Stalingrad war maps. The Battle of Stalingrad: the course of hostilities, heroes, meaning, map. Battle of Stalingrad Map

July 17th 1942 year at the turn of the Chir River, the advanced units of the 62nd Army of the Stalingrad Front entered into battle with the vanguard of the 6th German Army.

The battle of Stalingrad began.

For two weeks, our armies managed to hold back the onslaught of superior enemy forces. By July 22, the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht was additionally reinforced with another tank division from the 4th Panzer Army. Thus, the balance of forces in the Don bend changed even more in favor of the advancing German grouping, which already numbered about 250 thousand people, over 700 tanks, 7,500 guns and mortars, up to 1,200 aircraft supported them from the air. While the Stalingrad front had about 180 thousand personnel, 360 tanks, 7,900 guns and mortars, about 340 aircraft.

And yet, the Red Army managed to reduce the pace of the enemy's offensive. If in the period from July 12 to July 17, 1942, the enemy advanced 30 km daily, then from July 18 to 22 - only 15 km per day. By the end of July, our armies began to withdraw troops to the left bank of the Don.

On July 31, 1942, the selfless resistance of the Soviet troops forced the Nazi command to turn from the Caucasian direction to Stalingrad 4th Panzer Army under the leadership of colonel general G. Gotha.

Hitler's original plan to capture the city by July 25 was thwarted, the Wehrmacht troops took a short pause to pull even larger forces into the offensive zone.

The defense zone stretched for 800 km. August 5 to facilitate the management of the stake decision the front was divided into Stalingrad and Southeast.

By mid-August, German troops managed to advance 60-70 km to Stalingrad, and in some areas only 20 km. The city was transformed from a front-line city into a front-line city. Despite the continuous transfer of more and more forces to Stalingrad, parity was achieved only in human resources. The Germans had more than two-fold superiority in guns and aviation, and four-fold in tanks.

On August 19, 1942, shock units of the 6th combined arms and 4th tank armies simultaneously resumed their offensive against Stalingrad. On August 23, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, German tanks broke through to the Volga and reached the outskirts of the city.... On the same day, the enemy launched a massive air raid on Stalingrad. The breakthrough was stopped by the forces of the militia and the NKVD detachments.

At the same time, our troops in some sectors of the front launched a counteroffensive, and the enemy was driven back 5-10 km to the west. Another attempt by German troops to seize the city was repulsed by the heroically fighting Stalingraders.

On September 13, German troops resumed their assault on the city. Especially fierce battles took place in the area of the station and Mamaev Kurgan (height 102.0)... From its summit it was possible to control not only the city, but also the crossings across the Volga. Here, from September 1942 to January 1943, one of the fiercest battles of the Great Patriotic War unfolded.

After 13 days of bloody street fighting, the Germans captured the city center. But the main task - to capture the bank of the Volga in the Stalingrad region - the German troops could not fulfill. The city continued to resist.

By the end of September, the Germans were already on the outskirts of the Volga, where the administrative buildings and the pier were located. Here stubborn battles were fought for every house. Many of the buildings received their names during the days of the defense: "Zabolotny's house", "L-shaped house", "dairy house", "Pavlov's house" other.

Ilya Vasilievich Voronov, one of the defenders of "Pavlov's house", having received several wounds in the arm, leg and stomach, pulled out the safety pin with his teeth and threw grenades at the Germans with his good hand. He refused the help of orderlies and crawled to the medical aid station himself. The surgeon removed more than two dozen fragments and bullets from his body... Voronov stoically underwent amputation of a leg and hand, losing the maximum amount of blood that was allowed for life.

Distinguished himself in battles for the city of Stalingrad from September 14, 1942.
In group battles in the city of Stalingrad, he destroyed up to 50 soldiers and officers. On November 25, 1942, he took part in the assault on the house with his own crew. He boldly moved forward and with machine gun fire ensured the advancement of the units. His crew with a machine gun broke into the house first. An enemy mine knocked out the entire crew and wounded Voronov himself. But the fearless warrior continued to shoot at the focus of the counterattacking Nazis. Personally, with a machine gun, he defeated 3 attacks of the Nazis, while destroying up to 3 dozen Nazis. After the machine gun was destroyed and Voronov received two more wounds, he continued to fight. During the battle of the 4th counterattack of the Nazis, Voronov received another wound, but continued to fight, pulling out the safety pin with his healthy hand and throwing grenades with his teeth. Being seriously wounded, he refused the help of orderlies and crawled to the medical aid station himself.
For courage and courage shown in battles with the German invaders, he is presented with a government award with the Order of the Red Star.

No less serious battles were fought in other parts of the city defense - on Bald Mountain, in the "ravine of death", on the "Lyudnikov Island".

A huge role in the defense of the city was played by the Volga military flotilla under the command of the rear admiral D.D. Rogacheva... Under continuous enemy air raids, the ships continued to ensure the passage of troops across the Volga, the delivery of ammunition, food and the evacuation of the wounded.

Fascist troops waged an incessant offensive, bombardment of the city was carried out from the air, which very soon turned into ruins.

In September 1942, the fascist army was already in the area of Mamayev Kurgan, it was for this height that 138 days of battle were fought out of 200 during the entire Stalingrad battle. The strategic height passed into the hands of the enemy several times. Soviet troops stood in the direction of the Volga with the goal of in no case allowing German soldiers to break through to the river.

The Soviet troops, defending themselves against the German armies in the Stalingrad direction, thwarted the strategic plan of the Nazi command to seize the Caucasus with its powerful natural resources, large agricultural regions of the Don, Kuban, the Lower Volga region, and the seizure of the Volga as the main waterway of the Soviet Union.

The heroic everyday life of the fighters, soldiers and officers who defended Stalingrad are reflected in thousands of wartime documents. Each award sheet contains a description of the feat. In the texts of the war magazines, there are separate episodes about the courage and fearlessness of those who defended Stalingrad.

