The turning point in the course of the Second World War was the great summary of events is not able to convey the special spirit of solidarity and heroism of the Soviet soldiers who participated in the battle.

Why was Stalingrad so important to Hitler? Historians identify several reasons that the Fuhrer wanted to take Stalingrad at all costs and did not give the order to retreat even when the defeat was obvious.

A large industrial city on the banks of the longest river in Europe - the Volga. Transport junction of important river and land routes that united the center of the country with the southern regions. Hitler, having captured Stalingrad, would not only cut the important transport artery of the USSR and create serious difficulties in supplying the Red Army, but would also reliably cover the German army advancing in the Caucasus.

Many researchers believe that the presence of Stalin in the name of the city made its capture important for Hitler from an ideological and propaganda point of view.

There is a point of view according to which there was a secret agreement between Germany and Turkey on its entry into the ranks of the allies immediately after the passage for the Soviet troops along the Volga was blocked.

Stalingrad battle. Summary of events

• The time frame of the battle: 07/17/42 - 02/02/43.
• Participated: from Germany - the reinforced 6th Army of Field Marshal Paulus and the Allied troops. From the side of the USSR - the Stalingrad Front, created on 07/12/42, under the command of first Marshal Timoshenko, from 07/23/42 - Lieutenant General Gordov, and from 08/09/42 - Colonel General Eremenko.
• Battle periods: defensive - from 17.07 to 11.18.42, offensive - from 11.19.42 to 02.02.43.

In turn, the defensive stage is divided into battles on the distant approaches to the city in the bend of the Don from 17.07 to 10.08.42, battles on the distant approaches in the interfluve of the Volga and Don from 11.08 to 12.09.42, battles in the suburbs and the city itself from 13.09 to 18.11 .42 years.

Losses on both sides were colossal. The Red Army lost almost 1,130,000 soldiers, 12,000 guns, and 2,000 aircraft.

Germany and the Allied countries lost almost 1.5 million soldiers.

defensive stage

• July 17th- the first serious clash between our troops and enemy forces on the banks
• August 23- enemy tanks came close to the city. German aviation began to regularly bomb Stalingrad.
• September 13- assault on the city. The glory of the workers of Stalingrad factories and factories thundered all over the world, who repaired damaged equipment and weapons under fire.
• October 14- The Germans launched an offensive military operation off the banks of the Volga in order to capture the Soviet bridgeheads.
• November 19- our troops went on the counteroffensive according to the plan of operation "Uranus".

The entire second half of the summer of 1942 was hot. The summary and chronology of the events of the defense indicate that our soldiers, with a shortage of weapons and a significant superiority in manpower from the enemy, did the impossible. They not only defended Stalingrad, but also went on the counteroffensive in difficult conditions of exhaustion, lack of uniforms and the harsh Russian winter.

Offensive and victory

As part of Operation Uranus, Soviet soldiers managed to surround the enemy. Until November 23, our soldiers strengthened the blockade around the Germans.

• 12 December- the enemy made a desperate attempt to break out of the encirclement. However, the breakthrough attempt was unsuccessful. Soviet troops began to compress the ring.
• December 17- The Red Army recaptured the German positions on the Chir River (the right tributary of the Don).
• December 24- ours advanced 200 km into the operational depth.
• Dec. 31- Soviet soldiers advanced another 150 km. The front line stabilized at the turn of Tormosin-Zhukovskaya-Komissarovsky.
• January 10- our offensive in accordance with the plan "Ring".
• January 26- The 6th German Army was divided into 2 groups.
• January 31- destroyed the southern part of the former 6th German army.
• February 02- liquidated the northern group of fascist troops. Our soldiers, the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad, won. The enemy capitulated. Field Marshal Paulus, 24 generals, 2500 officers and almost 100 thousand exhausted German soldiers were taken prisoner.

The Battle of Stalingrad brought great destruction. Photos of war correspondents captured the ruins of the city.

All the soldiers who took part in the significant battle proved to be courageous and brave sons of the Motherland.

Sniper Zaitsev Vasily, with aimed shots, destroyed 225 opponents.

Nikolai Panikakha - threw himself under an enemy tank with a bottle of combustible mixture. He sleeps forever on Mamayev Kurgan.

