No defeat suffered by Germany during World War II was less than one in ten thousandths of the defeats suffered after the "Defense of Stalingrad". At the same time, Hitler began to roar at his subordinate officers with all his might, for he would lose the war once and for all.
In the summer of 1942, as German ground forces advanced into the Stalingrad area, the war began to attract the keen attention of the local population. At first, Stalin forbade any evacuation of civilians, in order to prevent rumors that the city might fall. Work in factories is also continuing, and they need to produce weapons that can be used immediately in war. Some of the previous tractor factories also began to produce weapons that could be put directly into combat, and some guns were not painted, but also did not even have sights. Men who had not yet joined the army were incorporated into militia units and put into combat without any training, which undoubtedly led to a large number of casualties. Women and children were also involved in the hard labor of digging trenches and building fortifications, and many women joined the anti-aircraft artillery.
On September 12, 1942, the first German troops marched towards the city. The Germans chose to attack the city directly, and soon became embroiled in an extremely brutal street battle. The tactics of the Soviet side were to do everything possible to establish positions close to the German lines. Because it was the safest place to be from the Luftwaffe and artillery bombardment. As early as the end of August, Stalin sent his top general, Georgy Zhukov, to inspect the entire southern front. Now a new commander, Vasily Trikov, had taken over the Sixty-second Army within the city. while
Georgy Zhukov
When preparing to launch the final counterattack,
Vasily Trikov
It also threw its original troops into battle, and eventually defended part of the city's territory.
In this battle, the losses on the Soviet side were very large, but the number of German casualties was also rising. At the same time, the German advance of Stalingrad also had other influences on the Axis powers. That summer, Hitler fired several of his top generals because they had opposed and disagreed with Hitler in their strategic plans. Hitler then took command of the decision himself.
But the advance toward Stalingrad greatly lengthened the German front, so that two Romanian troops and an Italian army were also brought into the flanks of the Sixth Army and the Fourth Panzer Division. The morale of the Romanian army was very low, and it was not specially trained, and its weapons and equipment were relatively backward. Because of this, the Romanian army behind it would be the first target of the entire Soviet counterattack.
On November 19, 1942, Soviet forces attacked the northern part of Stalingrad, occupied by germans, and advanced to the south the next day. The Romanian army began to suffer devastating blows. Within a week, two advancing Red Army units met successfully and cut Stalingrad in half. At this point, the German general Paulus began to ask for permission to break through, but Hitler refused and promised Paulus air support to the besieged troops.
At the same time, air support for the frozen airport in Stalingrad cost the Luftwaffe hundreds of transport planes and delivered only a fraction of the necessary supplies. Due to fuel and ammunition shortages, coupled with a gradual famine, the German Sixth Army was now facing the dilemma of being attacked on all sides, and the superiority of the Soviet side was increasingly reflected, and the final defeat of the German army seemed inevitable. Finally, on February 2, 1943, the last German troops surrendered in the city.