The Battle of Stalingrad briefly the most important thing. Battle of Stalingrad: number of troops, course of the battle, losses Battle of Stalingrad forces of the parties

Taking into account the tasks being solved, the characteristics of the conduct of hostilities by the parties, the spatial and temporal scale, as well as the results Battle of Stalingrad includes two periods: defensive - from July 17 to November 18, 1942; offensive - from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943

The strategic defensive operation in the Stalingrad direction lasted 125 days and nights and included two stages. The first stage is the conduct of defensive combat operations by front-line troops on the distant approaches to Stalingrad (July 17 - September 12). The second stage is the conduct of defensive actions to hold Stalingrad (September 13 - November 18, 1942).

The German command delivered the main blow with the forces of the 6th Army in the direction of Stalingrad along the shortest route through the big bend of the Don from the west and southwest, just in the defense zones of the 62nd (commander - Major General, from August 3 - Lieutenant General , from September 6 - Major General, from September 10 - Lieutenant General) and the 64th (commander - Lieutenant General V.I. Chuikov, from August 4 - Lieutenant General) armies. The operational initiative was in the hands of the German command with an almost double superiority in forces and means.

Defensive combat operations by troops of the fronts on the distant approaches to Stalingrad (July 17 - September 12)

The first stage of the operation began on July 17, 1942 in the big bend of the Don with combat contact between units of the 62nd Army and the advanced detachments of German troops. Fierce fighting ensued. The enemy had to deploy five divisions out of fourteen and spend six days to approach the main defense line of the troops of the Stalingrad Front. However, under the pressure of superior enemy forces, Soviet troops were forced to retreat to new, poorly equipped or even unequipped lines. But even under these conditions they inflicted significant losses on the enemy.

By the end of July, the situation in the Stalingrad direction continued to remain very tense. German troops deeply engulfed both flanks of the 62nd Army, reached the Don in the Nizhne-Chirskaya area, where the 64th Army held the defense, and created the threat of a breakthrough to Stalingrad from the southwest.

Due to the increased width of the defense zone (about 700 km), by the decision of the Supreme High Command Headquarters, the Stalingrad Front, which was commanded by a lieutenant general from July 23, was divided on August 5 into the Stalingrad and South-Eastern fronts. To achieve closer cooperation between the troops of both fronts, from August 9, the leadership of the defense of Stalingrad was united in one hand, and therefore the Stalingrad Front was subordinated to the commander of the South-Eastern Front, Colonel General.

By mid-November, the advance of German troops was stopped along the entire front. The enemy was forced to finally go on the defensive. This completed the strategic defensive operation of the Battle of Stalingrad. The troops of the Stalingrad, South-Eastern and Don Fronts completed their tasks, holding back the powerful enemy offensive in the Stalingrad direction, creating the preconditions for a counter-offensive.

During the defensive battles, the Wehrmacht suffered huge losses. In the fight for Stalingrad, the enemy lost about 700 thousand killed and wounded, over 2 thousand guns and mortars, more than 1000 tanks and assault guns and over 1.4 thousand combat and transport aircraft. Instead of a non-stop advance towards the Volga, enemy troops were drawn into protracted, grueling battles in the Stalingrad area. The German command's plan for the summer of 1942 was thwarted. At the same time, the Soviet troops also suffered heavy losses in personnel - 644 thousand people, of which irrevocable - 324 thousand people, sanitary 320 thousand people. The losses of weapons amounted to: about 1,400 tanks, more than 12 thousand guns and mortars and more than 2 thousand aircraft.

Soviet troops continued their offensive

Battle of Stalingrad - Cannes of the 20th century

IN Russian history there are events that burn like gold on the tablets of her military glory. And one of them is (July 17, 1942–February 2, 1943), which became the Cannes of the 20th century.
The WWII battle, gigantic in scale, unfolded in the second half of 1942 on the banks of the Volga. At certain stages, more than 2 million people, about 30 thousand guns, more than 2 thousand aircraft and the same number of tanks took part in it on both sides.
During Battle of Stalingrad The Wehrmacht lost a quarter of its forces concentrated on Eastern Front. Its losses in killed, missing and wounded amounted to about one and a half million soldiers and officers.

Battle of Stalingrad on the map

Stages of the Battle of Stalingrad, its prerequisites

By the nature of the fighting Battle of Stalingrad briefly It is customary to divide it into two periods. These are defensive operations (July 17 - November 18, 1942) and offensive operations (November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943).
After the failure of Plan Barbarossa and the defeat near Moscow, the Nazis were preparing for a new offensive on the Eastern Front. On April 5, Hitler issued a directive outlining the goal of the 1942 summer campaign. This is the mastery of the oil-bearing regions of the Caucasus and access to the Volga in the Stalingrad region. On June 28, the Wehrmacht launched a decisive offensive, taking Donbass, Rostov, Voronezh...
Stalingrad was a major communications hub connecting the central regions of the country with the Caucasus and Central Asia. And the Volga is an important transport artery for the delivery of Caucasian oil. The capture of Stalingrad could have catastrophic consequences for the USSR. The 6th Army under the command of General F. Paulus was active in this direction.

Photo of the Battle of Stalingrad

Battle of Stalingrad - fighting on the outskirts

To protect the city, the Soviet command formed the Stalingrad Front, led by Marshal S.K. Timoshenko. began on July 17, when, in the bend of the Don, units of the 62nd Army entered into battle with the vanguard of the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht. Defensive battles on the approaches to Stalingrad lasted 57 days and nights. On July 28, People's Commissar of Defense J.V. Stalin issued order No. 227, better known as “Not a step back!”
By the start of the decisive offensive, the German command had noticeably strengthened Paulus's 6th Army. The superiority in tanks was twofold, in aircraft - almost fourfold. And at the end of July, the 4th Tank Army was transferred here from the Caucasian direction. And, nevertheless, the advance of the Nazis towards the Volga could not be called rapid. In a month, under the desperate blows of the Soviet troops, they managed to cover only 60 kilometers. To strengthen the southwestern approaches to Stalingrad, the South-Eastern Front was created under the command of General A. I. Eremenko. Meanwhile, the Nazis began active operations in the Caucasus direction. But thanks to the dedication of Soviet soldiers, the German advance deep into the Caucasus was stopped.