Nikolai Serdyukov - closed the embrasure of the enemy pillbox, silencing the firing point.

Matvey Putilov, Vasily Titaev - signalmen who established communication by clamping the ends of the wire with their teeth.

Gulya Koroleva - a nurse, carried dozens of seriously wounded soldiers from the battlefield near Stalingrad. Participated in the attack on the heights. The mortal wound did not stop the brave girl. She continued to shoot until the last minute of her life.

The names of many, many heroes - infantrymen, artillerymen, tankers and pilots - were given to the world by the Battle of Stalingrad. A brief summary of the course of hostilities is not able to perpetuate all the feats. Entire volumes of books have been written about these brave people who gave their lives for the freedom of future generations. Streets, schools, factories are named after them. The heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad must never be forgotten.

Significance of the Battle of Stalingrad

The battle was not only of grandiose proportions, but also of extremely significant political significance. The bloody war continued. The Battle of Stalingrad was its main turning point. It can be said without exaggeration that it was after the victory at Stalingrad that mankind gained hope for victory over fascism.

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Attention! The slide preview is for informational purposes only and may not represent the full extent of the presentation. If you are interested in this work, please download the full version.

Target: to introduce students to one of the most important battles in the history of the Great Patriotic War, to determine the stages, to find out the significance of the Battle of Stalingrad during the Great Patriotic War.

Tasks:

• to acquaint with the main events of the Battle of Stalingrad;
• reveal the reasons for the victory of the Soviet people in the battle on the Volga;
• develop skills in working with a map, additional literature, select, evaluate, analyze the studied material;
• to cultivate a sense of patriotism, pride and respect for compatriots for a perfect feat.

Equipment: map "Battle of Stalingrad", handout (cards - assignments), textbook Danilova A.A., Kosulina L.G., Brandt M.Yu. History of Russia XX - the beginning of the XXI century. M., "Enlightenment", 2009. Video clips from the movie "Stalingrad". In advance, students prepare messages about the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad.

Predicted results: students must show the ability to work with a map, video clips, a textbook. Prepare your own message and speak to the audience.

Lesson plan:

1. Stages of the Battle of Stalingrad.
2. Results and meaning.
3. Conclusion.

DURING THE CLASSES

I. Organizational moment. Greeting students

II. New topic

The topic of the lesson is recorded.

Teacher: Today in the lesson we have to analyze the main events of the battle of Stalingrad; characterize the significance of the Battle of Stalingrad as the beginning of a radical turning point in World War II; to reveal the reasons for the victory of the Soviet people in the battle on the Volga.

Problem task: Slide 1. Some Western historians and military leaders claim that the reasons for the defeat of the Nazi army at Stalingrad are the following: terrible cold, mud, snow.
Can we agree with this? Try to answer this question at the end of the lesson.

Assignment to students: listening to the teacher's story, draw up a thesis plan for the answer.

Teacher: Let's look at the map. In mid-July 1942, German troops rushed to Stalingrad - an important strategic point and the largest center of the defense industry.
The Battle of Stalingrad is divided into two periods:

I - July 17 - November 18, 1942 - defensive;
II - November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943 - counteroffensive, encirclement and defeat of German troops.

I period. July 17, 1942 Parts of the 62nd Soviet Army came into contact in the bend of the Don with the advanced units of the 6th Army of German troops under the command of General Paulus.
The city was preparing for defense: defensive structures were built, their total length was 3860 m. Anti-tank ditches were dug in the most important areas, the city's industry produced up to 80 types of military products. So, the tractor supplied the front with tanks, and the Krasny Oktyabr metallurgical plant - with mortars. (Video clip).
In the course of heavy fighting, the Soviet troops, showing stamina and heroism, thwarted the enemy’s plan to capture Stalingrad on the move. From July 17 to August 17, 1942, the Germans managed to advance no more than 60-80 km. (See map).
But still the enemy, albeit slowly, was approaching the city. The tragic day came on August 23, when the German 6th Army reached the western outskirts of Stalingrad, surrounding the city from the north. At the same time, the 4th Panzer Army, together with the Romanian units, advanced on Stalingrad from the southwest. Fascist aviation subjected the entire city to a brutal bombing attack, making 2,000 sorties. Residential areas and industrial facilities were destroyed, tens of thousands of civilians were killed. Embittered fascists decided to wipe the city off the face of the earth. (Video clip)
On September 13, the enemy, having introduced an additional 9 divisions and one brigade into battle, began to storm the city. The direct defense of the city was carried out by the 62nd and 64th armies (commanders - Generals Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich and Shumilov Mikhail Stepanovich).
Fighting began on the streets of the city. Soviet soldiers fought to the death, defending every five Volga lands.
"Not one step back! Stand to death!" - these words became the motto of the defenders of Stalingrad.
The famous Pavlov's house became the embodiment of the courage of Stalingraders.

