In June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the huge Soviet army routed all the way, successively lost millions of troops in Minsk and Kiev, the German army at an average speed of 600 kilometers per day all the way to the Soviet capital Moscow, and then was forced to retreat under the double blows of Siberian reinforcements and cold winter.
Just when the world was questioning the combat strength of the Soviet army, the turning point of the Soviet-German battlefield and even the Second World War - the Battle of Stalingrad was launched, and the Soviet army faced the superior German army in Stalingrad, and did not retreat from the battle, and the early stage of the war was sentenced to two people.
The most severe punishment orders were issued for deserters
In the summer of 1942, the German army concentrated 250,000 elites, more than 500 tanks, 1,200 aircraft, and 7,500 artillery of various calibers to attack the Volga River Valley, pointing directly at Stalingrad. Under the attack of the German army, the Soviet troops fled on a large scale along the way, causing a chain reaction and widespread panic. In response to this dire situation, on 28 July, Stalin personally signed the ratification and issued Order No. 227.
The order required all commanders who allowed their troops to retreat without authorization to be dismissed from their posts; deserters were organized into correctional battalions to resist the German charge in the most dangerous areas; and "Overseers" were organized to shoot deserters on the spot. In order to carry out this order, the 62nd Army stationed in Stalingrad arranged submachine gunners on bridges, crossings and other places leading to the rear to prevent anyone from retreating for no reason.
Let everyone understand that the Soviet Union has no way back
Through extensive propaganda, every Soviet in Stalingrad was made aware of the city's status and influence. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, white bandit armies were everywhere in the Soviet Union, and the grain shortage was serious, and it was Stalin who was ordered to come here to quell the rebellion and raise grain, which helped the Soviet Union tide over the grain shortage and turn into peace. It can be said that this city named after the leader is the hope of the Soviet Union to turn the tide of the war again, and it is also the bottom line of the people's psychological defense line.
Stalingrad was also one of the three central points that the Soviet high command had to adhere to (as well as Moscow and Leningrad). Once lost here, the Germans could encircle Moscow to the north and the vast and fertile lower Don river basins and the Caucasus to the south, seizing the Soviet Union's "granary" and oil production areas. Moreover, Stalingrad was also the third largest industrial center and tank production base in the Soviet Union.
Replaced by a determined defensive commander
In order to defend the city, Stalin personally issued an appeal: "Soviet fighters, do not take a step back. "All men, women and children in the city who could take up arms were mobilized to fight the Germans. Soon, Lieutenant General Lopatin, commander of the passive 62nd Army, was relieved of his duties. Trikov, deputy commander of the 64th Army and a military adviser to Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing, China, six months ago, took over the post.
At the beginning of his presidency, Trikov vowed: "We will either hold on to this city or die here." Subsequently, he reduced all the 55,000 men of his six divisions to pieces, and stubbornly persisted in this 29-kilometer-long and 3-kilometer-wide urban area. Trikov himself led by example, rejecting his men's offer to withdraw his headquarters across the Volga, and even though the Germans were less than 800 meters away from him, he commanded the few remaining tanks to resist.
During the 5 months of stubborn resistance by Trikov and others, the millions of reinforcements mobilized by the Soviet high command reached the outskirts of Stalingrad with all their national strength, and began to fully encircle the German army, and finally annihilated it. On January 25, 1943, the Soviet 21st Army broke into Stalingrad and successfully met with the trapped 62nd Army and other units.