A writer, a war correspondent for the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, “from the first days of the war, he fearlessly works in the advanced units of the Red Army ... Currently, he is the only writer who takes part in the battles for Stalingrad and often travels to the city in battalions, companies, where he collects literary material…. Examples of heroism, courage shown by Comrade. Countless numbers can be cited by Grossman. "

Khvastantsev Mikhail Polikarpovich
The hero of the USSR
Killed
Burial place: Volgograd region., Svetloyarskiy district, with. D. Ravine

“Neglecting the danger, Sergeant KHVASTANTSEV raises people who, together with him, stand at the gun and open fire on moving tanks. One heavy and one medium tank was knocked out by cannon fire.

The tanks continued to move towards the battery, they were already separated by 100-150 meters. The shells ran out. Around the wounded and killed comrades. KHVASTANTSEV decides to evacuate the wounded and cover their retreat. With a PTR gun, he lay down in front of the guns and knocked out the tank in front with five shots, the rest, breaking up into two groups, bypassed the battery in a half-ring. Several tanks, approaching the location of the battery, were met by Khvastantsev, who rushed to one of them and shouted "DON'T GET THERE, SHOOT!" threw a grenade under the track. The destroyed but not destroyed tank, shooting, continued to move towards the hero-artilleryman. Comrade KHVASTANTSEV rushed into the nearest trench, through which an enemy tank immediately passed. The second grenade thrown by Khvastantsev from the trench after the tank made him motionless. An enemy bullet from an enemy tank killed an artillery guard who died under the tracks of tanks ... "

“For three days of fighting, the regiment has killed and wounded - 483 people. On this day, the soldiers and commanders withstood a series of fierce attacks from the brutal enemy. The defenders of Stalingrad have shown themselves to be worthy successors of the heroes of TSARITSYN. The enemy felt the force of the guards strike on his own skin ...

Particularly examples of courage and heroism were shown on this day by soldiers of the 114th Guards SP. Over the past day, the regiment destroyed more than 300 Nazis, knocked out 9 tanks, suppressed 6 firing points, 5 heavy machine guns, 8 bunkers.

Particularly distinguished himself when repelling a tank attack of the enemy Guard Captain BABAK, who with a group of 15 men knocked out 2 tanks, repelled 5 enemy attacks. Red Army gunner PTR NECHAEV, who, together with his second number, knocked out 1 armored vehicle and 1 enemy tank. "

“… .Smelchaki - the commander of the group, sergeant LISATU, the soldiers DOROSCHUK and SHEVCHENKO crawled to the shed, from where the Nazis fired, throwing grenades at them. The machine-gun burst of junior lieutenant ZHELDAK destroyed the officer who was throwing grenades. Clutching the ring, they rushed into hand-to-hand combat. This daring throw decided the outcome of the battle. The fight lasted 45 minutes. As a result of the battle, 40 Nazis were destroyed, 25 were wounded. Trophies were captured ... our losses: 4 soldiers were killed, 2 partisans, 7 people were wounded. , missing 1. "

“... The soldiers and commanders of the 114th Guards SP Regiment bravely and selflessly defend every piece of their native land. Occupying the OP in the houses, they let the enemy at close range and shot him point-blank.

Without moving a single step the guardsmen of the 114th regiment, the enemy from tanks lit houses with thermite fires, but the fighters fought fiercely in the flaming houses, and only after the houses turned into a heap of ruins, the defenders of Stalingrad occupied new houses. In this battle, many soldiers and commanders died the death of the brave ... "

“The personnel of the regiment showed massive heroism, true heroes were born here - the battalion commander Captain NARYTNYAK, the battery commander Lieutenant MASALYZHIN, the armor-piercing officers of Lieutenant POYARKOV, where Comrade. POYARKOV showed examples of valor and heroism, knocking out 2 enemy tanks. At this time, both of his legs were torn off, being in the heat of anger comrade. POYARKOV grabbed a nearby armor piercing and knocked out 2 more enemy tanks. "

“... 33 soldiers of 1379 joint ventures showed an unparalleled feat - 70 enemy tanks were going against them and up to a regiment of German infantry. Showing fortitude and courage, defending Stalingrad, 33 heroes of Stalingrad with anti-tank rifles, bottles of fuel and anti-tank grenades destroyed 27 enemy tanks and over 150 Hitlerites - defended the height - the Russian land. "

Of course, 1 German soldier can kill 10 Soviet soldiers. But when the 11th comes, what will he do?
Franz Halder

The main target of Germany's summer offensive campaign was Stalingrad. However, on the way to the city it was necessary to overcome the Crimean defense. And here the Soviet command unwittingly, of course, but made life easier for the enemy. In May 1942, a massive Soviet offensive began in the Kharkov region. The problem is that this offensive was unprepared and turned into a terrible disaster. More than 200 thousand people were killed, 775 tanks and 5,000 guns were lost. As a result, the full strategic advantage in the southern sector of hostilities was in the hands of Germany. The 6th and 4th German tank armies crossed the Don, and began to advance inland. The Soviet army retreated, not having time to catch on to the advantageous lines of defense. Surprisingly, for the second year in a row, the German offensive was completely unexpected for the Soviet command. The only advantage of 1942 was that now the Soviet units did not allow themselves to be easily surrounded.

The beginning of the battle of Stalingrad

On July 17, 1942, the troops of the 62nd and 64th Soviet armies entered the battle on the Chir River. In the future, it is this battle that historians will call the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad. For a correct understanding of subsequent events, it should be noted that the successes of the German army in the offensive campaign for 42 years were so amazing that Hitler decided, simultaneously with the offensive in the South, to intensify the offensive in the North, capturing Leningrad. This is not just a historical retreat, because as a result of this decision, the 11th German army under the command of Manstein was transferred from Sevastopol to Leningrad. Manstein himself and also Halder opposed this decision, arguing that the German army might not have enough reserves on the southern front. But this was very important, since Germany was simultaneously solving several problems in the south:

The capture of Stalingrad as a symbol of the fall to the leaders of the Soviet people.
Capturing the southern regions with oil. It was a more important and more mundane task.

On July 23, Hitler signed directive number 45, in which he indicated the main targets of the German offensive: Leningrad, Stalingrad, the Caucasus.

