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[[File: Stalingrad one.jpg|thumbnail|350px|left|Fighting at Stalingrad]]
The Battle of Stalingrad, between Germany and fought by the Soviet Unionand German forces, is considered not only the most important battle in World War II but one of the most important battles in world history. The battle proved to be was a decisive victory for the Soviet Union and fundamentally changed altered USSR that turned the course tide of war in the warAllies favor. Germany's defeat at Stalingrad was not only lead to a catastrophic German losses loss but put the German war machine was Germany on the defensive for the rest of the war. Stalingrad halted the German invasion of Russia and turned the tide of World War Two in Europe.
Why were the Germans defeated and how did the Soviet Union manage to win the Battle of Stalingrad? The German army was hobbled by Hitler's micromanaging and tactics, his intransigence, and poor German battlefield leadership. The Soviet's benefitted from superior Soviet leadership, numbers, and tactics.
However, the weather was cold and German soldiers had begun to suffer in the harsh conditions. The Soviet’s used the weather to their advantage. The Soviets stationed considerable forces in the east in to defend Siberia from a Japanese invasion. He withdrew them and under General George Zhukov. They were then organized into a strike force aimed at repelling the German advance on Moscow. On December 12th, Zhukov’s army launched a surprise attack on the German frontline and pushed them back with heavy losses some one hundred miles from Moscow.<ref> MacDonald, John. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785830979/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0785830979&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=ff12114d460899b1d3d40f8245e19df5 Great Battles of World War II]'' (London, Michael Joseph books, 1986), p. 245</ref> The Soviet Capital had been saved. However, despite the setback, the Germans had a secure hold over much of western Soviet Union and had laid siege to the city of Leningrad.
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====Stalingrad Campaign====
Hitler's General Staff had intended to ‘win the war by Christmas.’ <ref> MacDonald, p, 234</ref> However, despite defeat near Moscow, there was still widespread optimism among the German generals. The German general staff eventually was able to stabilize the German front line and fended off further Soviet attacks during early 1942. Hitler and his generals planned a Spring offensive that they hoped would lead to Stalin suing for peace or unconditional Soviet surrender.
In the late summer of 1942, the Germany army was in engaged in a rapid advance through southern Russia. It was reminiscent of the early days of Barbarossa. The 6th army was invincible, and they defeated a series of Russian divisions and armies. By August, they were on the Volga near the city of Stalingrad. The city (today Volgograd) had been renamed Stalingrad in honor of Stalin, who had seized the city from the White Counter-Revolutionaries in 1920. <ref>Antil, p. 117</ref>
====Hitler’s Intransigence====
[[File: Hitler.jpg|thumbnail|200px|left|Adolf Hitler]]
By 1942, Hitler had been very successful in all his campaigns. He had only experienced defeat at the Battle of Britain and near Moscow. However, on the face of it, neither defeat had stopped the German war machine from going on the offensive and from securing more victories. Hitler, as commander in chief of the army, had great faith in his military abilities and as a strategist. He believed that he was a military genius and was destined to lead the German people to victory. Central to Hitler’s views on military tactics was that willpower could achieve anything on the battlefield.
Von Man stein’s forces came within thirty kilometers of the besieged Germans, but Paulus refused to break out and link up with the relief forces. He possibly could have saved some of his troops. However, this would have required him to disobey Hitler’s explicit orders. In the end, he refused to do so, and the opportunity was lost. If Hitler had allowed his generals more flexibility, then Von Paulus could have saved some of his divisions from complete annihilation.<ref> Hoyt, Edwin Palmer. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312868537/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312868537&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=91516cd718a10f8a333413ab02d19515 199 Days: The Battle for Stalingrad]'' (New York: A Forge Book, 1999), p. 167</ref>
====Stalingrad Consequences?Halted the German Invasion of Russia====<div class="portal" style='float:right; width:35%'>====Related Articles====*[[What were the goals of the Axis powers and the Soviet Union during World War Two?]]*[[How Did the German Military Develop Blitzkrieg?]]*[[Why did Operation Market Garden in 1944 fail?]]*[[How did Mussolini become Prime Minister of Italy?]]*[[How did Hitler become the Dictator and Fuhrer of Germany?]]*[[Why was France defeated in 1940?]]</div>In February 1943, Von Paulus surrendered the remaining starving and ragged German forces in Stalingrad. Finally, he had defied Hitler’s orders to fight to the last man and bullet. The German defeat had been devastating. They had lost half a million, either killed or captured. The Germans after the Soviet victory lost a significant amount of territory in the south of Russia.<ref> Hoyt, p. 211</ref> Stalingrad halted Germany's invasion into Russia. Instead of advancing, the German army engaged in a long slow retreat.
However, the German army was far from defeated and in early 1943, Von Manstein inflicted a devastating defeat on the Red Army at Kharkov.<ref> Hoyt, p. 2013</ref> However, the German army had lost its aura of invincibility, and the Soviets believed that they could defeat. Furthermore, after Stalingrad, many more Germans became critical of Hitler and his policies, this was particular particularly the case in the German military, and there have even been suggestions that after the debacle that the German generals conspired to start a mutiny in the army and depose Hitler.<ref> Beevor, p. 221</ref> However, these plots did not succeed.
====Conclusion====
Furthermore, he compounded his initial errors, by refusing to allow Paulus to force a way out of Stalingrad his General could have saved some of the German forces and mitigated the consequences of Hitler’s mistakes. Hitler’ meddling, misguided strategy, and poor tactics meant that the 6th army was doomed to defeat at Stalingrad.
====References====
[[Category:Russian History]] [[Category:Military History]][[Category:World War Two History]][[Category:European History]] [[Category:20th Century History]]
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Updated January 18May 7, 2019.
