Who fought at Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad and its historical significance

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 of fascist German troops operating in the Stalingrad direction.

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 Force and 150-200 long-range bombers. 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.

© East News / Universal Images Group/Sovfoto

© East News / Universal Images Group/Sovfoto

Even during the defensive battle, the Soviet command began to concentrate forces to launch a counteroffensive, preparations for which were completed in mid-November. By the beginning of the offensive operation, Soviet troops had 1.11 million people, 15 thousand guns and mortars, about 1.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units, and 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 the heroic defense of the city, the Soviet government established the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad” on December 22, 1942, 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.

The day of February 2, 1943, in accordance with the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 "On Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of 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

The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of World War II. According to researchers, the total number of losses (both irretrievable, i.e. deaths, and sanitary) exceeds two million.

Initially, it was planned to capture Stalingrad in a week with the forces of one army. An attempt to do this resulted in the months-long Battle of Stalingrad.

Prerequisites for the Battle of Stalingrad

After the failure of the blitzkrieg, the German command was preparing for a long war. Initially, the generals planned a second attack on Moscow, however, Hitler did not approve of this plan, considering such an attack too predictable.

The possibility of operations in the north of the USSR and the south was also considered. The victory of Nazi Germany in the south of the country would guarantee the Germans control over the oil and other resources of the Caucasus and surrounding regions, over the Volga and other transport arteries. This could interrupt the connection between the European part of the USSR and the Asian part and, ultimately, destroy Soviet industry and ensure victory in the war.

In turn, the Soviet government tried to build on the success of the Battle of Moscow, seize the initiative and launch a counteroffensive. In May 1942, a counteroffensive began near Kharkov, which could have ended disastrously for the German Army Group South. The Germans managed to break through the defenses.

After this, the general army group "South" was divided into two parts. The first part continued the attack on the Caucasus. The second part, "Group B", went east to Stalingrad.

Causes of the Battle of Stalingrad

Possession of Stalingrad was critical for both sides. It was one of the largest industrial centers on the Volga coast. It was also the key to the Volga, along which and next to which strategically important routes passed, the central part of the USSR with several southern regions.

Video about how the Battle of Stalingrad developed

If the Soviet Union had lost Stalingrad, it would have allowed the Nazis to block most critical communications, reliably protect the left flank of the army group advancing into the North Caucasus and demoralize Soviet citizens. After all, the city bore the name of the Soviet leader.

It was important for the USSR to prevent the surrender of the city to the Germans and the blockade of important transport arteries, and to develop the first successes in the war.

Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad

To understand at what time the Battle of Stalingrad took place, you need to remember that it was the height of the war, both Patriotic and World War. The war had already turned from blitzkrieg into positional warfare, and its final outcome was unclear.

The dates of the Battle of Stalingrad are from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943. Despite the fact that the generally accepted date for the start of the battle is the 17th, according to some sources, the first clashes were already on July 16th. And Soviet and German troops had been occupying positions since the beginning of the month.

On July 17, a clash began between detachments of the 62nd and 64th armies of the Soviet troops and the 6th Army of Germany. The fighting continued for five days, as a result of which the resistance of the Soviet army was broken, and the Germans moved towards the main defensive line of the Stalingrad Front. Due to five days of fierce resistance, the German command had to strengthen the Sixth Army from 13 divisions to 18. At that time, they were opposed by 16 divisions of the Red Army.

By the end of the month, German troops had pushed the Soviet army beyond the Don. On July 28, the famous Stalinist order No. 227 was issued - “Not a step back.” The classic strategy of the Hitlerite command - to break through the defenses with one blow and get to Stalingrad - failed due to the rather stubborn resistance of the Soviet armies in the Don bend. Over the next three weeks, the Nazis advanced only 70-80 km.

On August 22, German troops crossed the Don and gained a foothold on its eastern bank. The next day, the Germans managed to break through to the Volga, just north of Stalingrad, and blockade the 62nd Army. On August 22-23, the first air raids on Stalingrad took place.

War in the city

By August 23, about 300 thousand residents remained in the city, another 100 thousand were evacuated. The official decision to evacuate women and children was made by the City Defense Committee only after the bombing began directly in the city, on August 24.

During the first urban bombings, about 60 percent of the housing stock was destroyed and several tens of thousands of people were killed. Much of the city was reduced to ruins. The situation was aggravated by the use of incendiary bombs: many old houses were built of wood or had many corresponding elements.

By mid-September, German troops reached the city center. Some battles, such as the defense of the Red October plant, became famous throughout the world. While the fighting was going on, factory workers urgently carried out repairs on tanks and weapons. All work took place in close proximity to the battle. A separate battle took place for each street and house, some of which received their own names and went down in history. Including Pavlov's four-story house, which German stormtroopers tried to capture for two months.

Video about the Battle of Stalingrad

As the battle of Stalingrad progressed, the Soviet command developed countermeasures. On September 12, development began for the Soviet counter-offensive Operation Uranus, led by Marshal Zhukov. Over the next two months, while fierce fighting took place in the city, a strike group of troops was created near Stalingrad. On November 19, the counteroffensive began. The armies of the Southwestern and Don Fronts, under the command of Generals Vatutin and Rokossovsky, managed to break through the enemy's barriers and encircle him. Within a few days, 12 German divisions were destroyed or otherwise neutralized.

From November 23 to 30, Soviet troops managed to strengthen the blockade of the Germans. To break the blockade, the German command created Army Group Don, headed by Field Marshal Manstein. However, the army group was defeated.

After this, Soviet troops managed to block supplies. In order for the encircled troops to be maintained in combat-ready condition, the Germans needed to transport about 700 tons of various cargo daily. Transportation could only be carried out by the Luftwaffe, which tried to provide up to 300 tons. Sometimes German pilots managed to make about 100 flights a day. Gradually, the number of supplies decreased: Soviet aviation organized patrols along the perimeter. The cities where bases were originally located to supply the encircled troops came under the control of Soviet troops.

On January 31, the southern group of troops was completely liquidated, and its command, including Field Marshal Paulus, was taken prisoner. Individual battles were fought until February 2, the day of the official surrender of the Germans. This day is considered the date when the Battle of Stalingrad took place, one of the largest victories of the Soviet Union.

The meaning of the Battle of Stalingrad

The significance of the Battle of Stalingrad is difficult to overestimate. One of the consequences of the Battle of Stalingrad was the significant demoralization of German troops. In Germany, the day of surrender was declared a day of mourning. Then the crisis began in Italy, Romania and other countries with pro-Hitler regimes, and in the future there was no need to count on Germany’s allied forces.

More than two million people and a huge amount of equipment were disabled on both sides. According to the German command, during the Battle of Stalingrad, equipment losses were equal to the number of losses during the entire previous Soviet-German war. German troops never fully recovered from the defeat.

The answer to the question of what significance the Battle of Stalingrad had is the reaction of foreign statesmen and ordinary people. After this battle, Stalin received many congratulatory messages. Churchill presented the Soviet leader with a personal gift from the English King George - the Sword of Stalingrad, with admiration for the resilience of the city's residents engraved on the blade.

It is interesting that at Stalingrad several divisions that had previously taken part in the occupation of Paris were destroyed. This gave many French anti-fascists the opportunity to say that the defeat at Stalingrad was, among other things, revenge for France.

Many monuments and architectural structures are dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad. Several dozen streets in a number of cities around the world are named after this city, even though Stalingrad itself was renamed after Stalin’s death.