Photo: Battle of Stalingrad - battles for every piece of Russian land!

Battle of Stalingrad: every house is a fortress

August 19th became black date of the Battle of Stalingrad- the tank group of Paulus’s army broke through to the Volga. Moreover, cutting off the 62nd Army defending the city from the north from the main forces of the front. Attempts to destroy the 8-kilometer corridor formed by enemy troops were unsuccessful. Although Soviet soldiers showed examples of amazing heroism. 33 soldiers of the 87th Infantry Division, defending the heights in the Malye Rossoshki area, became an invincible stronghold on the path of superior enemy forces. During the day, they desperately repulsed the attacks of 70 tanks and a battalion of Nazis, leaving 150 killed soldiers and 27 damaged vehicles on the battlefield.
On August 23, Stalingrad was subjected to severe bombing by German aircraft. Several hundred planes attacked industrial and residential areas, turning them into ruins. And the German command continued to build up forces in the Stalingrad direction. By the end of September, Army Group B already had more than 80 divisions.
The 66th and 24th armies were sent from the reserve of the Supreme High Command to help Stalingrad. On September 13, two powerful groups, supported by 350 tanks, began the assault on the central part of the city. A struggle for the city, unprecedented in courage and intensity, began - the most terrible stage of the Battle of Stalingrad.
For every building, for every inch of land, the fighters fought to the death, staining them with blood. General Rodimtsev called the battle in the building the most difficult battle. After all, there are no familiar concepts of flanks or rear here; an enemy can lurk around every corner. The city was continuously shelled and bombed, the earth was burning, the Volga was burning. From oil tanks pierced by shells, oil rushed in fiery streams into dugouts and trenches. An example of the selfless valor of Soviet soldiers was the almost two-month defense of Pavlov’s house. Having knocked out the enemy from a four-story building on Penzenskaya Street, a group of scouts led by Sergeant Ya. F. Pavlov turned the house into an impregnable fortress.
The enemy sent another 200 thousand trained reinforcements, 90 artillery divisions, 40 sapper battalions to storm the city... Hitler hysterically demanded to take the Volga “citadel” at any cost.
The commander of the Paulus Army battalion, G. Weltz, subsequently wrote that he remembered this as a bad dream. “In the morning, five German battalions go on the attack and almost no one returns. The next morning everything happens again..."
The approaches to Stalingrad were indeed littered with the corpses of soldiers and the remains of burnt tanks. It’s not for nothing that the Germans called the road to the city “the road of death.”

Battle of Stalingrad. Photos of killed Germans (far right - killed by a Russian sniper)

Battle of Stalingrad – “Thunderstorm” and “Thunder” against “Uranus”

The Soviet command developed the Uranus plan for defeat of the Nazis at Stalingrad. It consisted of cutting off the enemy strike group from the main forces with powerful flank attacks and, encircling, destroying it. Army Group B, led by Field Marshal Bock, included 1011.5 thousand soldiers and officers, more than 10 thousand guns, 1200 aircraft, etc. The three Soviet fronts defending the city included 1,103 thousand personnel, 15,501 guns, and 1,350 aircraft. That is, the advantage of the Soviet side was insignificant. Therefore, a decisive victory could only be achieved through military art.
On November 19, units of the Southwestern and Don Fronts, and on November 20, the Stalingrad Front, brought down tons of fiery metal on Bok’s locations from both sides. After breaking through the enemy defenses, the troops began to develop an offensive in operational depth. The meeting of the Soviet fronts took place on the fifth day of the offensive, November 23, in the Kalach, Sovetsky area.
Unwilling to accept defeat Battle of Stalingrad, the Nazi command attempted to release the encircled army of Paulus. But the operations “Winter Thunderstorm” and “Thunderbolt”, initiated by them in mid-December, ended in failure. Now the conditions were created for the complete defeat of the encircled troops.
The operation to eliminate them received the code name “Ring”. Of the 330 thousand who were surrounded by the Nazis, no more than 250 thousand remained by January 1943. But the group was not going to capitulate. It was armed with more than 4,000 guns, 300 tanks, and 100 aircraft. Paulus later wrote in his memoirs: “On the one hand there were unconditional orders to hold on, promises of help, references to the general situation. On the other hand, there are internal humane motives - to stop the fight, caused by the disastrous state of the soldiers."
On January 10, 1943, Soviet troops began Operation Ring. has entered its final phase. Pressed against the Volga and cut into two parts, the enemy group was forced to surrender.

Battle of Stalingrad (column of German prisoners)

Battle of Stalingrad. Captured F. Paulus (he hoped that he would be exchanged, and only at the end of the war did he learn that they had offered to exchange him for Stalin’s son, Yakov Dzhugashvili). Stalin then said: “I am not changing a soldier for a field marshal!”

Battle of Stalingrad, photo of captured F. Paulus

Victory in Battle of Stalingrad had enormous international and military-political significance for the USSR. It marked a radical turning point during the Second World War. After Stalingrad, the period of expulsion of German occupiers from the territory of the USSR began. Having become a triumph of Soviet military art, strengthened the camp anti-Hitler coalition and caused discord in the countries of the fascist bloc.
Some Western historians, trying to belittle significance of the Battle of Stalingrad, put it on a par with the Battle of Tunisia (1943), El Alamein (1942), etc. But they were refuted by Hitler himself, who declared on February 1, 1943 at his headquarters: “The possibility of ending the war in the East through an offensive is no longer exists…"

Then, near Stalingrad, our fathers and grandfathers again “gave a light” Photo: captured Germans after the Battle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad is one of the largest in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. It began on July 17, 1942 and ended on February 2, 1943. According to the nature of the fighting, the Battle of Stalingrad is divided into two periods: defensive, which lasted from July 17 to November 18, 1942, the purpose of which was the defense of the city of Stalingrad (from 1961 - Volgograd), and offensive, which began on November 19, 1942 and ended on February 2, 1943 year with the defeat of the group operating in the Stalingrad direction Nazi troops.

