4.+The+Battle+of+Stalingrad+as+a+Turning+Point

Ian Roos 10/20/08 The Battle of Stalingrad

http://www.aish.com/holocaust/overview/Germany_In_Russia.asp

Over the past year the Nazi troops in Russia have been assaulting the City of Stalingrad. (Danzer 571) At first the German air force, the Luftwaffe, has been nightly bombing the city; causing much of Stalingrad to be either destroyed or burned to the ground. (Danzer 571) As a result of the loss of moral due to the nightly bombings, Soviet officers were beginning to suggest simply blowing up the factories and abandoning the city. (Danzer 571) This way they could cut their losses and all that Germany would receive is what’s left of the city, and they could not use the factories. However, the Soviet leader, Stalin, demanded that they stay no matter what the cost. (Danzer 571) With the surge of German troops however, by the end of September, over 9/10 of the city was under German Control. (Danzer 571) When Stalin recognized this, he feared he could lose his, “namesake,” city and by the next winter a surge of Soviet troops poured into the city. (Danzer 571) The massive Soviet counter-attack closed in around Stalingrad and trapped the German troops inside of the city, preventing any supplies, or fresh troops from reaching them. (Danzer 571) Still being trapped in their summer uniforms, the German troops froze and suffered many losses as a result of the Soviet counter-attack and on January 31, 1943 the German army surrendered the city of Stalingrad to the Soviet Union. (Danzer 571) However, the Soviet union viewed the defense of Stalingrad as a turning point in the war, as well as reinforced the view of the Soviets as being strong and relentless. (Isserman 3) From that point on, Russia moved west toward Germany and kept the Nazi’s busy as the western allies prepared a second invasion, which would not come until 1944.

Works Cited

Isserman, Maurice. “The Big Three’.” Bowman, John S., gen. ed. World War II, Updated Edition, America at war. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2003. American History Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? Danzer, Gerald. The Americans. 3. U.S.: McDougal Littell, 2005.