On July 24, Wehrmacht troops captured Rostov-on-Don and Novocherkassk. Now the gates to the Caucasus were completely open, and for the first time there was a threat of losing the entire Soviet South. The 6th German Army continued its movement towards Stalingrad. Panic was evident in the Soviet troops. In some sectors of the front, the troops of 51, 62, 64 armies were withdrawn and retreated even when the enemy reconnaissance groups approached. And these are only those cases that are documented. This forced Stalin to begin reshuffling the generals in this sector of the front and to take up a general change in the structure. The Voronezh and Bryansk fronts were formed instead of the Bryansk front. Vatutin and Rokossovsky were appointed commanders, respectively. But even with this, the decisions could not stop the panic and the retreat of the Red Army. The Germans were advancing towards the Volga. As a result, on July 28, 1942, Stalin issued Order No. 227, which was called "not a step back."

At the end of July, General Jodl announced that the key to the Caucasus was in Stalingrad. This was enough for Hitler to make the most important decision of the entire offensive summer campaign on July 31, 1942. According to this decision, the 4th Panzer Army was transferred to Stalingrad.

Battle of Stalingrad Map

The order "Not one step back!"

The peculiarity of the order was in the fight against alarmism. All who retreated without orders were to be shot on the spot. In fact, it was an element of regression, but this repression paid off in the sense that it could instill fear and force Soviet soldiers to fight even more courageously. The only problem was that Order 227 did not analyze the reasons for the defeat of the Red Army during the summer of 1942, but simply carried out repressions against ordinary soldiers. This order underlines the hopelessness of the situation at that point in time. The order itself emphasizes:

Despair. The Soviet command now realized that the failure of the summer of 1942 threatened the existence of the entire USSR. Just a few jerks and Germany will win.
Contradiction. This order simply shifted all responsibility from Soviet generals to ordinary officers and soldiers. However, the reasons for the failures of the summer of 1942 lie precisely in the miscalculations of the command, which could not foresee the direction of the enemy's main attack and made significant mistakes.
Cruelty. By this order, everyone was shot, indiscriminately. Now any retreat of the army was punishable by firing squad. And no one understood why the soldier slept - they shot everyone.

Today, many historians say that Stalin's order No. 227 was the basis for the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad. In fact, it is impossible to answer this question unequivocally. History, as you know, does not tolerate the subjunctive mood, but it is important to understand that Germany by that time was at war with almost the whole world, and her advance to Stalingrad was extremely difficult, during which the Wehrmacht troops lost about half of their regular strength. To this it must also be added that the Soviet soldier knew how to die, which is repeatedly emphasized in the memoirs of the generals of the Wehrmacht.

The course of the battle

In August 1942, it became absolutely clear that the main target of the German strike was Stalingrad. The city began to prepare for defense.

In the second half of August, reinforced troops of the 6th German Army under the command of Friedrich Paulus (then still just a general) and the troops of the 4th Panzer Army under the command of Hermann Gott moved to Stalingrad. On the part of the Soviet Union, armies took part in the defense of Stalingrad: the 62nd Army under the command of Anton Lopatin and the 64th Army under the command of Mikhail Shumilov. In the south of Stalingrad was the 51st Army of General Kolomiets and the 57th Army of General Tolbukhin.

August 23, 1942 was the most terrible day of the first part of the defense of Stalingrad. On this day, the German Luftwaffe launched a powerful airstrike on the city. Historical documents indicate that over 2,000 sorties were flown on that day alone. On the next day, the evacuation of civilians across the Volga began. It should be noted that on August 23, German troops managed to reach the Volga in a number of sectors of the front. It was a narrow strip of land north of Stalingrad, but Hitler was delighted with the success. These successes were achieved by the 14th Panzer Corps of the Wehrmacht.

Despite this, the commander of the 14th Panzer Corps von Wittersgyen turned to General Paulus with a report in which he said that it was better for the German troops to leave this city, since with such enemy resistance it was impossible to succeed. So much von Wittersgjen was struck by the courage of the defenders of Stalingrad. For this, the general was immediately removed from command and put on trial.

On August 25, 1942, fighting began in the vicinity of Stalingrad. In fact, the Battle of Stalingrad, which we are briefly reviewing today, began on this very day. The battles were fought not only for every house, but literally for every floor. A situation was often observed when "puff pies" were formed: on one floor of the house there were German troops, and on the other floor there were Soviet troops. This is how the city battle began, where German tanks no longer had their decisive advantage.

On September 14, the troops of the 71st Infantry Division of Germany, commanded by General Hartmann, managed to reach the Volga in a narrow corridor. If we recall what Hitler said about the reasons for the offensive campaign of 1942, then the main goal was achieved - shipping along the Volga was stopped. However, the Fuehrer, under the influence of successes in the course of the offensive campaign, demanded that the Battle of Stalingrad be ended with the complete defeat of the Soviet troops. As a result, a situation arose when Soviet troops could not retreat because of Stalin's order 227, and German troops were forced to advance because Hitler maniacally wanted it.

It became obvious that the Battle of Stalingrad would be the place where one of the army was completely killed. The general alignment of forces was clearly not in favor of the German side, since the army of General Paulus had 7 divisions, the number of which was decreasing every day. Along with this, the Soviet command transferred 6 fresh divisions in full equipment here. By the end of September 1942, in the Stalingrad region, 7 divisions of General Paulus were opposed by about 15 Soviet divisions. And these are only the official army units, where the militias, of which there were a lot in the city, are not counted.

On September 13, 1942, the battle for the center of Stalingrad began. The battles were fought for every street, for every house, for every floor. There were no more buildings left in the city that were not destroyed. To demonstrate the events of those days, it is necessary to mention the summary for September 14:

7 hours 30 minutes. German troops went to Akademicheskaya Street.
7 hours 40 minutes. The first battalion of mechanized forces is completely cut off from the main force.
7 hours 50 minutes. Fierce battles are being waged in the area of the Mamaev Kurgan and the railway station.
8 ocloc'k. The station was taken by German troops.
8 hours 40 minutes. We managed to recapture the station.
9 hours 40 minutes. The station was captured by the Germans again.
10 hours 40 minutes. The enemy is half a kilometer from the command post.
13 hours 20 minutes. The station is ours again.