For two hundred days and nights on the banks of the Don and Volga, and then at the walls of Stalingrad and directly in the city itself, this fierce battle continued. It unfolded over a vast territory of about 100 thousand square kilometers with a front length of 400 to 850 kilometers. More than 2.1 million people took part in it on both sides at different stages of the hostilities. In terms of goals, scope and intensity of military operations, the Battle of Stalingrad surpassed all previous battles in world history.

On the part of the Soviet Union, the troops of the Stalingrad, South-Eastern, South-Western, Don, left wing of the Voronezh fronts, the Volga military flotilla and the Stalingrad air defense corps region (the operational-tactical formation of the Soviet air defense forces) took part in the Battle of Stalingrad at different times. General management and coordination of the actions of the fronts near Stalingrad on behalf of the Supreme High Command Headquarters (SHC) was carried out by Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief Army General Georgy Zhukov and Chief of the General Staff Colonel General Alexander Vasilevsky.

The fascist German command planned in the summer of 1942 to defeat Soviet troops in the south of the country, seize the oil regions of the Caucasus, the rich agricultural regions of the Don and Kuban, disrupt communications connecting the center of the country with the Caucasus, and create conditions for ending the war in its favor. This task was entrusted to Army Groups "A" and "B".

For the offensive in the Stalingrad direction, the 6th Army under the command of Colonel General Friedrich Paulus and the 4th Tank Army were allocated from the German Army Group B. By July 17, the German 6th Army had about 270 thousand people, three thousand guns and mortars, and about 500 tanks. It was supported by aviation from the 4th Air Fleet (up to 1,200 combat aircraft). The Nazi troops were opposed by the Stalingrad Front, which had 160 thousand people, 2.2 thousand guns and mortars, and about 400 tanks. It was supported by 454 aircraft of the 8th Air Army, 150-200 aviation bombers long range. The main efforts of the Stalingrad Front were concentrated in the large bend of the Don, where the 62nd and 64th armies occupied the defense in order to prevent the enemy from crossing the river and breaking through by the shortest route to Stalingrad.

The defensive operation began on the distant approaches to the city at the border of the Chir and Tsimla rivers. On July 22, having suffered heavy losses, Soviet troops retreated to the main line of defense of Stalingrad. Having regrouped, enemy troops resumed their offensive on July 23. The enemy tried to encircle Soviet troops in the large bend of the Don, reach the area of the city of Kalach and break through to Stalingrad from the west.

Bloody battles in this area continued until August 10, when the troops of the Stalingrad Front, having suffered heavy losses, retreated to the left bank of the Don and took up defense on the outer perimeter of Stalingrad, where on August 17 they temporarily stopped the enemy.

The Supreme Command headquarters systematically strengthened the troops in the Stalingrad direction. By the beginning of August, the German command also introduced new forces into the battle (8th Italian Army, 3rd Romanian Army). After a short break, having a significant superiority in forces, the enemy resumed the offensive along the entire front of the outer defensive perimeter of Stalingrad. After fierce battles on August 23, his troops broke through to the Volga north of the city, but were unable to capture it on the move. On August 23 and 24, German aircraft launched a fierce massive bombardment of Stalingrad, turning it into ruins.

Building up their forces, German troops came close to the city on September 12. Fierce street battles broke out and continued almost around the clock. They went for every block, alley, for every house, for every meter of land. On October 15, the enemy broke through to the area of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant. On November 11, German troops made their last attempt to capture the city.

They managed to get to the Volga south of the Barrikady plant, but they could not achieve more. With continuous counterattacks and counterattacks, Soviet troops minimized the enemy's successes, destroying his manpower and equipment. On November 18, the advance of German troops was finally stopped along the entire front, and the enemy was forced to go on the defensive. The enemy's plan to capture Stalingrad failed.

Even during the defensive battle, the Soviet command began to concentrate forces to launch a counteroffensive, preparations for which were completed in mid-November. Back to top offensive operation Soviet troops had 1.11 million people, 15 thousand guns and mortars, about 1.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units, over 1.3 thousand combat aircraft.

The enemy opposing them had 1.01 million people, 10.2 thousand guns and mortars, 675 tanks and assault guns, 1216 combat aircraft. As a result of the massing of forces and means in the directions of the main attacks of the fronts, a significant superiority of Soviet troops over the enemy was created - on the South-Western and Stalingrad fronts in people - by 2-2.5 times, in artillery and tanks - by 4-5 or more times.

The offensive of the Southwestern Front and the 65th Army of the Don Front began on November 19, 1942 after an 80-minute artillery preparation. By the end of the day, the defenses of the 3rd Romanian Army were broken through in two areas. The Stalingrad Front launched its offensive on November 20.

Having struck the flanks of the main enemy group, the troops of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts closed the encirclement ring on November 23, 1942. It included 22 divisions and more than 160 separate units of the 6th Army and partly the 4th Tank Army of the enemy, with a total number of about 300 thousand people.

On December 12, the German command attempted to release the encircled troops with a strike from the area of the village of Kotelnikovo (now the city of Kotelnikovo), but did not achieve the goal. On December 16, the Soviet offensive began in the Middle Don, which forced the German command to finally abandon the release of the encircled group. By the end of December 1942, the enemy was defeated in front of the outer front of the encirclement, its remnants were thrown back 150-200 kilometers. This created favorable conditions for the liquidation of the group surrounded at Stalingrad.

To defeat the encircled troops by the Don Front, under the command of Lieutenant General Konstantin Rokossovsky, an operation codenamed “Ring” was carried out. The plan provided for the sequential destruction of the enemy: first in the western, then in the southern part of the encirclement ring, and subsequently - the dismemberment of the remaining group into two parts by a blow from west to east and the liquidation of each of them. The operation began on January 10, 1943. On January 26, the 21st Army linked up with the 62nd Army in the Mamayev Kurgan area. The enemy group was cut into two parts. On January 31, the southern group of troops led by Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus ceased resistance, and on February 2, the northern group stopped resistance, which was the completion of the destruction of the encircled enemy. During the offensive from January 10 to February 2, 1943, over 91 thousand people were captured and about 140 thousand were destroyed.

