The Battle of Stalingrad is a famous battle. They commanded fronts and armies in the Battle of Stalingrad

Few people in our country and in the world can dispute the significance of the victory at Stalingrad. The events that took place between July 17, 1942 and February 2, 1943 gave hope to the peoples who were still under occupation. Below we will present 10 facts from the history of the Battle of Stalingrad, designed to reflect the severity of the conditions in which the fighting took place, and, perhaps, to tell something new, forcing us to take a different look at this event from the history of World War II

1. To say that the battle for Stalingrad took place in difficult conditions is the same as saying nothing. Soviet troops in this sector were in dire need of anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft artillery, and there was also a shortage of ammunition - some formations simply did not have it. The soldiers obtained what they needed as best they could, mostly taking it from their dead comrades. There were enough dead Soviet soldiers, since most of the divisions sent to hold the city, named after the main man in the USSR, consisted of either unexamined newcomers who arrived from the Headquarters reserve, or soldiers exhausted in previous battles. This situation was aggravated by the open steppe terrain in which the fighting took place. This factor allowed enemies to regularly inflict great damage on Soviet troops in equipment and people. Young officers, who had only yesterday left the walls of military schools, went into battle as ordinary soldiers and died one after another.

2. When the Battle of Stalingrad is mentioned, images of street fighting, which are so often shown in documentaries and feature films, pop up in many people’s heads. However, few people remember that although the Germans approached the city on August 23, they began the assault only on September 14, and far from the best divisions of Paulus took part in the assault. If we develop this idea further, we can come to the conclusion that if the defense of Stalingrad had been concentrated only within the city limits, it would have fallen, and fallen quite quickly. So what saved the city and held back the enemy onslaught? The answer is continuous counterattacks. Only after repelling the counterattack of the 1st Guards Army on September 3, the Germans were able to begin preparations for the assault. All attacks by Soviet troops were carried out from the northern direction and did not stop even after the start of the assault. So, on September 18, the Red Army, having received reinforcements, was able to launch another counterattack, because of which the enemy even had to transfer part of its forces from Stalingrad. The next blow was delivered by Soviet troops on September 24. Such countermeasures did not allow the Wehrmacht to concentrate all its forces to attack the city and constantly kept the soldiers in suspense.

If you are wondering why this is so rarely remembered, then it’s simple. The main task of all these counterattacks was to connect with the defenders of the city, and it was not possible to complete it, and the losses were enormous. This can be clearly seen in the fate of the 241st and 167th tank brigades. They had 48 and 50 tanks, respectively, on which they pinned hopes as the main striking force in the counter-offensive of the 24th Army. On the morning of September 30, during the offensive, Soviet forces were covered by enemy fire, as a result of which the infantry fell behind the tanks, and both tank brigades disappeared behind a hill, and a few hours later, radio contact was lost with the vehicles that had broken deep into the enemy’s defenses. By the end of the day, out of 98 vehicles, only four remained in service. Later, repairmen were able to evacuate two more damaged tanks from these brigades from the battlefield. The reasons for this failure, like all previous ones, were the well-built defense of the Germans and the poor training of the Soviet troops, for whom Stalingrad became a place of baptism of fire. The chief of staff of the Don Front, Major General Malinin, himself said that if he had at least one well-trained infantry regiment, he would have marched all the way to Stalingrad, and that the point is not in the enemy’s artillery, which does its job well and pins the soldiers to the ground, but the fact is that at this time they do not rise to attack. It is for these reasons that most writers and historians of the post-war period remained silent about such counterattacks. They did not want to darken the picture of the triumph of the Soviet people or were simply afraid that such facts would become a reason for excessive attention to their person from the regime.

3. Axis soldiers who survived the Battle of Stalingrad later usually noted that it was a real bloody absurdity. They, being by that time soldiers already seasoned in many battles, in Stalingrad felt like newcomers who did not know what to do. The Wehrmacht command, it seems, was subject to the same sentiments, since during urban battles it sometimes gave orders to storm very insignificant areas, where sometimes up to several thousand soldiers died. The fate of the Nazis locked in the Stalingrad cauldron was also not made easier by the air supply of troops organized on Hitler’s orders, since such planes were often shot down by Soviet forces, and the cargo that did reach the recipient sometimes did not satisfy the needs of the soldiers at all. For example, the Germans, in dire need of provisions and ammunition, received a parcel from the sky consisting entirely of women's mink coats.

Tired and exhausted, the soldiers at that time could only rely on God, especially since the Octave of Christmas was approaching - one of the main Catholic holidays, which is celebrated from December 25 to January 1. There is a version that it was precisely because of the approaching holiday that Paulus’s army did not leave the encirclement of Soviet troops. Based on the analysis of letters home from the Germans and their allies, they prepared provisions and gifts for friends and waited for these days like a miracle. There is even evidence that the German command turned to Soviet generals with a request for a ceasefire on Christmas night. However, the USSR had its own plans, so on Christmas Day the artillery worked at full strength and made the night from December 24 to 25 the last in their lives for many German soldiers.

4. On August 30, 1942, a Messerschmitt was shot down over Sarepta. Its pilot, Count Heinrich von Einsiedel, managed to land the plane with the landing gear retracted and was captured. He was a famous Luftwaffe ace from the JG 3 Udet squadron and “part-time” great-grandson of the “Iron Chancellor” Otto von Bismarck. Such news, of course, immediately found its way into propaganda leaflets designed to raise the spirit of Soviet soldiers. Einsiedel himself was sent to an officer's camp near Moscow, where he soon met with Paulus. Since Heinrich was never an ardent supporter of Hitler’s theory of a superior race and purity of blood, he went to war with the belief that the Great Reich was waging a war on the Eastern Front not with the Russian nation, but with Bolshevism. However, captivity forced him to reconsider his views, and in 1944 he became a member of the anti-fascist Free Germany committee, and then a member of the editorial board of the newspaper of the same name. Bismarck was not the only historical image that the Soviet propaganda machine exploited in order to raise the morale of soldiers. So, for example, propagandists started a rumor that in the 51st Army there is a detachment of machine gunners, commanded by Senior Lieutenant Alexander Nevsky - not just the namesake of the prince who defeated the Germans near Lake Peipus, but also his direct descendant. He was allegedly nominated for the Order of the Red Banner, but such a person does not appear in the lists of holders of the order.

5. During the Battle of Stalingrad, Soviet commanders successfully used psychological pressure on the pain points of enemy soldiers. Thus, in rare moments, when the fighting in certain areas subsided, propagandists, through speakers installed near enemy positions, broadcast songs native to the Germans, which were interrupted by reports of breakthroughs by Soviet troops in one or another sector of the front. But the most cruel and therefore the most effective method was considered to be called “Timer and Tango” or “Tango Timer”. During this attack on the psyche, Soviet troops broadcast through loudspeakers the steady beat of a metronome, which, after the seventh beat, was interrupted by a message in German: “Every seven seconds one German soldier dies at the front.” The metronome then counted down seven seconds again and the message was repeated. This could go on for 10 – 20 times, and then a tango melody sounded over the enemy positions. Therefore, it is not surprising that many of those who were locked in the “cauldron”, after several such influences, fell into hysterics and tried to escape, dooming themselves, and sometimes their colleagues, to certain death.

