Jason Andrews Mrs. Wood English 1 Honors 3/19/15 The Battle of Stalingrad Bombs away! Ever heard of the London Blitz? Well imagine that with more explosives. That is what The Battle of Stalingrad was like in the beginning when German soldiers bombed the Soviet City of Stalingrad. This was perhaps the bloodiest and most bombed battle in history! After all the destruction of this battle, it was clear the Soviet side had won the fight. The Battle of Stalingrad began on July 17, 1942 when the city of Stalingrad was bombed by The German (Nazi) Army under the command of Adolf Hitler. The battle lasted until February 2, 1943; having casualties of nearly 2 million. That is a lot of men and women passing away for just one battle. “This monumental battle …show more content…
Until the month of September Soviets were able to hold off the Germans. But, on September 14th “The Russian High Command said today that reinforced German troops had made a further advance southwest of Beleaguered Stalingrad, the second German gain announced in this sector in twenty-four hours.” (Cassidy para 1) The Battle of Stalingrad has shaped history in many different ways. Although the city was nearly destroyed (to nothing but debris and rubble) the Soviet’s re-claimed control over Stalingrad. Before the attack The Soviets were able to send off supplies and some civilians due to having an early warning. However, most of the civilians were not able to be evacuated in time. The Soviets were smart enough to burn food, such as grain before retreating, from one part of the city to another, that way the enemy would not be able to consume the Soviet food. Neither side would have been as successful as they were in this battle without their airstrikes. Airstrikes played a major role because they were fast and hard to defend against. Both sides were able to plan some successful and yet some unsuccessful airstrikes on the enemy. “The Soviet victory at Stalingrad was a great humiliation for Hitler, who had elevated the battle’s importance in German opinion. He now became more distrustful than ever of his generals. Stalin, on the other hand, gained confidence in his military, which followed up Stalingrad with a westward drive and remained largely on the offensive for the rest of the war.”(History para