During the Stalingrad offensive operation, the German 6th Army and 4th Tank Army, the 3rd and 4th Romanian armies, and the 8th Italian Army were defeated. The total enemy losses were about 1.5 million people. In Germany, national mourning was declared for the first time during the war.

The Battle of Stalingrad made a decisive contribution to achieving a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War. The Soviet armed forces seized the strategic initiative and held it until the end of the war. The defeat of the fascist bloc at Stalingrad undermined confidence in Germany on the part of its allies and contributed to the intensification of the Resistance movement in European countries. Japan and Türkiye were forced to abandon plans for active action against the USSR.

The victory at Stalingrad was the result of the unbending resilience, courage and mass heroism of the Soviet troops. For military distinction shown during the Battle of Stalingrad, 44 formations and units were given honorary titles, 55 were awarded orders, 183 were converted into guards units. Tens of thousands of soldiers and officers were awarded government awards. 112 of the most distinguished soldiers became Heroes of the Soviet Union.

In honor of heroic defense In the city, the Soviet government established on December 22, 1942 the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad,” which was awarded to more than 700 thousand participants in the battle.

On May 1, 1945, in the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Stalingrad was named a hero city. On May 8, 1965, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, the hero city was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

The city has over 200 historical sites associated with its heroic past. Among them are the memorial ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamayev Kurgan, the House of Soldiers' Glory (Pavlov's House) and others. In 1982, the Panorama Museum "Battle of Stalingrad" was opened.

Day February 2, 1943 in accordance with the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 "On the Days of Military Glory and memorable dates Russia" is celebrated as the day of military glory of Russia - the Day of the defeat of Nazi troops by Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad.

The material was prepared based on informationopen sources

(Additional

Of course, 1 German soldier can kill 10 Soviet ones. But when the 11th comes, what will he do?
Franz Halder

The main goal of Germany's summer offensive campaign was Stalingrad. However, on the way to the city it was necessary to overcome the Crimean defense. And here the Soviet command unwittingly, of course, made life easier for the enemy. In May 1942, a massive Soviet offensive began in the Kharkov area. The problem is that this attack was unprepared and turned into a terrible disaster. More than 200 thousand people were killed, 775 tanks and 5,000 guns were lost. As a result, complete strategic advantage in the southern sector of hostilities was in the hands of Germany. The 6th and 4th German tank armies crossed the Don and began to advance deeper into the country. The Soviet army retreated, not having time to cling to advantageous defense lines. Surprisingly, for the second year in a row, the German offensive was completely unexpected by the Soviet command. The only advantage of 1942 was that now the Soviet units did not allow themselves to be easily surrounded.

Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad

July 17, 1942 troops of the 62nd and 64th Soviet army entered into battle on the Chir River. In the future, historians will call this battle the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad. For a correct understanding of further events, it is necessary to note that the successes of the German army in the offensive campaign of 1942 were so amazing that Hitler decided, simultaneously with the offensive in the South, to intensify the offensive in the North, capturing Leningrad. This is not just a historical retreat, because as a result of this decision, the 11th German Army under the command of Manstein was transferred from Sevastopol to Leningrad. Manstein himself, as well as Halder, opposed this decision, arguing that the German army might not have enough reserves on the southern front. But this was very important, since Germany was simultaneously solving several problems in the south:

The capture of Stalingrad as a symbol of the fall of the leaders of the Soviet people.
Capture southern regions with oil. This was a more important and more mundane task.

July 23, Hitler signs directive number 45, in which he indicates the main goal of the German offensive: Leningrad, Stalingrad, the Caucasus.

On July 24, Wehrmacht troops captured Rostov-on-Don and Novocherkassk. Now the gates to the Caucasus were completely open, and for the first time there was a threat of losing the entire Soviet South. The German 6th Army continued its movement towards Stalingrad. Panic was noticeable among the Soviet troops. In some sectors of the front, troops of the 51st, 62nd, 64th armies withdrew and retreated even when enemy reconnaissance groups approached. And these are only those cases that are documented. This forced Stalin to begin shuffling the generals in this sector of the front and to undertake a general change in the structure. Instead of the Bryansk Front, the Voronezh and Bryansk Fronts were formed. Vatutin and Rokossovsky were appointed commanders, respectively. But even these decisions could not stop the panic and retreat of the Red Army. The Germans were advancing towards the Volga. As a result, on July 28, 1942, Stalin issued order No. 227, which was called “not a step back.”

At the end of July, General Jodl announced that the key to the Caucasus was in Stalingrad. This was enough for Hitler to make the most important decision of the entire offensive summer campaign on July 31, 1942. According to this decision, the 4th Tank Army was transferred to Stalingrad.

Map of the Battle of Stalingrad

The order “Not a step back!”

The peculiarity of the order was to combat alarmism. Anyone who retreated without orders was to be shot on the spot. In fact, it was an element of regression, but this repression justified itself in terms of being able to instill fear and force Soviet soldiers to fight even more courageously. The only problem was that Order 227 did not analyze the reasons for the defeat of the Red Army during the summer of 1942, but simply carried out repressions against ordinary soldiers. This order emphasizes the hopelessness of the situation that developed at that point in time. The order itself emphasizes:

Despair. The Soviet command now realized that the failure of the summer of 1942 threatened the existence of the entire USSR. Just a few jerks and Germany will win.
Contradiction. This order simply shifted all responsibility from Soviet generals to ordinary officers and soldiers. However, the reasons for the failures of the summer of 1942 lie precisely in the miscalculations of the command, which was unable to foresee the direction of the enemy’s main attack and made significant mistakes.
Cruelty. According to this order, everyone was shot, indiscriminately. Now any retreat of the army was punishable by execution. And no one understood why the soldier fell asleep - they shot everyone.