6. After the completion of the Soviet Operation Ring, 130 thousand enemy soldiers were captured by the Red Army, but only about 5,000 returned home after the war. Most died in the first year of their captivity from illnesses and hypothermia, which the prisoners acquired even before their capture. But there was another reason: out of the total number of prisoners, only 110 thousand were Germans, all the rest were from among the “Khiwis”. They voluntarily went over to the enemy’s side and, according to the Wehrmacht’s calculations, had to faithfully serve Germany in its liberation struggle against Bolshevism. For example, one sixth of the total number of soldiers of Paulus's 6th Army (approximately 52 thousand people) consisted of such volunteers.

After being captured by the Red Army, such people were no longer considered as prisoners of war, but as traitors to the homeland, which, according to wartime law, is punishable by death. However, there were cases when captured Germans became a kind of “Khivi” for the Red Army. A striking example of this is the incident that occurred in the platoon of Lieutenant Druz. Several of his men, who were sent in search of the “language,” returned to the trenches with an exhausted and mortally frightened German. It soon became clear that he did not have any valuable information about the enemy’s actions, so he should have been sent to the rear, but due to heavy shelling this promised losses. Most often, such prisoners were simply disposed of, but luck smiled on this one. The fact is that before the war, the prisoner worked as a German language teacher, therefore, on the personal orders of the battalion commander, his life was spared and he was even given allowance, in exchange for the fact that the “Fritz” would teach German to the reconnaissance officers from the battalion. True, according to Nikolai Viktorovich Druz himself, a month later the German was blown up by a German mine, but during this time, at an accelerated pace, he more or less taught the soldiers the enemy’s language.

7. On February 2, 1943, the last German soldiers laid down their arms in Stalingrad. Field Marshal Paulus himself surrendered even earlier, on January 31. Officially, the place of surrender of the commander of the 6th Army is considered to be his headquarters in the basement of a building that was once a department store. However, some researchers disagree with this and believe that the documents indicate a different location. According to their statement, the headquarters of the German field marshal was located in the building of the Stalingrad executive committee. But such “desecration” of the building of Soviet power, apparently, did not suit the ruling regime, and the story was slightly corrected. Whether this is true or not may never be established, but the theory itself has the right to life, because absolutely anything could have happened.

8. On May 2, 1943, thanks to the joint initiative of the leadership of the NKVD and the city authorities, a football match took place at the Stalingrad Azot stadium, which became known as the “match on the ruins of Stalingrad.” The Dynamo team, which was assembled from local players, met on the field with the leading team of the USSR - Moscow Spartak. The friendly match ended with a score of 1:0 in favor of Dynamo. To this day, it is unknown whether the result was rigged, or whether the city’s defenders, seasoned in battle, were simply accustomed to fighting and winning. Be that as it may, the organizers of the match managed to do the most important thing - to unite the residents of the city and give them hope that all the attributes of peaceful life are returning to Stalingrad.

9. On November 29, 1943, Winston Churchill, at a ceremony in honor of the opening of the Tehran Conference, solemnly presented Joseph Stalin with a sword forged by special order of King George VI of Great Britain. This blade was presented as a sign of the British’s admiration for the courage shown by the defenders of Stalingrad. Along the entire blade there was an inscription in Russian and English: “To the inhabitants of Stalingrad, whose hearts are strong as steel. Gift from King George VI as a sign of the great admiration of all the British people."

The decoration of the sword was made of gold, silver, leather and crystal. It is rightfully considered a masterpiece of modern blacksmithing. Today it can be seen by any visitor to the Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad in Volgograd. In addition to the original, three copies were also released. One is in the Sword Museum in London, the second is in the National Museum of Military History in South Africa, and the third is part of the collection of the head of the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in London.

10. An interesting fact is that after the end of the battle, Stalingrad could have ceased to exist altogether. The fact is that in February 1943, almost immediately after the surrender of the Germans, the Soviet government faced an acute question: is it worth rebuilding the city, since after fierce battles Stalingrad lay in ruins? It was cheaper to build a new city. Nevertheless, Joseph Stalin insisted on restoration, and the city was resurrected from the ashes. However, the residents themselves say that for a long time after this, some streets emitted a corpse-like smell, and Mamayev Kurgan, due to the large number of bombs dropped on it, was not overgrown with grass for more than two years.

July 17th 1942 At the turn of the Chir River, the advanced units of the 62nd Army of the Stalingrad Front entered into battle with the vanguard of the 6th German Army.

The Battle of Stalingrad has begun.

For two weeks, our armies managed to hold back the onslaught of superior enemy forces. By July 22, the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht was additionally reinforced by another tank division from the 4th Panzer Army. Thus, the balance of forces in the Don bend changed even more in favor of the advancing German group, which already numbered about 250 thousand people, over 700 tanks, 7,500 guns and mortars, and they were supported from the air by up to 1,200 aircraft. While the Stalingrad Front had approximately 180 thousand personnel, 360 tanks, 7,900 guns and mortars, about 340 aircraft.

And yet the Red Army managed to slow down the pace of the enemy’s advance. If in the period from July 12 to 17, 1942, the enemy advanced 30 km daily, then from July 18 to 22 - only 15 km per day. By the end of July, our armies began to withdraw troops to the left bank of the Don.

On July 31, 1942, the selfless resistance of Soviet troops forced the Nazi command to turn from the Caucasus direction to Stalingrad 4th Tank Army under the leadership of Colonel General G.Gota.

Hitler's initial plan to capture the city by July 25 was thwarted; the Wehrmacht troops took a short break to gather even larger forces into the offensive zone.

The defense line stretched for 800 km. August 5 to facilitate the management of the decision of the Headquarters the front was divided into Stalingrad and South-Eastern.

By mid-August, German troops managed to advance 60-70 km to Stalingrad, and in some areas only 20 km. The city was turning from a front-line city into a front-line city. Despite the continuous transfer of more and more forces to Stalingrad, parity was achieved only in human resources. The Germans had a more than twofold advantage in guns and aircraft, and a fourfold advantage in tanks.

On August 19, 1942, shock units of the 6th combined arms and 4th tank armies simultaneously resumed the offensive on Stalingrad. On August 23, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, German tanks broke through to the Volga and reached the outskirts of the city. On the same day, the enemy launched a massive air raid on Stalingrad. The breakthrough was stopped by militia forces and NKVD detachments.

At the same time, our troops in some sectors of the front launched a counteroffensive, and the enemy was thrown back 5-10 km to the west. Another attempt by German troops to capture the city was repulsed by the heroically fighting Stalingraders.

