Сталинградская битва (операция «Уран»): 17.07.1942-02.02.1943

[4] The advantage was on the side of the German army, which by the beginning of November had captured almost the entire city. All the inhabitants of the city rose to its defense. The enemy aircraft subjected the city to a terrible bombardment. The active actions of the Soviet troops prevented the rapid advance of the Germans. The battle was for every piece of land in the central and southern parts of the city, especially in the area of Mamayev Kurgan, the height dominating the city, which was of great strategic importance.Sometimes several tens of meters or the wall of a house separated the warring parties. Therefore, it was impossible to use artillery or aircraft as it was possible to kill own people. The fights often turned into hand-to-hand fights. The snipers did a lot of damage to the enemy. Stalingrad was virtually wiped off the face of the Earth. Transport, communication, water supply were destroyed. About 40 thousand residents of Stalingrad were killed. [3] The Germans also suffered heavy losses and could not develop a further offensive.3. The Offensive Stage of the BattleOn November 19, 1942, the Red Army launched an offensive under the framework of the “Uranus” operation. On November 23, the ring of encirclement around the 6th army of the Wehrmacht under the command of Friedrich Paulus closed in the area of Kalach. However, the “Uranus” plan could not be fully implemented, since from the very beginning it was not possible to divide the 6th army into two parts. The attempts to eliminate the encircled immediately in these conditions also failed, despite a significant superiority in the forces.During the bloody fighting, the German army was isolated and fuel, ammunition, and food supplies were progressively reduced, despite attempts to supply it by air made by the 4th air fleet under the command of Wolfram von Richthofen. [5] In the current difficult situation, the Soviet troops were able to deliver powerful flank attacks, thanks to which they were able to partially encircle and block the enemy group.If the German troops had retreated in time, they could have avoided encirclement. Nevertheless, Stalingrad was a strategically important object, and the German leadership forbade the encircled troops to leave the city. To unlock and release the units that were surrounded, the German command created a powerful tank group, which began the offensive on December 12. Our troops managed to repel all enemy attacks, go on the offensive and throw the enemy 100 km from the city.4. The Final Stage of the BattleIn January 1943, the German forces were completely surrounded, and the Red Army began to eliminate it. In order to weaken German resistance, the Soviet Army dismembered the enemy group and destroyed it, thus ending the battle of Stalingrad. On February 2, 1943, the German-fascist troops were completely defeated. The German command was sent an ultimatum to cease hostilities and surrender, but it rejected it.The German army suffered heavy losses in killed and wounded and almost 100,000 people were taken prisoner along with Paulus. After these battles, the Nazis finally lost the initiative. [1, p. 4] The victory of the Soviet Army in the Battle of Stalingrad was of great importance. It allowed us to turn the tide of the War, seize the strategic initiative and not miss it until the complete defeat of the enemy. That victory marked the beginning of the liberation of the country and the victory march across Europe, which led to the final defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.