Today, many historians say that Stalin’s order No. 227 became the basis for victory in the Battle of Stalingrad. In fact, it is impossible to answer this question unequivocally. History, as we know, does not tolerate the subjunctive mood, but it is important to understand that by that time Germany was at war with almost the entire world, and its advance towards Stalingrad was extremely difficult, during which the Wehrmacht troops lost about half of their staffing level. To this we must also add that soviet soldier knew how to die, which is repeatedly emphasized in the memoirs of Wehrmacht generals.

Progress of the battle

In August 1942 it became absolutely obvious that the main objective German strike is Stalingrad. The city began to prepare for defense.

In the second half of August, reinforced troops of the 6th German Army under the command of Friedrich Paulus (then just a general) and troops of the 4th Panzer Army under the command of Hermann Gott moved to Stalingrad. On the part of the Soviet Union, armies took part in the defense of Stalingrad: the 62nd Army under the command of Anton Lopatin and the 64th Army under the command of Mikhail Shumilov. In the south of Stalingrad there was the 51st Army of General Kolomiets and the 57th Army of General Tolbukhin.

August 23, 1942 became the most terrible day of the first part of the defense of Stalingrad. On this day, the German Luftwaffe launched a powerful airstrike on the city. Historical documents indicate that more than 2,000 sorties were flown on that day alone. The next day, the evacuation of civilians across the Volga began. It should be noted that on August 23, German troops managed to reach the Volga in a number of sectors of the front. It was a narrow strip of land north of Stalingrad, but Hitler was delighted with the success. These successes were achieved by the 14th Tank Corps of the Wehrmacht.

Despite this, the commander of the 14th Panzer Corps, von Wittersghen, addressed General Paulus with a report in which he said that it was better for German troops to leave this city, since it was impossible to achieve success with such enemy resistance. Von Wittersghen was so impressed by the courage of the defenders of Stalingrad. For this, the general was immediately removed from command and put on trial.

On August 25, 1942, fighting began in the vicinity of Stalingrad. In fact, the Battle of Stalingrad, which we are briefly reviewing today, began on this very day. The battles were fought not only for every house, but literally for every floor. Situations were often observed where “layer pies” were formed: there were German troops on one floor of the house, and Soviet troops on the other floor. Thus began the urban battle, where German tanks no longer had their decisive advantage.

On September 14, the troops of the 71st German Infantry Division, commanded by General Hartmann, managed to reach the Volga along a narrow corridor. If we remember what Hitler said about the reasons for the offensive campaign of 1942, then the main goal was achieved - shipping along the Volga was stopped. However, the Fuhrer, influenced by the successes during the offensive campaign, demanded that the Battle of Stalingrad be completed with the complete defeat of the Soviet troops. As a result, a situation arose where Soviet troops could not retreat due to Stalin’s order 227, and German troops were forced to attack because Hitler maniacally wanted it.

It became obvious that the Battle of Stalingrad would become the place where one of the army completely died. The general balance of forces was clearly not in favor of the German side, since General Paulus’s army had 7 divisions, the number of which was decreasing every day. At the same time, the Soviet command transferred 6 fresh divisions here, fully equipped. By the end of September 1942, in the Stalingrad area, 7 divisions of General Paulus were opposed by about 15 Soviet divisions. And these are only official army units, which do not take into account the militias, of which there were a lot in the city.

On September 13, 1942, the battle for the center of Stalingrad began. Fights were fought for every street, for every house, for every floor. There were no more buildings left in the city that were not destroyed. To demonstrate the events of those days, it is necessary to mention the reports for September 14:

7 hours 30 minutes. German troops reached Akademicheskaya Street.
7 hours 40 minutes. The first battalion of mechanized forces is completely cut off from the main forces.
7 hours 50 minutes. Fierce fighting is taking place in the area of Mamayev Kurgan and the station.
8 ocloc'k. The station was taken by German troops.
8 hours 40 minutes. We managed to recapture the station.
9 hours 40 minutes. The station was recaptured by the Germans.
10 hours 40 minutes. The enemy is half a kilometer from the command post.
13 hours 20 minutes. The station is ours again.

And this is only half of one typical day in the battles for Stalingrad. It was an urban war, for which Paulus’ troops were not prepared for all the horrors. In total, between September and November, more than 700 attacks by German troops were repelled!

On the night of September 15, the 13th Guards Rifle Division, commanded by General Rodimtsev, was transported to Stalingrad. On the first day of fighting of this division alone, it lost more than 500 people. At this time, the Germans managed to make significant progress towards the city center, and also captured height “102” or, more simply, Mamayev Kurgan. The 62nd Army, which conducted the main defensive battles, these days had a command post, which was located only 120 meters away from the enemy.

During the second half of September 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad continued with the same ferocity. At this time, many German generals were already perplexed why they were fighting for this city and for every street of it. At the same time, Halder had repeatedly emphasized by this time that the German army was in an extreme state of overwork. In particular, the general spoke about an inevitable crisis, including due to the weakness of the flanks, where the Italians were very reluctant to fight. Halder openly appealed to Hitler, saying that the German army did not have the reserves and resources for a simultaneous offensive campaign in Stalingrad and the northern Caucasus. By a decision of September 24, Franz Halder was removed from his post as Chief of the General Staff of the German Army. Kurt Zeisler took his place.

During September and October, there was no significant change in the situation at the front. Likewise, the Battle of Stalingrad was one huge cauldron in which Soviet and German troops destroyed each other. The confrontation reached its climax, when the troops were only a few meters away from each other, and the battles were literally point-blank. Many historians note the irrationality of the conduct of military operations during the Battle of Stalingrad. In fact, this was the moment when it no longer came to the fore military art, but human qualities, the desire to survive and the desire to win.

During the entire defensive phase of the Battle of Stalingrad, the troops of the 62nd and 64th armies almost completely changed their composition. The only things that did not change were the name of the army, as well as the composition of the headquarters. As for ordinary soldiers, it was later calculated that the life of one soldier during the Battle of Stalingrad was 7.5 hours.

Start of offensive actions

At the beginning of November 1942, the Soviet command already understood that the German offensive on Stalingrad had exhausted itself. The Wehrmacht troops no longer had the same power, and were pretty battered in battle. Therefore, more and more reserves began to flock to the city in order to conduct a counter-offensive operation. These reserves began to secretly accumulate in the northern and southern outskirts of the city.