On September 13, German troops resumed their assault on the city. Particularly fierce fighting took place in the area of ​​the station and Mamayev Kurgan (height 102.0). From its top it was possible to control not only the city, but also the crossings across the Volga. Here, from September 1942 to January 1943, some of the most fierce battles of the Great Patriotic War took place.

After 13 days of bloody street fighting, the Germans captured the city center. But the main task - to capture the banks of the Volga in the Stalingrad area - the German troops were unable to complete. The city continued to resist.

By the end of September, the Germans were already on the approaches to the Volga, where administrative buildings and a pier were located. Here stubborn battles were fought for every house. Many of the buildings received their names during the days of defense: “Zabolotny’s house”, “L-shaped house”, “milk house”, “Pavlov’s house” and others.

Ilya Vasilievich Voronov, one of the defenders of Pavlov’s House, having received several wounds in the arm, leg and stomach, pulled out the safety pin with his teeth and threw grenades at the Germans with his healthy hand. He refused the help of the orderlies and crawled to the first aid station himself. The surgeon removed more than two dozen shrapnel and bullets from his body. Voronov stoically endured the amputation of his leg and hand, losing the maximum amount of blood allowed for life.

He distinguished himself in the battles for the city of Stalingrad from September 14, 1942.
In group battles in the city of Stalingrad, he destroyed up to 50 soldiers and officers. On November 25, 1942, he took part in the assault on the house with his crew. He boldly moved forward and ensured the advance of the units with machine gun fire. His crew with a machine gun was the first to burst into the house. An enemy mine disabled the entire crew and wounded Voronov himself. But the fearless warrior continued to shoot at the resistance of the counterattacking Nazis. Personally, using a machine gun, he defeated 3 attacks of the Nazis, destroying up to 3 dozen Nazis. After the machine gun was broken and Voronov received two more wounds, he continued to fight. During the battle of the 4th counterattack of the Nazis, Voronov received another wound, but continued to fight, pulling out the safety pin with his teeth and throwing grenades with his healthy hand. Being seriously wounded, he refused the help of paramedics and crawled to the first aid station himself.
For the courage and bravery shown in battles with the German invaders, he is nominated for a government award with the Order of the Red Star.

No less serious battles were fought in other parts of the city defense - on Bald Mountain, in the “ravine of death”, on “Lyudnikov Island”.

The Volga military flotilla under the command of Rear Admiral played a huge role in the defense of the city D.D. Rogacheva. Under continuous raids by enemy aircraft, the ships continued to ensure the passage of troops across the Volga, the delivery of ammunition, food and the evacuation of the wounded.

How the victory of the Soviet Union in the Battle of Stalingrad affected the course of the war. What role did Stalingrad play in the plans of Nazi Germany and what were the consequences? The course of the Battle of Stalingrad, losses on both sides, its significance and historical results.

The Battle of Stalingrad – the beginning of the end of the Third Reich

During the winter-spring campaign of 1942, an unfavorable situation for the Red Army developed on the Soviet-German front. A number of unsuccessful offensive operations were carried out, which in some cases had some local success, but overall ended in failure. Soviet troops failed to take full advantage of the winter offensive of 1941, as a result of which they lost very advantageous bridgeheads and areas. In addition, a significant part of the strategic reserve, intended for large offensive operations, was activated. The headquarters incorrectly determined the directions of the main attacks, assuming that the main events in the summer of 1942 would unfold in the north-west and center of Russia. The southern and southeastern directions were given secondary importance. In the fall of 1941, orders were given for the construction of defensive lines on the Don, the North Caucasus and the Stalingrad direction, but they did not have time to complete their equipment by the summer of 1942.

The enemy, unlike our troops, had complete control of the strategic initiative. His main task for the summer - autumn of 1942 was to capture the main raw materials, industrial and agricultural regions of the Soviet Union. The leading role in this was given to Army Group South, which suffered the least losses since the beginning of the war against the USSR and had the greatest combat potential.

By the end of spring it became clear that the enemy was rushing to the Volga. As the chronicle of events showed, the main battles would take place on the outskirts of Stalingrad, and subsequently in the city itself.

Progress of the battle

The Battle of Stalingrad of 1942-1943 will last 200 days and will become the largest and bloodiest battle not only of the Second World War, but also in the entire history of the 20th century. The course of the Battle of Stalingrad itself is divided into two stages:

• defense on the approaches and in the city itself;
• strategic offensive operation of the Soviet troops.

Plans of the parties for the start of the battle

By the spring of 1942, Army Group South was divided into two parts - "A" and "B". Army Group “A” was intended to attack the Caucasus, this was the main direction, Army Group “B” was intended to deliver a secondary blow to Stalingrad. The subsequent course of events will change the priority of these tasks.

By mid-July 1942, the enemy captured Donbass, pushed our troops back to Voronezh, captured Rostov and managed to cross the Don. The Nazis entered the operational space and created a real threat to the North Caucasus and Stalingrad.

Map of the "Battle of Stalingrad"

Initially, Army Group A, advancing into the Caucasus, was given an entire tank army and several formations from Army Group B to emphasize the importance of this direction.

Army Group B, after crossing the Don, was intended to equip defensive positions, simultaneously occupy the isthmus between the Volga and Don and, moving between the rivers, strike in the direction of Stalingrad. The city was ordered to occupy and then advance with mobile formations along the Volga to Astrakhan, finally disrupting transport links along the main river of the country.

The Soviet command decided, with the help of stubborn defense of four unfinished engineering lines - the so-called bypasses - to prevent the capture of the city and the Nazis’ access to the Volga. Due to untimely determination of the direction of the enemy's movement and miscalculations in planning military operations in the spring-summer campaign, the Headquarters was unable to concentrate the necessary forces in this sector. The newly created Stalingrad Front had only 3 armies from the deep reserve and 2 air armies. Later, it included several more formations, units and formations of the Southern Front, which suffered significant losses in the Caucasian direction. By this time, serious changes had occurred in military command and control. The fronts began to report directly to Headquarters, and its representative was included in the command of each front. On the Stalingrad Front, this role was performed by Army General Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov.

Number of troops, ratio of forces and means at the beginning of the battle

The defensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad started out difficult for the Red Army. The Wehrmacht had superiority over the Soviet troops:

• in personnel by 1.7 times;
• in tanks 1.3 times;
• in artillery 1.3 times;
• in airplanes more than 2 times.

Despite the fact that the Soviet command continuously increased the number of troops, gradually transferring formations and units from the depths of the country, the defense zone over 500 kilometers wide was not completely occupied by troops. The activity of enemy tank formations was very high. At the same time, air superiority was overwhelming. The German Air Force had complete air supremacy.

Battle of Stalingrad - fighting on the outskirts

On July 17, the forward detachments of our troops entered into battle with the enemy vanguard. This date marked the beginning of the battle. During the first six days, we managed to slow down the pace of the offensive, but it still remained very high. On July 23, the enemy attempted to encircle one of our armies with powerful attacks from the flanks. The command of the Soviet troops in a short time had to prepare two counterattacks, which were carried out from July 25 to 27. These attacks prevented encirclement. By July 30, the German command threw all its reserves into battle. The offensive potential of the Nazis was exhausted. The enemy switched to a forced defense, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements. Already on August 1, the tank army, transferred to Army Group A, was returned back to the Stalingrad direction.