What role do you think the Battle of Stalingrad played in the war, and why? Share your opinion on

The German command concentrated significant forces in the south. The armies of Hungary, Italy and Romania were involved in the fighting. Between July 17 and November 18, 1942, the Germans planned to capture the lower Volga and the Caucasus. Having broken through the defenses of the Red Army units, they reached the Volga.

On July 17, 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad, the largest battle, began. More than 2 million people died on both sides. The life of an officer on the front line was one day.

During a month of heavy fighting, the Germans advanced 70-80 km. On August 23, 1942, German tanks broke into Stalingrad. The defending troops from Headquarters were ordered to hold the city with all their might. Every day the fighting became more and more fierce. All houses were turned into fortresses. The battles took place for floors, basements, individual walls, for every inch of land.

In August 1942 he said: “Fate wanted me to win a decisive victory in the city that bears the name of Stalin himself.” However, in reality, Stalingrad survived thanks to the unprecedented heroism, will and self-sacrifice of Soviet soldiers.

The troops perfectly understood the significance of this battle. On October 5, 1942, he gave the order: “The city must not be surrendered to the enemy.” Freed from constraint, commanders took the initiative in organizing defense and created assault groups with complete independence of action. The slogan of the defenders was the words of sniper Vasily Zaitsev: “There is no land for us beyond the Volga.”

The fighting continued for more than two months. Daily shelling was followed by air raids and subsequent infantry attacks. In the history of all wars there have never been such stubborn urban battles. It was a war of fortitude, in which Soviet soldiers won. The enemy launched massive assaults three times - in September, October and November. Each time the Nazis managed to reach the Volga in a new place.

By November, the Germans had captured almost the entire city. Stalingrad was turned into complete ruins. The defending troops held only a low strip of land - a few hundred meters along the banks of the Volga. But Hitler hastened to announce to the whole world the capture of Stalingrad.

On September 12, 1942, at the height of the battles for the city, the General Staff began developing the offensive Operation Uranus. It was planned by Marshal G.K. Zhukov. It was supposed to hit the flanks of the German wedge, which was defended by the troops of Germany's allies (Italians, Romanians and Hungarians). Their formations were poorly armed and did not have high morale.

Within two months, a strike force was created near Stalingrad in conditions of the deepest secrecy. The Germans understood the weakness of their flanks, but could not imagine that the Soviet command would be able to assemble such a number of combat-ready units.

On November 19, 1942, the Red Army, after powerful artillery bombardment, launched an offensive with tank and mechanized units. Having overthrown Germany's allies, on November 23, Soviet troops closed the ring, surrounding 22 divisions numbering 330 thousand soldiers.

Hitler rejected the option of retreat and ordered the commander-in-chief of the 6th Army, Paulus, to begin defensive battles in encirclement. The Wehrmacht command tried to release the encircled troops with a strike from the Don Army under the command of Manstein. An attempt was made to organize an air bridge, which was stopped by our aviation.

The Soviet command presented an ultimatum to the surrounded units. Realizing the hopelessness of their situation, on February 2, 1943, the remnants of the 6th Army in Stalingrad surrendered. In 200 days of fighting, the German army lost more than 1.5 million people killed and wounded.

In Germany, three months of mourning were declared over the defeat.

Battle of Stalingrad- a battle between the troops of the USSR, on the one hand, and the troops of Nazi Germany, Romania, Italy, Hungary, on the other, during the Great Patriotic War. The battle was one of the most important events of the Second World War and, along with the Battle of Kursk, was a turning point in the course of military operations, after which German troops lost the strategic initiative. The battle included the Wehrmacht's attempt to capture the left bank of the Volga in the area of ​​Stalingrad (modern Volgograd) and the city itself, the standoff in the city, and the Red Army counteroffensive (Operation Uranus), which brought the Wehrmacht's 6th Army and other German allied forces inside and around the city they were surrounded and partly destroyed, partly captured. According to rough estimates, the total losses of both sides in this battle exceed two million people. The Axis powers lost large numbers of men and weapons and were subsequently unable to fully recover from the defeat.

For the Soviet Union, which also suffered heavy losses during the battle, the victory at Stalingrad marked the beginning of the liberation of the country, as well as the occupied territories of Europe, leading to the final defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Previous Events

On June 22, 1941, Germany and its allies invaded the Soviet Union, quickly moving inland. Having suffered defeats during the battles in the summer and autumn of 1941, Soviet troops counterattacked during the Battle of Moscow in December 1941. Exhausted German troops, poorly equipped for winter combat and with their rear stretched, were stopped on the approaches to the capital and driven back.

In the winter of 1941-1942, the front eventually stabilized. Plans for a new attack on Moscow were rejected by Hitler, despite the fact that his generals insisted on this option - he believed that an attack on Moscow would be too predictable.

For all these reasons, the German command was considering plans for new offensives in the north and south. An attack on the south of the USSR would ensure control over the oil fields of the Caucasus (regions of Grozny and Baku), as well as over the Volga River, the main transport artery connecting the European part of the country with Transcaucasia and Central Asia. A German victory in the south of the Soviet Union could have seriously damaged the Soviet military machine and economy.

The Soviet leadership, encouraged by the successes near Moscow, tried to seize the strategic initiative and in May 1942 launched large forces on the offensive near Kharkov. The offensive began from the Barvenkovsky salient south of Kharkov, which was formed as a result of the winter offensive of the Southwestern Front (a feature of this offensive was the use of a new Soviet mobile formation - a tank corps, which in terms of the number of tanks and artillery was approximately equal to the German tank division, but was significantly inferior to it in number motorized infantry). At this time, the Germans were simultaneously planning an operation to cut off the Barvenkovsky ledge.

The Red Army's offensive was so unexpected for the Wehrmacht that it almost ended in disaster for Army Group South. However, the Germans decided not to change plans and, thanks to the concentration of troops on the flanks of the ledge, broke through the defenses of the Soviet troops. Most of the Southwestern Front was surrounded. In the subsequent three-week battles, known as the “second battle of Kharkov,” the advancing units of the Red Army suffered a heavy defeat. According to German data alone, more than 200 thousand people were captured (according to Soviet archival data, the irretrievable losses of the Red Army amounted to 170,958 people), and a lot of heavy weapons were lost. After this, the front south of Voronezh was practically open (See map May - July 1942). The key to the Caucasus, the city of Rostov-on-Don, which was defended with such difficulty in November 1941, was lost.

After the Red Army's Kharkov disaster in May 1942, Hitler intervened in strategic planning by ordering Army Group South to split into two. Army Group A was to continue the offensive into the North Caucasus. Army Group B, including the 6th Army of Friedrich Paulus and the 4th Panzer Army of G. Hoth, was supposed to move east towards the Volga and Stalingrad.

The capture of Stalingrad was very important to Hitler for several reasons. It was the main industrial city on the banks of the Volga and a vital transport route between the Caspian Sea and northern Russia. The capture of Stalingrad would provide security on the left flank of the German armies advancing into the Caucasus. Finally, the very fact that the city bore the name of Stalin - Hitler's main enemy - made the capture of the city a winning ideological and propaganda move.

The summer offensive was codenamed "Fall Blau" (German). "blue option"). The 6th and 17th armies of the Wehrmacht, 1st and 4th tank armies took part in it.