Student message:“There is no land for us beyond the Volga” - this phrase of sniper Vasily Zaitsev became winged.

Student message: In one of the battles in mid-October, the signalman of the headquarters of the 308th Infantry Division Matvey Putilov performed an immortal feat.

Student message: As a symbol of immortal glory, the name of the Marine Mikhail Panikakha entered the history of Stalingrad.

Student message: The height dominating the city - Mamayev Kurgan, during the Battle of Stalingrad - was the place of the most fierce battles, the key position of the defense, which appeared in the reports as height 102.

Student message: During the defensive stage, residents of the city showed perseverance in the struggle for the city.

Student message: Paulus launched his last offensive on November 11, 1942, in a narrow area near the Red Barricades plant, where the Nazis won their last success.
Find the results of the defensive period in the textbook, page 216.
By mid-November, the offensive capabilities of the Germans had dried up.

II. The counteroffensive of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad began on November 19, 1942. Within the framework of this strategic plan, an operation was carried out to encircle the Nazi troops near Stalingrad, code-named "Uranus".

Viewing a video clip. The children complete the task - fill in the gaps in the text. ( Attachment 1 )

Questions:

• Which fronts participated in Operation Uranus?
• At what city did the main parts of the Soviet army unite?

Field Marshal Manstein, an assault tank group, was supposed to help Paulus.
After stubborn battles, Manstein's divisions approached the encircled troops from the southwest at a distance of 35-40 km, but the 2nd Guards Army under the command of General Malinovsky, who approached from the reserve, not only stopped the enemy, but also inflicted a crushing defeat on him.
At the same time, the offensive of the army group Gota was stopped, which was trying to break the encirclement in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe city of Kotelnikov.
According to the “Ring” plan (General Rokosovsky led the implementation of the operation), on January 10, 1943, Soviet troops began to defeat the fascist group.
On February 2, 1943, the encircled enemy group capitulated. Its commander-in-chief, General Field Marshal Paulus, was also captured.
Viewing a video clip.
Exercise. Put on the map "The defeat of the German troops at Stalingrad" ( Appendix 2 )

• The direction of the strikes of the Soviet troops;
• The direction of the counterattack of the Manstein tank group.

All actions of the Soviet troops during the Battle of Stalingrad were coordinated by Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov.
The victory in the Battle of Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical turning point in the course of not only the Great Patriotic War, but the entire Second World War.
- What is the essence of the concept of "radical change"? (The Germans lost their offensive fighting spirit. The strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Soviet command)
- Let's get back to the problem task: Some Western historians and military leaders say that the reasons for the defeat of the Nazi army at Stalingrad are the following: terrible cold, mud, snow.
slide 8.
– Can we agree with this? (Student answers)
Slide 9. “The Battle of Stalingrad is really a golden page in the military history of our people,” wrote the commander of the Stalingrad Front, General Eremenko. And one cannot but agree with this.

Poem(student reads)

In the heat of factories, houses, station.
Dust on a steep bank.
The voice of the Fatherland said to him:
"Don't hand over the city to the enemy!"
Rumbled in the bloody mist
Hundredth attack shaft,
Angry and stubborn, chest-deep in the ground,
The soldier stood to death.
He knew that there was no way back -
He defended Stalingrad...