During the first 10 days of August, the enemy was able to reach the outer defensive perimeter and, in some places, break through it. Due to active enemy actions, the defense zone of our troops increased from 500 to 800 kilometers, which forced our command to divide the Stalingrad Front into two independent ones - Stalingrad and the newly formed South-Eastern Front, which included the 62nd Army. Until the end of the battle, V.I. Chuikov was the commander of the 62nd Army.

Until August 22, fighting continued on the outer defensive perimeter. Stubborn defense was combined with offensive actions, but it was not possible to keep the enemy at this line. The enemy overcame the middle line almost immediately, and on August 23, fighting began on the internal defensive line. On the near approaches to the city, the Nazis were met by NKVD troops from the Stalingrad garrison. On the same day, the enemy broke through to the Volga north of the city, cutting off our combined arms army from the main forces of the Stalingrad Front. German aviation caused enormous damage that day with a massive raid on the city. The central regions were destroyed, our troops suffered serious losses, including an increase in the number of deaths among the population. There were more than 40 thousand dead and those who died from wounds - old people, women, children.

On the southern approaches the situation was no less tense: the enemy broke through the outer and middle defensive lines. Our army launched counterattacks, trying to restore the situation, but the Wehrmacht troops methodically advanced towards the city.

The situation was very difficult. The enemy was in close proximity to the city. Under these conditions, Stalin decided to strike somewhat to the north to weaken the enemy’s onslaught. In addition, it took time to prepare the city defensive perimeter for combat operations.

By September 12, the front line came very close to Stalingrad and passed 10 kilometers from the city. It was urgently necessary to weaken the enemy's onslaught. Stalingrad was in a semi-ring, surrounded from the northeast and southwest by two tank armies. By this time, the main forces of the Stalingrad and South-Eastern fronts occupied the city defensive contour. With the withdrawal of the main forces of our troops to the outskirts, the defensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad on the approaches to the city ended.

City defense

By mid-September, the enemy had practically doubled the number and armament of its troops. The group was increased by the transfer of units from the west and the Caucasus. A significant proportion of them were troops of Germany's satellites - Romania and Italy. Hitler, at a meeting at the Wehrmacht headquarters, which was located in Vinnitsa, demanded that the commander of Army Group B, General Weihe, and the commander of the 6th Army, General Paulus, capture Stalingrad as soon as possible.

The Soviet command also increased the grouping of its troops, moving reserves from the depths of the country and replenishing existing units with personnel and weapons. By the beginning of the struggle for the city itself, the balance of forces was still on the side of the enemy. If there was parity in personnel, then in artillery the Nazis outnumbered our troops by 1.3 times, in tanks by 1.6, and in airplanes by 2.6 times.

On September 13, the enemy launched an attack on the central part of the city with two powerful blows. These two groups included up to 350 tanks. The enemy managed to advance to the factory areas and come close to Mamayev Kurgan. The enemy's actions were actively supported by aviation. It should be noted that, having air supremacy, the German planes inflicted enormous damage on the city’s defenders. During the entire period of the Battle of Stalingrad, Nazi aviation carried out an unimaginable number of sorties, even by the standards of the Second World War, turning the city into ruins.

Trying to weaken the onslaught, the Soviet command planned a counterattack. To carry out this task, a rifle division was brought in from the General Headquarters reserve. On September 15 and 16, its soldiers managed to complete the main task - to prevent the enemy from reaching the Volga in the city center. Two battalions occupied Mamayev Kurgan, the dominant height. Another brigade from the Headquarters reserve was transferred there on the 17th.
Simultaneously with the fighting in the city north of Stalingrad, the offensive operations of our three armies continued with the task of pulling part of the enemy forces away from the city. Unfortunately, the advance was extremely slow, but forced the enemy to continuously tighten their defenses in this area. Thus, this offensive played a positive role.

On September 18, preparations were made, and on the 19th, two counterattacks were launched from the Mamayev Kurgan area. The attacks continued until September 20, but did not lead to a significant change in the situation.

On September 21, the Nazis with fresh forces resumed their breakthrough to the Volga in the center of the city, but all their attacks were repulsed. The fighting for these areas continued until September 26.

The first assault on the city by Nazi troops between September 13 and 26 brought them limited success. The enemy reached the Volga in the central areas of the city and on the left flank.
From September 27, the German command, without weakening the pressure in the center, concentrated on the outskirts of the city and factory areas. As a result, by October 8, the enemy managed to capture all the dominant heights on the western outskirts. From them the entire city was visible, as well as the bed of the Volga. Thus, crossing the river became even more complicated, and the maneuver of our troops was constrained. However, the offensive potential of the German armies was coming to an end. Regrouping and replenishment were needed.

At the end of the month, the situation required the Soviet command to reorganize the control system. The Stalingrad Front was renamed the Don Front, and the South-Eastern Front was renamed the Stalingrad Front. The 62nd Army, proven in battle in the most dangerous sectors, was included in the Don Front.

At the beginning of October, the Wehrmacht headquarters planned a general assault on the city, managing to concentrate large forces on almost all sectors of the front. On October 9, the attackers resumed attacks on the city. They managed to capture a number of Stalingrad factory villages and part of the Tractor Plant, cut one of our armies into several parts and reach the Volga in a narrow area of ​​2.5 kilometers. Gradually, enemy activity faded away. On November 11, the last assault attempt was made. After suffering losses, German troops switched to a forced defense on November 18. On this day, the defensive stage of the battle ended, but the Battle of Stalingrad itself was only approaching its climax.

Results of the defensive phase of the battle

The main task of the defensive stage was completed - Soviet troops managed to defend the city, bled the enemy strike forces dry and prepared the conditions for the start of a counteroffensive. The enemy suffered unprecedented losses. According to various estimates, they amounted to about 700 thousand killed, up to 1000 tanks, about 1400 guns and mortars, 1400 aircraft.

The defense of Stalingrad gave invaluable experience to commanders of all levels in command and control of troops. The methods and methods of conducting combat operations in urban conditions, tested in Stalingrad, subsequently turned out to be in demand more than once. The defensive operation contributed to the development of Soviet military art, revealed the leadership qualities of many military leaders, and became a school of combat skills for each and every soldier of the Red Army.

Soviet losses were also very high - about 640 thousand personnel, 1,400 tanks, 2,000 aircraft and 12,000 guns and mortars.

Offensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad

The strategic offensive operation began on November 19, 1942 and ended on February 2, 1943. It was carried out by forces of three fronts.

To make a decision to launch a counterattack, at least three conditions must be met. First, the enemy must be stopped. Secondly, it should not have strong nearby reserves. Thirdly, the availability of forces and means sufficient to carry out the operation. By mid-November, all these conditions were met.