Operation Blau began with the offensive of Army Group South against the troops of the Bryansk Front to the north and the troops of the Southwestern Front to the south of Voronezh. It is worth noting that, despite a two-month break in active hostilities, for the troops of the Bryansk Front the result was no less catastrophic than for the troops of the Southwestern Front, battered by the May battles. On the very first day of the operation, both Soviet fronts were broken through tens of kilometers deep and the Germans rushed to the Don. Soviet troops could only put up weak resistance in the vast desert steppes, and then began to flock to the east in complete disorder. Attempts to re-form the defense also ended in complete failure when German units entered the Soviet defensive positions from the flank. In mid-July, several divisions of the Red Army fell into a pocket in the south of the Voronezh region, near the village of Millerovo.

One of the important factors that thwarted the German plans was the failure of the offensive operation on Voronezh.

Having easily captured the right bank part of the city, the enemy was unable to build on the success and the front line aligned with the Voronezh River. The left bank remained with the Soviet troops and repeated attempts by the Germans to dislodge the Red Army from the left bank were unsuccessful. The German troops ran out of resources to continue offensive operations and the battles for Voronezh entered the positional phase. Due to the fact that the main forces of the German army were sent to Stalingrad, the offensive on Voronezh was stopped, the most combat-ready units from the front were removed and transferred to the 6th Army of Paulus. Subsequently, this factor played an important role in the defeat of German troops at Stalingrad (see Voronezh-Kastornensk operation).

After the capture of Rostov, Hitler transferred the 4th Panzer Army from Group A (advancing into the Caucasus) to Group B, aimed east towards the Volga and Stalingrad.

The 6th Army's initial offensive was so successful that Hitler intervened again, ordering the 4th Panzer Army to join Army Group South (A). As a result, a huge traffic jam developed when the 4th and 6th armies needed several roads in the area of ​​​​operation. Both armies were stuck tightly, and the delay turned out to be quite long and slowed down the German advance by one week. With the advance slowing, Hitler changed his mind and reassigned the 4th Panzer Army's objective back to the Stalingrad direction.

Balance of forces in the Stalingrad defensive operation

Germany

• Army Group B. The 6th Army (commander - F. Paulus) was allocated for the attack on Stalingrad. It included 13 divisions, which numbered about 270 thousand people, 3 thousand guns and mortars, and about 500 tanks.

The army was supported by the 4th Air Fleet, which had up to 1,200 aircraft (the fighter aircraft aimed at Stalingrad, in the initial stage of the battle for this city, consisted of about 120 Messerschmitt Bf.109F-4/G-2 fighter aircraft (various domestic sources give figures ranging from 100 to 150), plus about 40 obsolete Romanian Bf.109E-3).

USSR

• Stalingrad Front (commander - S.K. Timoshenko, from July 23 - V.N. Gordov). It included the 62nd, 63rd, 64th, 21st, 28th, 38th and 57th combined arms armies, the 8th Air Army (Soviet fighter aircraft at the beginning of the battle here numbered 230-240 fighters, mainly Yak-1) and the Volga military flotilla - 37 divisions, 3 tank corps, 22 brigades, which numbered 547 thousand people, 2200 guns and mortars, about 400 tanks, 454 aircraft, 150-200 long-range bombers and 60 air defense fighters.

Start of the battle

By the end of July, the Germans pushed the Soviet troops behind the Don. The defense line stretched for hundreds of kilometers from north to south along the Don. To organize defense along the river, the Germans had to use, in addition to their 2nd Army, the armies of their Italian, Hungarian and Romanian allies. The 6th Army was only a few dozen kilometers from Stalingrad, and the 4th Panzer, located south of it, turned north to help take the city. To the south, Army Group South (A) continued to push further into the Caucasus, but its advance slowed. Army Group South A was too far to the south to support Army Group South B in the north.

In July, when German intentions became completely clear to the Soviet command, it developed plans for the defense of Stalingrad. Additional Soviet troops were deployed on the eastern bank of the Volga. The 62nd Army was created under the command of Vasily Chuikov, whose task was to defend Stalingrad at any cost.

Battle in the city

There is a version that Stalin did not give permission to evacuate the city residents. However, documentary evidence on this matter has not yet been found. In addition, the evacuation, although at a slow pace, still took place. By August 23, 1942, out of 400 thousand residents of Stalingrad, about 100 thousand were evacuated. On August 24, the Stalingrad City Defense Committee adopted a belated resolution on the evacuation of women, children and the wounded to the left bank of the Volga. All citizens, including women and children, worked to build trenches and other fortifications.

The massive German bombing on August 23 destroyed the city, killing more than 40 thousand people, destroying more than half of the housing stock of pre-war Stalingrad, thereby turning the city into a huge territory covered with burning ruins.

The burden of the initial fight for Stalingrad fell on the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, a unit staffed primarily by young female volunteers with no experience in destroying ground targets. Despite this, and without adequate support available from other Soviet units, the anti-aircraft gunners remained in place and fired at the advancing enemy tanks of the 16th Panzer Division until all 37 air defense batteries were destroyed or captured. By the end of August, Army Group South (B) reached the Volga north of the city, and then south of it.

At the initial stage, Soviet defense relied heavily on the “People's Militia of Workers,” recruited from workers not involved in military production. Tanks continued to be built and were manned by volunteer crews consisting of factory workers, including women. The equipment was immediately sent from factory assembly lines to the front line, often without even painting and without sighting equipment installed.

By September 1, 1942, the Soviet command could only provide its troops in Stalingrad with risky crossings across the Volga. In the midst of the ruins of the already destroyed city, the Soviet 62nd Army built defensive positions with firing points located in buildings and factories. The battle in the city was fierce and desperate. The Germans, moving deeper into Stalingrad, suffered heavy losses. Soviet reinforcements were transported across the Volga from the eastern bank under constant bombardment by German artillery and aircraft. The average life expectancy of a newly arrived Soviet private in the city sometimes fell below twenty-four hours. German military doctrine was based on the interaction of military branches in general and especially close interaction between infantry, sappers, artillery and dive bombers. To counter this, the Soviet command decided to take a simple step - to constantly keep the front lines as close to the enemy as physically possible (usually no more than 30 meters). Thus, the German infantry had to fight on their own, or risk being killed by their own artillery and horizontal bombers, with support only available from dive bombers. A painful struggle went on for every street, every factory, every house, basement or staircase. The Germans, calling a new urban war (German. Rattenkrieg, Rat War), they joked bitterly that the kitchen had already been taken over, but they were still fighting for the bedroom.

The battle on Mamayev Kurgan, a blood-soaked height overlooking the city, was unusually merciless. The height changed hands several times. At the grain elevator, a huge grain processing complex, the fighting took place so closely that Soviet and German soldiers could feel each other's breath. The fighting at the grain elevator continued for weeks until the Soviet army gave up ground. In another part of the city, an apartment building, defended by the Soviet platoon in which Yakov Pavlov served, was turned into an impregnable fortress. Despite the fact that this building was subsequently defended by many other officers, its original name stuck to it. From this house, later called Pavlov's House, one could see the square in the city center. The soldiers surrounded the building with minefields and set up machine gun positions.

Seeing no end to this terrible struggle, the Germans began to bring heavy artillery to the city, including several giant 600-mm mortars. The Germans made no effort to transport troops across the Volga, allowing Soviet troops to erect a huge number of artillery batteries on the opposite bank. Soviet artillery on the eastern bank of the Volga continued to identify German positions and treat them with increased fire. The Soviet defenders used the emerging ruins as defensive positions. German tanks could not move among piles of cobblestones up to 8 meters high. Even if they were able to move forward, they came under heavy fire from Soviet anti-tank units located in the ruins of buildings.