On November 11, 1942, Wehrmacht troops consisting of 5 divisions, led by General Paulus, made the last attempt at a decisive assault on Stalingrad. It is important to note that this offensive was very close to victory. In almost all sectors of the front, the Germans managed to advance to such a stage that no more than 100 meters remained to the Volga. But the Soviet troops managed to hold back the offensive, and in the middle of November 12 it became clear that the offensive had exhausted itself.

Preparations for the counter-offensive of the Red Army were carried out in the strictest secrecy. This is quite understandable, and it can be demonstrated clearly with the help of one very simple example. It is still absolutely unknown who is the author of the outline of the offensive operation at Stalingrad, but it is known for certain that the map of the transition of Soviet troops to the offensive existed in a single copy. Also noteworthy is the fact that literally 2 weeks before the start of the Soviet offensive, postal communications between families and fighters were completely suspended.

On November 19, 1942, at 6:30 a.m. in the morning, artillery preparation began. After this, Soviet troops went on the offensive. Thus began the famous Operation Uranus. And here it is important to note that this development of events was completely unexpected for the Germans. At this point the disposition was as follows:

90% of the territory of Stalingrad was under the control of Paulus' troops.
Soviet troops controlled only 10% of the cities located near the Volga.

General Paulus stated later that on the morning of November 19, the German headquarters was confident that the Russian offensive was purely tactical in nature. And only in the evening of that day the general realized that his entire army was under threat of encirclement. The response was lightning fast. An order was given to the 48th Tank Corps, which was in the German reserve, to immediately move into battle. And here, Soviet historians say that the late entry of the 48th Army into battle was due to the fact that field mice chewed through the electronics in the tanks, and precious time was lost while repairing them.

On November 20, a massive offensive began in the south of the Stalingrad Front. The front line of the German defense was almost completely destroyed thanks to a powerful artillery strike, but in the depths of the defense General Eremenko’s troops encountered terrible resistance.

On November 23, near the city of Kalach, a German group of troops totaling about 320 people was surrounded. Subsequently, within a few days, it was possible to completely encircle the entire German group located in the Stalingrad area. It was initially assumed that about 90,000 Germans were surrounded, but it soon became obvious that this number was disproportionately larger. The total encirclement was about 300 thousand people, 2000 guns, 100 tanks, 9000 trucks.

Hitler had an important task ahead of him. It was necessary to determine what to do with the army: leave it surrounded or make attempts to get out of it. At this time, Albert Speer assured Hitler that he could easily provide the troops surrounded by Stalingrad with everything they needed through aviation. Hitler was just waiting for such a message, because he still believed that the Battle of Stalingrad could be won. As a result, General Paulus's 6th Army was forced to take up a perimeter defense. In fact, this strangled the outcome of the battle. After all, the main trump cards of the German army were on the offensive, and not on defense. However, the German group that went on the defensive was very strong. But at this time it became clear that Albert Speer’s promise to equip the 6th Army with everything necessary was impossible to fulfill.

It turned out to be impossible to immediately capture the positions of the 6th German Army, which was on the defensive. The Soviet command realized that a long and difficult assault lay ahead. At the beginning of December, it became obvious that a huge number of troops were surrounded and had enormous strength. It was possible to win in such a situation only by attracting no less force. Moreover, very good planning was necessary to achieve success against an organized German army.

At this point, in early December 1942, the German command created the Don Army Group. Erich von Manstein took command of this army. The army's task was simple - to break through to the troops who were surrounded in order to help them get out of it. 13 tank divisions moved to the troops of Paulus to help. Operation Winter Storm began on December 12, 1942. Additional tasks of the troops that moved in the direction of the 6th Army were: defense of Rostov-on-Don. After all, the fall of this city would indicate a complete and decisive failure on the entire southern front. The first 4 days of this offensive by German troops were successful.

Stalin, after the successful implementation of Operation Uranus, demanded that his generals develop a new plan for encircling the entire German group located in the Rostov-on-Don area. As a result, on December 16, a new offensive of the Soviet army began, during which the 8th Italian Army was defeated in the first days. However, the troops failed to reach Rostov, since the movement German tanks to Stalingrad forced the Soviet command to change their plans. At this time, the 2nd Infantry Army of General Malinovsky was removed from its positions and was concentrated in the area of the Meshkova River, where one of the decisive events of December 1942 took place. It was here that Malinovsky's troops managed to stop German tank units. By December 23, the thinned tank corps could no longer move forward, and it became obvious that it would not reach Paulus’s troops.

Surrender of German troops

On January 10, 1943, a decisive operation began to destroy German troops who were surrounded. One of major events These days date back to January 14, when the only German airfield that was still operational at that time was captured. After this, it became obvious that General Paulus’s army did not even have a theoretical chance of escaping the encirclement. After this it became absolutely obvious to everyone that he had won the Battle of Stalingrad Soviet Union. These days, Hitler, speaking on German radio, declared that Germany needed general mobilization.

On January 24, Paulus sent a telegram to German headquarters, saying that the catastrophe at Stalingrad was inevitable. He literally demanded permission to surrender in order to save those German soldiers who were still alive. Hitler forbade surrender.

On February 2, 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad was completed. More than 91,000 German soldiers surrendered. 147,000 dead Germans lay on the battlefield. Stalingrad was completely destroyed. As a result, in early February, the Soviet command was forced to create a special Stalingrad group of troops, which was engaged in clearing the city of corpses, as well as demining.

We briefly reviewed the Battle of Stalingrad, which brought a radical turning point in the course of the Second World War. The Germans had not only suffered a crushing defeat, but they were now required to make incredible efforts in order to maintain the strategic initiative on their side. But this no longer happened.

The Battle of Stalingrad became a turning point in the Great Patriotic War and throughout the Second World War. The battle is divided into two periods: the first, defensive, which lasted from July 17 to November 18, 1942; second, offensive, from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943.

Defensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad

After the defeat near Moscow, Hitler and his command decided that during the new summer campaign of 1942 it was necessary to strike not along the entire length of the Soviet-German front, but only on the southern flank. The Germans no longer had enough strength for more. It was important for Hitler to capture Soviet oil, the Maikop and Baku fields, get grain from Stavropol and Kuban, and take Stalingrad, which divided the USSR into central and southern parts. Then it would be possible to cut the main lines of communication that supplied our troops and obtain the necessary resources to wage an arbitrarily long war. Already on April 5, 1942, Hitler’s fundamental directive No. 41 was issued - the order to conduct Operation Blau. The German group was supposed to advance in the direction of the Don, Volga and Caucasus. After capturing the main strongholds, the German Army Group South was to split into Army Group A (advancing into the Caucasus) and Army Group B (advancing towards Stalingrad), the main force of which was the 6th Army of General Paulus.

Already before the start of the main attack in the south of the USSR, the Germans were able to achieve serious successes. Our spring offensive operations near Kerch and Kharkov ended in major failures. Their failure and the heavy losses of the Red Army units that were surrounded helped the Germans achieve rapid success in their general offensive. Wehrmacht formations began to advance when our units were demoralized and began to withdraw in eastern Ukraine. True, now, taught by bitter experience, the Soviet troops tried to avoid encirclement. Even when they found themselves behind enemy lines, they infiltrated through German positions before the enemy front became dense.

Soon heavy fighting broke out on the approaches to Voronezh and in the bend of the Don. The command of the Red Army tried to strengthen the front, bring up new reserves from the depths, and give the troops more tanks and aircraft. But in oncoming battles, as a rule, these reserves were quickly exhausted, and the retreat continued. Meanwhile, Paulus's army advanced. Its southern flank was to be covered by the 4th Panzer Army under the command of Hoth. The Germans struck Voronezh - they broke into the city, but were unable to completely capture it. They were detained on the banks of the Don, where the front remained until January 1942.

Meanwhile, the elite German 6th Army, which numbered more than 200 thousand people, advanced inexorably along the bend of the Don towards Stalingrad. On August 23, the Germans carried out a fierce air raid on the city, which involved hundreds of aircraft. And although more than 20 vehicles were shot down by Soviet anti-aircraft gunners and air defense aircraft, the city center, train station and most important enterprises were virtually destroyed. It was not possible to remove civilians from Stalingrad in time. The evacuation was spontaneous: primarily industrial equipment, agricultural implements, and cattle were transported across the Volga. It was only after August 23 that the civilian population rushed east across the river. Of the nearly half a million population of the city, only 32 thousand people remained in place after the fighting. Moreover, to the 500 thousand pre-war population it is necessary to add tens of thousands more refugees from Ukraine, from the Rostov region and even from besieged Leningrad, who by the will of fate ended up in Stalingrad.

Simultaneously with the fierce bombing on August 23, 1942, the German 14th Tank Corps managed to make a multi-kilometer march and break through to the banks of the Volga north of Stalingrad. The fighting took place near the Stalingrad Tractor Plant. From the south, German columns of the 4th Tank Army, transferred from the Caucasus, were advancing towards the city. In addition, Hitler sent the Italian and two Romanian armies to this direction. Near Voronezh, positions were occupied by two Hungarian armies, covering the attack on the main direction. Stalingrad went from being a secondary goal of the summer 1942 campaign to becoming the main objective for the German army.

A. Jodl, chief of staff of the operational leadership of the Wehrmacht, noted that the fate of the Caucasus was now being decided at Stalingrad. It seemed to Paulus that it was necessary to throw one more additional regiment or battalion into the breakthrough and he would decide the outcome of the battle in favor of the German army. But the battalions and regiments left one after another for battle and did not return. The Stalingrad meat grinder ground up Germany's human resources. Our losses were also very large - the Moloch of war was merciless.

In September, protracted battles began in the quarters (or rather, in the ruins) of Stalingrad. The city could fall at any moment. The Germans had already reached the Volga in several places within the city limits. Essentially, only small islands of resistance remained from the Soviet front. From the front line to the river bank there was often no more than 150–200 meters. But the Soviet soldiers held out. For several weeks the Germans stormed individual buildings in Stalingrad. The soldiers under the command of Sergeant Pavlov resisted enemy fire for 58 days and never gave up their positions. The L-shaped house, which they defended to the last, was called “Pavlov’s House.”

An active sniper war also began in Stalingrad. To win it, the Germans brought from Germany not just experts in their field, but even leaders of sniper schools. But the Red Army also produced wonderful cadres of sharp shooters. Every day they gained experience. On the Soviet side, the fighter Vasily Zaitsev, who is now known throughout the world from the Hollywood film “Enemy at the Gates,” distinguished himself. He destroyed more than 200 German soldiers and officers in the ruins of Stalingrad.

Nevertheless, in the fall of 1942, the position of the defenders of Stalingrad remained critical. The Germans would probably have been able to completely take the city if not for our reserves. More and more units of the Red Army were transferred across the Volga to the west. One day, the 13th Guards Rifle Division of General A.I. Rodimtsev was also transferred. Despite the losses suffered, she immediately entered the battle and recaptured the Mamaev Kurgan from the enemy. This height dominated the entire city. The Germans also sought to take possession of it at any cost. The battles for Mamayev Kurgan continued until January 1943.

In the most difficult battles of September - early November 1942, the soldiers of the 62nd Army of General Chuikov and the 64th Army of General Shumilov managed to defend the ruins remaining behind them, withstand countless attacks and tie up the German troops. Paulus carried out the last assault on Stalingrad on November 11, 1942, but it also ended in failure.

The commander of the 6th German Army was in a gloomy mood. Meanwhile, our command increasingly began to think about how to radically turn the tide of the battle for Stalingrad. A new, original solution was needed that would influence the entire course of the campaign. .

The offensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad lasted from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943.

