The Great Battle of Stalingrad: summary, summary and significance

The turning point in the Second World War was the great Battle of Stalingrad. The brief content of events is not able to convey a special spirit of cohesion and heroism of Soviet soldiers who participated in the battle.

Why was Stalingrad so important for Hitler? Historians identify several reasons for the fact that the Führer, by all means, wanted to take Stalingrad and did not give the order to retreat even when the defeat was obvious.

A large industrial city on the bank of the longest river in Europe - the Volga. A transport hub of important river and land routes, which united the center of the country with the southern regions. Hitler, having captured Stalingrad, would not only cut the important transport artery of the USSR and create serious difficulties with the supply of the Red Army, but also reliably cover the German army advancing to the Caucasus.

Many researchers believe that the presence in the city's name of Stalin made his capture important to Hitler from an ideological and propaganda point of view.

There is a point of view according to which there was a secret agreement between Germany and Turkey on her joining the allies immediately after the passage for the Soviet troops along the Volga had been blocked.

The Battle of Stalingrad. Summary of events

• The time frame of the battle: 17.07.42 - 02.02.43.
• Participated: from Germany - the reinforced 6th Army of Field Marshal Paulus and the Allied forces. On the part of the USSR - the Stalingrad Front, created on July 12, 1942, under the command of first Marshal Timoshenko, from 23.07.42 - Lieutenant-General Gordov, and from August 9, 1942 - Colonel-General Eremenko.
• Battle periods: defensive - from 17.07 to 18.11.42, offensive - from 19.11.42 to 02.02.43.

In turn, the defensive stage is divided into battles on distant approaches to the city in the bend of the Don from 17.07 to 10.08.42, battles at distant approaches in the interfluve between the Volga and the Don from 11.08 to 12.09.42, fighting in the suburbs and the city itself from 13.09 to 18.11 .42 years.

The losses on both sides were colossal. The Red Army lost almost 1 million 130 thousand soldiers, 12 thousand guns, 2 thousand aircraft.

Germany and its allies lost almost 1.5 million soldiers.

Defensive phase

• July 17 - the first serious clash of our troops with the enemy forces on the banks of the tributaries of the Don.
• August 23 - enemy tanks came close to the city. The German aviation began to bomb Stalingrad on a regular basis.
• September 13 - storming the city. The glory of the workers of the Stalingrad factories and factories, which under fire repaired damaged equipment and weapons, thundered throughout the world.
• October 14 - the Germans launched an offensive military operation off the coast of the Volga in order to seize the Soviet bridgeheads.
• On November 19, our troops launched a counteroffensive in accordance with the plan for Operation Uranus.

The whole second half of the summer of 1942 was a hot battle of Stalingrad. The summary and the chronology of the events of the defense testify to the fact that our soldiers, with a shortage of weapons and a significant excess of manpower from the enemy, have accomplished the impossible. They not only defended Stalingrad, but also went into a counteroffensive in difficult conditions of exhaustion, a shortage of uniforms and a harsh Russian winter.

Offensive and Victory

As part of Operation Uranus, Soviet soldiers managed to surround the enemy. Up to November 23, our soldiers strengthened the blockade around the Germans.

• December 12 - the enemy made a desperate attempt to escape from the encirclement. However, the breakthrough attempt was unsuccessful. Soviet troops began to squeeze the ring.
• December 17 - The Red Army won the German positions on the river Chir (right tributary to the Don).
• December 24 - our advanced 200 km into the operational depth.
• December 31 - Soviet soldiers advanced another 150 km. The front line stabilized at the line of Tormosin-Zhukovskaya-Komissarovsky.
• January 10 - our offensive in accordance with the plan "Ring".
• January 26 - the 6th Army of the Germans is divided into 2 factions.
• January 31 - destroyed the southern part of the former 6th German Army.
• 02 February - the northern grouping of the fascist troops was liquidated. Our soldiers, the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad, won. The enemy capitulated. Field-marshal Paulus, 24 generals, 2,500 officers and almost 100,000 depleted German soldiers were captured.

The Battle of Stalingrad brought enormous destruction. Photos of military correspondents captured the ruins of the city.

Heroism of Soviet soldiers

All the soldiers who took part in the landmark battle showed themselves to be brave and brave sons of the Motherland.

Sniper Zaytsev Vasily, Hero of the Soviet Union, with aiming shots destroyed 225 opponents.

Nikolai Panikha - rushed to the enemy tank with a bottle of a combustible mixture. He sleeps with eternal sleep on Mamayev Hill.

Nikolay Serdyukov - closed himself the embrasure of the enemy pillbox, silencing the firing point.

Matvey Putilov, Vasily Titaev - signalmen who established communication by clenching the ends of the wire with their teeth.

Gulya Koroleva, a nurse, carried dozens of seriously wounded fighters from the battlefield near Stalingrad. Participated in the attack on the height. The mortal wound did not stop the brave girl. She continued to shoot until the last minute of her life.

The names of many and many heroes - infantrymen, artillerymen, tankmen and pilots - gave the world the Battle of Stalingrad. The summary of the course of hostilities is not capable of perpetuating all the exploits. Entire volumes of books are written about these brave people who gave their lives for the freedom of future generations. Their names are named streets, schools, factories. Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad should never be forgotten.

The Value of the Battle of Stalingrad

The battle had not only grandiose proportions, but also extremely weighty political significance. The bloody war continued. The Battle of Stalingrad became its main turning point. Without exaggeration, we can say that it was after the victory at Stalingrad that humanity gained the hope of victory over fascism.