Soviet snipers, using the ruins as cover, also inflicted heavy losses on the Germans. The most successful sniper (known only as "Zikan") - he had 224 people to his credit by November 20, 1942. Sniper Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev during the battle destroyed 225 enemy soldiers and officers (including 11 snipers).

For both Stalin and Hitler, the Battle of Stalingrad became a matter of prestige in addition to strategic importance. The Soviet command moved Red Army reserves from Moscow to the Volga, and also transferred air forces from almost the entire country to the Stalingrad area. The tension of both military commanders was immeasurable: Paulus even developed an uncontrollable nervous eye tic.

In November, after three months of carnage and a slow, costly advance, the Germans finally reached the banks of the Volga, capturing 90% of the destroyed city and splitting the remaining Soviet troops in two, trapping them in two narrow pockets. In addition to all this, a crust of ice formed on the Volga, preventing the approach of boats and supply loads for the Soviet troops in a difficult situation. Despite everything, the struggle, especially on Mamayev Kurgan and in the factories in the northern part of the city, continued as furiously as before. The battles for the Red October plant, the tractor plant and the Barrikady artillery plant became known throughout the world. While Soviet soldiers continued to defend their positions by firing at the Germans, factory workers repaired damaged Soviet tanks and weapons in the immediate vicinity of the battlefield, and sometimes on the battlefield itself.

Preparing for a counteroffensive

The Don Front was formed on September 30, 1942. It included: 1st Guards, 21st, 24th, 63rd and 66th Armies, 4th Tank Army, 16th Air Army. Lieutenant General K.K. Rokossovsky, who took command, actively began to fulfill the “old dream” of the right flank of the Stalingrad Front - to encircle the German 14th Tank Corps and connect with units of the 62nd Army.

Having taken command, Rokossovsky found the newly formed front on the offensive - following the order of the Headquarters, on September 30 at 5:00, after artillery preparation, units of the 1st Guards, 24th and 65th armies went on the offensive. Heavy fighting raged for two days. But, as noted in the TsAMO document f 206, parts of the armies did not advance, and moreover, as a result of German counterattacks, several heights were abandoned. By October 2, the offensive had run out of steam.

But here, from the reserve of the Headquarters, the Don Front receives seven fully equipped rifle divisions (277, 62, 252, 212, 262, 331, 293 infantry divisions). The command of the Don Front decides to use fresh forces for a new offensive. On October 4, Rokossovsky ordered the development of a plan for an offensive operation, and on October 6 the plan was ready. The date of the operation was set for October 10. But by this time several events occur.

On October 5, 1942, Stalin, in a telephone conversation with A.I. Eremenko, sharply criticized the leadership of the Stalingrad Front and demanded that immediate measures be taken to stabilize the front and subsequently defeat the enemy. In response to this, on October 6, Eremenko made a report to Stalin about the situation and considerations for further actions of the front. The first part of this document is justification and blaming the Don Front (“they had high hopes for help from the north,” etc.). In the second part of the report, Eremenko proposes to conduct an operation to encircle and destroy German units near Stalingrad. There, for the first time, it is proposed to encircle the 6th Army with flank attacks on Romanian units, and after breaking through the fronts, unite in the Kalach-on-Don area.

Headquarters considered Eremenko's plan, but then considered it impracticable (the depth of the operation was too great, etc.).

As a result, the Headquarters proposed the following option for encircling and defeating German troops at Stalingrad: the Don Front was asked to deliver the main blow in the direction of Kotluban, break through the front and reach the Gumrak region. At the same time, the Stalingrad Front is launching an offensive from the Gornaya Polyana area to Elshanka, and after breaking through the front, units move to the Gumrak area, where they join forces with units of the Don Front. In this operation, the front command was allowed to use fresh units (Don Front - 7th Infantry Division, Stalingrad Front - 7th Art. K., 4 Kv. K.). On October 7, General Staff Directive No. 170644 was issued on conducting an offensive operation on two fronts to encircle the 6th Army; the start of the operation was scheduled for October 20.

Thus, it was planned to encircle and destroy only the German troops fighting directly in Stalingrad (14th Tank Corps, 51st and 4th Infantry Corps, about 12 divisions in total).

The command of the Don Front was dissatisfied with this directive. On October 9, Rokossovsky presented his plan for the offensive operation. He referred to the impossibility of breaking through the front in the Kotluban area. According to his calculations, 4 divisions were required for a breakthrough, 3 divisions to develop a breakthrough, and 3 more to cover from enemy attacks; thus, seven fresh divisions were clearly not enough. Rokossovsky proposed delivering the main blow in the Kuzmichi area (height 139.7), that is, according to the same old scheme: encircle units of the 14th Tank Corps, connect with the 62nd Army and only after that move to Gumrak to link up with units of 64 th army. The Don Front headquarters planned 4 days for this: from October 20 to October 24. The “Oryol salient” of the Germans had haunted Rokossovsky since August 23, so he decided to first deal with this “callus” and then complete the complete encirclement of the enemy.

The Stavka did not accept Rokossovsky's proposal and recommended that he prepare the operation according to the Stavka plan; however, he was allowed to conduct a private operation against the Oryol group of Germans on October 10, without attracting fresh forces.

On October 9, units of the 1st Guards Army, as well as the 24th and 66th armies began an offensive in the direction of Orlovka. The advancing group was supported by 42 Il-2 attack aircraft, covered by 50 fighters of the 16th Air Army. The first day of the offensive ended in vain. The 1st Guards Army (298, 258, 207 Rifle Division) did not advance, but the 24th Army advanced 300 meters. The 299th Infantry Division (66th Army), advancing to height 127.7, having suffered heavy losses, made no progress. On October 10, the offensive attempts continued, but by the evening they finally weakened and stopped. The next “operation to eliminate the Oryol group” failed. As a result of this offensive, the 1st Guards Army was disbanded due to losses incurred. Having transferred the remaining units of the 24th Army, the command was transferred to the reserve of Headquarters.

Alignment of forces in Operation Uranus

USSR

• Southwestern Front (commander - N.F. Vatutin). It included the 21st, 5th Tank, 1st Guards, 17th and 2nd Air Armies
• Don Front (commander - K.K. Rokossovsky). It included the 65th, 24th, 66th armies, 16th air army
• Stalingrad Front (commander - A.I. Eremenko). It included the 62nd, 64th, 57th, 8th Air, 51st Armies

Axis powers

• Army Group B (commander - M. Weichs). It included the 6th Army - Commander General of Tank Forces Friedrich Paulus, 2nd Army - Commanding General of Infantry Hans von Salmuth, 4th Panzer Army - Commander Colonel General Hermann Hoth, 8th Italian Army - Commanding General of the Army Italo Gariboldi, 2nd Hungarian Army - Commander Colonel General Gustav Jani, 3rd Romanian Army - Commander Colonel General Petre Dumitrescu, 4th Romanian Army - Commander Colonel General Constantin Constantinescu
• Army Group "Don" (commander - E. Manstein). It included the 6th Army, the 3rd Romanian Army, the Hoth Army Group, and the Hollidt Task Force.
• Two Finnish volunteer units

Offensive phase of the battle (Operation Uranus)

Beginning of the Wehrmacht offensive and counter-operation

On November 19, 1942, the Red Army began its offensive as part of Operation Uranus. On November 23, in the Kalach area, an encirclement ring closed around the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht. It was not possible to completely implement the Uranus plan, since it was not possible to split the 6th Army into two parts from the very beginning (with the attack of the 24th Army between the Volga and Don rivers). Attempts to liquidate those surrounded on the move under these conditions also failed, despite a significant superiority in forces - the superior tactical training of the Germans was telling. However, the 6th Army was isolated and its fuel, ammunition and food supplies were progressively dwindling, despite attempts to supply it by air by the 4th Air Fleet under the command of Wolfram von Richthofen.

