The Battle of Stalingrad was a brutal war between Nazi Germany and Russian Forces during World War II. In 1942, Adolf Hitler launched an attack in the south Russia with the aim of destroying what the Soviet Army left. While Hitler’s initial advance was successful since the German Army captured Caucasus oilfields, joseph Starlin, the Soviet leader commanded his army to defend the city at all costs; therefore, he mobilized all civilians and soldiers to help in the war ( Beevor, 2012) . Although Stalin’s Red Army successfully rebuffed Hitler’s attack, the former suffered vital losses in fighting, both regarding weaponry and manpower. This paper will discuss how the Battle of Stalingrad changed the way of World War II.
The Battle of Stalingrad caused major military changes in World War II from both Germany and the Soviet Union’s ends. The war led to the end of the Nazi Germany’s advancement in reaching it strategic goals in the Caucasus. If Germany had conquered Stalingrad, they would have had a strategic battle advantage over the Soviet Union in World War II (Dingle, 1977). On the other hand, Starlin’s tactics and operational concepts were rewarded as they had enough weaponry to defeat Germany by the time of Stalingrad. It is also noteworthy that Stalingrad was ultimate end point after which the progress of World War II radically changed in favour of the Soviets. Particularly, with the defeat of the Hitler’s army at the battle, the Soviet’s Red Army assumed strategic advantage.
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The Battle of Stalingrad led to a psychological turning point of World War II. Notably, the Soviets perceived the war as a last ditch effort of World War II. The Soviet’s Red Army believed that if their defence of Stalingrad were successful, they would definitely have an advantage of winning the war ( O'Brien, 2015) . After defeating the Germans, the Soviets realized that not all their efforts at Stalingrad were in vain; therefore, the Red Army changed their attitude toward Starlin’s leadership after the battle and never doubted they could win. Overall, the Battle of Stalingrad offered the Soviets future opportunities for offensive actions during WWII; however, the battle caused Germany to lose support and credibility of the neutrals as well as her allies.
It is noteworthy that the Battle of Stalingrad led to economic turning point during WWII. For instance, weaponry production of the Soviets was greater than that of the Germans ( Clark & Recorded Books, Inc., 2011) . Also, the quality of equipment improved on the Soviets side as compared to the Germans since Hitler was hesitant at beginning the full mobilization of the German economy. As such the Soviet gained economic advantage over Germany. Generally, the Soviet Union surpassed Germany in the production of artillery, aircraft, and tanks, giving them a weaponry advantage in World War II.
From the above discussion, it is noteworthy that the Battle of Stalingrad changed the way of World War II in different perspectives. First, the battle changed the Soviet’s military strategy of mobilizing every civilian and soldier to fight the German’s Sixth Army. In addition, the battle led to psychological change of the Soviet’s army since they understood that by defeating the Germans, they would have a strategic military future in World War II. Finally, the Battle of Stalingrad led to economic changes in both Germany and the Soviet Union. While Hitler was hesitant at mobilizing German’s economic changes, the Soviets under Starlin made great economic strides, thus having greater economic advantage as compared to the Germans.
References
Beevor, A. (2012). The Second World War . New York: Little, Brown and Co.
Dingle, D.W. (1977). Stalingrad and the turning point on the Soviet-German front, 1941- 1943. “A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree. Master of military art and science.
Clark, L., & Recorded Books, Inc. (2011). The Battle Of The Tanks: Kursk, 1943 . Place of publication not identified: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
O'Brien, P. P. (2015). How the War Was Won. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Roberts, G. (2013). Victory at Stalingrad: The Battle That Changed History. New York: Routlege.