And this is only half of one typical day in the battles for Stalingrad. It was a city war, for all the horrors of which the troops of Paulus were not ready. In total, from September to November, it was repelled in more than 700 attacks by German troops!

On the night of September 15, the 13th Guards Rifle Division, commanded by General Rodimtsev, was transferred to Stalingrad. Only on the first day of the battles of this division, it lost more than 500 people. At that time, the Germans managed to significantly advance towards the center of the city, as well as capture the height "102" or, more simply, Mamayev Kurgan. The 62nd Army, which fought the main defensive battles, these days had a command post, which was only 120 meters away from the enemy.

During the second half of September 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad continued with the same ferocity. At this time, many German generals were already perplexed why they were fighting for this city and for each of its streets. At the same time, Halder had repeatedly emphasized by this time that the German army was in an extreme degree of overwork. In particular, the general spoke of an imminent crisis, including because of the weakness of the flanks, where the Italians were very reluctant to fight. Halder openly addressed Hitler, saying that the German army did not have reserves and resources for a simultaneous offensive campaign in Stalingrad and the North Caucasus. By a decision of 24 September, Franz Halder was removed from his post as chief of the general staff of the German army. His place was taken by Kurt Zeisler.

During September and October, there was no significant change in the state of affairs at the front. Likewise, the Battle of Stalingrad was one huge cauldron in which Soviet and German troops destroyed each other. The confrontation reached its climax, when the troops were a few meters from each other, and the battles were literally in the bayonet. Many historians note the irrationality of the conduct of hostilities at the Battle of Stalingrad. In fact, this was the moment when it was not the art of war that came to the fore, but human qualities, the desire to survive and the desire to win.

For the entire time of the defensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, the troops of the 62nd and 64th armies almost completely changed their composition. From what did not change, there were only the name of the army, as well as the composition of the headquarters. As for ordinary soldiers, it was later calculated that the lifetime of one soldier during the Battle of Stalingrad was 7.5 hours.

Start of offensive actions

At the beginning of November 1942, the Soviet command already realized that the German offensive on Stalingrad had exhausted itself. The Wehrmacht troops no longer had that power, and were pretty battered in battles. Therefore, reserves began to flock to the city more and more in order to conduct a counter-offensive operation. These reserves began to accumulate secretly in the northern and southern outskirts of the city.

On November 11, 1942, the Wehrmacht troops, consisting of 5 divisions, commanded by General Paulus, made a last attempt at a decisive assault on Stalingrad. It is important to note that this offensive was very close to victory. In almost all sectors of the front, the Germans managed to advance to such a stage that no more than 100 meters remained to the Volga. But the Soviet troops managed to hold back the offensive, and in mid-November 12 it became clear that the offensive had exhausted itself.

Preparations for the counter-offensive of the Red Army were carried out in the strictest secrecy. This is quite understandable, and you can demonstrate it clearly with the help of one very simple example. Until now, it is absolutely unknown who is the author of the outline of the offensive operation at Stalingrad, but it is known for certain that the map of the transition of Soviet troops to the offensive existed in a single copy. Also noteworthy is the fact that literally 2 weeks before the start of the Soviet offensive, postal communication between families and soldiers was completely suspended.

On November 19, 1942, at 6:30 in the morning, artillery preparation began. After that, the Soviet troops went on the offensive. Thus began the famous Operation Uranus. And here it is important to note that such a development of events was completely unexpected for the Germans. At this point, the disposition was as follows:

90% of the territory of Stalingrad was under the control of the troops of Paulus.
Soviet troops controlled only 10% of the cities located on the Volga itself.

General Paulus later stated that on the morning of November 19, the German headquarters was convinced that the Russian offensive was purely tactical. And only by the evening of that day, the general realized that his entire army was under the threat of encirclement. The response was lightning fast. The order was given to the 48th Panzer Corps, which was in the German reserve, to immediately move into battle. And here Soviet historians say that the late entry of the 48th Army into battle was due to the fact that field mice gnawed electronics in tanks, and precious time was lost during the period of its repair.

On November 20, a massive offensive began in the south of the Stalingrad Front. The front line of the German defense was almost completely destroyed thanks to a powerful artillery strike, but in the depths of the defense, the troops of General Eremenko met with terrible resistance.

On November 23, in the area of the city of Kalach, a German group of troops with a total number of about 320 people was surrounded. Later, within a few days, it was possible to completely encircle the entire German group located in the Stalingrad region. Initially, it was assumed that about 90,000 Germans were surrounded, but it soon became apparent that this number was disproportionately larger. The total encirclement was about 300 thousand people, 2000 guns, 100 tanks, 9000 trucks.

Hitler was faced with an important task. It was necessary to determine what to do with the army: to leave it surrounded or to make attempts to leave it. At this time, Albert Speer assured Hitler that he can easily provide the troops that are in the Stalingrad encirclement with everything they need through aviation. Hitler was just waiting for such a message, because he still believed that the Battle of Stalingrad could be won. As a result, the 6th Army of General Paulus was forced to take up a perimeter defense. In fact, it stifled the outcome of the battle. After all, the main trump cards of the German army were on the offensive, not on the defensive. Nevertheless, the German group, which went over to the defensive, was very strong. But at this time it turned out that the promise of Albert Speer to equip the 6th Army with everything necessary was impracticable.

It turned out to be impossible to capture the positions of the 6th German army, which was on the defensive, outright. The Soviet command realized that a long and difficult assault lay ahead. At the beginning of December, it became obvious that a huge number of troops, which had enormous strength, had been surrounded. It was possible to win in such a situation only by attracting no less force. Moreover, very good planning was needed to succeed in the fight against the organized German army.