Operation Wintergewitter

The newly formed Wehrmacht Army Group Don, under the command of Field Marshal Manstein, attempted to break the blockade of the encircled troops (Operation Wintergewitter (German). Wintergewitter, Winter thunderstorm)). It was originally planned to begin on December 10, but the offensive actions of the Red Army on the outer front of the encirclement forced the start of the operation to be postponed to December 12. By this date, the Germans managed to present only one full-fledged tank formation - the 6th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht and (from infantry formations) the remnants of the defeated 4th Romanian Army. These units were subordinate to the control of the 4th Panzer Army under the command of G. Hoth. During the offensive, the group was reinforced by the very battered 11th and 17th tank divisions and three air field divisions.

By December 19, units of the 4th Tank Army, which had actually broken through the defensive formations of the Soviet troops, encountered the 2nd Guards Army, which had just been transferred from the Headquarters reserve, under the command of R. Ya. Malinovsky. The army consisted of two rifle and one mechanized corps. During the oncoming battles, by December 25, the Germans retreated to the positions they were in before the start of Operation Wintergewitter, losing almost all their equipment and more than 40 thousand people.

Operation Little Saturn

According to the plan of the Soviet command, after the defeat of the 6th Army, the forces involved in Operation Uranus turned west and advanced towards Rostov-on-Don as part of Operation Saturn. At the same time, the southern wing of the Voronezh Front attacked the Italian 8th Army north of Stalingrad and advanced directly west (towards the Donets) with an auxiliary attack to the southwest (towards Rostov-on-Don), covering the northern flank of the Southwestern front during a hypothetical offensive. However, due to the incomplete implementation of “Uranus”, “Saturn” was replaced by “Little Saturn”. A breakthrough to Rostov (due to the lack of seven armies pinned down by the 6th Army at Stalingrad) was no longer planned; the Voronezh Front, together with the Southwestern Front and part of the forces of the Stalingrad Front, had the goal of pushing the enemy 100-150 km to the west from the encircled 6th Army. 1st Army and defeat the 8th Italian Army (Voronezh Front). The offensive was planned to begin on December 10, but problems associated with the delivery of new units necessary for the operation (those available on the site were tied up at Stalingrad) led to the fact that A. M. Vasilevsky authorized (with the knowledge of I. V. Stalin) a postponement of the start of the operation to 16 December. On December 16-17, the German front on Chira and on the positions of the 8th Italian Army was broken through, and Soviet tank corps rushed into the operational depths. However, in the mid-20s of December, operational reserves (four well-equipped German tank divisions), initially intended to strike during Operation Wintergewitter, began to approach Army Group Don. By December 25, these reserves launched counterattacks, during which they cut off the tank corps of V. M. Badanov, which had just burst into the airfield in Tatsinskaya (86 German aircraft were destroyed at the airfields).

After this, the front line temporarily stabilized, since neither the Soviet nor the German troops had enough forces to break through the enemy’s tactical defense zone.

Combat during Operation Ring

On December 27, N.N. Voronov sent the first version of the “Ring” plan to the Supreme Command Headquarters. Headquarters, in Directive No. 170718 of December 28, 1942 (signed by Stalin and Zhukov), demanded changes to the plan so that it would provide for the dismemberment of the 6th Army into two parts before its destruction. Corresponding changes have been made to the plan. On January 10, the offensive of the Soviet troops began, the main blow was delivered in the zone of the 65th Army of General Batov. However, German resistance turned out to be so serious that the offensive had to be temporarily stopped. From January 17 to 22, the offensive was suspended for regrouping, new attacks on January 22-26 led to the dismemberment of the 6th Army into two groups (Soviet troops united in the Mamayev Kurgan area), by January 31 the southern group was eliminated (the command and headquarters of the 6th was captured 1st Army led by Paulus), by February 2 the northern group of those surrounded under the command of the commander of the 11th Army Corps, Colonel General Karl Strecker, capitulated. Shooting in the city continued until February 3 - the Hiwis resisted even after the German surrender on February 2, 1943, since they were not in danger of being captured. The liquidation of the 6th Army, according to the “Ring” plan, was supposed to be completed in a week, but in reality it lasted 23 days. (The 24th Army withdrew from the front on January 26 and was sent to the General Headquarters reserve).

In total, more than 2,500 officers and 24 generals of the 6th Army were captured during Operation Ring. In total, over 91 thousand Wehrmacht soldiers and officers were captured. According to the Don Front headquarters, the trophies of the Soviet troops from January 10 to February 2, 1943 were 5,762 guns, 1,312 mortars, 12,701 machine guns, 156,987 rifles, 10,722 machine guns, 744 aircraft, 1,666 tanks, 261 armored vehicles, 80,438 vehicles, 10 679 motorcycles , 240 tractors, 571 tractors, 3 armored trains and other military equipment.

Results of the battle

The victory of Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad is the largest military-political event during the Second World War. The Great Battle, which ended in the encirclement, defeat and capture of a selected enemy group, made a huge contribution to achieving a radical turning point during the Great Patriotic War and had a decisive influence on the further course of the entire Second World War.

In the Battle of Stalingrad, new features of the military art of the USSR Armed Forces manifested themselves with all their might. Soviet operational art was enriched by the experience of encircling and destroying the enemy.

The victory at Stalingrad had a decisive influence on the further course of the Second World War. As a result of the battle, the Red Army firmly seized the strategic initiative and now dictated its will to the enemy. This changed the nature of the actions of German troops in the Caucasus, in the areas of Rzhev and Demyansk. The attacks of the Soviet troops forced the Wehrmacht to give the order to prepare the Eastern Wall, on which they intended to stop the advance of the Soviet Army.

The outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad caused confusion and confusion in the Axis countries. A crisis began in the pro-fascist regimes in Italy, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. Germany's influence on its allies sharply weakened, and disagreements between them noticeably worsened. The desire to maintain neutrality has intensified in Turkish political circles. Elements of restraint and alienation began to prevail in the relations of neutral countries towards Germany.

As a result of the defeat, Germany faced the problem of restoring the losses incurred in equipment and people. The head of the economic department of the OKW, General G. Thomas, stated that the losses in equipment were equivalent to the amount of military equipment of 45 divisions from all branches of the military and were equal to the losses for the entire previous period of fighting on the Soviet-German front. Goebbels said at the end of January 1943 that “Germany will be able to withstand Russian attacks only if it manages to mobilize its last human reserves.” Losses in tanks and vehicles amounted to six months of the country's production, in artillery - three months, in small arms and mortars - two months.