Back in mid-September, when the Germans sought to destroy the Soviet troops in Stalingrad as soon as possible, G. K. Zhukov, who became the First Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief, instructed some senior officials in the General Staff of the Red Army to develop a plan for an offensive operation. Returning from the front, he, together with the Chief of the General Staff A. M. Vasilevsky, reported to I. Stalin about the plan of the operation, which was supposed to tip the scales of the grandiose confrontation in favor of the Soviet troops. Soon the first calculations were made. G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky proposed bilateral coverage of the Stalingrad enemy group and its subsequent destruction. Having listened to them carefully, I. Stalin noted that it was necessary, first of all, to hold the city itself. In addition, such an operation requires the involvement of additional powerful reserves, which will play a decisive role in the battle.

Reserves from the Urals, Far East and from Siberia they arrived in increasing numbers. They were not immediately introduced into battle, but accumulated until time “H.” During this period, a lot of work was carried out at the headquarters of the Soviet fronts. The newly formed Southwestern Front of N.F. Vatutin, the Don Front of K.K. Rokossovsky, and the Stalingrad Front of A.I. Eremenko were preparing for the offensive.

And now the moment has come for the decisive throw.

On November 19, 1942, despite the fog, thousands of guns on the Soviet front opened fire on the enemy. Operation Uranus began. Rifle and tank units went on the attack. Aviation was waiting for more favorable weather, but as soon as the fog cleared, it took an active part in the offensive.

The German group was still very strong. The Soviet command believed that about 200 thousand people were opposing them in the Stalingrad area. In fact, there were over 300 thousand of them. In addition, on the flanks, where the main attacks of the Soviet troops were carried out, there were Romanian and Italian formations. Already by November 21, 1942, the success of the Soviet offensive was evident, which exceeded all expectations. Moscow radio reported that the Red Army had advanced more than 70 km and captured 15 thousand enemy troops. This was the first time such a major breakthrough of enemy positions had been announced since the Battle of Moscow. But these were only the first successes.

On November 23, our troops took Kotelnikovo. The cauldron slammed shut behind the enemy troops. Its internal and external fronts were created. More than 20 divisions were surrounded. At the same time, our troops continued to develop their offensive in the direction of Rostov-on-Don. At the beginning of January 1943, the forces of our Transcaucasian Front also began to move. The Germans, unable to withstand the onslaught and fearing that they would end up in a new gigantic cauldron, began to hastily retreat from the foothills of the Caucasus. They finally abandoned the idea of taking possession of Grozny and Baku oil.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Command Headquarters was actively developing the plan for a whole cascade of powerful operations that were supposed to crush the entire German defense on the Soviet-German front. In addition to Operation Uranus (encircling the Germans at Stalingrad), Operation Saturn was planned - encircling the German armies in the North Caucasus. In the central direction, preparations were being made for Operation Mars - the destruction of the 9th German Army, and then Operation Jupiter - the encirclement of the entire Army Group Center. Unfortunately, only Operation Uranus was successful. The fact is that Hitler, having learned about the encirclement of his troops at Stalingrad, ordered Paulus to hold on at all costs, and ordered Manstein to prepare a relief strike.

In mid-December 1942, the Germans made a desperate attempt to rescue Paulus's army from encirclement. According to Hitler's plan, Paulus should never have left Stalingrad. He was forbidden to strike towards Manstein. The Fuhrer believed that since the Germans had entered the banks of the Volga, they should not leave there. The Soviet command now had two options at its disposal: either continue the attempt to envelop the entire German group in the North Caucasus with a huge pincer (Operation Saturn), or transfer part of its forces against Manstein and eliminate the threat of a German breakthrough (Operation Little Saturn). We must give credit to the Soviet Headquarters - it assessed the situation and its capabilities quite soberly. It was decided to be content with a bird in hand, and not look for a pie in the sky. A devastating blow to Manstein’s advancing units was delivered just in time. At this time, Paulus’s army and Manstein’s group were separated by only a few tens of kilometers. But the Germans were driven back, and the time had come to liquidate the pocket.

On January 8, 1943, the Soviet command offered Paulus an ultimatum, which was rejected. And just two days later, Operation Ring began. The efforts made by the armies of the Don Front of K.K. Rokossovsky led to the fact that the encirclement began to quickly shrink. Historians today express the opinion that not everything was done perfectly then: it was necessary to attack from the north and south in order to first cut the ring in these directions. But the main blow came from west to east, and we had to overcome long-term fortifications of the German defense, which were based, among other things, on positions built Soviet troops even on the eve of the Battle of Stalingrad. The fighting was fierce and lasted for several weeks. The air bridge to the surrounded people failed. Hundreds of German planes were shot down. The diet of German military personnel dropped to a meager level. All the horses were eaten. There have been cases of cannibalism. Soon the Germans lost their last airfields.

Paulus was at that time in the basement of the city's main department store and, despite requests to Hitler for surrender, never received such permission. Moreover, on the eve of complete collapse, Hitler awarded Paulus the rank of field marshal. This was a clear hint: not a single German field marshal had ever surrendered. But on January 31, Paulus chose to surrender and save his life. On February 2, the last northern German group in Stalingrad also stopped resisting.

91 thousand Wehrmacht soldiers and officers were captured. In the city blocks of Stalingrad themselves, 140 thousand corpses of German military personnel were subsequently buried. On our side, the losses were also great - 150 thousand people. But the entire southern flank of the German troops was now exposed. The Nazis began to hastily leave the territory of the North Caucasus, Stavropol, and Kuban. Only a new counter strike from Manstein in the Belgorod area stopped the advance of our units. At the same time, the so-called Kursk salient was formed, events on which would take place in the summer of 1943.

US President Roosevelt called the Battle of Stalingrad an epic victory. And King George VI of Great Britain ordered a special sword forged for the residents of Stalingrad with the engraving: “To the citizens of Stalingrad, strong as steel.” Stalingrad became the password of Victory. It was truly the turning point of the war. The Germans were shocked; three days of mourning were declared in Germany. The victory at Stalingrad also became a signal for countries allies of Germany, such as Hungary, Romania, Finland, that it was necessary to look for the fastest way out of the war.

After this battle, Germany's defeat was only a matter of time.

M. Yu. Myagkov, Doctor of Science n.,
Scientific Director of the Russian Military Historical Society