The Battle of Stalingrad

After Europe entered the industrial age in the 18th century, the urbanization movement gradually emerged, and everything seemed to be moving in a better direction. But what no one expected was that two brutal wars would follow. During the two World Wars, World War II was the largest war in human history. Germany, Japan, and Italy, as fascist forces, fought fiercely against the United States, Soviet Union, Britain, France, and medium-sized countries as anti fascist forces.

Germany rose in the Second Industrial Revolution, and the Soviet Union erupted with strong industrial strength after the profound transformation of the Communist Party. The largest land race between the Soviet Union and Germany broke out in Eastern Europe. It was also during World War II that the Soviet Union restrained and eliminated a large number of German troops, which enabled the war to quickly achieve victory.

In the Soviet German War, although the ultimate outcome was Soviet victory, the Soviet Union did not have an advantage from the beginning. Germany led the advanced attack, and the German army almost captured the Soviet capital Moscow. Later, due to Moscow's defense and bloody battles, Germany was gradually consumed by the Soviet Red Army. Since the Battle of Stalingrad, the balance of victory between the Soviet Union and Germany has been reversed.

The background of the Battle of Stalingrad

After the German army attacked the western battlefield, they once again provoked disputes with the Soviet Union on the eastern battlefield. The German army crossed the dividing line that once divided Poland and continuously entered areas under Soviet control. The reason why the German army was able to achieve victory in the war on the western battlefield was due to its outstanding "lightning warfare" ability. Due to the surrender of France and the fact that Britain was on the other side of the strait, only the Soviet Union could still fight in Europe. There was inevitably a competition between the Soviet Union and Germany to determine who was the true hegemon of Europe, and thus the Soviet German War officially began.

Germany used rapid "blitzkrieg" and large-scale armies to quickly encircle the Soviet Union's active forces. Under the influence of this tactic, the German army continuously achieved victories. In terms of warfare methods, large-scale blitzkrieg is almost impossible to defend against and is the most intense and rapid warfare method in modern warfare. By using this means of warfare, it is possible to eliminate living forces on a large scale, quickly disintegrate the enemy's combat effectiveness, and achieve rapid success.

In the War of Liberation, the War of Resistance Against Japan, and even the Korean War, our army was familiar with this tactic and often relied on this brick method to defeat the strong and unleash our own energy. The advantages of this strategy are obvious. Sudden attacks and rapid strikes can make the enemy unable to respond, quickly eliminating living forces and reducing the enemy's military capabilities.

Mastering the tactical rules of "Blitzkrieg", coupled with Germany's advanced industrial strength, rapid encirclement ability, well-trained army, and the tradition of the ancient Prussian army, enabled it to win wars time and time again.

But this kind of "lightning warfare" also has its weaknesses, especially in non local operations. Due to the rapid infiltration rate of the troops, there is too much pressure on reserve materials. Many times, frontline troops only have a few days of war resources. If they cannot win with one blow, the German army will have to face the situation of being controlled by the territory of other countries without any support materials. The next step is to retreat or be besieged. As long as they choose to retreat, the Soviet army will seize the opportunity to encircle, and then the entire battlefield situation will reverse, and the Soviet army will eliminate the German forces.

If the German army were to hold on to the front line, they would face risks such as stockpiling supplies and being surrounded. So the biggest fear of rapid encirclement is city warfare. After the failure of the city siege, the German army will inevitably face retreat. When the German army retreats, the Soviet army will encircle and then complete the defensive counterattack against the German army. This was well reflected in the Battle of Stalingrad. Stalingrad was a turning point in the Soviet German War because the Soviet Union found a way to completely defeat the German army in the Blitzkrieg.

The Soviet Union could prevent the success of the German siege by defending large cities. Once the German army attacks the city, there will be a second layer of city defense. Every street and every building has defensive soldiers who fight tenaciously against the German army on the street, fighting and consuming bit by bit. From a positive perspective, the German front is much longer than the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union also has an advantage in strategic materials for war. In Blitzkrieg, the Soviet Red Army did not have an advantage, but in attrition warfare, the Soviet army was absolutely advantageous to the German army.

To a large extent, war is about resources. When the German army found it very difficult to conquer large cities, even with the consumption of a large amount of soldier and war resources, they were unable to conquer the cities. Even if they conquer the city, they cannot receive timely supplies from them. On the contrary, they were greeted by constant resistance and street battles in various places. The Soviet army, which could resist and hide among the civilians at any time, spent a lot of time on these Germans.

The longer the delay, the greater the pressure on the German supply lines and reserves. Because the Soviet Union insisted on street warfare and had stable urban resources as the foundation. As long as we stabilize the rear supply line, the entire battle will tilt towards the Soviet side.

In the Battle of Stalingrad, facing the German army, the Soviet Union launched an anti encirclement and anti infiltration strategy, using tactics similar to Germany's "Blitzkrieg". Germany was also defeated by the Soviet Red Army. After the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet army completely completed its counterattack strategy against the German army. Due to proper strategy, the Soviet Red Army began a major counterattack against the German army. In the end, the Soviet Union achieved victory in the First World War in Berlin, and Nazi Germany was completely defeated.