Alexey Surkov

III. Outcome

To consolidate the material, complete the task on the cards (work in pairs).
(Annex 3 )
Stalingrad is a symbol of courage, steadfastness, heroism of Soviet soldiers. Stalingrad is a symbol of the power and greatness of our state. Near Stalingrad, the Red Army broke the back of the German fascist troops, and under the walls of Stalingrad, a foundation was laid for the destruction of fascism.

IV. Reflection

Grading, homework: p. 32,

Literature:

1. Alekseev M.N. Wreath of Glory "Battle of Stalingrad". M., Sovremennik, 1987
2. Alekseev S.P. A book to read on the history of our Motherland. M., "Enlightenment", 1991
3. Goncharuk V.A."Commemorative badges of cities - heroes." M., "Soviet Russia", 1986
4. Danilov A.A., Kosulina L.G., Brandt M.Yu. History of Russia XX - beginning of XX? century. M., "Enlightenment", 2009
5. Danilov A.A., Kosulina L.G. Workbook on the history of Russia Grade 9. Issue 2..M., "Enlightenment", 1998
6. Korneva T.A. Non-traditional lessons on the history of Russia of the twentieth century in grades 9, 11. Volgograd "Teacher", 2002

The battle for Stalingrad in terms of the duration and fierceness of the fighting, in terms of the number of people and military equipment participating, surpassed at that time all the battles of world history.

At certain stages, more than 2 million people, up to 2 thousand tanks, more than 2 thousand aircraft, up to 26 thousand guns participated in it on both sides. The fascist German troops lost more than 800 thousand soldiers and officers, as well as a large number of military equipment, weapons and equipment, killed, wounded, captured.

Defense of Stalingrad (now Volgograd)

In accordance with the plan of the summer offensive campaign of 1942, the German command, having concentrated large forces in the southwestern direction, expected to defeat the Soviet troops, go to the big bend of the Don, seize Stalingrad on the move and capture the Caucasus, and then resume the offensive in the Moscow direction.

For the attack on Stalingrad, the 6th Army (commander - Colonel General F. von Paulus) was allocated from Army Group B. By July 17, it included 13 divisions, in which there were about 270 thousand people, 3 thousand guns and mortars and about 500 tanks. They were supported by aviation of the 4th air fleet - up to 1200 combat aircraft.

The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command moved the 62nd, 63rd and 64th armies from its reserve to the Stalingrad direction. On July 12, on the basis of the field administration of the troops of the Southwestern Front, the Stalingrad Front was created under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union S. K. Timoshenko. On July 23, Lieutenant General V.N. Gordov was appointed commander of the front. The front also included the 21st, 28th, 38th, 57th combined arms and 8th air armies of the former Southwestern Front, and from July 30 - the 51st Army of the North Caucasian Front. At the same time, the 57th, as well as the 38th and 28th armies, on the basis of which the 1st and 4th tank armies were formed, were in reserve. The Volga military flotilla was subordinated to the front commander.

The newly created front began to fulfill the task, having only 12 divisions, in which there were 160 thousand soldiers and commanders, 2.2 thousand guns and mortars and about 400 tanks, the 8th Air Army had 454 aircraft.

In addition, 150-200 long-range bombers and 60 air defense fighters were involved. In the initial period of defensive actions near Stalingrad, the enemy outnumbered the Soviet troops by 1.7 times in personnel, by 1.3 times in artillery and tanks, and by more than 2 times in the number of aircraft.

On July 14, 1942, Stalingrad was declared under martial law. Four defensive bypasses were built on the outskirts of the city: outer, middle, inner and city. The entire population, including children, was mobilized for the construction of defensive structures. The factories of Stalingrad completely switched to the production of military products. Militia units, self-defense work units were created at factories and enterprises. Civilians, equipment of individual enterprises and material values ​​were evacuated to the left bank of the Volga.

Defensive battles began on the distant approaches to Stalingrad. The main efforts of the troops of the Stalingrad Front were concentrated in the large bend of the Don, where they occupied the defenses of the 62nd and 64th armies in order to prevent the enemy from forcing the river and breaking through it by the shortest route to Stalingrad. From July 17, the forward detachments of these armies fought defensive battles for 6 days at the turn of the Chir and Tsimla rivers. This allowed us to gain time to strengthen the defense at the main line. Despite the steadfastness, courage and perseverance shown by the troops, the armies of the Stalingrad Front failed to defeat the enemy groupings that had penetrated, and they had to retreat to the near approaches to the city.

