Battle Of Stalingrad Essay

The Battle of Stalingrad lasted from Summer 1942 to January 1943 and was fought by the German and Soviet armies. Historian Geoffrey Roberts claims, “No battle of the Second World War has gripped the western imagination as much as the Battle of Stalingrad,” showing its impact on the war in the West. This battle resulted in a Soviet victory and marked a turning point in the war. In Die Stalingrad-Protokolle, historian Jochen Hellbeck claims, "The communist commissars in the Red Army understood how to exploit patriotism in order to mobilize people and move them to fight against a fascist aggressor,” explaining that the Soviets viewed Germany as “fascist aggressors,” and that the Soviets were effective in mobilizing people. Both countries’

In Stalingrad, historian Antony Beevor calms that, “Hitler’s ability to manipulate generals was uncanny,” meaning that if he had listened to the advice of his Generals and Commanders and followed his original aims when making his tactical and strategic decisions, the outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad could have been significantly different. Vasily Chuikov, the commander of the 62nd Army in the Battle of Stalingrad, said, “The heavy casualties, the constant retreat, the shortage of food and munitions, the difficulty of receiving reinforcements... Many longed to get across the Volga, to escape the hell of Stalingrad,” depicting the terrible situation in Stalingrad for the Soviet army. After the battle, Winston Churchill said, “The guts of the German Army have been largely torn out by Russian valour and generalship,” which accurately depicted Germany’s situation. The outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad was heavily influenced by Operation Blue, a failed German strategy, the strategic reaction to Operation Uranus, and by the German tactical errors involving the German Army, which include the division of the German Army, the fact that the 6th Army was unprepared, and the bombing of Stalingrad before the 6th Army had