Reaction in the world

Many statesmen and politicians highly praised the victory of the Soviet troops. In a message to J.V. Stalin (February 5, 1943), F. Roosevelt called the Battle of Stalingrad an epic struggle, the decisive result of which is celebrated by all Americans. On May 17, 1944, Roosevelt sent Stalingrad a letter:

British Prime Minister W. Churchill, in a message to J.V. Stalin on February 1, 1943, called the victory of the Soviet Army at Stalingrad amazing. The King of Great Britain sent Stalingrad a dedicatory sword, on the blade of which the inscription was engraved in Russian and English:

During the battle and especially after its end, the activities of public organizations in the USA, England, and Canada intensified, advocating more effective assistance to the Soviet Union. For example, members of trade unions in New York raised 250 thousand dollars to build a hospital in Stalingrad. The Chairman of the United Garment Workers Union stated:

American astronaut Donald Slayton, a participant in World War II, recalled:

The victory at Stalingrad had a significant impact on the lives of the occupied peoples and instilled hope for liberation. A drawing appeared on the walls of many Warsaw houses - a heart pierced by a large dagger. On the heart is the inscription “Great Germany”, and on the blade is “Stalingrad”.

Speaking on February 9, 1943, the famous French anti-fascist writer Jean-Richard Bloch said:

The victory of the Soviet Army highly raised the political and military prestige of the Soviet Union. Former Nazi generals in their memoirs recognized the enormous military-political significance of this victory. G. Doerr wrote:

Defectors and prisoners

According to some reports, from 91 to 110 thousand German prisoners were captured at Stalingrad. Subsequently, our troops buried 140 thousand enemy soldiers and officers on the battlefield (not counting the tens of thousands of German troops who died in the “cauldron” within 73 days). According to the testimony of the German historian Rüdiger Overmans, almost 20 thousand “accomplices” captured in Stalingrad - former Soviet prisoners who served in auxiliary positions in the 6th Army - also died in captivity. They were shot or died in the camps.

The reference book “World War II,” published in Germany in 1995, indicates that 201 thousand soldiers and officers were captured at Stalingrad, of whom only 6 thousand returned to their homeland after the war. According to the calculations of the German historian Rüdiger Overmans, published in a special issue of the historical magazine “Damals” dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad, a total of about 250 thousand people were encircled at Stalingrad. Approximately 25 thousand of them were evacuated from the Stalingrad cauldron and more than 100 thousand Wehrmacht soldiers and officers died in January 1943 during the completion of the Soviet Operation Ring. 130 thousand people were captured, including 110 thousand Germans, and the rest were the so-called “voluntary helpers” of the Wehrmacht (“hiwi” is an abbreviation for the German word Hilfswilliger (Hiwi), the literal translation of “voluntary helper”). Of these, about 5 thousand people survived and returned home to Germany. The 6th Army included about 52 thousand “Khivi”, for whom the headquarters of this army developed the main directions for training “voluntary assistants”, in which the latter were considered as “reliable comrades-in-arms in the fight against Bolshevism.”

In addition, in the 6th Army... there were approximately 1 thousand people of the Todt organization, consisting mainly of Western European workers, Croatian and Romanian associations, numbering from 1 thousand to 5 thousand soldiers, as well as several Italians.

If we compare German and Russian data on the number of soldiers and officers captured in the Stalingrad area, the following picture appears. Russian sources exclude from the number of prisoners of war all the so-called “voluntary assistants” of the Wehrmacht (more than 50 thousand people), whom the Soviet competent authorities never classified as “prisoners of war”, but considered them as traitors to the Motherland, subject to trial under martial law. As for the mass death of prisoners of war from the “Stalingrad cauldron”, most of them died during the first year of their captivity due to exhaustion, the effects of cold and numerous diseases received while surrounded. Some data can be cited on this score: only in the period from February 3 to June 10, 1943, in the German prisoner of war camp in Beketovka (Stalingrad region), the consequences of the “Stalingrad cauldron” cost the lives of more than 27 thousand people; and of the 1,800 captured officers housed in the former monastery in Yelabuga, by April 1943 only a quarter of the contingent remained alive.

Participants

• Zaitsev, Vasily Grigorievich - sniper of the 62nd Army of the Stalingrad Front, Hero of the Soviet Union.
• Pavlov, Yakov Fedotovich - commander of a group of fighters who defended the so-called in the summer of 1942. Pavlov's house in the center of Stalingrad, Hero of the Soviet Union.
• Ibarruri, Ruben Ruiz - commander of a machine gun company, lieutenant, Hero of the Soviet Union.
• Shumilov, Mikhail Stepanovich - commander of the 64th Army, Hero of the Soviet Union.

Memory

Awards

On the front side of the medal is a group of fighters with rifles at the ready. Above the group of fighters, on the right side of the medal, a banner flutters, and on the left side the outlines of tanks and planes flying one after another are visible. At the top of the medal, above the group of fighters, there is a five-pointed star and the inscription along the edge of the medal “FOR THE DEFENSE OF STALINGRAD.”

On the reverse side of the medal is the inscription “FOR OUR SOVIET MOTHERLAND.” Above the inscription are a hammer and sickle.

The medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad” was awarded to all participants in the defense of Stalingrad - military personnel of the Red Army, Navy and NKVD troops, as well as civilians who took a direct part in the defense. The period of defense of Stalingrad is considered to be July 12 - November 19, 1942.

As of January 1, 1995, the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" was awarded to approximately 759 561 Human.

• In Volgograd, on the headquarters building of military unit No. 22220, there was a huge wall panel depicting a medal.

Monuments to the Battle of Stalingrad

• Mamayev Kurgan is “the main height of Russia.” During the Battle of Stalingrad, some of the fiercest battles took place here. Today, a monument-ensemble “To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” has been erected on Mamayev Kurgan. The central figure of the composition is the sculpture “The Motherland is Calling!” It is one of the seven wonders of Russia.
• The panorama “The Defeat of Nazi Troops at Stalingrad” is a picturesque canvas on the theme of the Battle of Stalingrad, located on the Central Embankment of the city. Opened in 1982.
• “Lyudnikov Island” is an area 700 meters along the Volga bank and 400 meters deep (from the river bank to the territory of the Barricades plant), the defense area of ​​the 138th Red Banner Rifle Division under the command of Colonel I. I. Lyudnikov.
• The destroyed mill is a building that has not been restored since the war, an exhibit of the Battle of Stalingrad Museum.
• “Rodimtsev’s Wall” is a quay wall that serves as shelter from massive German air raids for soldiers of Major General A. I. Rodimtsev’s rifle division.
• The "House of Soldier's Glory", also known as the "Pavlov's House", was a brick building that occupied a dominant position over the surrounding area.
• Alley of Heroes - a wide street connects the embankment to them. 62nd Army near the Volga River and the Square of Fallen Fighters.

• On September 8, 1985, a memorial monument dedicated to the Heroes of the Soviet Union and full holders of the Order of Glory, natives of the Volgograd region and heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad was unveiled here. The artistic works were carried out by the Volgograd branch of the RSFSR Art Fund under the direction of the main artist of the city, M. Ya. Pyshta. The team of authors included the chief architect of the project A. N. Klyuchishchev, architect A. S. Belousov, designer L. Podoprigora, artist E. V. Gerasimov. On the monument are the names (surnames and initials) of 127 Heroes of the Soviet Union, who received this title for heroism in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943, 192 Heroes of the Soviet Union - natives of the Volgograd region, of whom three are twice Heroes of the Soviet Union, and 28 holders of the Order of Glory of three degrees.
• Poplar on the Alley of Heroes is a historical and natural monument of Volgograd, located on the Alley of Heroes. The poplar survived the Battle of Stalingrad and has numerous evidence of military action on its trunk.

In the world

Named in honor of the Battle of Stalingrad:

• Stalingrad Square (Paris) is a square in Paris.
• Stalingrad Avenue (Brussels) - in Brussels.