On July 23-29, the 6th German Army made an attempt to encircle them with sweeping attacks on the flanks of the Soviet troops in the large bend of the Don, go to the Kalach region and break through to Stalingrad from the west. As a result of the stubborn defense of the 62nd and 64th armies and the counterattack of the formations of the 1st and 4th tank armies, the enemy's plan was thwarted.

Defense of Stalingrad. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

July 31, the German command turned the 4th Panzer Army Colonel General G. Goth from the Caucasus to the Stalingrad direction. On August 2, its advanced units reached Kotelnikovsky, creating a threat of a breakthrough to the city. Fighting began on the southwestern approaches to Stalingrad.

To facilitate the command and control of troops stretched out in a strip of 500 km, on August 7, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command formed a new one from several armies of the Stalingrad Front - the South-Eastern Front, the command of which was entrusted to Colonel General A. I. Eremenko. The main efforts of the Stalingrad Front were directed to the fight against the German 6th Army, which was advancing on Stalingrad from the west and northwest, and the South-Eastern Front was directed to the defense of the southwestern direction. On August 9-10, the troops of the South-Eastern Front launched a counterattack on the 4th Panzer Army and forced it to stop.

On August 21, the infantry of the 6th German Army crossed the Don and built bridges, after which the tank divisions moved to Stalingrad. At the same time, Gotha's tanks launched an offensive from the south and southwest. 23 August 4th Air Army von Richthofen subjected the city to a massive bombardment, dropping more than 1000 tons of bombs on the city.

Tank formations of the 6th Army moved towards the city, encountering almost no resistance, however, in the Gumrak area, they had to overcome the positions of anti-aircraft gun crews that had been put forward to fight the tanks until the evening. Nevertheless, on August 23, the 14th Panzer Corps of the 6th Army managed to break through to the Volga north of Stalingrad near the village of Latoshynka. The enemy wanted to break into the city on the move through its northern outskirts, however, along with the army units, self-defense units, the Stalingrad police, the 10th division of the NKVD troops, sailors of the Volga military flotilla, cadets of military schools stood up to defend the city.

The enemy's breakthrough to the Volga further complicated and worsened the position of the units defending the city. The Soviet command took measures to destroy the enemy grouping that had broken through to the Volga. Until September 10, the troops of the Stalingrad Front and the reserves of the Headquarters transferred to its structure launched continuous counterattacks from the north-west on the left flank of the 6th German Army. It was not possible to push the enemy back from the Volga, but the enemy offensive on the northwestern approaches to Stalingrad was suspended. The 62nd Army was cut off from the rest of the troops of the Stalingrad Front and was transferred to the South-Eastern Front.

Since September 12, the defense of Stalingrad was entrusted to the 62nd Army, commanded by General V. I. Chuikov, and troops of the 64th Army General M.S. Shumilov. On the same day, after another bombardment, German troops launched an attack on the city from all directions. In the north, the main target was Mamaev Kurgan, from the height of which the crossing over the Volga was clearly visible, in the center the German infantry made its way to the railway station, in the south, Goth's tanks, with the support of the infantry, gradually moved towards the elevator.

On September 13, the Soviet command decided to transfer the 13th Guards Rifle Division to the city. Having crossed the Volga for two nights, the guards threw back the German troops from the area of ​​the central crossing over the Volga, cleared many streets and quarters of them. On September 16, the troops of the 62nd Army, with the support of aviation, stormed the Mamaev Kurgan. Fierce battles for the southern and central parts of the city continued until the end of the month.

On September 21, on the front from Mamaev Kurgan to the Zatsaritsyno part of the city, the Germans launched a new offensive with the forces of five divisions. A day later, on September 22, the 62nd Army was cut into two parts: the Germans reached the central crossing north of the Tsaritsa River. From here they had the opportunity to view almost the entire rear of the army and conduct an offensive along the coast, cutting off the Soviet units from the river.

By September 26, the Germans managed to come close to the Volga in almost all areas. Nevertheless, Soviet troops continued to hold a narrow strip of the coast, and in some places even separate buildings at some distance from the embankment. Many objects changed hands many times.