Plans of the parties, balance of forces and means

From November 14, according to Hitler's directive, German troops switched to strategic defense. Offensive operations continued only in the Stalingrad direction, where the enemy stormed the city. The troops of Army Group B occupied the defense from Voronezh in the north to the Manych River in the south. The most combat-ready units were located at Stalingrad, and the flanks were defended by Romanian and Italian troops. The commander of the army group had 8 divisions in reserve; due to the activity of Soviet troops along the entire length of the front, he was limited in the depth of their use.

The Soviet command planned to carry out the operation with forces from the Southwestern, Stalingrad and Don fronts. The following tasks were identified to them:

• The Southwestern Front - a strike group consisting of three armies - should go on the offensive in the direction of the city of Kalach, defeat the 3rd Romanian Army and join forces with the troops of the Stalingrad Front by the end of the third day of the operation.
• Stalingrad Front - a strike group consisting of three armies to go on the offensive in a northwestern direction, defeat the 6th Army Corps of the Romanian Army and link up with the troops of the Southwestern Front.
• Don Front - strikes of two armies in converging directions to encircle the enemy with subsequent destruction in the small bend of the Don.

The difficulty was that in order to carry out encirclement tasks it was necessary to use significant forces and means to create an internal front - to defeat the German troops inside the ring, and an external one - to prevent the release of those encircled from the outside.

Planning for the Soviet counteroffensive began in mid-October, at the height of the fighting for Stalingrad. The front commanders, by order of Headquarters, managed to create the necessary superiority in personnel and equipment before the start of the offensive. On the Southwestern Front, Soviet troops outnumbered the Nazis in personnel by 1.1, in artillery by 1.4, and in tanks by 2.8. In the Don Front zone the ratio was as follows: in personnel 1.5 times, in artillery 2.4 times in favor of our troops, in tanks there was parity. The superiority of the Stalingrad Front was: 1.1 times in personnel, 1.2 times in artillery, 3.2 times in tanks.

It is noteworthy that the concentration of strike groups took place secretly, only at night and in bad weather conditions.

A characteristic feature of the developed operation was the principle of massing aviation and artillery in the directions of the main attacks. It was possible to achieve an unprecedented artillery density - in some areas it reached 117 units per kilometer of front.

Difficult tasks were also assigned to engineering units and units. A huge amount of work had to be done to clear mines from areas, terrain and roads, and to establish crossings.

Progress of the offensive operation

The operation began as planned on November 19. The offensive was preceded by powerful artillery preparation.

In the first hours, the troops of the Southwestern Front penetrated the enemy defenses to a depth of 3 kilometers. Developing the offensive and introducing fresh forces into the battle, our strike groups advanced 30 kilometers by the end of the first day and thereby encircled the enemy from the flanks.

Things were more complicated at the Don Front. There, our troops faced stubborn resistance in conditions of extremely difficult terrain and the enemy’s defense was saturated with mine and explosive barriers. By the end of the first day, the depth of the wedge was 3-5 kilometers. Subsequently, the front troops were drawn into protracted battles and the enemy 4th Tank Army managed to avoid encirclement.

For the Nazi command, the counteroffensive came as a surprise. Hitler's directive on the transition to strategic defensive actions was dated November 14, but they did not have time to move on to it. On November 18, in Stalingrad, Nazi troops were still advancing. The command of Army Group B mistakenly determined the direction of the main attacks of the Soviet troops. During the first 24 hours, it was at a loss, only sending telegrams to Wehrmacht headquarters stating the facts. The commander of Army Group B, General Weihe, ordered the commander of the 6th Army to stop the offensive in Stalingrad and allocate the necessary number of formations in order to stop the Russian pressure and cover the flanks. As a result of the measures taken, resistance in the offensive zone of the Southwestern Front increased.

On November 20, the offensive of the Stalingrad Front began, which once again came as a complete surprise to the Wehrmacht leadership. The Nazis urgently needed to look for a way out of the current situation.

The troops of the Stalingrad Front broke through the enemy’s defenses on the first day and advanced to a depth of 40 kilometers, and on the second day another 15. By November 22, a distance of 80 kilometers remained between the troops of our two fronts.

Units of the Southwestern Front crossed the Don on the same day and captured the city of Kalach.
The Wehrmacht headquarters did not stop trying to find a way out of the difficult situation. Two tank armies were ordered to be transferred from the North Caucasus. Paulus was ordered not to leave Stalingrad. Hitler did not want to accept the fact that he would have to retreat from the Volga. The consequences of this decision will be fatal both for Paulus’s army and for all Nazi troops.

By November 22, the distance between the advanced units of the Stalingrad and Southwestern fronts was reduced to 12 kilometers. At 16.00 on November 23, the fronts joined forces. The encirclement of the enemy group was completed. There were 22 divisions and auxiliary units in the Stalingrad “cauldron”. On the same day, Romanian corps numbering almost 27 thousand people were captured.

However, a number of difficulties arose. The total length of the outer front was very large, almost 450 kilometers, and the distance between the inner and outer front was insufficient. The task was to move the external front as far to the west as possible in the shortest possible time in order to isolate the encircled Paulus group and prevent its release from the outside. At the same time, it was necessary to create powerful reserves for stability. At the same time, the formations on the internal front had to begin destroying the enemy in the “cauldron” in a short time.

Until November 30, troops on three fronts tried to cut the encircled 6th Army into pieces, while simultaneously compressing the ring. By this day, the area occupied by enemy troops had decreased by half.

It should be noted that the enemy stubbornly resisted, skillfully using reserves. In addition, his strength was assessed incorrectly. The General Staff assumed that there were approximately 90 thousand Nazis surrounded, while the real number exceeded 300 thousand.

Paulus turned to the Fuhrer with a request for independence in decision-making. Hitler deprived him of this right and ordered him to remain surrounded and wait for help.

The counteroffensive did not end with the group's encirclement; Soviet troops seized the initiative. The defeat of the enemy troops was soon to be completed.

Operation Saturn and Ring

The Wehrmacht headquarters and the command of Army Group B began the formation of Army Group Don in early December, designed to relieve the group that was encircled at Stalingrad. This group included formations transferred from Voronezh, Orel, the North Caucasus, from France, as well as parts of the 4th Tank Army that escaped encirclement. At the same time, the balance of forces in favor of the enemy was overwhelming. In the breakthrough area, he outnumbered the Soviet troops in men and artillery by 2 times, and in tanks by 6 times.

In December, Soviet troops had to begin solving several tasks at once:

• Developing the offensive, defeat the enemy in the Middle Don - to solve this, Operation Saturn was developed
• Prevent the breakthrough of Army Group Don to the 6th Army
• To eliminate the encircled enemy group - for this they developed Operation Ring.

On December 12, the enemy launched an offensive. At first, using their great superiority in tanks, the Germans broke through the defenses and advanced 25 kilometers in the first 24 hours. During the 7 days of the offensive operation, enemy forces approached the encircled group at a distance of 40 kilometers. The Soviet command urgently activated reserves.

