This was a strategic turning point in World War II, a battle that reversed the overall strength of both the offensive and defensive sides, and the bloodiest battle in the modern history of the world since World War II.
Presumably, friends who know the history of World War II will know that the Battle of Stalingrad is a battle that will be recorded in history from any point of view. The core city of this battle between the two sides, Stalingrad, can no longer be described by the word city, "it should be a fortress, a hell, a furnace," in the half-year-long battle, how many casualties were suffered by the two sides, it is impossible to verify, can only give a rough number, is the total casualties of nearly 2 million people on both sides.
Brutal street fighting
The severity of this casualty is entirely due to the defensive entrenchment here. The Soviets built a four-tier urban defense system from the outskirts of Stalingrad to the urban areas: the outer, middle, inner, and urban areas.
When the Battle of Stalingrad entered the initial stages on June 28, 1942, General Paulus of Germany, who had been ordered to come, led his Sixth Army, a total of 13 divisions, 270,000 horses, 3,000 guns of various types, 500 tanks, assault guns, anti-tank guns, and the Fourth Air Force, with nearly 1,200 aircraft, was responsible for cover, bombing and support.
Hitler thought it would be easy to breach, but soon the German soldiers in battle discovered, "It's a hard bone to swallow," and "every street, every intersection, basement, bedroom, underground passage, and even under every ruin here, there will be defensive Soviets sticking out their guns in the black hole hole and aiming at themselves, "The city is like a heavily armed fortress." ”
The Soviet army at this time was not as strong as the German army, only 160,000 people, 2200 guns of various types, more than 400 tanks, but as the war protracted, the Strength of the Soviet Army also increased.
We know that this battle is under great casualties and pressure on both sides, and neither can bear the consequences of defeat. Let's look at the orders given by the supreme leaders of both sides...
Stalin's order was not to retreat, and Hitler's order was to demand that the attacking Germans "must erase the city from the map." "To put it succinctly: one is to hold on, and the other is to attack.
The average survival time of officers and soldiers
Whether it is the German offensive or the Soviet counter-offensive, every step forward, every meter of running must pay a heavy price, under the blow of the German superior firepower, the Soviet army charging at any cost fell one by one. Some say that in this battle the average time that a Soviet soldier survives will not exceed 24 hours, that an officer will survive no more than three days, and that if a soldier is not killed in three days, his rank will rise to company commander, battalion commander, or even regimental commander.
Of course, we don't know the real facts, after all, so many years have passed since that war, but we can imagine that the person who can survive the brutal battle must have his personal ability, then in the next battle, he will command the new supplementary soldiers as a commander, or collect the remnants of the soldiers to continue to fight until he himself is killed. And in the brutal battles, the proportion of officers dying is equally high, and they continue to be commanded by experienced people.
Then those who survived, whether officers or soldiers, would be appointed temporarily, and the rank would be increased with the increase in the number of commanders, but this promotion would not be immediately recognized by the rear, it should be temporary, and the level of promotion would be limited. But since this statement can be handed down, there are still traces to follow. What do you think about that?
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