The Siege of Stalingrad


		 Dean Sayers


	The siege of Stalingrad, fought between Nazis and 

Soviets, was undoubtably the bloodiest and most important battle 

of the second World War. For 5 months Soviets and Nazis 

suffered, Soviets choosing to fight to the last to defend their 

country and Nazis having no choice but to do likewise. The 

Soviet army stabilised at around a loss of 1 million soldiers, 

but the Nazis waited to surrender when only 6 thousand of their 

men wer left. When the proverbial smoke cleared, 1.4 million 

soldiers died collectively and Hitler had lost his key to 

controlling the east.



	In 1941, Hitler disrespected the Nazi and Soviet non - 

agression pact, and advanced his troops through the Russian 

landscape, reaching as far as Leningrad and Moscow. Within 

months, he siezed the Soviet's oil fields, leaving Russia 

severely crippled. Although Hitler's genious had carried him to 

a state from which he would be liable to gain control of all of 

the Soviet Union eventually, he choose instead to divert his 

forces guarding the oil fields and assault Stalingrad with them. 

This battle was certain to fail at capturing Stalingrad, and 

left the oil wells open for Soviet recapture.



	Stalingrad was a leading industrial and communication 

centre for the U.S.S.R. at the time of the siege, so if the 

Nazis had 'won', Russia would be that much more vulnerable to 

Hitler's regime. Possessing this city would also have decimated 

Soviet abilities to attack some of Hitler's key armies.



	In August of 1942, Hitler ordered armies into Stalingrad 

(an attack codenamed "Barbarossa"). The battle which ensued 

lasted for 5 months and took nearly a million Soviet soldiers 

and 70000 Germans. The battle was the bloodiest that existed in 

WWII, and is by most historical standards the most important to 

the war.



	The Russians, losing many smaller battles, fought to the 

last man at each, in quite a literal sense. It was only 

necessary for them to hold out the Germans for a couple months, 

as the winter was approaching, and the Nazis were not much 

better prepared for it than Napoleon's armies in the 1800s.



	The war stayed a stalemate, except for the appproaching 

winter. Hitler knew history, but he still choose to disallow 

retreat - it would have been poor for his image as a fascist to 

retreat. As the winter grew a more and more ominous and dark 

spectre on the horizon, the troops suffered more and more, and 

ended up within a pincer attack (codenamed "Uranus") between 2 

russian armies .



	Still they waited, as supplies dwindled and the Soviets 

demanded surrender. The encirclement could be broken, but Paulus 

(the German Field Marshal) would not risk anything that appeared 

to be a retreat. The Rations which Hitler was able to lift into 

their ranks were measly at best - needing 600 tonnes of rations 

a day, they were told that they would receive 300 tonnes a day, 

but usually received only 70.



	Nearly all of Hitler's army was destroyed, only 6,000 

lived to return to Germany. 229,000 - 279,000 german forces had 

died in and near Stalingrad by this time, and the russians took 

91,000 wretched prisoners, most of whom died due to issues 

ranging from sickness, cold and starvation to the transportation 

to prisons.



	Today there stands in Stalingrad (now called Volgograd, 

due to a denouncement of stalinism immediately after his reign) 

a plethora of colossal memorials to the Soviet defenders of the 

state, an eternal flame at which newlyweds often place their 

bridal bouquets, and other such monuments.



	The battle of Stalingrad decided the fate of not only 

the U.S.S.R. and Germany, but that of the world. China would be 

helpless to fight two fronts with its poor, unadvanced armies; 

The rest of Eurasia would be insimilar situations. This battle 

was the sole most important WWII battle, far outweighing 

Normandy. It was neither a win for the Nazis or the Soviets; It 

destroyed the lives of countless millions and devestated various 

economies.


Sources:

http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/

http://www.everything2.com

http://www.agls.uidaho.edu

Journey Across Russia: The Soviet Union Today by Nat'l
  Geographic

4/24/2003