The Battle of Stalingrad
Image Source: German Federal Archive
Link: https://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=9164
The image above shows the Nazi flag outside of a ruined building which acted as Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus' headquarters in Stalingrad. Although Stalingrad had initially held no strategic advantage, it was one of the largest industrial cities in Russia, producing a quarter of tanks, trucks, tractors, and guns for Russia. The people of Stalingrad had transformed the city into a fortress (Martin), and were given sufficient time to build its defenses due to Hitler's indecisiveness when he ordered the panzers of Army Group B south and had greatly slowed the advance towards Stalingrad (Trueman). On August 17th, 1942, Friedrich Paulus' 6th Army crossed the Don River and began their assault on Stalingrad. On August 23rd, a panzer thrust had reached the Volga River north of the city. Initially, the battle seemed in favor of the Germans. By late September, the Germans had pushed through the majority of the city, close to connecting with the panzers by the Volga River. On October 4th, Field Marshal Paulus began what was supposed to be the final assault on Stalingrad, blowing through the city with panzers. However, in November of 1942, the cold Russian winter had once again come, and with it heavy Soviet reinforcements, with more than a million troops, 13,500 artillery guns, 900 tanks, and over 1,000 aircrafts (Martin). On November 19th, the Russians had attacked Germany's northern flank. After an artillery bombardment, Russian troops and tanks pushed through German defenses, taking thousands prisoner. The next day, the Soviets executed another assault on the German's souther flank, it too pushing through German defenses. The Russians in the north and south of Stalingrad would rendezvous west, effectively surrounding the city and cutting off the Germans within from any supplies (Martin). Before the city was encircled, the Germans would have been able to retreat, but were ordered to stand their ground at all costs by Hitler. This was another blunder that lead to an unnecessary loss of life.
