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The Battle of Stalingrad

Introduction to the Eastern Front and the Battle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad was the bloodiest battle in history and was the ultimate turning point of the second World War. This exhibition covers the invasion of Russia and the flaws of its execution, and focuses on the how the Battle of Stalingrad came to be, the strategies that were utilized, the hundreds of thousands of casualties suffered, and how the outcome of the battle marked the end of the Third Reich. The invasion of Russia, codename Operation Barbarossa, initiated on June 22nd, 1941 (Lak, 574), and had split the invading forces into three groups: Army Group North, Army Group Centre, and Army Group South (Martin). The initial invasion had cut into Russia with ease and Army Group Centre was just 50 miles away from Moscow, supporting the idea that the Eastern Front would be over by the end of summer. However, Adolf Hitler had ordered Army Group Centre's panzers to assist Army Group South, halting the assault on Moscow. By the time the panzers rejoined Army Group Centre, their Blitzkrieg only lasted a few weeks before weather grounded them to a halt (Martin).

Germany was unprepared for cold climate combat and by the time winter had set in, their tanks and weapons were freezing and soldiers were contracting frostbite. In addition, the Germans were now combating divisions from Siberia, who were well equipped and trained for cold climates and had participated in a series of counterattacks which had pushed the Germans further from Moscow. 1941 had ended unsuccessfully for the Germans.

Hitler, outraged by the failure to capture Moscow, fired Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch and assumed command of the Army himself. Now, a new offensive was devised by Hitler under the codename Case Blue and was executed on June 28th, 1942. This offensive would later result in the German Army's siege of Stalingrad and would prove to be the downfall the Eastern Front and eventual the collapse of the Third Reich, and it was all due to Hitler's incompetence as a strategic leader.

Sources:

Journal of Military History. Jul2016, Vol. 80 Issue 3, p815-854. 40p. 3 Black and White Photographs, 1 Diagram, 1 Map.
Journal of Military History. Oct96, Vol. 60 Issue 4, p711-730. 20p.
Journal of Slavic Military Studies. Jan-Mar2008, Vol. 21 Issue 1, p146-238. 93p. 6 Charts, 21 Maps.
Journal of Slavic Military Studies. Apr-Jun2008, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p377-471. 95p. 2 Charts, 9 Maps.
Journal of Slavic Military Studies. Jul-Sep2015, Vol. 28 Issue 3, p567-587. 21p.
Raritan; Spring2012, Vol. 31 Issue 4, p134-147, 14p
World War II in Color, written by Jonathan Martin, performance by Robert Powell, NM Productions, Netflix, netflix.com/watch/70253347?trackId=14199146&tctx=0%2C3%2C8ec70855-2f87-4a7b-81a0-b727ca3de8ed-67676229

Contents of this path:

Map of Operation Barbarossa which commenced on June 22nd, 1941. Operation Barbarossa split the invading German forces into three armies, each with their own objective. Army Group North would travel through the Baltic States and capture Leningrad, Army Group Centre would head straight for Moscow and Army Group South was to capture Ukraine (Martin). When Hitler initially announced this plan, his generals were worried that it would spread their forces too thin but they did not voice their concern. The operation was executed well while warm weather lasted, even being hailed as liberators by some Russians due to their anti-Stalin sentiment. However, the operation would see its failure when Hitler had ordered Heinz Guderian, the general in charge of the panzers in Army Group Centre, to head south to assist Army Group South. Despite Guderian's objection, on August 23rd, 1941 he lead his panzers south to aid in the capture of Kiev, halting the assault on Moscow. This marked the first of many errors of the Eastern Front due to Hitler's incompetence. By the time Guderian's panzers rejoined Army Group Centre, the assault only lasted a few weeks before heavy rain set in on October 8th and the Germany army was put to a halt due to the mud (Lak, 578). Link: https://www.usma.edu/history/SitePages/WWII%20European%20Theater.aspx
Above are Soviet troops from Siberia in combat. The Siberian troops specialized in cold climate combat and were well equipped to deal with subzero temperatures. Joseph Stalin had stationed 30 divisions (about half a million men) in Siberia to defend from a Japanese attack. However, in November, Stalin had received word from a spy in Japan that the Japanese had no intention of fighting in Siberia, allowing him to redirect an additional 500,000 men to Moscow via the Trans-Siberian Railway to participate in its defense. When winter had set in and had drastically slowed the unprepared Army Group Centre, the Russians had prepared a counterattack. On December 5th, 1941, Soviet T-34 tanks had crashed through the German defenses and forced Army Group Centre to retreat further from Moscow. This counterattack caught Germany off guard due to their great success in the previous months and had prompted Hitler to fire his Commander in Chief, Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch on December 19th and assume control of the German Army himself.