Operation Barbarossa-Battle of Stalingrad

During World War II (1939-1945), hundred of battles took place. None of these battles were as deadly as the Battle of Stalingrad.

From August 1942 to February 1943, Germany fought against the Soviet Union to control the city of Stalingrad.

Hitler launched his invasion in June 1941. It was code named Operation Barbarossa.

On June 22, 1941, the German Army poured across the borders of the Soviet Union, initiating nearly 4 years of the most savage and brutal warfare humanity ever experienced.

Three Army Groups penetrated Russia on a front extending from the Baltic coast to the Black Sea. One and a half million soldiers of the Wehrmacht obeyed the Fuehrer's directive to destroy the Red Army and the Soviet Union.

According to Nazi view, German soldiers were advancing into Russian to protect western European civilization against Bolshevism.
Western military experts gave the Russians 6 weeks, perhaps 8 at the most, before suffering total military disaster at the hands of the Germans. Battered by one defeat after another, the poor performance of the Red Army gave no one reason to believe otherwise.

With their officer corps decimated by Stalin's purges, the badly equipped , poorly trained and demoralized Red Army sustained losses and gave ground which would have defeated any other country in a matter of days.

German surprise and success was so overwhelming in the first few weeks that few would have disagreed with that assessment. On top of the disasters suffered by the Red Army, the Soviet government itself seemed to fall into disarray.

The battle of Stalingrad cost more lives than any other battle of the Second World War. The Germans and their allies suffered 800,000 casualties, while Russian losses were 1.1 million. It was a turning point in this world war and is considered the bloodiest battle in human history, with more combined causalities suffered than any battle before or since.

On 2 February 1943 the battle was over.

For Soviets, who suffered great losses during battle, the victory at Stalingrad marked the started of the liberation of the Soviet Union and leading to eventual victory over Nazi Germany.
Operation Barbarossa-Battle of Stalingrad