Map of Operation Little Saturn

In the current situation, the Headquarters made adjustments to the plan for Operation Saturn. The troops of the South-Western and part of the forces of the Voronezh Front, instead of attacking Rostov, were ordered to move it to the south-east, take the enemy in pincers and go to the rear of the Don Army Group. The operation was called "Little Saturn". It began on December 16, and in the first three days they managed to break through the defenses and penetrate to a depth of 40 kilometers. Using our advantage in maneuverability, bypassing pockets of resistance, our troops rushed behind enemy lines. Within two weeks, they pinned down the actions of Army Group Don and forced the Nazis to go on the defensive, thereby depriving Paulus’s troops of their last hope.

On December 24, after a short artillery preparation, the Stalingrad Front launched an offensive, delivering the main blow in the direction of Kotelnikovsky. On December 26, the city was liberated. Subsequently, the front troops were given the task of eliminating the Tormosinsk group, which they completed by December 31. From this date, regrouping began for the attack on Rostov.

As a result of successful operations in the Middle Don and in the Kotelnikovsky region, our troops managed to thwart the Wehrmacht’s plans to release the encircled group, defeat large formations and units of German, Italian and Romanian troops, and push the external front away from the Stalingrad “cauldron” by 200 kilometers.

Aviation, meanwhile, placed the encircled group in a tight blockade, minimizing attempts by the Wehrmacht headquarters to organize supplies for the 6th Army.

Operation Saturn

From January 10 to February 2, the command of the Soviet troops carried out an operation code-named “Ring” to eliminate the encircled 6th Army of the Nazis. Initially, it was assumed that the encirclement and destruction of the enemy group would take place in a shorter period of time, but the lack of forces on the fronts affected them, and they were unable to cut the enemy group into pieces right off the bat. The activity of German troops outside the cauldron delayed part of the forces, and the enemy himself inside the ring by that time had not weakened at all.

The operation was entrusted by the Headquarters to the Don Front. In addition, part of the forces was allocated by the Stalingrad Front, which by that time had been renamed the Southern Front and was given the task of attacking Rostov. The commander of the Don Front in the Battle of Stalingrad, General Rokossovsky, decided to dismember the enemy group and destroy it piece by piece with powerful cutting blows from west to east.
The balance of forces and means did not give confidence in the success of the operation. The enemy outnumbered the troops of the Don Front in personnel and tanks by 1.2 times and was inferior in artillery by 1.7 times and in aviation by 3 times. True, due to a lack of fuel, he could not fully use motorized and tank formations.

Operation Ring

On January 8, the Nazis received a message with a proposal to surrender, which they rejected.
On January 10, under the cover of artillery preparation, the offensive of the Don Front began. During the first day, the attackers managed to advance to a depth of 8 kilometers. Artillery units and formations supported the troops with a new type of accompanying fire at that time, called the “barrage of fire.”

The enemy fought on the same defensive lines on which the Battle of Stalingrad began for our troops. By the end of the second day, the Nazis, under pressure from the Soviet army, began to randomly retreat to Stalingrad.

Surrender of Nazi troops

On January 17, the width of the encirclement was reduced by seventy kilometers. There was a repeated proposal to lay down the arms, which was also ignored. Until the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, calls for surrender from the Soviet command were received regularly.

On January 22, the offensive continued. Over four days, the depth of advance was another 15 kilometers. By January 25, the enemy was squeezed into a narrow area measuring 3.5 by 20 kilometers. The next day this strip was cut into two parts, northern and southern. On January 26, a historic meeting of the two front armies took place in the Mamayev Kurgan area.

Until January 31, stubborn fighting continued. On this day, the southern group stopped resisting. The officers and generals of the 6th Army headquarters, led by Paulus, surrendered. The day before, Hitler awarded him the rank of field marshal. The northern group continued to resist. Only on February 1, after a powerful artillery fire raid, the enemy began to surrender. On February 2, the fighting stopped completely. A report was sent to Headquarters about the end of the Battle of Stalingrad.

On February 3, the troops of the Don Front began regrouping for further actions in the direction of Kursk.

Losses in the Battle of Stalingrad

All stages of the Battle of Stalingrad were very bloody. The losses on both sides were colossal. Until now, data from different sources differ greatly from each other. It is generally accepted that the Soviet Union lost over 1.1 million people killed. On the part of the fascist German troops, the total losses are estimated at 1.5 million people, of which the Germans account for about 900 thousand people, the rest are the losses of the satellites. Data on the number of prisoners also vary, but on average their number is close to 100 thousand people.

Equipment losses were also significant. The Wehrmacht was missing about 2,000 tanks and assault guns, 10,000 guns and mortars, 3,000 aircraft, and 70,000 vehicles.

The consequences of the Battle of Stalingrad were fatal for the Reich. It was from this moment that Germany began to experience mobilization hunger.

Significance of the Battle of Stalingrad

The victory in this battle served as a turning point in the entire Second World War. In figures and facts, the Battle of Stalingrad can be represented as follows. The Soviet army completely destroyed 32 divisions, 3 brigades, 16 divisions suffered a heavy defeat, and it took a long time to restore their combat capability. Our troops pushed the front line hundreds of kilometers away from the Volga and Don.
The major defeat shook the unity of the Reich's allies. The destruction of the Romanian and Italian armies forced the leadership of these countries to think about leaving the war. Victory in the Battle of Stalingrad and then successful offensive operations in the Caucasus convinced Turkey not to join the war against the Soviet Union.

The Battle of Stalingrad and then the Battle of Kursk finally secured the strategic initiative for the USSR. The Great Patriotic War lasted another two years, but events no longer developed according to the plans of the fascist leadership

The beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad in July 1942 was unsuccessful for the Soviet Union, the reasons for this are known. The more valuable and significant the victory is for us. Throughout the battle, military leaders previously unknown to a wide circle of people underwent formation and gained combat experience. By the end of the battle on the Volga, these were already the commanders of the great Battle of Stalingrad. Every day, front commanders gained invaluable experience in managing large military formations and used new techniques and methods of using various types of troops.

Victory in the battle had enormous moral significance for the Soviet army. She managed to crush the strongest enemy, inflicting a defeat on him, from which he was never able to recover. The exploits of the defenders of Stalingrad served as an example for all soldiers of the Red Army.

The course, results, maps, diagrams, facts, memories of participants in the Battle of Stalingrad are to this day the subject of study in academies and military schools.

In December 1942, the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad” was established. Over 700 thousand people have been awarded it. 112 people became heroes of the Soviet Union in the Battle of Stalingrad.

The dates November 19 and February 2 became memorable. For the special merits of artillery units and formations, the day of the start of the counteroffensive became a holiday - the Day of Rocket Forces and Artillery. The day of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad is marked as the Day of Military Glory. Since May 1, 1945, Stalingrad has been awarded the title of Hero City.

