soviets were caught on the back foot, but recovered quickly enough to push the Germans back by January 1942.
The Germans were down, but not out. Having failed to get his hands on Moscow, Hitler started eyeing another Soviet industrial powerhouse. Would Stalingrad be an easier target for his men? The Germans decided to find out, marching towards the city in July 1942.
What was the Battle of Stalingrad’s intended outcome?
Obviously, the Nazis hoped that the battle would see them capture the southern Russian city. This would have been much more than a mere symbolic boost for the Germans. It would also have granted them ready access to the oil fields of the nearby Caucasus region.
These valuable resources would have played a major part in fuelling Hitler’s war machine for the foreseeable future. However, Stalin knew that losing his namesake city to the Germans would be a humiliating blow to national pride.
Stalin was as determined to keep Stalingrad as Hitler was to gain it. Stalin therefore decided against evacuating ordinary civilians from the area, as he believed his armies would work harder to defend a ‘living’ city.
A reversal of fortunes for the Germans
In August, the Luftwaffe bombed Stalingrad extensively, leaving it a pile of rubble where German ground troops could theoretically fight unimpeded by pesky physical barriers. In practice, though, this damage to the city left plenty of unexpected nooks the Soviets were able to use as cover.
This wasn’t enough to prevent the Germans from pinning the Soviets as far back as the Volga River’s west bank by November. With Axis forces controlling 90% of the city, Hitler declared that Stalingrad had pretty much fallen.
What the Germans hadn’t expected was the immense power of the Soviet counteroffensive later that month. The 6th Army was the Germans’ pride and joy at Stalingrad, but its flanks were weakly guarded by undertrained troops from other Axis powers.
The genius of the Soviet counteroffensive was to target these vulnerable flanks. The 6th Army soon found itself encircled, but Hitler forbade it from anything resembling a retreat. Instead, he insisted on attempting to resupply the 6th by air.
What was the Battle of Stalingrad’s outcome?
With the airlift failing to bring nearly as much food and ammunition as necessary, Field Marshal Erich von Manstein led troops on a rescue mission. However, his unit was unable to penetrate the Soviet lines far enough to reach the 6th Army.
Field Marshal Friedrich von Paulus, in charge of the 6th Army, surrendered in February 1943, against Hitler’s orders. The Führer was incensed. The Axis forces are thought to have incurred more than 800,000 casualties in what emerged as the bloodiest urban conflict of World War II.
News of the ignominious German defeat at Stalingrad buoyed the Allies with renewed confidence. Nazi Germany never recovered its former military strength, and the entire country surrendered unconditionally to the Allies in 1945.
What was the Battle of Stalingrad’s impact even further down the line? You can get more than a few clues by signing up for the Sky HISTORY Newsletter.