In many countries, including France, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy and a number of other countries, streets, gardens, and squares were named after the battle. Only in Paris is the name “Stalingrad” given to a square, a boulevard and one of the metro stations. In Lyon there is the so-called “Stalingrad” bracant, where the third largest antique market in Europe is located.

Also, the central street of the city of Bologna (Italy) is named in honor of Stalingrad.

Introduction

On April 20, 1942, the battle for Moscow ended. The German army, whose advance seemed unstoppable, was not only stopped, but also pushed back 150-300 kilometers from the capital of the USSR. The Nazis suffered heavy losses, and although the Wehrmacht was still very strong, Germany no longer had the opportunity to attack simultaneously on all sectors of the Soviet-German front.

While the spring thaw lasted, the Germans developed a plan for the summer offensive of 1942, codenamed Fall Blau - “Blue Option”. The initial target of the German attack was the oil fields of Grozny and Baku with the possibility of further development of the offensive against Persia. Before the deployment of this offensive, the Germans were going to cut off the Barvenkovsky ledge - a large bridgehead captured by the Red Army on the western bank of the Seversky Donets River.

The Soviet command, in turn, also intended to conduct a summer offensive in the zone of the Bryansk, Southern and Southwestern fronts. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the Red Army was the first to strike and at first managed to push the German troops almost to Kharkov, the Germans managed to turn the situation in their favor and inflict a major defeat on the Soviet troops. On the sector of the Southern and Southwestern fronts, the defense was weakened to the limit, and on June 28, Hermann Hoth's 4th Panzer Army broke through between Kursk and Kharkov. The Germans reached the Don.

At this point, Hitler, by personal order, made a change to the Blue Option, which would later cost Nazi Germany dearly. He divided Army Group South into two parts. Army Group A was to continue the offensive into the Caucasus. Army Group B was to reach the Volga, cut off the strategic communications connecting the European part of the USSR with the Caucasus and Central Asia, and capture Stalingrad. For Hitler, this city was important not only from a practical point of view (as a large industrial center), but also for purely ideological reasons. The capture of the city, which bore the name of the main enemy of the Third Reich, would be the greatest propaganda achievement of the German army.

Balance of forces and the first stage of the battle

Army Group B, advancing on Stalingrad, included the 6th Army of General Paulus. The army included 270 thousand soldiers and officers, about 2,200 guns and mortars, about 500 tanks. From the air, the 6th Army was supported by the 4th Air Fleet of General Wolfram von Richthofen, numbering about 1,200 aircraft. A little later, towards the end of July, Hermann Hoth's 4th Tank Army was transferred to Army Group B, which on July 1, 1942 included the 5th, 7th and 9th Army and the 46th Motorized housings. The latter included the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.

The Southwestern Front, renamed Stalingrad on July 12, 1942, consisted of about 160 thousand personnel, 2,200 guns and mortars, and about 400 tanks. Of the 38 divisions that were part of the front, only 18 were fully equipped, while the others had from 300 to 4,000 people. The 8th Air Army, operating along with the front, was also significantly inferior in numbers to von Richthofen's fleet. With these forces, the Stalingrad Front was forced to defend an area more than 500 kilometers wide. A separate problem for the Soviet troops was the flat steppe terrain, where enemy tanks could operate at full strength. Taking into account the low level of anti-tank weapons in front units and formations, this made the tank threat critical.

The German offensive began on July 17, 1942. On this day, the vanguards of the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht entered into battle with units of the 62nd Army on the Chir River and in the area of ​​the Pronin farm. By July 22, the Germans had pushed Soviet troops back almost 70 kilometers, to the main line of defense of Stalingrad. The German command, hoping to take the city on the move, decided to encircle the Red Army units at the villages of Kletskaya and Suvorovskaya, seize the crossings across the Don and develop an attack on Stalingrad without stopping. For this purpose, two strike groups were created, attacking from the north and south. The northern group was formed from units of the 6th Army, the southern group from units of the 4th Tank Army.

The northern group, striking on July 23, broke through the defense front of the 62nd Army and surrounded its two rifle divisions and a tank brigade. By July 26, the advanced units of the Germans reached the Don. The command of the Stalingrad Front organized a counterattack, in which mobile formations of the front reserve took part, as well as the 1st and 4th Tank Armies, which had not yet completed their formation. Tank armies were a new regular structure within the Red Army. It is unclear who exactly put forward the idea of ​​their formation, but in the documents, the head of the Main Armored Directorate Ya. N. Fedorenko was the first to voice this idea to Stalin. In the form in which tank armies were conceived, they did not last long, subsequently undergoing a major restructuring. But the fact that it was near Stalingrad that such a staff unit appeared is a fact. The 1st Tank Army attacked from the Kalach area on July 25, and the 4th from the villages of Trekhostrovskaya and Kachalinskaya on July 27.

Fierce fighting in this area lasted until August 7-8. It was possible to release the encircled units, but it was not possible to defeat the advancing Germans. The development of events was also negatively affected by the fact that the level of training of the personnel of the armies of the Stalingrad Front was low, and a number of errors in the coordination of actions made by the unit commanders.

In the south, Soviet troops managed to stop the Germans at the settlements of Surovikino and Rychkovsky. Nevertheless, the Nazis were able to break through the front of the 64th Army. To eliminate this breakthrough, on July 28, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered, no later than the 30th, the forces of the 64th Army, as well as two infantry divisions and a tank corps, to strike and defeat the enemy in the area of ​​the village of Nizhne-Chirskaya.

Despite the fact that the new units entered the battle on the move and their combat capabilities suffered as a result, by the indicated date the Red Army managed to push back the Germans and even create a threat of their encirclement. Unfortunately, the Nazis managed to bring fresh forces into the battle and provide assistance to the group. After this, the fighting flared up even hotter.

On July 28, 1942, another event occurred that cannot be left behind the scenes. On this day, the famous Order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR No. 227, also known as “Not a step back!” was adopted. He significantly toughened penalties for unauthorized retreat from the battlefield, introduced penal units for offending soldiers and commanders, and also introduced barrage detachments - special units that were engaged in detaining deserters and returning them to duty. This document, for all its harshness, was received quite positively by the troops and actually reduced the number of disciplinary violations in military units.

At the end of July, the 64th Army was nevertheless forced to retreat beyond the Don. German troops captured a number of bridgeheads on the left bank of the river. In the area of ​​the village of Tsymlyanskaya, the Nazis concentrated very serious forces: two infantry, two motorized and one tank division. Headquarters ordered the Stalingrad Front to drive the Germans to the western (right) bank and restore the defense line along the Don, but it was not possible to eliminate the breakthrough. On July 30, the Germans went on the offensive from the village of Tsymlyanskaya and by August 3 had significantly advanced, capturing the Remontnaya station, the station and the city of Kotelnikovo, and the village of Zhutovo. On these same days, the enemy's 6th Romanian Corps reached the Don. In the zone of operation of the 62nd Army, the Germans went on the offensive on August 7 in the direction of Kalach. Soviet troops were forced to retreat to the left bank of the Don. On August 15, the 4th Soviet Tank Army had to do the same, because the Germans were able to break through its front in the center and split the defense in half.

By August 16, the troops of the Stalingrad Front retreated beyond the Don and took up defense on the outer line of the city fortifications. On August 17, the Germans resumed their attack and by the 20th they managed to capture the crossings, as well as a bridgehead in the area of ​​​​the village of Vertyachiy. Attempts to discard or destroy them were unsuccessful. On August 23, the German group, with the support of aviation, broke through the defense front of the 62nd and 4th tank armies and advanced units reached the Volga. On this day, German planes made about 2,000 sorties. Many blocks of the city were in ruins, oil storage facilities were on fire, and about 40 thousand civilians were killed. The enemy broke through to the line Rynok - Orlovka - Gumrak - Peschanka. The fight moved under the walls of Stalingrad.

