Continue+to+Fight

Keep Fighting! Read the information below to find out what __really__ happened at the Battle of Stalingrad. Stalin decided that the best decision would be to keep fighting to protect his beloved city. Even though his army suffered many casualties, Stalin still had a larger army than Hitler and he “had more men at his disposal than Paulus” (Simkin). Stalin was protective of the city because, if it were to fall to Germans, the way to Moscow would be completely open from the East. Stalin believed that if Moscow fell, the Soviet Union would be very easy to defeat. Stalingrad “was also of symbolic importance as the city [was] named after the Russian leader, Joseph Stalin” (“1943: Germans Surrender”).

Once the Swastika flag was raised, Hitler ordered Paulus to try to take Stalingrad whatever the cost so the Germans could expand their LEBENRAUM, or “living space,” to spread the power of the Third Reich. **General Kurt Zeitler** was opposed to the invasion of Stalingrad. He wanted to withdraw, but Hitler’s determination to stay matched Stalin’s. Hitler’s determination was made obvious when he addressed the German people via radio, stating that “[y]ou may rest assured that nobody will ever drive us out of Stalingrad” (Simkin). Despite the dangers of the invasion, surrender was not an option. “When **General Gustav von Wietersheim**, commander of the XIV Panzer Corps, complained about the high casualty rates, Paulus replaced him with **General Hans Hube**” (Simkin). Hube’s troops had been the first to reach the banks of the Volga. This position was vital to the German advance since it boxed in Stalingrad from the north (Yoder).



__**Turning Point**__

Although the Germans had been successful thus far, the unfamiliar weather of the USSR hindered them. Heavy rainstorms turned dirt roads into mud and it became difficult for the 6th Army to get their supplies to their base. Soon, the temperature dropped, and the rain turned into snow. However, the weather was not the only unfamiliar thing that Germans faced. The Germans had been used to the ease of their Blitzkrieg tactic, which allowed them to stay far from the enemy and avoid actual hand-to-hand combat. They were startled by the viciousness of fighting at Stalingrad. Suren Mirzoyan, a Soviet soldier recalls that, at the time, he was “like a beast. I wanted only one thing - to kill. You know how it looks when you squeeze a tomato and juice comes out of it? Well, it looked like that when I stabbed them. Blood everywhere. Every step in Stalingrad meant death. Death was in our pockets. Death was walking with us” (Rees).

In spite of this, Paulus launched another attack on November 10th, but the troops endured massive causalities. The Soviets struck back and Paulus had to retreat. Hitler promised him that the Luftwaffe would send reinforcements. Some men were skeptical that the aircrafts would be able to bring in the necessary supplies, since the Russian winter was closing in quickly. As it turned out, the Luftwaffe was only able to send about one fourth of the needed supplies (Simkin). Various air supply missions to provide the German army with supplies failed.

After the two key strategic attacks by the Soviet Union, called Operation Uranus and the later Operation Saturn, “about 230,000 German and Romanian soldiers, as well as the Croatian 369th Reinforced Infantry Regiment and other volunteer subsidiary troops, found themselves trapped inside the [Stalingrad] Pocket” (Jewish Virtual Library). Because of Hitler’s declaration that he would never leave the city, the Germans pushed forth with the promised LUFTWAFFE attacks; however, the head of the German Air Fleet strongly advised against this decision. Fighting supplies would be more than difficult to deliver to those trapped in the Stalingrad Pocket, and the German planes sent to carry out the mission were far below acceptable. This mission failed miserably, with 488 German aircraft lost, and the 6th Army, who were trapped in the Pocket, starved.

By December 7th, Hitler realized that the 6th Army might be forced to surrender, something he was determined not to let happen. He sent **Field Marshal Erich von Manstein** and the 4th Panzer Army to resuce the 6th. Manstein was able to get within 30 miles of Stalingrad when he was “brought to halt by the Red Army. On 27th December, 1942, Manstein decided to withdraw as he was also in danger of being encircled by Soviet troops” (Simkin). Back at 6th Army camp, soldiers were dying rapidly. An average of more than 800 a day had perished in the past month. It was soon decided that no rations would be given to 12,000 wounded men. The only men to receive food were ones that were well enough to fight. Because of this, Manstein ordered a breakout. Paulus still refused; he had to obey Hitler’s orders to stay. However, Hitler soon realized that victory for the Germans was impossible. In a message to Paulus on January 30th, 1943, Hitler promoted him to a field marshal, but then reminded him that no German field marshal had ever allowed himself to be captured. Hitler knew that surrender was inevitable, but he was still letting Paulus know it was dishonorable. Despite this, Paulus surrendered on January 31st. The rest of the Germans surrender on February 2nd.

__**Aftermath of the Battle**__

The battle was over, but the causalities were huge. It is estimated that “the Axis suffered 850,000 casualties of all types... many of which were POWs who died in Soviet captivity between 1943 and 1955. Of the 91,000 German POWs taken at Stalingrad 27,000 died within weeks and only 5,000 returned to Germany in 1955. The remainder of the POWs died in Soviet captivity. In the whole Stalingrad area the Axis lost 1.5 million killed, wounded or captured. According to archival figures, the Red Army suffered a total of 1,129,619 total casualties... Also, more than 40,000 Soviet civilians died in Stalingrad and its suburbs during a single week of aerial bombing as the German Fourth Panzer and Sixth armies approached the city; the total number of civilians killed in the regions outside the city is unknown. In all, the battle resulted in an estimated total of 1.7 million to 2 million Axis and Soviet casualties” (Jewish Virtual Library).

__ **Significance of Decision** __

Germany never completely recovered from the heavy loses it sustained during the Battle of Stalingrad. It became a turning point in the war, and set the Allies on the way to victory in Europe.

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