From the Soviet German War, it can be seen that the final climax of the German army was when they attacked Moscow. The reserve resources of the German army, along with their supply lines, have collapsed to the most tense moment. After the failed siege of Moscow, the entire German battlefield faced a situation of being counterattacked by the Soviet army. Then the Soviet Union's defense and counterattack policy towards major cities brought huge consumption to the German army, and the rapid counterattack against the German army began from the Battle of Stalingrad.

The Battle of Stalingrad was beneficial to the Soviet Union but disadvantageous to Germany.

The Battle of Stalingrad officially began on July 17, 1942 and lasted for over 180 days until February 2, 1943. In this battle, the German army invested 2 million troops and the Soviet army invested 3 million troops. Due to the issue of war resources, the German army wanted to obtain important oil resources in the large grain producing areas of the Volga River plain in the southern Soviet Union and the Caucasus region.

To obtain strategic resources from these two regions, it is necessary to seize the important city of Stalingrad. Due to a shortage of supplies, the German army gave up their expertise in Blitzkrieg and adopted a tough battle, which was exactly what the Soviet Red Army wanted. Stalingrad is an important hub city on the banks of the Volga River. Only by controlling Stalingrad can we further control the vast plains of the Volga River and provide cover for the German army attacking the Caucasus.

From a military perspective, the capture of Stalingrad could stabilize the supply of goods on the German front line, but this stability could only be achieved by drinking poison to quench thirst. A million level army is far from being successful with a short-term support. In a true sense, as long as the Soviet Union holds onto Moscow, does not acknowledge failure, and does not surrender, the scale of this war has actually shifted towards the Soviet Union. The German army won quickly. As long as the momentum of the German army's quick and decisive battle is stopped and consumption begins, the victorious one will definitely be the Soviet Red Army.

The Russian military has always had two major advantages. Firstly, the country has a vast territory and great depth, which puts great pressure on the enemy's supply. The second point is its harsh weather. The harsh cold weather caused the German army to consume more food and oil. At that time, in the Soviet German War, as long as the German offensive was slowed down and the war dragged into winter, a favorable situation for the Soviet Union would emerge. The Soviet people were accustomed to the cold, and their weapon manufacturing was cold resistant, but German soldiers and weapons did not meet these conditions.

Stalingrad was originally named Charizine. In the early days of the Soviet Union, Stalin was responsible for guarding this area and achieved a crucial victory in the war against bandits. In commemoration of Stalin's crucial victory, this city was renamed Stalingrad. The German attack on this city had this political significance at that time.

The Cruel Battle of Stalingrad

During the Soviet War, the Soviet army gradually saw the essence of war. Stalingrad was very important to the Soviet army. Guarding Stalingrad would provide time for the later Soviet army to reorganize its forces and gather supplies, allowing the Soviet army to better improve its military. Stalingrad guards the Volga and Don rivers, as well as an important railway leading to Moscow. Once the German army takes a firm foothold in Stalingrad and receives supplies, they may launch another attack on Moscow through railways and the Volga River.

The war between the two sides has no other choice in the city of Stalingrad, which has a population of 600000. In order to resist the German army, the entire city was mobilized and many defensive fortifications were built inside the city. Almost everyone who can obtain weapons has weapons to defend themselves.

In Stalingrad, the German 6th Army and the Soviet 62nd Army engaged in battle. In terms of firepower, the German army is stronger. German tanks have good performance, strong attack power, and precise workmanship. The firepower of Soviet weapons was average, with rough workmanship, but they were not easily damaged on the battlefield, had low environmental requirements, and were simple and easy to process. On the battlefield, the Soviet Union produced a large number of less sophisticated weapons, but this became an advantage for Germany's precision machining of weapons.

The Soviet Union, which could not beat in quality, fully utilized its advantage in quantity and won by quantity, even in the military. As for the quality of the military, the individual quality of the German army was higher, but the large presence of the Soviet army made up for the low individual quality of the Soviet army. In the defensive battle around Stalingrad, although the Soviet Union failed, by the time the German army entered Stalingrad, heavy firepower had greatly lost its effectiveness in the face of street battles.

In this battle, the Soviet army annihilated a total of 1.5 million German soldiers and their servants, greatly weakening the elite of the German army. A total of one million people were killed in this battle on both sides. A city siege killed one million people, which is unparalleled in the history of war. Imagine a city with only 600000 people, where one million bodies have died. This does not mean that there are corpses everywhere.

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World War II was the largest war in the history of world wars, and the Soviet German War was the largest, largest, and most brutal war of World War II. The brutal Stalingrad War ranked very high in the history of war. One million people died in this war. These one million people once lived in this world, and they became dead souls due to the outbreak of war.

Of course, the Red Army achieved victory with great sacrifice. Becoming the righteous side deserves congratulations, but fascism cannot be repeated. This tragedy cannot happen again. No matter how a country or ideology changes, war cannot be used as a means. But from today's perspective, the means of war have been repeatedly staged, and true peace is still far away. We believe that one day, on this blue planet, it will become world peace.