The Germans would never fully recover. A Soviet soldier waves the Red Banner near the central plaza of Stalingrad, Fourteen months before Stalingrad began, Hitler had launched Operation Barbarossa, the largest military offensive in human history. At first, their prediction seemed correct: the attack in June caught Stalin unawares, and the Red Army unprepared.
By December, the Red Army had suffered nearly five million casualties. But despite enduring staggering losses, the Red Army continued to resist. In August , senior members of the Wehrmacht began growing increasingly uneasy. Has been underestimated by us…. At the start of the war we reckoned with about enemy divisions. Now we have already counted … When a dozen have been smashed, then the Russian puts up another dozen.
But as the weather grew bitterly cold, the German offensive ground to a halt, and was then pushed back by a Soviet counteroffensive. The front line froze in place some two hundred kilometers west of Moscow — and kilometers east of Berlin. A German reconnaissance photo of Stalingrad after bombing from the air in October Bundesarchiv.
During the bitter winter months, the OKH began planning for a renewed counteroffensive in the spring, hoping to achieve the decisive victory that had evaded them in Thus was born Operation Blue, an attack to seize the oil fields of the Caucasus, and then drive on to the Volga.
Launched in June , it caught the Red Army off-guard, as they had expected a renewed push towards Moscow. Within two weeks, the Wehrmacht advanced more than miles. Hitler, increasingly directing military operations in Berlin, decided to shift his offensive in early August. For both symbolic and strategic reasons, he ordered the Sixth Army under General Friedrich von Paulus to advance towards the city of Stalingrad.
By August 23, the Germans were in the suburbs, where fighting turned ferocious. Bombed into rubble by German aircraft and artillery, the city became impassable to tanks and ideal terrain for defenders.
The Stalingrad Flour Mill: the mill, near the waterfront, was one of the few buildings to remain relatively intact throughout the battle. It was preserved as a memorial and part of the Battle of Stalingrad Museum after the war.
This meant a horrific price for the Soviet defenders within the city of Stalingrad. In September, Stalin sent General Vasily Chuikov to take command of the embattled survivors of the 62 nd Army in the city itself.
They were tenaciously clinging to rubble on the west bank of the Volga, with only a few hundred meters between its front lines and the river to its back. Three of my deputies had fled… But the main thing was that we had no dependable combat units, and we needed to hold out for three or four days…We immediately began to take the harshest possible actions against cowardice.
On the 14 th I shot the commander and commissar of one regiment, and a short while later, I shot two brigade commanders and their commissars. This caught everyone off guard. We made sure news of this got to the men. When I got to army headquarters I was in a vile mood. Three of my deputies had fled … But the main thing was that we had no dependable combat units, and we needed to hold out for three or four days … We immediately began to take the harshest possible actions against cowardice.
On the 14th I shot the commander and commissar of one regiment, and a short while later, I shot two brigade commanders and their commissars. This caught everyone off guard. We made sure news of this got to the men. Despite his brutality, Chuikov earned the respect of his soldiers, taking the same risks they did. He was buried alive several times by German bombardments and kept his headquarters in the city, less than meters from the German front line. By November, the German High Command had committed 1.
As the fighting reached its fevered peak in the city itself, Gen. Alexander Vasilevsky and Gen. Georgy Zhukov at Stavka the Red Army High Command came up with a master stroke to counter the enormous pressure on the city.
They proposed a massive double encirclement of the entire German Sixth Army. Stalin approved their plan — Operation Uranus — on November Over a million Soviet soldiers struck on the snowy, foggy morning of November They drove into the weakly guarded flanks of the German Sixth Army.
Within four days, they had encircled , Axis soldiers, trapped in a frozen wasteland in and around Stalingrad. German attempts to break into the pocket failed. Over the next three months, the Red Army began to squeeze the life out of them. By December, when German airlifts ceased, life in the surrounded ruins became a living hell. A typhus epidemic ravaged the survivors. Rumors of cannibalism grew increasingly frequent. As conditions became unbearable, Hitler ordered his men to fight to the last.
In an effort to encourage his commanding general, he made Paulus a field marshal on January As no German field marshal had ever surrendered, Hitler hoped Paulus would kill himself rather than be captured. Instead, on January 31, , Paulus surrendered the 91, skeletal German soldiers still left under his command; some would fight on until February 2. Only 6 percent would survive Soviet captivity. The Germans would launch one more major offensive on the Eastern Front — Kursk — in July , but it failed.
Stalingrad marked the shift of initiative to the Red Army on the Eastern Front. There were no more decisive victories for the Wehrmacht in the east. Despite the importance of the battles of Moscow, Kursk, and Operation Bagration, it was Stalingrad that would be immortalized around the world as the turning of the tide for the Allies in World War II.
Three quarters of a century later, Stalingrad — and the war more generally — are still shaping Russian foreign and domestic policy. But that sacrifice has made discussion of the war dangerous ground for historians, journalists, and the public: A televised discussion on January 26, on the Dozhd network about Soviet mismanagement of the siege of Leningrad caused that network to be effectively shut down, lose all its syndication rights, and be forced to move its studio.
For President Vladimir Putin, the war remains personal. His father was maimed in the war. Much of his extended family died in the conflict. A Monument to the devastation of the city. One of the pockets of resistance against the previously unbeatable Wehrmacht. Seeing this small site it is hard to believe that the fate of much of Europe hinged on this spot, what is now little more than a bullet-riddled wall. A very nice walk along the riverside is essential. You will find cafes and bars of course, plus plenty of broken concrete, graffiti, and people hanging around.
Go to the water itself to dip your toes, something the Nazi war machine was unable to do, despite sending millions of men into the attempt. The river is long and the city stretches along with it, so commit some time and this will be a fun way to spend an afternoon and evening. Of course, there is much more to see and do in Volgograd — many sites have their own memorials to the battle of Stalingrad including at the old flour factory , as well as some picturesque churches, various squares and monuments, city parks, and shopping malls.
Paleozoological Museum of China - dinosaurs and human evolution! But who is this place aimed at? Not at foreign tourists, and not at scientists either,. This year we took a number of intrepid Koryoites on a series of successful trips to other unusual destinations across Asia Not registered yet? Register now. Got an account already? Let me log in. By Koryo Tours. Volgograd Stalingrad - One of Russia's most fascinating cities. Most of Volgograd that visitors would spend time in is situated on the west bank of the river, and the city stretches itself along the banks in each direction Battle of Stalingrad In the city was granted the name Stalingrad.
How to Get a Russian Visa As well as having marshrutkas in the city there are also those that ply regional routes so if you wish to travel to Volgograd from Astrakhan, Elista, or elsewhere these buses can be found and are cheap and regular too. Highly recommended and also iconic among residents and visitors to Volgograd. Highlights Mamayev Kurgan The absolute must-see if you visit Volgograd. Go there first! Battle of Stalingrad Panorama Museum The key place to learn about how the Battle of Stalingrad came about, progressed, the dire situation faced by the defenders, and the eventual glorious victory.
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