At this point, in early December 1942, the German command created the Don Army Group. Erich von Manstein took over command of this army. The task of the army was simple - to break through to the troops who were surrounded in order to help them get out of it. 13 panzer divisions moved to the aid of Paulus's troops. The operation, dubbed "Winter Thunderstorm", began on December 12, 1942. Additional tasks of the troops that moved the direction of the 6th Army were: protection of Rostov-on-Don. After all, the fall of this city would speak of a complete and decisive failure on the entire southern front. The first 4 days, this offensive of the German troops was successful.

Stalin, after the successful implementation of Operation Uranus, demanded that his generals develop a new plan to encircle the entire German group located in the Rostov-on-Don area. As a result, on December 16, a new offensive by the Soviet army began, during which the 8th Italian Army was defeated in the first days. Nevertheless, the troops did not manage to reach Rostov, since the movement of German tanks to Stalingrad forced the Soviet command to change their plans. At this time, the 2nd Infantry Army of General Malinovsky was withdrawn from its positions and was concentrated in the area of the Meshkov River, where one of the decisive events of December 1942 took place. It was here that Malinovsky's troops managed to stop the German tank units. By December 23, the thinned tank corps could no longer move forward, and it became obvious that it would not get to Paulus's troops.

Surrender to German troops

On January 10, 1943, a decisive operation began to destroy the German troops who were surrounded. One of the most important events of these days relates to January 14, when the only German airfield, which was still functioning at that time, was captured. After that, it became obvious that the army of General Paulus did not even have a theoretical chance of breaking out of the encirclement. After that, it became absolutely obvious to everyone that the Soviet Union won the Battle of Stalingrad. These days Hitler, speaking on German radio, announced that Germany needed a general mobilization.

On January 24, Paulus sent a telegram to the German headquarters, where he said that the catastrophe at Stalingrad was inevitable. He literally demanded permission to surrender in order to save those German soldiers who were still alive. Hitler forbade surrender.

On February 2, 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad was completed. More than 91,000 German soldiers surrendered. 147,000 killed Germans lay on the battlefield. Stalingrad was completely destroyed. As a result, in early February, the Soviet command was forced to create a special Stalingrad grouping of troops, which was engaged in clearing the city of corpses, as well as demining.

We briefly reviewed the Battle of Stalingrad, which brought about a radical change in the course of the Second World War. The Germans not only suffered a crushing defeat, but they were now required to make incredible efforts in order to keep the strategic initiative on their side. But this did not happen anymore.

In July 1942, when the enemy strike force broke through into the great bend of the Don, the greatest battle of the Second World War began. For several months in a vast area where the Don is almost close to the Volga, the flame of continuous fierce battles raged. The fascist German generals did not spare anything in order to reach the banks of the Volga and gain a foothold there.

By mid-July, it became clear to the Soviet command that the enemy was striving to break through to the Volga in the Stalingrad region, to capture this important strategic point and the largest industrial region. Long ago, Hitler's plan to seize the Soviet Union at lightning speed burst. The Nazis survived a terrible winter. But by the summer, taking advantage of the absence of a second front, they were able to transfer over 50 additional divisions from West to East, mobilize allied forces and all reserves and create a significant superiority of forces in the South-West direction. Hitler and his generals made a decisive stake on this summer offensive, believing that now they would definitely achieve the desired turning point in the war.

The southern group of German fascist armies was given the task of reaching the Volga at all costs and capturing Stalingrad. Capture of Stalingrad for the Nazis was of great importance, he threatened from the flank the Hitlerite armies advancing in the Caucasus. In July, having broken through the defenses of our southwestern front, the fascist troops reached the bend of the Don. A difficult situation was created. The Stalingrad direction was poorly covered. It was all about time. The impetuous dash of the fascist armies and the city will become their prey. But the Soviet command urgently allocated two reserve armies. A defensive line was created between the Don and the Volga - the Stalingrad Front arose.

And the city itself immediately turned into a military camp. Everything was done to get as many women, children and old people out of it as possible. Every day 180 thousand Stalingraders went out to build defensive lines on the far and near approaches to the city. Fifty thousand Stalingraders took up rifles.

Throughout the second half of July and August, fierce, bloody battles took place in the Stalingrad direction. By the end of August 23, the Nazis, at the cost of huge losses, managed to break through to the Volga, north of Stalingrad. Wave after wave went to Stalingrad "JUNKERS" and "HENKELI", with barbaric ruthlessness, dropping hundreds of tons of bombs on residential areas of the city. Buildings collapsed, huge pillars of fire rose to it, the whole city was enveloped in smoke - the glow of burning Stalingrad could be seen from tens of kilometers away.

From that day on, the Nazis began to systematically bomb the city. And on the ground, Hitler's tanks and infantry continuously and fiercely attacked, the artillery did not stop. Mortal danger looms over the city. It was simply impossible to live in such a city, but to live and fight, to live in order to win - it was necessary. And the Stalingraders proved it. Another 75 thousand volunteers went to the forefront to defend every meter of their native land with heroic perseverance. And in the city itself, everyone worked, not knowing rest, under bombs and shells day and night. Guns, tanks, mortars were continuously repaired.

In mid-September, the enemy broke through to the Volga in the center of the city and along the banks of the Tsaritsa River. The battles were already on the streets. The Nazis stepped up the onslaught. Almost 500 tanks took part in the storming of Stalingrad; enemy aircraft dropped almost a million bombs on the city.

During the year of the war, the fascists have already well learned the courage of the Soviet people. But what they encountered in Stalingrad was unparalleled. Many European countries were conquered by the Nazis. Sometimes 2-3 weeks were enough for them to capture the whole country. Here it took months to cross one street, weeks to take one house. The battles continued for every floor, for every room. Hot hand-to-hand fights broke out on the stairs, in attics, in basements. Houses, or rather the ruins of houses, passed from hand to hand more than once.

September, October, half of November passed in continuous battles. The enraged Nazis still hoped to take Stalingrad by winter. They did not even suspect that at this time the Soviet command had already developed a plan to defeat the fascist troops at Stalingrad.