The fighting in the city took on a protracted character. The troops of Paulus lacked the strength to finally throw the defenders of the city into the Volga, and the Soviet ones - to dislodge the Germans from their positions.

The struggle was for each building, and sometimes for part of the building, floor or basement. Snipers were active. The use of aviation and artillery, due to the proximity of enemy formations, became almost impossible.

From September 27 to October 4, active hostilities were waged on the northern outskirts for the villages of the Krasny Oktyabr and Barrikady factories, and from October 4 - for these factories themselves.

At the same time, the Germans were attacking in the center on Mamaev Kurgan and on the extreme right flank of the 62nd Army in the Orlovka area. By the evening of September 27, Mamaev Kurgan fell. An extremely difficult situation developed in the area of ​​the mouth of the Tsaritsa River, from where the Soviet units, experiencing an acute shortage of ammunition and food and losing control, began to cross over to the left bank of the Volga. The 62nd Army responded with counterattacks of the newly arriving reserves.

They were rapidly melting, however, the losses of the 6th Army took on catastrophic proportions.

It included almost all the armies of the Stalingrad Front, except for the 62nd. Commander was appointed General K. K. Rokossovsky. From the composition of the South-Eastern Front, whose troops fought in the city and to the south, the Stalingrad Front was formed under the command General A. I. Eremenko. Each front was directly subordinated to the Stavka.

Commander of the Don Front Konstantin Rokossovsky and General Pavel Batov (right) in a trench near Stalingrad. Photo reproduction. Photo: RIA Novosti

By the end of the first decade of October, enemy attacks began to weaken, but in the middle of the month Paulus launched a new assault. On October 14, the German troops, after a powerful air and artillery preparation, went on the attack again.

Several divisions advanced on a sector of about 5 km. This offensive of the enemy, which lasted almost three weeks, led to the most fierce battle in the city.

On October 15, the Germans managed to capture the Stalingrad Tractor Plant and break through to the Volga, cutting the 62nd Army in half. After that, they launched an offensive along the banks of the Volga to the south. On October 17, the 138th division arrived in the army to support Chuikov's weakened formations. Fresh forces repelled enemy attacks, and from October 18, Paulus' ram began to noticeably lose its strength.

To alleviate the position of the 62nd Army, on October 19, troops from the Don Front went on the offensive from the area north of the city. The territorial success of the flank counterattacks was insignificant, but they delayed the regrouping undertaken by Paulus.

By the end of October, the offensive operations of the 6th Army slowed down, although in the area between the Barrikady and Krasny Oktyabr factories, no more than 400 m remained to go to the Volga. Nevertheless, the tension of the fighting weakened, and the Germans basically consolidated the captured positions.

November 11 was made the last attempt to capture the city. This time the offensive was carried out by the forces of five infantry and two tank divisions, reinforced by fresh engineer battalions. The Germans managed to capture another section of the coast 500-600 m long in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe Barricades plant, but this was the last success of the 6th Army.

In other sectors, Chuikov's troops held their positions.

The offensive of the German troops in the Stalingrad direction was finally stopped.

By the end of the defensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad, the 62nd Army held the area north of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant, the Barrikady plant, and the northeastern quarters of the city center. The 64th Army defended the approaches.

During the period of defensive battles for Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht, according to Soviet data, lost in July - November up to 700 thousand soldiers and officers killed and wounded, more than 1000 tanks, over 2000 guns and mortars, more than 1400 aircraft. The total losses of the Red Army in the Stalingrad defensive operation amounted to 643,842 people, 1,426 tanks, 12,137 guns and mortars, and 2,063 aircraft.

Soviet troops exhausted and bled the enemy grouping operating near Stalingrad, which created favorable conditions for a counteroffensive.

Stalingrad offensive operation

By the autumn of 1942, the technical re-equipment of the Red Army had been basically completed. At the factories located in the deep rear and evacuated, mass production of new military equipment was launched, which not only was not inferior, but often surpassed the equipment and weapons of the Wehrmacht. During the past battles, Soviet troops gained combat experience. The moment had come when it was necessary to wrest the initiative from the enemy and begin mass expulsion of him from the borders of the Soviet Union.

