Producer: Popular Science China
Author: Yue Jiangfeng
Planning: Song Yajuan
Producer: Guangming Network Science Popularization Division
Street warfare has always been considered to be the most difficult war to fight, the two warring sides are often circled in a very limited space for short engagement, there is no rule to follow in the battle, to take the lives of the other side at close range as the first goal, so extremely fierce and fierce, the mortality rate is extremely high, it can be said that it is a "meat grinder" type of war. The most famous street battle in World War II was the Battle of Stalingrad. According to statistics, the total number of troops invested by both sides in this battle reached more than 3.5 million, and the total casualties exceeded more than 2 million. The report of the Soviet High Command said: The survival of a soldier of the Soviet army will not exceed one day, and the regimental commander will not exceed five days! Even so, the Soviets annihilated all 1.5 million Invading German troops, forcing the German fascists to halt their strategic offensive and begin to collapse.
Strategic situation in Stalingrad before the Great Patriotic War (Image from the Internet)
Ill-fated "a place where soldiers must fight"
Stalingrad, now often referred to as "Volgograd", is a city on the Volga River in Eastern Europe, founded in 1589 and originally named "Tsaritsyn". Nourished by the Volga River, Volgograd is rich in products and beautiful scenery, and has always been known as Russia's "southern granary". However, it is such a beautiful city that has ignited too many wars in history.
In 1918-1919, during the Russian Civil War, Stalin led the famous Battle of Tsarits here, which crushed the menacing White Cossack Army, which was of great significance in consolidating the achievements of the October Revolution, and the city was named "Stalingrad" ("Geller" means city in Russian). From Stalin's reign until the Time of the Great Patriotic War, the city developed further, becoming an important center of heavy industry in the Soviet Union, a major producer of grain, oil and coal, and a distribution center for railway and Volga transportation; grain from the North Caucasus, oil from Baku, and cotton from Central Asia were provided to the central region of the Soviet Union through this industrial railway hub and the port of the Volga.
During World War II, Stalingrad was an important strategic stronghold and large industrial area of the Soviet Army, and the Volga River was also a communication line connecting the central region of the Soviet Union with the Caucasus and the main oil exploitation areas. If the Stalingrad area was occupied by the enemy, it would pose a great threat to the Soviet army, because it was the main route for the Transport of Baku oil, which was indispensable to the front line and the national economy. If Stalingrad had fallen, the enemy would have broken through to the Volga, causing great damage to the large hubs and traffic that connected part of central Europe of the Soviet Union with the Caucasus, as well as disrupting the main lines of communication to Central Asia and the Ural Mountains. The German Nazi army therefore resorted to various means in a vain attempt to occupy the city in order to create conditions for the future enhancement of the strategic initiative.
The "mixed war" of time, location, will, and strength
On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany and its vassal states launched the "Barbarossa Plan", tore up the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact, brazenly invaded the Soviet Union, the Soviet-German War broke out, and the German army lightning occupied a large part of the western part of the Soviet Union. In the summer and autumn of 1941, the Red Army suffered a series of blows, and in December of that year it reversed itself in the defense of Moscow, defeating the Germans for the first time. The over-depleted German army suffered a severe blow under Moscow and was counter-attacked in parts of the city due to the lack of war equipment and stable supply lines for the winter, and due to the sudden drop in nighttime temperatures, which made the German mechanized forces completely unusable.
By early 1942, the long Soviet-German front had stabilized, but both sides were preparing for a larger campaign for the strategic initiative. Given that the Germans were no longer able to launch a full-scale offensive, The Chief of the Army General Staff, General Halder, suggested that if an offensive were to be launched again, it should be directed at moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union. However, Hitler believed that the target of the attack on Moscow was too obvious, and that Army Group Center had been greatly weakened, and that the Germans should abandon their plans to attack Moscow again.
In July 1942 the Germans advanced to Stalingrad. At that time, the balance of power between the Soviet union and Germany was 1:1.2 personnel, 1:2 tanks, 1:3.6 aircraft, artillery and mortars were roughly equal, and the Strength of the German Army was superior. On 17 July, the Soviets and Germans engaged in a fierce engagement at Stalingrad, and the battle officially began. At first, the Soviets were suppressed by the German offensive momentum, and the battle was gradually defeated. In order to strengthen the morale of the defenders of Stalingrad, Stalin issued Order No. 227 on July 28, 1942, in which any soldier who disobeyed the order and left the combat post or retreated would be severely punished, and sternly demanded that the Red Army troops of the Soviet Union "absolutely not to take a step back!" ”
Under stubborn resistance, the Soviets began a counter-offensive against the Germans in November 1942. The Supply of the German Army was stretched, relying on the limited transport capacity of the Luftwaffe, it was difficult to achieve effective air supply, and it entered a state of tight combat strength, but the morale of the German Army was still tenacious. The two sides fought from outside the city to the inside, and began a purgatory-like street battle on earth.
The Battle of Stalingrad was arguably the worst street battle of World War II
Historical scenes of the Battle of Stalingrad in the Soviet Union (image from the Internet)
On September 14, 1942, the German army broke into the city from the north of Stalingrad and engaged in a fierce street battle with the Soviet army, with the two sides fighting street by street, building by house, and house by house. Stalingrad was turned into a field of rubble, and 80% of the city's residential areas were destroyed. In the city full of rubble and ruins, the Soviet 62nd Army stubbornly resisted, and fierce gun battles took place in every street, every building, and every factory in the city.
It is reported that the average survival time of the Red Army soldiers who have just rushed to the city is not more than 24 hours, and the average survival time of the officers is only about three days. Many important strongholds were repeatedly contested between the two sides, and the battle for the first railway station lasted for a week. The speed of the German advance was measured not in kilometers, but in meters.
An officer of the German 6th Army, Hans Del, wrote in his book March on Stalingrad: "The enemy and us fought fiercely for every house, workshop, water tower, railway embankment, even for a wall, a basement and every pile of rubble, and the intensity of the battle was unprecedented. According to the description, the railway station was repeatedly competed for as many as 13 times. In a large grain depot, soldiers from the two armies were so close that they could even hear each other's breathing. One of the most successful snipers, Zikan, had killed 224 enemies by November 20, 1942, and thus became the prototype for Vasily Zaitsev, the protagonist of the Hollywood film "Soldiers In the City.".
The Battle of Stalingrad was the bloodiest battle in recent history, with more than 2 million casualties estimated on both sides. Russian women now account for 53% of the country's population, which also has a lot to do with the Soviet-German war. In honor of the heroic deeds of the Battle of Stalingrad, the city was named "Hero City" in 1945. The Great Grain Warehouse and the Pavlov Building, among other places, witnessed very fierce battles and are still visited by future generations.
Source: Popular Science China - Frontiers of Military Science and Technology