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The Battle of Stalingrad, also known as the siege of Stalingrad, took place during World War II. It is the most critical battle on the eastern front of World War II. The Battle which took place between Fascist Germany and the Communist Soviet Union, lasted approximately 2 years and resulted in the decisive defeat of Nazi Germany and of course Hitler administration. Apart from this information that we will remember from history lessons, there is also an emotional and traumatic dimension of the battle. Blood, tears, piles of iron and painful deaths vomited by bombs… Fatherless children and tearful women… World War II, the most painful and deadly war in world history. As well-know the war left behind instructive examples as well as blood and suffering.
Along with these facts, it is obvious that names such as Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini, the most important and well-known leaders of the period, appear in the Battle of Stalingrad, as in almost every other front II. World War. Although this devastating world war had many harsh and strategic fronts, according to historians, the most critical front that changed the course of the war was the Eastern Front and the Siege of Stalingrad or the Battle of Stalingrad. Accordingly, there were approximately 2 million casualties in this battle and it is a clear fact that this battle started the collapse of Nazi Germany in terms of its consequences.
History of Stalingrad Battle
In light of all this information, we can say from our perspective that it is very important to read and understand the current situation of the world in terms of career development and personal development. In this context, in order to read the present world, politics and international relations, it is necessary to know at least recent world history. At this point, together, we will try to shed light on World War II and the Battle of Stalingrad, the most critical battle of the war.
The beginning and especially the first years of the World War II, which started in 1939, were marked by the superiority and partial success of Nazi Germany. At this point, on one side, there is Nazi Germany, which sided with Hitler and took on its side the states led by Italy and Japan, also called the Axis powers. On the other side, there is the Soviet Union, which is in the group of allied countries along with states such as England, the USA and France. At this very stage, in June 1941, the Nazis launched Operation Barbarossa to definitively defeat and occupy the Soviets. This operation was very violent and hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives. As a result of Operation Barbarossa, one of the bloodiest and harshest operations in history, Germany gained territory from the Soviets and achieved victory in 1942.
Hitler, who captured the areas where today’s Baltic countries, Belarus and Ukraine are located, turned his sights on occupying the Soviets via Stalingrad to inflict a definitive defeat.
Hitler’s Real Purpose
Hitler, who occupied and captured a serious region belonging to the Soviets despite very heavy losses, believed that he would overthrow his opponent with a hard punch in one move, relying on the power of his army at that time. In this context, he started the Battle of Stalingrad on August 23, 1942, with the aim of completely capturing the Soviets. The Siege of Stalingrad started with an intense air attack by the Germans. During the air attack phase, the city of Stalingrad was bombed for 2 days continuously and many civilians lost their lives in this air attack. Afterwards, the Germans launched a land attack to cross the Volga River.
At this stage, with the approach of winter, the Germans waited for a while outside Stalingrad and besieged it. This is where the name Stalingrad Siege comes from. The Soviets’ basic approach was to draw the Germans into a neighbourhood war in order to break the power of German tanks. The Soviets, who adopted neighbourhood defence within the city, were successful in this as well. While the Germans gained success at the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviets showed great resistance, especially in the neighbourhood wars, and stopped the German advance. Contrarily, there were even Soviet attacks at certain periods, but the Germans repelled these attacks with the support of the air force.
What Happened in Stalingrad
While the Germans could not make any superior progress in the battle period, they gradually began to melt away in the face of the harsh winter conditions and the resistance of the Soviets. In the face of this situation, the Soviet Union launched operations Saturn and Winter Storm and it could be said that in the wake of these operations in the Battle of Stalingrad, Axis States were now to lost to the Soviets. In other words, the Battle, which started with the German advance and partial victories in August 1942, ended with the surrender of approximately 90 thousand Axis soldiers, exhausted from hunger, lack of ammunition and cold, on February 2, 1943.
Consequently, it was the first time in World War II that the Germans suffered such a serious defeat. In total, nearly 2 million civilians and soldiers were lost. Perhaps more painful than the defeat for the Axis side was the surrender of many high-ranking German generals along with the soldiers. When this situation was later evaluated by historians, the result of this battle was an indication that the superiority in the ongoing world war had passed to the allied states.
Causes of Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle, which is accepted by historians as changing the fate of World War II and being the turning point, is actually an inevitable war in terms of its causes. Hitler, who captured the Baltic countries, Ukraine and Belarus with Operation Barbarossa, had to also capture Moscow and Stalingrad in order to achieve his ultimate goal of completely occupying and defeating the Soviets.
If we look at it from the Soviet Union’s perspective, losing a significant amount of land in Barbarossa created a serious problem for Stalin. On the other hand, when the Battle of Stalingrad begins and winter conditions set in and the German advance stops, if the Soviets break their line the front of the Axis forces with a counter-offensive, the previously lost lands can be taken back.
Of course, whatever the reasons, it cannot make such bloody wars reasonable. After all, a world war is taking place at that moment and people will die. However, even war has its law. In this regard, it is essential for warring states to comply with these rules.
Who involved the Battle
Although it seems like a typical exam question, the parties of the Battle of Stalingrad and World War II sides are the same 🙂 In other words, the battle took place between the Axis Forces consisting of Nazi Germany, Italy, Japan, Romania and Hungary, and the Allied Forces consisting of England, the USA and France, led by Soviet Russia.
It is a widely-known fact that since the help lines were cut off at the beginning of this battle, the Soviets resisted the Axis Powers without receiving any help.
Results: Battle of the Stalingrad
The most important result of the Battle of Stalingrad was that the psychological superiority changed from Nazi Germany to the favour of the Soviet Union and the Allied Powers countries. However, according to German historians, the German armies suffered unprecedented losses and a large part of the German 6th army was either destroyed or surrendered in this battle.
Another consequence of the Battle of Stalingrad for World War II was that the allied forces saw that Hitler could be defeated. Hitler, who was seriously defeated for the first time, began to decline after this battle and eventually lost World War II. In other words, in the wake of the battle the process of loss of World War II has begun. In addition, Stalingrad was the peak point reached by the German forces, that is, the Axis Power, on the Eastern Front.
Why Siege was Bloody?
The Battle of Stalingrad is very important historically and politically. Namely; if Hitler had won this battle, a devastation process would have begun that reach from Moscow to the heart of the Soviets and probably lead to the collapse of the Communist system in the 1940s. In this sense, if Stalingrad had fell and the Soviets lost, World War II would have ended with the victory of the Nazis and a Nazi government system would have dominated the world instead of today’s liberal democratic system.
From this perspective, the battle has a strategic importance that would affect the forms of political governance almost all around the world. After this battle, German forces began to withdraw and the balances changed in World War II., Germany lost the War and it was divided into two contrary parts. Then the Nazi administration fell and liberal democracy was born and became widespread to almost all around the world. This is also one of the important reasons why the battle of Stalingrad was so bloody. By the way if you are interested in World War II, you can read Berlin Wall article also 🙂