On the morning of November 19, the shock groupings of the troops of the Southwestern Front under the command of General N.F. Vatutin and the Don Front under the command of General K.K. Rokossovsky went on the offensive. The strike group of the Southwestern Front broke through the enemy's defenses and advanced 30-35 km behind enemy lines. The shock group of the Don Front wedged into the enemy's defenses by 3-5 km. Troops of the Stalingrad Front under the command of General A.I. Eremenko launched a counteroffensive on November 20. The front's troops broke through the enemy's defenses, launched a swift offensive in the northwestern direction, and on November 23 united with the troops of the Southwestern Front. Thus, in the Stalingrad area, despite the fierce resistance of the enemy, a large grouping of 20 German and 2 Romanian divisions with a total strength of over 300 tons was surrounded. with a lot of military equipment and weapons. In addition, during the offensive from November 19 to 30, 5 enemy divisions were captured and 7 divisions were defeated.

From 23 to 30 November, the main efforts of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts were aimed at creating a solid blockade of the encircled group and strengthening the position of their troops on the outer line. By November 30, the outer front of the encirclement passed along the line of the Chir River, the settlements of Verkhne-Kurmoyarskaya, north of Kotelnikovo.

At the end of November, the fascist German command formed Army Group Don under the command of General Field Marshal Manstein in order to release the encircled grouping. The main forces of Army Group Don were concentrated in the Kotelnikovo and Tormosin areas. Army Group Don was supposed to attack from these areas, break through to the encircled grouping and restore the lost position. On December 12, the enemy launched an offensive from the Kotelnikovo area along the railway to Stalingrad. Having created some superiority in forces here, the enemy by December 16 He broke through to the line of the Esaulovsky Aksai River.On December 19, the enemy resumed the offensive and after 4 days of fighting went to the Myshkova River, where he was stopped by the organized defense of the 2nd Guards Army under the command of General R.Ya. Malinovsky.

After the encirclement of the 6th and 4th tank armies, the Soviet command decided to defeat the 8th Italian army and the enemy troops thrown back to the Chir and Don rivers in order to move the outer front from the encirclement area by 150-200 km and exclude any possibility for the enemy to release the surrounded group. To this end, it was planned to deliver two strikes in converging directions: from the north - from the Upper Mamon area and from the east - from the area north of Chernyshevskaya in the general direction to Morozovsk. The offensive of the troops of the Southwestern Front began on December 16. The main strike group of the front broke through the enemy's defenses south of Upper Mamon and reached the southern bank of the Boguchar River by December 18. Developing the offensive from December 22 to December 24, they surrounded and then destroyed the main forces of the 8th Italian Army and the left wing of Army Group Don. By December 31, Soviet troops entrenched themselves on the line of Novaya Kalitva, Chertkovo, Millerovo, Chernyshkovsky. The Southwestern Front completely destroyed or captured 5 divisions and 3 brigades of Italian troops and defeated 6 German and Romanian divisions.The successful offensive of the Southwestern Front created favorable conditions for the destruction of the enemy grouping in the Kotelnikovo area.

On December 24, the troops of the Stalingrad Front launched a decisive offensive and on December 26 reached the southern bank of the Esaulovsky Aksai River, and by the morning of December 29 they captured Kotelnikovo and continued to develop the offensive in the southwestern direction, and part of the forces on Tormosin. On December 31, the front's troops reached the line west of Tormosin, Nizhne-Kurmoyarskaya, Komissarovsky, and east of Zimovniki.

By the beginning of January, the outer front of the encirclement was removed from the Stalingrad region by 170-250 km. The position of the encircled enemy forces deteriorated significantly. Stocks of ammunition, foodstuffs, fuel and medicines were sharply reduced. The air supply did not satisfy even the minimal needs of the encircled troops.

; The elimination of the enemy grouping surrounded in the Stalingrad region was entrusted to the troops of the Don Front under the command of General K.K. Rokossovsky. The Soviet command, seeking to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, on January 8 presented the enemy command with an ultimatum to end resistance, which was rejected. On January 10, the troops of the Don Front began to destroy the group. The main blow was delivered from the area south-west of Vertyachiy in the direction of the Krasny Oktyabr plant, auxiliary strikes - from the Varvarovka area in the direction of the Basargino station and from the area south-west of Erzovka to Gorodishche. and on January 17 they approached the inner defensive line of the city.After 5 days of preparation, the Soviet troops resumed the offensive and on January 25 broke into Stalingrad from the west and dismembered the encircled grouping into 2 parts. Field Marshal Paulus. On February 2, after a powerful artillery fire strike, Soviet troops eliminated the last enemy grouping in the northern part of the city. Stalingrad.

In total, during the Battle of Stalingrad, 48 divisions and 3 brigades of the enemy were defeated, which accounted for 20% of all his forces operating on the Soviet-German front. The victory of the Soviet Army at Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War and World War II.

As a result of a successful counteroffensive at Stalingrad, the Soviet Army seized the strategic initiative and, already in January 1943, launched a general offensive on a huge front, starting a massive expulsion of the enemy from the USSR.

The fascist command could not imagine that their so carefully developed plan suffered a complete defeat, and the troops who were surrounded did not yet believe that they were doomed. Therefore, when our command, in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, presented the Nazis with an ultimatum to surrender on January 8, 1943, they refused. However, on February 2, the Nazis were forced to surrender completely.

The Nazis suffered colossal losses: more than 147 thousand were killed, more than 90 thousand soldiers and officers surrendered, including 24 generals. 750 aircraft, 1,550 tanks, 6,700 guns, more than 8,000 machine guns, 90,000 rifles were captured.

The defeat of the enemy on the Volga was the largest military-political event of the Second World War. The great battle, which ended with the encirclement, defeat and capture of a select enemy grouping, marked the beginning of a radical change both in the course of the Great Patriotic War and the entire Second World War. The Red Army has demonstrated its indestructible strength, superiority over the German fascist military machine. This victory means a complete failure of the military doctrine of the German fascist army. Our strategies, operational art and tactics have stood the rigors of a test. The Soviet Armed Forces carried out an operation that, in terms of its results and consequences, was unmatched in the history of warfare.

