The Battle of Stalingrad short description

Why was Stalingrad important to Hitler?

Hitler believed that capturing Stalingrad would give Germany a decisive advantage in several key areas:

1. Cutting Supply Lines: The city’s location on the Volga River made it a crucial supply route for the Soviets. Controlling it would disrupt their war effort.
2. Securing Oil: It would support German advances into the oil-rich regions of the Caucasus.
3. Destroying Industry: Stalingrad was an industrial hub with several important military factories, including the Tractor factory (producing tanks), and the Red October factory (producing steel).
4. Moral Impact: Taking a city named after Stalin would serve as a significant morale blow to the Soviet people and weaken Stalin’s authority.

Balance of power

The Battle of Stalingrad short description by date

The Germans in the battle for Stalingrad

• July 17, 1942: the Battle of Stalingrad began with clashes between the Soviet 62nd and 64th Armies and the 6th Field Army of the Wehrmacht, commanded by Friedrich Paulus, along the banks of the Don and Chir rivers. Paulus’s army slowly but steadily advanced toward Stalingrad. Slowly the Germans advanced towards Stalingrad.
• August 23, 1942: The Luftwaffe launched one of the most devastating bombing campaigns in history. Over 90% of the city's residential buildings were destroyed. Casualty estimates range from 40,000 to 70,000, with another 150,000 injured.
• Early September: As a result of fierce fighting, the Germans entered Stalingrad, capturing parts of the city’s northern districts. They continued to push relentlessly toward the city center, aiming to completely cut off the Volga River —an essential line of communication. However, their attempts to break through to the Volga on a broad front came at the cost of heavy losses.
• September 13, 1942: The first assault on Stalingrad began with a powerful artillery barrage supported by airstrikes. German forces outnumbered the Soviet troops by 1.5 to 2 times in manpower and equipment and by 6 times in tanks. The Wehrmacht's 6th Army captured most of Stalingrad.
• September 28 — October 8, 1942: The second assault on Stalingrad took place. The German High Command insisted that Paulus capture the city at any cost within the shortest time possible. On September 30, 1942, Hitler addressed the Reichstag, saying, «We are storming Stalingrad and will take it—you can count on that.»
• October 14, 1942: The third and most intense assault on the city began, with the Germans employing a vast amount of firepower. The fighting raged for every block, alley, building, and meter of ground.
• November 11, 1942: The fourth assault on Stalingrad began. The situation for the Soviet 62nd Army defending the city was critically severe. They had 47,000 personnel, around 800 artillery pieces and mortars, and 19 tanks. By this time, their defensive lines had been split into three separate sectors.
• Mid-November 1942: The advance of German forces was halted across the entire front. The enemy was forced to switch entirely to defensive positions.
• November 19, 1942: The Soviet Union launched a large-scale counteroffensive. With a rapid assault on the weakly defended Romanian positions (which covered the flanks of the Stalingrad group), the Red Army broke through the enemy's defenses.
• November 23, 1942: In the area of Kalach citi, the encirclement of the Wehrmacht's 6th Army was completed. From that moment, German troops faced constant difficulties in receiving weapons, medicine, food, and evacuating the wounded. Supplies to the encircled group were carried out with great difficulty by air. Hitler ordered Paulus to establish circular defenses within the city, refusing to lose the city he had previously declared captured. German generals begged Hitler to allow the 6th Army to break out of the encirclement while it was still possible.
• December 12, 1942: The 6th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht and remnants of the defeated 4th Romanian Army attempted to break through to relieve the encircled 6th Army but were quickly defeated. The trapped German forces were doomed.
• January 8, 1943: The Soviet Don Front Command issued an ultimatum to the encircled German forces, demanding they cease senseless resistance and accept terms of surrender. By this time, the Germans had almost no heavy weaponry left, and supply planes with food struggled to reach the two remaining airfields, which also fell to the advancing Red Army by the end of January.
• January 10, 1943: After the German side refused to surrender, the Soviet Union launched a large-scale offensive from all directions to eliminate the encircled German troops.
• January 24, 1943: Friedrich Paulus sent a radio message to Hitler's headquarters, saying, «The front is broken… further defense is pointless. Catastrophe is inevitable. To save the lives of the remaining troops, I urgently request permission to surrender. Paulus.» Hitler replied angrily with a brief telegram: «Surrender is forbidden! The army must hold its positions to the last man and the last bullet!»
• Night of January 31, 1943: Hitler promoted Paulus to the rank of Field Marshal, stating, «In Germany's history, no Field Marshal has ever surrendered.» This was the last radio message received in the «cauldron» from Hitler. That same day, Paulus and his staff officers surrendered.
• February 2, 1943: The last group of enemy troops capitulated. The fighting along the Volga ceased. Over 91,000 Wehrmacht soldiers and officers surrendered as prisoners of war.

German prisoners of war in Stalingrad, 1943

What did Hitler get after the defeat at Stalingrad?

The Battle of Stalingrad was the most important battle of World War II. Hitler lost an experienced army that had successfully fought both in Europe and in the USSR. According to modern German data, the losses killed at Stalingrad amount to about 8% of all losses of the German army in World War II from 1939 to 1945. German troops in Kuban and the Caucasus had to retreat due to the threat of encirclement. Hitler's plans to capture the oil-producing regions of the Caucasus failed. The initiative in the war passed to the USSR. The morale of the Soviet troops was high, which cannot be said about the fighting spirit of the German troops and the German people in general. If you are interested in real authentic artifacts from the Battle of Stalingrad, the bloodiest battle in human history, you can easily buy them in our store