The Battle of Stalingrad 1942-’43. When the Soviets defeated the Nazis and fascists

There Battle of Stalingrad it was probably the most decisive set of clashes of the Second World Warfought in what is now Russian territory between theSoviet Red Army (victorious) and the Axis troops (Nazis, fascists and allies, defeated), starting fromsummer of 1942 and until February 2, 1943which ended with the victory of the Soviets. The eastern front of the war had been “inaugurated” on 22 June 1941, when theOperation Barbarossathe German attack onSoviet Union and required the greatest use of men and means of the entire conflict: between 1941 and 1945 approximately 29 million soldiers of the Red Army and 17 million of the Axis fought. In 1941 and again in 1942 the Germans conquered a huge portion of Russian territory but, having arrived in Stalingrad, they were surrounded and repelled by the Red Army’s counter-offensive, which on 2 February 1943 inflicted a defeat on the Nazis and their allies from which they would never fully recover. It was important because it represented the first major defeat of Nazi Germany and the beginning of the end for Nazi-fascism. Two years after Stalingrad, the Soviet flag was flying in Berlin and the war in Europe – thanks also to the Anglo-American victories – finally came to an end.

World War II on the Eastern Front

The Eastern Front, which pitted Nazi Germany and its allies against the Soviet Union, was the most important, in terms of number of men and equipment, of the Second World War. The conflict began on June 22, 1941, when German troops invaded the USSR. Hitler, despite having signed a non-aggression pact in 1939, believed it was essential to defeat the Soviet Union to impose Germany’s domination over Europe. He decided to attack it as early as 1941 because he had failed to defeat the United Kingdom and believed that by conquering Soviet territory, he would strengthen Germany further and force the British to surrender. The Nazis, following the idea of ​​​​the superiority of the Aryan race, believed that the Russians, like other Slavs, they were “submen” (Untermenschen) and that the victory should have served the interests of the Reich. The Russian ruling class had to be exterminated.

In 1941, the USSR was invaded by 3,500,000 men from Germany and other Axis countries, including Italy. The invaders they advanced rapidlyoccupying Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic republics and much of western Russia, reaching the environs of Leningrad and Moscowwithout however conquering the two cities. The Germans did so terrible atrocities in the territories they had occupied, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians, including Jews and all the political commissars.

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When the winter of 1941 arrived,Red Army launched a counteroffensive that forced the Germans to cede part of the territories they had conquered, but the following summer the Wehrmacht attacked again. Stalingrad, located on the Volga riverwas the main objective of the advance: it was strategic for its position and had a great symbolic value because it bore the name of the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin (the name had been assigned to it in 1925, previously it was called Charityn).

The German advance and the Soviet counterattack at Stalingrad

The advance in 1942 was rapid and in November the 6th Armyled by the general Friedrich Paulusreached the surroundings of Stalingrad. Stalin ordered his army to resist at all costs: he was aware that, if the Germans conquered the city, it would be difficult to organize a new defensive line. Thus began one fierce battle. Stalingrad became a pile of rubble, in which there was house-to-house fighting. The Germans reached the banks of the Volga in some places and in November seemed close to victory.

The advance of the Wehrmacht towards the Volga

The Russian soldiers, however, defended Stalingrad house by house, inflicting serious losses on the enemy and preventing them from conquering the Volga bank. Furthermore, the Red Army managed to launch a pincer counter-offensive, theOperation Uranuswith which he attacked the German lines from the north and south, with the aim of separating the 6th Army from the rest of the Axis troops. The operation began on November 19 and overwhelmed the Romanian and German lines. Stalingrad was encircled and the 6th Army was isolated, as per Soviet plans.

The final attack and defeat

The Germans attempted to break the encirclement in December by launching an attack from the west, Operation Winter Storm. The operation failed and the Red Army was able to launch another offensive, Operation Little Saturndrawing other Axis troops even further away from the 6th Army and Stalingrad, which remained surrounded. Low temperatures and shortage of supplies and armaments they made it impossible for the Germans to resist, despite the fact that the air force had tried to supply the encircled soldiers by air. The Soviets progressively advanced towards enemy-occupied areas of the city. The fighting continued house to house, with huge losses to conquer every single building. The city took on a ghostly appearance.

For the Germans, however, there was no escape and the February 2 Paulus ordered the surrender. Overall, around 1,500,000 Axis and 1,800,000 Red Army soldiers, as well as a large amount of tanks and aircraft, had taken part in the battle. The losses had been enormous: the Axis had lost approx a million men dead, wounded and prisoners; the USSR had 500,000 dead and missing, as well as 650,000 wounded.

The Battle of Stalingrad had profound consequencesbecause the Red Army began a counter-offensive which in 1945 would lead it to conquer Berlin and to cause – together with the Anglo-American attack from the West – the definitive defeat of Nazi-fascism.

The memory of the Battle of Stalingrad

Due to its enormous importance, the Battle of Stalingrad is an important element of the national-popular culture of Russia and is known throughout the world, although since 1961 the city has changed its name and has become Volgograd (a measure taken as part of the de-Stalinization process initiated by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev)

In 1967 a monument was inaugurated in the city in memory of the Soviet victory, one great statue titled The motherland calls!85 meters high. Furthermore, several films and songs are dedicated to the battle of Stalingrad, as well as streets and squares in many countries, including Italy.

The Motherland calls. Monument in Volgograd