Battle of Stalingrad
August 23rd 1942 to February 2nd 1943
as the Germans advanced towards stalingrad at the summer of 1942 the war came to the locals of the city an
Evacuation was [slowed] to the speed of the bear [Mocs] advancement
Because the City bore Stalin's name
It was high importance for the morale of the soviet forces to hold it the desperation for soviet resistance to the German Advance was clear
work frantically continued in the weapon factories
T-34 tanks could be seen rushed into battle unpainted and sometimes lacking gun sights
Men not already in the red Army were formed into Militia and sent into battle
sometimes without proper training and with high casualties women and children of trenches and built protective
Fortifications, but would also a fight as machine gunners in gun Crews and as scouts and snipers
On the 12th of September the first German Troops Moved into the city
They chose to attack straight into the urban area and soon found [themselves] in whoville Close quarters house-to-house battles the soviets
Established frontline positions as close as possible to the german lives which was the safest place for German Air and artillery attacks in
August Stalin had sent his top [General] the or Gazook off to supervise the whole Southern front and Vasily Chuikov
Took over the 62nd [army] in the city
While zhukov prepared for a counter-offensive Chuikov pushed his troops into combat
When asked how he interpreted his task he responded we will defend the city or die in the attempt
reinforcements were ferried under fire across the volga
Into the ruins with an up troops making it to the other side [they] keep at least part of the city
hands
Soviet casualties were immensely high but German casualties were mounting as well
To ensure the defense of Stalingrad Stalin had issued order number 227 on July 27 1942
known as not one step backwards
Armies were formed with a second line of barrier troops behind them acted as a last line [of] defense
Officers and soldiers who deserted could also be sent to Penal Battalion?
Which was a virtual death sentence?
Red Army Troops built a maze of trenches and damaged [buildings] and used the sewer system to sneak past the enemy
Both sides employed snipers and the destroyed buildings of stalingrad made it an ideal environment for cover
the most famous soviet Sniper celebrated as a hero was Vassili zaitseV with
225 confirmed kills at the end of September and in mid-october the Germans came close to victory
But the defenders clung on the part of the City's Northern Factory district the advanced estonian grad brought other problems for the axis forces
Hitler had fired Several of his generals in the summer after arguments over his strategic plan
Now he was making many command decisions himself the winter caused problems for both sides
Breaking down tanks and making weapons more difficult to operate however the red army [had] better clothing for the freezing cold conditions
With quilted jackets and her hats
Stalingrad had expanded the German front and as a
Consequence the Italian and Romanian armies were brought in to support the flanks of the 6th army and 4th panzer army
fighting inside Stalingrad was sapping German forces and causing them to pull units from Flanks into the City the
Romanian and Italian Troops were poorly trained and had low morale therefore they would be the first targets for the planned soviet counter-offensive
The soviets attacked Hungarian positions north of Stalingrad on November 19th and to the south the next day
Devastating the Romanian fronts within a week the two advancing red Army Forces had joined up and cut stalingrad off
General Paulus asked permission to break out which he could have done but hitler refused
Instead promising to resupply the trap German Army by Air
General Erich Von Manstein
Was brought in to lead a relief attempt for the surrounded pocket
but had to retreat before Christmas
The air supply effort also cost the Luftwaffe hundreds of transport aircraft and only managed to deliver a fraction of its supplies
Now short of fuel food and ammunition the German [600] now pays superior forces all around them
The last German troops in the city would surrender on February 2nd 1943
But sporadic fighting around the City went on until March
The battle of Stalingrad was a crushing blow to Nazi Germany and the losses to the ver macht could not adequately be replaced
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