Fighting in the city

Having forced the Soviet troops to retreat almost to the outskirts of Stalingrad, the enemy threw six German and one Romanian infantry divisions, two tank divisions and one motorized division against the 62nd Army. The number of tanks in this Nazi group was approximately 500. The enemy was supported from the air by at least 1000 aircraft. The threat of capturing the city became tangible. To eliminate it, the Supreme High Command Headquarters transferred two completed armies to the defenders (10 rifle divisions, 2 tank brigades), re-equipped the 1st Guards Army (6 rifle divisions, 2 guards rifle, 2 tank brigades), and also subordinated the 16th to the Stalingrad Front air army.

On September 5 and 18, the troops of the Stalingrad Front (September 30 it will be renamed Donskoy) carried out two major operations, thanks to which they managed to weaken the German pressure on the city, pulling about 8 infantry, two tank and two motorized divisions. It was again impossible to achieve the complete defeat of Hitler’s units. Fierce battles for the internal defensive line continued for a long time.

Urban fighting began on September 13, 1942 and continued until November 19, when the Red Army launched a counteroffensive as part of Operation Uranus. From September 12, the defense of Stalingrad was entrusted to the 62nd Army, which was placed under the command of Lieutenant General V.I. Chuikov. This man, who before the start of the Battle of Stalingrad was considered insufficiently experienced for combat command, created a real hell for the enemy in the city.

On September 13, six infantry, three tank and two motorized German divisions were in the immediate vicinity of the city. Until September 18, there were fierce battles in the central and southern parts of the city. To the south of the railway station, the enemy onslaught was contained, but in the center the Germans drove out the Soviet troops all the way to the Krutoy ravine.

The battles for the station on September 17 were extremely fierce. During the day it changed hands four times. Here the Germans left 8 burned tanks and about a hundred dead. On September 19, the left wing of the Stalingrad Front tried to strike in the direction of the station with a further attack on Gumrak and Gorodishche. The advance failed, but a large enemy group was pinned down by the fighting, which made things easier for the units fighting in the center of Stalingrad. In general, the defense here was so strong that the enemy never managed to reach the Volga.

Realizing that they could not achieve success in the center of the city, the Germans concentrated troops further south to strike in the eastern direction, towards Mamayev Kurgan and the village of Krasny Oktyabr. On September 27, Soviet troops launched a pre-emptive attack, working in small infantry groups armed with light machine guns, petrol bombs and anti-tank rifles. Fierce fighting continued from September 27 to October 4. These were the same Stalingrad city battles, the stories about which chill the blood in the veins of even a person with strong nerves. Here the battles took place not for streets and blocks, sometimes not even for entire houses, but for individual floors and rooms. The guns fired directly at almost point-blank range, using incendiary mixtures and fire from short distances. Hand-to-hand combat has become commonplace, as in the Middle Ages, when edged weapons ruled the battlefield. During a week of continuous fighting, the Germans advanced 400 meters. Even those who were not intended for this had to fight: builders, soldiers of pontoon units. The Nazis gradually began to run out of steam. The same desperate and bloody battles raged near the Barrikady plant, near the village of Orlovka, on the outskirts of the Silikat plant.

At the beginning of October, the territory occupied by the Red Army in Stalingrad was so reduced that it was completely covered by machine gun and artillery fire. The fighting troops were supplied from the opposite bank of the Volga with the help of literally everything that could float: boats, steamships, boats. German aircraft continuously bombed the crossings, making this task even more difficult.

And while the soldiers of the 62nd Army pinned down and crushed enemy troops in battles, the High Command was already preparing plans for a large offensive operation aimed at destroying the Stalingrad group of Nazis.

"Uranus" and the surrender of Paulus

By the time the Soviet counteroffensive began near Stalingrad, in addition to Paulus’s 6th Army, there were also von Salmuth’s 2nd Army, Hoth’s 4th Panzer Army, the Italian, Romanian and Hungarian armies.

On November 19, the Red Army launched a large-scale offensive operation on three fronts, codenamed “Uranus”. It was opened by about three and a half thousand guns and mortars. The artillery barrage lasted about two hours. Subsequently, it was in memory of this artillery preparation that November 19 became the professional holiday of artillerymen.

On November 23, an encirclement ring closed around the 6th Army and the main forces of Hoth's 4th Panzer Army. On November 24, about 30 thousand Italians capitulated near the village of Raspopinskaya. By November 24, the territory occupied by the encircled Nazi units occupied about 40 kilometers from west to east, and about 80 from north to south. Further “densification” progressed slowly, as the Germans organized a dense defense and clung to literally every piece of land. Paulus insisted on a breakthrough, but Hitler categorically forbade it. He had not yet lost hope that he would be able to help those around him from the outside.

The rescue mission was entrusted to Erich von Manstein. Army Group Don, which he commanded, was supposed to release the besieged army of Paulus in December 1942 with a blow from Kotelnikovsky and Tormosin. On December 12, Operation Winter Storm began. Moreover, the Germans did not go on the offensive with full strength - in fact, by the time the offensive began, they were only able to field one Wehrmacht tank division and a Romanian infantry division. Subsequently, two more incomplete tank divisions and a number of infantry joined the offensive. On December 19, Manstein's troops clashed with Rodion Malinovsky's 2nd Guards Army, and by December 25, the "Winter Storm" had died down in the snowy Don steppes. The Germans rolled back to their original positions, suffering heavy losses.

Paulus's group was doomed. It seemed that the only person who refused to admit this was Hitler. He was categorically against retreat when it was still possible, and did not want to hear about capitulation when the mousetrap was finally and irrevocably slammed shut. Even when the Soviet troops captured the last airfield from which Luftwaffe aircraft supplied the army (extremely weak and unstable), he continued to demand resistance from Paulus and his men.

On January 10, 1943, the final operation of the Red Army to eliminate the Stalingrad group of Nazis began. It was called "The Ring". On January 9, the day before it began, the Soviet command presented Friedrich Paulus with an ultimatum, demanding to surrender. On the same day, by chance, the commander of the 14th Panzer Corps, General Hube, arrived in the cauldron. He conveyed that Hitler demanded that resistance continue until a new attempt was made to break through the encirclement from the outside. Paulus carried out the order and rejected the ultimatum.

The Germans resisted as best they could. The Soviet offensive was even stopped from January 17 to 22. After the regrouping, parts of the Red Army again went on the attack and on January 26, Hitler’s forces were split into two parts. The northern group was located in the area of ​​the Barricades plant, and the southern group, which included Paulus himself, was located in the city center. Paulus's command post was located in the basement of the central department store.

On January 30, 1943, Hitler awarded Friedrich Paulus the rank of field marshal. According to the unwritten Prussian military tradition, field marshals never surrendered. So, on the part of the Fuhrer, this was a hint at how the commander of the encircled army should have ended his military career. However, Paulus decided that it was better not to understand some hints. On January 31 at noon, Paulus surrendered. It took two more days to eliminate the remnants of Hitler's troops in Stalingrad. On February 2 it was all over. The Battle of Stalingrad is over.

About 90 thousand German soldiers and officers were captured. The Germans lost about 800 thousand killed, 160 tanks and about 200 aircraft were captured.