History: Battle of Stalingrad

Download & Read History Battle of Stalingrad

In the Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943), Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in Southern Russia. Marked by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, it is one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with an estimated 2 million total casualties. After their defeat at Stalingrad, the German High Command had to withdraw considerable military forces from other theaters of war to replace their losses.

The German offensive to capture Stalingrad, a major industrial and transport hub on the Volga River that ensured Soviet access to the Caucasus oil wells, began in August 1942, using the 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army. The attack was supported by intense Luftwaffe bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble. The battle degenerated into house-to-house fighting, as both sides poured reinforcements into the city. By mid-November, the Germans had pushed the Soviet defenders back at great cost into narrow zones along the west bank of the river.

Die Schlacht von Stalingrad ist eine der bekanntesten Schlachten des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Die Vernichtung der deutschen 6. Armee und verbündeter Truppen im Winter 1942/1943 gilt als psychologischer Wendepunkt des im Juni 1941 vom Deutschen Reich begonnenen Deutsch-Sowjetischen Krieges.

Сталингра́дская би́тва — одно из важнейших генеральных сражений Второй мировой и Великой Отечественной войн между Красной армией и вермахтом при поддержке армий стран «оси», закончившееся победой Вооружённых сил СССР.