One of the largest battles of the Great Patriotic War was the Battle of Stalingrad. It lasted more than 200 days from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943. In terms of the number of people and equipment involved on both sides, world military history has never known examples of such battles. The total area of ​​the territory where intense fighting took place was more than 90 thousand square kilometers. The main result of the Battle of Stalingrad was the first crushing defeat of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front.

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Previous Events

By the beginning of the second year of the war, the situation at the fronts had changed. The successful defense of the capital, followed by a counterattack, made it possible to stop the rapid advance of the Wehrmacht. By April 20, 1942, the Germans were pushed back 150-300 km from Moscow. For the first time they encountered organized defense on a large section of the front and repelled the counter-offensive of our army. At the same time, the Red Army made an unsuccessful attempt to change the course of the war. The attack on Kharkov turned out to be poorly planned and brought huge losses, destabilizing the situation. More than 300 thousand Russian soldiers died or were captured.

With the arrival of spring, there was a lull on the fronts. The spring thaw gave both armies a respite, which the Germans took advantage of to develop a plan for the summer campaign. The Nazis needed oil like air. The oil fields of Baku and Grozny, the capture of the Caucasus, the subsequent offensive into Persia - these were plans of the German General Staff. The operation was called Fall Blau - “Blue Option”.

At the last moment, the Fuhrer personally made adjustments to the plan for the summer campaign - he divided Army Group South in half, formulating individual tasks for each part:

Correlation of forces, periods

For the summer campaign, the 6th Army under the command of General Paulus was transferred to Army Group B. It was she who was assigned key role in the offensive, the main goal fell on her shoulders - the capture of Stalingrad. To complete the task, the Nazis gathered enormous forces. 270 thousand soldiers and officers, about two thousand guns and mortars, and five hundred tanks were placed under the general’s command. We provided cover with the 4th Air Fleet.

On August 23, the pilots of this formation were almost wiped the city off the face of the earth. In the center of Stalingrad, after the air raid, a firestorm raged, tens of thousands of women, children, and old people died, and ¾ of the buildings were destroyed. They turned the flourishing city into a desert covered with broken bricks.

By the end of July, Army Group B was supplemented by Hermann Hoth's 4th Tank Army, which included 4 army motorized corps and the SS Panzer Division Das Reich. These huge forces were directly subordinate to Paulus.

The Stalingrad Front of the Red Army, which was renamed the South-Western Front, had twice as many soldiers, was inferior in quantity and quality of tanks and aircraft. The formations needed to effectively defend an area 500 km long. The main burden of the fight for Stalingrad fell on the shoulders of the militia. Again, as in the battle for Moscow, workers, students, yesterday's schoolchildren, took up arms. The sky of the city was protected by the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, 80% consisting of girls 18-19 years old.

Military historians, analyzing the features of military operations, conditionally divided the course of the Battle of Stalingrad into two periods:

• defensive, from July 17 to November 18, 1942;
• offensive, from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943.

The moment the next Wehrmacht offensive began came as a surprise to the Soviet command. Although this possibility was considered by the General Staff, the number of divisions transferred to the Stalingrad Front existed only on paper. In fact, their number ranged from 300 to 4 thousand people, although each should have more than 14 thousand soldiers and officers. There was nothing to repel tank attacks with, since the 8th Air Fleet was not fully equipped and there were not enough trained reserves.

Fighting at distant approaches

Briefly, the events of the Battle of Stalingrad, its initial period, look like this:

Behind the meager lines that are in any history textbook, thousands of lives of Soviet soldiers are hidden, forever remaining in the Stalingrad land, the bitterness of retreat.

City residents worked tirelessly in factories converted into military ones. The famous tractor plant repaired and assembled tanks, which from the workshops, under their own power, went to the front line. People worked around the clock, staying overnight at their workplace and sleeping for 3-4 hours. All this is under continuous bombing. They defended themselves with the whole world, but there was clearly not enough strength.

When the advanced units of the Wehrmacht advanced 70 km, the Wehrmacht command decided to encircle the Soviet units in the area of ​​the villages of Kletskaya and Suvorovskaya, occupy the crossings across the Don, and immediately take the city.

For this purpose, the attackers were divided into two groups:

1. Northern: from parts of Paulus's army.
2. South: from units of the Gotha army.

As part of our army restructuring took place. On July 26, repelling the advance of the Northern Group, the 1st and 4th Tank Armies launched a counterattack for the first time. There was no such combat unit in the Red Army's staffing table until 1942. Encirclement was prevented, but on July 28 the Red Army left for the Don. The threat of disaster loomed over the Stalingrad front.

No step back!

During this difficult time, Order No. 227 of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR of July 28, 1942, or better known as “Not a step back!” appeared. The full text can be read in the article dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad by Wikipedia. Now they call him almost cannibalistic, but at that moment the leaders of the Soviet Union had no time for moral torment. It was about the integrity of the country, the possibility of further existence. These are not just dry lines, prescriptive or regulating. He was an emotional appeal, call to defend the Motherland to the last drop of blood. A historical document that conveys the spirit of the era, dictated by the course of the war and the situation at the fronts.

On the basis of this order, penal units for soldiers and commanders appeared in the Red Army, and barrage detachments from soldiers of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs received special powers. They had the right to use the highest measure of social protection against looters and deserters, without waiting for a court verdict. Despite apparent cruelty, the troops accepted the order well. First of all, he helped restore order and improve discipline in the units. Senior commanders now have full leverage over negligent subordinates. Anyone guilty of violating the Charter or failure to comply with orders could end up in the penalty box: from privates to generals.

Fighting in the city

In the chronology of the Battle of Stalingrad, this period is allocated from September 13 to November 19. When the Germans entered the city, its defenders fortified themselves on a narrow strip along the Volga, holding the crossing. With the help of troops under the command of General Chuikov, Nazi units found themselves in Stalingrad, in real hell. There were barricades and fortifications on every street, every house became a center of defense. To avoid constant German bombing, our command took a risky step: to narrow the combat zone to 30 meters. With such a distance between the opponents, the Luftwaffe risked being bombed by its own.

One of the moments in the history of defense: during the battles on September 17, the city station was occupied by the Germans, then our troops drove them out of there. And so 4 times in one day. In total, the station's defenders changed 17 times. The eastern part of the city, which the Germans continuously attacked, defended from September 27 to October 4. There were battles for every house, floor, and room. Much later, the surviving Nazis would write memoirs in which they would call the city battles the “Rat War,” when a desperate battle was going on in the apartment in the kitchen, and the room had already been captured.

Artillery worked on both sides with direct fire, and there were continuous hand-to-hand fights. Defenders of the Barrikada, Silikat, and tractor factories desperately resisted. In a week, the German army advanced 400 meters. For comparison: at the beginning of the war, the Wehrmacht marched up to 180 km per day inland.