But this is not the only meaning of the Battle of Stalingrad. It undermined the faith of Hitler's soldiers in victory, she frightened Hitler's allies - the fascist rulers of Italy, Hungary, Romania, so much that they began to look for opportunities to move away from the Fuhrer. The victory of the fascist troops at Stalingrad was supposed to be a signal for an open attack against the Soviet Union by Japan and Turkey. The defeat of the Nazis forced Japan and Turkey to abandon their plans.

The victory of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad intensified the struggle of anti-fascists in all European countries: the ground under the feet of the occupiers in France and Poland, in Bulgaria and Holland, in Belgium, Norway caught fire ...

The defeat of the Nazis at Stalingrad was the beginning of their defeat throughout Europe. And it is no coincidence that the streets and squares of many European cities after the war were named after the city on the Volga.

Seventy-one years ago, the Battle of Stalingrad ended - the battle that finally changed the course of World War II. On February 2, 1943, the German troops surrounded off the banks of the Volga surrendered. I dedicate this photo album to this significant event.

1. The Soviet pilot is at the personalized Yak-1B fighter, donated to the 291st Fighter Aviation Regiment by collective farmers in the Saratov Region. The inscription on the fuselage of the fighter: “For the division of the Hero of the Soviet Union V.I. from the collective farm "Signal of revolution" in Voroshilovsky district of Saratov region ". Winter 1942 - 1943

2. The Soviet pilot is at the personalized Yak-1B fighter, donated to the 291st Fighter Aviation Regiment by collective farmers in the Saratov Region.

3. A Soviet soldier demonstrates to his comrades German guard bots, captured, among other things, German property near Stalingrad. 1943 g.

4. German 75-mm cannon RaK 40 on the outskirts of a village near Stalingrad.

5. A dog sits in the snow against the backdrop of a column of Italian troops retreating from Stalingrad. December 1942

7. Soviet soldiers walk past the corpses of German soldiers in Stalingrad. 1943 g.

8. Soviet soldiers listen to the accordion player at Stalingrad. 1943 g.

9. The Red Army men attack the enemy at Stalingrad. 1942 g.

10. Soviet infantry attacking the enemy at Stalingrad. 1943 g.

11. Soviet field hospital near Stalingrad. 1942 g.

12. A medical instructor bandages the head of a wounded soldier before sending him to the rear hospital on a dog sled. Stalingrad region. 1943 g.

13. A captured German soldier in ersatz-felt boots in a field near Stalingrad. 1943 g.

14. Soviet soldiers in battle in the destroyed workshop of the Krasny Oktyabr plant in Stalingrad. January 1943

15. Infantrymen of the 4th Romanian Army on vacation at the StuG III Ausf. F on the road near Stalingrad. November-December 1942

16. The bodies of German soldiers on the road southwest of Stalingrad by an abandoned Renault AHS truck. February-April 1943

17. Captured German soldiers in destroyed Stalingrad. 1943 g.

18. Romanian soldiers with a 7.92 mm ZB-30 machine gun in a trench near Stalingrad.

19. An infantryman takes aim with a submachine gun the one lying on the armor of a Soviet American-made M3 "Stuart" tank with its own name "Suvorov". Don front. Stalingrad region. November 1942

20. Commander of the XI Army Corps of the Wehrmacht, Colonel General to Karl Strecker (1884-1973, with his back in the center left) surrenders to the representatives of the Soviet command in Stalingrad. 02.02.1943 g.

21. A group of German infantrymen during an attack in the Stalingrad area. 1942 g.

22. Civilians at the construction of anti-tank ditches. Stalingrad. 1942 g.

23. One of the units of the Red Army in the Stalingrad area. 1942 g.

24. Colonel General to the Wehrmacht Friedrich Paulus (Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus, 1890-1957, right) with officers at the command post near Stalingrad. Second from right - Paulus's adjutant Colonel Wilhelm Adam (Wilhelm Adam, 1893-1978). December 1942

25. On the crossing of the Volga to Stalingrad. 1942 g.

26. Refugees from Stalingrad during a halt. September 1942

27. Guardsmen of Lieutenant Levchenko's reconnaissance company during reconnaissance on the outskirts of Stalingrad. 1942 g.

28. The fighters take their starting positions. Stalingrad front. 1942 g.

29. Evacuation of the plant across the Volga. Stalingrad. 1942 g.

30. Burning Stalingrad. Anti-aircraft artillery is firing at German aircraft. Stalingrad, "Fallen Fighters" Square. 1942 g.

31. Meeting of the Military Council of the Stalingrad Front: from left to right - Khrushchev N.S., Kirichenko A.I., Secretary of the Stalingrad Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks A.S. Chuyanov.and front commander Colonel-General to A.I. Eremenko Stalingrad. 1942 g.

32. A group of machine gunners of the 120th (308th) Guards Rifle Division, under the command of A. Sergeev,conducts reconnaissance during street battles in Stalingrad. 1942 g.

33. Red Navy men of the Volga military flotilla during a landing operation in the Stalingrad area. 1942 g.

34. Military Council of the 62nd Army: from left to right - Chief of Staff of the Army N.I.Krylov, Army Commander V.I. Chuikov, member of the Military Council K.A. Gurov.and the commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Division A.I. Rodimtsev. District of Stalingrad. 1942 g.

35. Soldiers of the 64th Army are fighting for a house in one of the districts of Stalingrad. 1942 g.

36. Commander of the Don Front, Lieutenant General t Rokossovsky K.K. in a combat position in the region of Stalingrad. 1942 g.

37. Fight in the Stalingrad area. 1942 g.

38. Fight for a house on Gogol Street. 1943 g.

39. Baking bread on your own. Stalingrad front. 1942 g.

40. Fights in the city center. 1943 g.

41. Storming the railway station. 1943 g.

42. Long-range gunmen of junior lieutenant I. Snegirev are firing from the left bank of the Volga. 1943 g.

43. A military orderly carries a wounded soldier of the Red Army. Stalingrad. 1942 g.

44. Soldiers of the Don Front are moving forward to a new firing line in the area of the surrounded Stalingrad group of Germans. 1943 g.

