The Battle Of Stalingrad
The Nazis vs. The Soviet Union
By: Gracie T, Tyler G, Michael T, and Anna B
Key:
Allies:
Axis:
.
.
Important Dates/ Vocabulary
The Battle of Stalingrad started on July 17, 1942, and ended on
February 2, 1943.
Vocab:
De-stalinization- the policy of destroying the memory of Joseph
Stalin's death.
Controversial- rising to disagreement.
This is a
picture of
Joseph
Stalin
Geographic Location
The Battle of Stalingrad was located on the
Eastern Front of Russia right by the city of
Stalingrad.
Stalingrad was near two rivers in Russia,
The Volga River and The Don River.
The Battle of Stalingrad took place mostly
on flat land, except for Mamayev Kurgan, a
hill located above the city where extreme
fighting and violence was located.
This picture is a map of Stalingrad,
and the area around it.
Major leaders of the battle
Friedrich Paulus: Paulus led the drive on Stalingrad. His troops fought the defending Soviet troops holding
Stalingrad over three months in increasingly brutal urban warfare.
Hermann Hoth: He was the general of the 4th Panzer Army. He helped advanced to the north in support of the
Sixth Army's attempt to capture Stalingrad.
Vasili Chuikov: Chuikov was placed in command of the 64th Army. The 64th Army took part in the fighting
withdrawal to Stalingrad. Chuikov was also put in charge of the more important weak 62nd Army, which was to
hold Stalingrad itself.
Konstantin Rokossovsky: On December 28, Stalin gave Rokossovsky the task of mopping up the Stalingrad pocket.
He could use roughly 212,000 men 6,500 guns, 2,500 tanks, and 300 aircraft against the Germans
Technologies and Strategies used
Technologies used:
Guns●
German- Submachine gun: Mp 40 Schmeisser smg. Bolt Action Rifles: Mauser 98k rifle, Gewehr 41 rifle. Machine Guns:
MG42, MG38.
●
Russians- Submachine Guns: Ppsh-41 smg. Bolt Action Rifles: Mosin Nagant, Tokarev Self-Loading Rifle. Machine Guns:
DShK 1938.
Tanks●
German Side: Panzerkampfwagen III. Panzerkampfwagen IV.
●
Russian Side: KV 1 Heavy Tank, T-34 Medium Tank.
Aircraft/Bombs●
Fighter aircraft was used to drop bombs and shoot down below, and at other planes.
Strategies used:
●
Hugging the enemy was a tactic invented by Vasily Chuikov, which was when the Russians would move themselves up close to
the Germans, so the Germans couldn’t bomb the Russians without hurting themselves.
PPSh-41
SubMachine Gun
MP-40
SubMachine Gun
Casualties
In the Battle of Stalingrad, there were about 700,500 Soviet troop casualties, and
600,500 German casualties. In total almost two million people died combining military
deaths and civilian deaths during the Battle of Stalingrad, which is more deaths than
the entire U.S. Civil War.
This picture
shows dead
soldiers who
fought in the
battle.
This is a chart that
shows the
casualties of the
battle.
Timeline
July 17, 1942- The Battle
of Stalingrad begins when
Germany invades the city
of Stalingrad expecting to
quickly take it over.
December 1942- Hitler
orders field Field Marshal
Erich von Manstein, to
form a special army that
will rescue forces fighting
in the east.
September 1942- The
Russian troops grow
stronger, preventing the
German troops from
advancing.
November 1942- The
Russians regain control
of the majority of
Stalingrad.
January 1943- A harsh
winter settles in, and
German troops start
getting weaker and
decreasing in size.
February 1943- Russian
troops start closing in on
the Germans (“Hugging
the enemy”) forcing
them to surrender.
Interesting Facts
- The Germans gave the Battle of Stalingrad the nickname ‘Rattenkrieg’ meaning rat war because it took
place in every ruin of the city including destroyed buildings, basements, factories, and even sewers.
- Technology had a huge influence on the Battle of Stalingrad for both sides, for example, the only way
the Germans controlled Stalingrad initially was because of countless Air raids.
- The Battle of Stalingrad was the outcome of Hitler’s decision to invade Russia without declaring war
- For the Russians, the Battle of Stalingrad was considered the greatest Battle in WW2 due to their
strong victory against Germany
- The Battle of Stalingrad is considered to be one of the bloodiest battles in history and the bloodiest
battle of WW2
How Did this Battle Affect the War?
- The Battle of Stalingrad has a huge impact on WWII. If Russia didn’t win the Battle of
Stalingrad, then the outcome of the war could have been completely different since the city of
Stalingrad would be a huge advantage to Germany.
- The Battle of Stalingrad greatly impacted Russia because before the Battle of Stalingrad, the
Soviets mostly defended Russia from the Axis powers, but after defeating the Germans, they
stopped retreating, and started to advance on the Axis powers in Germany
- This was an extreme defeat for the Germans, and after losing they never regained control in the
East, so they withdrew their military forces.
What is Stalingrad like now?
Stalingrad is now named Volgograd, because in 1961, Nikita Khrushchev's
administration changed the name of the city to Volgograd ("Volga City") as part of his
program of de-Stalinization following Joseph Stalin's death, as he was trying to reduce
the "cult of personality". This action was and remains somewhat controversial, given
Stalingrad's importance as a symbol of resistance during the war.
This is Volgograd now
This is a picture of
stalingrad during
WW2 under smoke
from all the bombs
Video
5:15 - 6:24
Preview: This video summarizes everything
we talked about, Specifically how the
Russians took control of the Germans and
how they used the tactic of hugging the enemy.
Citations
History.com Staff. "Battle of Stalingrad." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
"Civil War Casualties." Civil War Trust. N.p., 2014. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
Lymbach, Raymond. Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2016 Battle of Stalingrad." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 July 2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
Images:
"Battle of Stalingrad." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Oct. 2016. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
"Images." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.