During the street fighting, the Nazis made 4 attempts to finally storm the city. Every two weeks, the Fuhrer demanded that Paulus put an end to the defenders of Stalingrad, who held a 25-kilometer-wide bridgehead on the banks of the Volga. With incredible efforts, spending a month, the Germans took the dominant height of the city - Mamayev Kurgan.

The defense of the mound went down in military history as example of boundless courage, the resilience of Russian soldiers. Now a memorial complex has been opened there, the world-famous sculpture “The Motherland Calls” stands, the defenders of the city and its residents are buried in mass graves. And then it was a bloody mill, grinding battalion after battalion on both sides. The Nazis lost 700 thousand people at this time, the Red Army - 644 thousand soldiers.

On November 11, 1942, Paulus's army launched the final, decisive assault on the city. The Germans did not reach the Volga 100 meters, when it became clear that their strength was running out. The offensive stopped and the enemy was forced to defend.

Operation Uranus

Back in September, the General Staff began developing a counteroffensive at Stalingrad. Operation Uranus began on November 19 with a massive artillery barrage. Many years later, this day became a professional holiday for artillerymen. For the first time in the history of the Second World War, artillery units were used in such a volume, with such a density of fire. By November 23, an encirclement ring had closed around the army of Paulus and the tank army of Hoth.

The Germans turned out to be locked in a rectangle 40 by 80 km. Paulus, who understood the danger of encirclement, insisted on a breakthrough and withdrawal of troops from the ring. Hitler personally, categorically, ordered to fight on the defensive, promising full support. He did not give up hope of taking Stalingrad.

Manstein's units were sent to save the group, and Operation Winter Storm began. With incredible efforts, the Germans moved forward, when 25 km remained to the encircled units, they encountered Malinovsky’s 2nd Army. On December 25, the Wehrmacht suffered a final defeat and rolled back to its original positions. The fate of Paulus's army was decided. But this does not mean that our units moved forward without encountering resistance. On the contrary, the Germans fought desperately.

On January 9, 1943, the Soviet command presented Paulus with an ultumatum demanding unconditional surrender. The Fuhrer's soldiers were given a chance to surrender and stay alive. At the same time, Paulus received another personal order from Hitler, demanding that he fight to the end. The general remained faithful to the oath, rejected the ultimatum, and carried out the order.

On January 10, Operation Ring began to completely eliminate the encircled units. The battles were terrible, the German troops, split into two parts, held firm, if such an expression is applicable to the enemy. On January 30, Paulus received the rank of field marshal from Hitler with a hint that Prussian field marshals would not surrender.

Everything has the ability to end, on the 31st at noon it ended the Nazis' stay in the cauldron: The field marshal surrendered with his entire headquarters. It took another 2 days to finally clear the city of Germans. The history of the Battle of Stalingrad has ended.

The Battle of Stalingrad and its historical significance

For the first time in world history, a battle of such duration took place, in which enormous forces were involved. The result of the defeat for the Wehrmacht was the capture of 90 thousand and the killing of 800 thousand soldiers. The victorious German army suffered for the first time a crushing defeat, which was discussed by the whole world. The Soviet Union, despite the seizure of part of the territory, remained an integral state. In the event of defeat at Stalingrad, in addition to occupied Ukraine, Belarus, Crimea, and part of central Russia, the country would be deprived of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

From a geopolitical point of view, significance of the Battle of Stalingrad It can be briefly described as follows: the Soviet Union is able to fight Germany and defeat it. The Allies stepped up assistance and signed agreements with the USSR at the Tehran Conference in December 1943. Finally, the issue of opening a second front was resolved.

Many historians call the Battle of Stalingrad the turning point of the Great Patriotic War. This is true not so much , from a military point of view, how much with moral. For a year and a half, the Red Army was retreating on all fronts, and for the first time it was possible not only to push the enemy back, as in the battle for Moscow, but to defeat him. Capture the field marshal, capture a large number of soldiers and equipment. People believed that victory would be ours!

The German command concentrated significant forces in the south. The armies of Hungary, Italy and Romania were involved in the fighting. Between July 17 and November 18, 1942, the Germans planned to capture the lower Volga and the Caucasus. Having broken through the defenses of the Red Army units, they reached the Volga.

On July 17, 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad, the largest battle, began. More than 2 million people died on both sides. The life of an officer on the front line was one day.

During a month of heavy fighting, the Germans advanced 70-80 km. On August 23, 1942, German tanks broke into Stalingrad. The defending troops from Headquarters were ordered to hold the city with all their might. Every day the fighting became more and more fierce. All houses were turned into fortresses. The battles took place for floors, basements, individual walls, for every inch of land.

In August 1942 he said: “Fate wanted me to win a decisive victory in the city that bears the name of Stalin himself.” However, in reality, Stalingrad survived thanks to the unprecedented heroism, will and self-sacrifice of Soviet soldiers.

The troops perfectly understood the significance of this battle. On October 5, 1942, he gave the order: “The city must not be surrendered to the enemy.” Freed from constraint, commanders took the initiative in organizing defense and created assault groups with complete independence of action. The slogan of the defenders was the words of sniper Vasily Zaitsev: “There is no land for us beyond the Volga.”

The fighting continued for more than two months. Daily shelling was followed by air raids and subsequent infantry attacks. In the history of all wars there have never been such stubborn urban battles. It was a war of fortitude, in which Soviet soldiers won. The enemy launched massive assaults three times - in September, October and November. Each time the Nazis managed to reach the Volga in a new place.

By November, the Germans had captured almost the entire city. Stalingrad was turned into complete ruins. The defending troops held only a low strip of land - a few hundred meters along the banks of the Volga. But Hitler hastened to announce to the whole world the capture of Stalingrad.

On September 12, 1942, at the height of the battles for the city, the General Staff began developing the offensive Operation Uranus. It was planned by Marshal G.K. Zhukov. It was supposed to hit the flanks of the German wedge, which was defended by the troops of Germany's allies (Italians, Romanians and Hungarians). Their formations were poorly armed and did not have high morale.

Within two months, a strike force was created near Stalingrad in conditions of the deepest secrecy. The Germans understood the weakness of their flanks, but could not imagine that the Soviet command would be able to assemble such a number of combat-ready units.

On November 19, 1942, the Red Army, after powerful artillery bombardment, launched an offensive with tank and mechanized units. Having overthrown Germany's allies, on November 23, Soviet troops closed the ring, surrounding 22 divisions numbering 330 thousand soldiers.

Hitler rejected the option of retreat and ordered the commander-in-chief of the 6th Army, Paulus, to begin defensive battles in encirclement. The Wehrmacht command tried to release the encircled troops with a strike from the Don Army under the command of Manstein. An attempt was made to organize an air bridge, which was stopped by our aviation.

The Soviet command presented an ultimatum to the surrounded units. Realizing the hopelessness of their situation, on February 2, 1943, the remnants of the 6th Army in Stalingrad surrendered. In 200 days of fighting, the German army lost more than 1.5 million people killed and wounded.

In Germany, three months of mourning were declared over the defeat.