45. Soviet sappers pass through the destroyed snow-covered Stalingrad. 1943 g.

46. Captured Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus (1890-1957) gets out of a GAZ-M1 vehicle at the 64th Army headquarters in Beketovka, Stalingrad Region. 01/31/1943

47. Soviet soldiers climb the stairs of a destroyed house in Stalingrad. January 1943

48. Soviet troops in battle at Stalingrad. January 1943

49. Soviet soldiers in battle among destroyed buildings in Stalingrad. 1942 g.

50. Soviet soldiers attack enemy positions in the Stalingrad area. January 1943

51. Italian and German prisoners leave Stalingrad after surrender. February 1943

52. Soviet soldiers move through the destroyed workshop of the plant in Stalingrad during the battle.

53. Soviet light tank T-70 with an amphibious assault on the Stalingrad front. November 1942

54. German artillerymen are firing on the approaches to Stalingrad. In the foreground, a killed Red Army soldier in cover. 1942 g.

55. Conducting political information in the 434th Fighter Aviation Regiment. In the first row, from left to right: Heroes of the Soviet Union, senior lieutenant I.F. Golubin, captain V.P. Babkov, Lieutenant N.A. Karnachenok (posthumously), there is a regiment commissar, battalion commissar V.G. Shootermashchuk. In the background is a Yak-7B fighter with the inscription “Death for Death!” On the fuselage. July 1942

56. Wehrmacht infantry at the destroyed plant "Barricades" in Stalingrad.

57. Red Army soldiers with an accordion celebrate the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad on the Square of Fallen Fighters in liberated Stalingrad. January
1943 g.

58. Soviet mechanized unit during the offensive at Stalingrad. November 1942

59. Soldiers of Colonel Vasily Sokolov's 45th Infantry Division at the Krasny Oktyabr plant in destroyed Stalingrad. December 1942

60. Soviet tanks T-34/76 at the Square of the Fallen Fighters in Stalingrad. January 1943

61. German infantry take cover behind stacks of steel billets (blooms) at the Krasny Oktyabr plant during the battles for Stalingrad. 1942 g.

62. Sniper Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Zaitsev explains the task ahead to the newcomers. Stalingrad. December 1942

63. Soviet snipers enter a firing position in the destroyed Stalingrad. The legendary sniper of the 284th rifle division Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev and his students are ambushed. December 1942.

64. Italian chauffeur killed on the road near Stalingrad. Nearby is a FIAT SPA CL39 truck. February 1943

65. Unknown Soviet submachine gunner with PPSh-41 during the battles for Stalingrad. 1942 g.

66. Red Army soldiers are fighting among the ruins of a destroyed workshop in Stalingrad. November 1942

67. Red Army soldiers are fighting among the ruins of a destroyed workshop in Stalingrad. 1942 g.

68. German prisoners of war captured by the Red Army in Stalingrad. January 1943

69. Calculation of the Soviet 76-mm divisional gun ZiS-3 in position at the Krasny Oktyabr plant in Stalingrad. 10.12.1942

70. Unknown Soviet machine gunner with DP-27 in one of the destroyed houses in Stalingrad. 10.12.1942

71. Soviet artillery fires at the encircled German troops in Stalingrad. Presumably , in the foreground is a 76-mm regimental gun of the 1927 model. January 1943

72. Soviet assault aircraft iki IL-2 take off on a combat mission near Stalingrad. January 1943

73. Pilot exterminate l of the 237th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 220th Fighter Aviation Division of the 16th Air Army of the Stalingrad Front Sergeant Ilya Mikhailovich Chumbarev at the wreckage of a German reconnaissance aircraft shot down by him with the help of a ram Ica Focke-Wulf Fw 189.1942

74. Soviet artillerymen are firing at German positions in Stalingrad from a 152-mm howitzer-gun ML-20 of the 1937 model. January 1943

75. The crew of the Soviet 76.2-mm cannon ZiS-3 is firing in Stalingrad. November 1942

76. Soviet soldiers sit by the fire during a lull in Stalingrad. The second soldier from the left has a captured German MP-40 submachine gun. 07.01.1943 g.

77. Cameraman Valentin Ivanovich Orlyankin (1906-1999) in Stalingrad. 1943 g.

78. The commander of the assault group of the Marine Corps P. Golberg in one of the workshops of the destroyed plant "Barricades". 1943 g.

82. Soviet troops on the offensive at Stalingrad, the famous Katyusha rocket launchers are in the foreground, T-34 tanks are behind.

83. Soviet troops on the offensive, in the foreground a cart with food, behind the Soviet T-34 tanks. Stalingrad front.

84. Soviet soldiers attack with the support of T-34 tanks in the area of the city of Kalach. November 1942

85. Soldiers of the 13th Guards Rifle Division in Stalingrad during their rest hours. December 1942

86. Soviet T-34 tanks with armored soldiers on the march in the snow-covered steppe during the Stalingrad strategic offensive operation. November 1942

87. Soviet T-34 tanks with armored soldiers on the march in the snow-covered steppe during the Middle Don offensive operation. December 1942

88. Tankers of the 24th Soviet Tank Corps (from December 26, 1942 - the 2nd Guards) on the armor of a T-34 tank during the liquidation of the grouping of German troops surrounded at Stalingrad. December 1942

89. The calculation of the Soviet 120-mm regimental mortar of the mortar battery of the battalion commander Bezdetko is firing at the enemy. Stalingrad region. 01/22/1943

90. Captive field-general

93. Red Army prisoners who died of hunger and cold. The POW camp was located in the village of Bolshaya Rossoshka near Stalingrad. January 1943

94. German bombers Heinkel He-177A-5 from I./KG 50 at the airfield in Zaporozhye. These bombers were used to supply the German troops surrounded at Stalingrad. January 1943

96. Romanian prisoners of war taken prisoner near the village of Raspopinskaya near the town of Kalach. November-December 1942

97. Romanian prisoners of war taken prisoner near the village of Raspopinskaya near the town of Kalach. November-December 1942

98. GAZ-MM trucks used as fuel trucks while refueling at a station near Stalingrad. The engine hoods are covered with covers, instead of doors - canvas valves. Don Front, winter 1942-1943.