With the participation of the military councils of the fronts at Headquarters, a plan for the Stalingrad offensive operation was developed.

The Soviet troops were to launch a decisive counter-offensive on a front of 400 km, encircle and destroy the enemy strike force concentrated in the Stalingrad area. This task was assigned to the troops of three fronts - the South-Western ( Commander General N. F. Vatutin), Donskoy ( Commander General K. K. Rokossovsky) and Stalingrad ( Commander General A. I. Eremenko).

The forces of the parties were approximately equal, although in tanks, artillery and aviation, Soviet troops already had a slight superiority over the enemy. Under such conditions, in order to successfully carry out the operation, it was necessary to create a significant superiority in forces in the directions of the main attacks, which was achieved with great skill. The success was ensured primarily due to the fact that special attention was paid to operational camouflage. The troops moved to the assigned positions only at night, while the radio stations of the units remained in the same places, continuing to work, so that the enemy had the impression that the units remained in their previous positions. All correspondence was forbidden, and orders were given only orally, and only to direct executors.

The Soviet command concentrated more than a million people on the direction of the main attack in a 60 km sector, supported by 900 T-34 tanks that had just rolled off the assembly line. Such a concentration of military equipment at the front has never happened before.

One of the centers of fighting in Stalingrad is an elevator. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The German command did not show due attention to the position of its Army Group "B", because. was waiting for the offensive of the Soviet troops against the Army Group "Center".

Group B Commander General Weichs did not agree with this opinion. He was worried about the bridgehead prepared by the enemy on the right bank of the Don opposite his formations. According to his insistent demands, by the end of October, several newly formed Luftwaffe field units were transferred to the Don in order to strengthen the defensive positions of the Italian, Hungarian and Romanian formations.

Weichs' predictions were confirmed in early November when aerial reconnaissance photographs showed the presence of several new crossings in the area. Two days later, Hitler ordered the transfer of the 6th Panzer and two infantry divisions from the English Channel to Army Group B as reserve reinforcements for the 8th Italian and 3rd Romanian armies. It took about five weeks for their preparation and transfer to Russia. Hitler, however, did not expect any significant action from the enemy until early December, so he calculated that reinforcements should have arrived in time.

By the second week of November, with the appearance of Soviet tank units on the bridgehead, Weichs no longer doubted that a major offensive was being prepared in the zone of the 3rd Romanian army, which, possibly, would also be directed against the German 4th tank army. Since all of his reserves were at Stalingrad, Weichs decided to form a new grouping as part of the 48th Panzer Corps, which he placed behind the 3rd Romanian Army. He also transferred the 3rd Romanian armored division to this corps and was about to transfer the 29th motorized division of the 4th tank army there, but changed his mind, because he also expected an offensive in the area where the Gota formations were located. However, all the efforts made by Weichs turned out to be clearly insufficient, and the High Command was more interested in building up the power of the 6th Army for the decisive battle for Stalingrad than in strengthening the weak flanks of General Weichs's formations.

On November 19, at 0850, after a powerful, almost one and a half hour artillery preparation, despite the fog and heavy snowfall, the troops of the Southwestern and Don fronts, located northwest of Stalingrad, went on the offensive. The 5th Panzer, 1st Guards and 21st Armies acted against the 3rd Romanian.

Only one 5th tank army in its composition consisted of six rifle divisions, two tank corps, one cavalry corps and several artillery, aviation and anti-aircraft missile regiments. Due to a sharp deterioration in weather conditions, aviation was inactive.

It also turned out that during the artillery preparation, the enemy’s firepower was not completely suppressed, which is why the offensive of the Soviet troops at some point slowed down. After assessing the situation, the commander of the Southwestern Front, Lieutenant-General N.F. Vatutin, decided to bring tank corps into battle, which made it possible to finally crack the Romanian defense and develop the offensive.

On the Don Front, especially fierce battles unfolded in the offensive zone of the right-flank formations of the 65th Army. The first two lines of enemy trenches, passing along the coastal hills, were captured on the move. However, decisive battles unfolded behind the third line, which took place along the chalk heights. They were a powerful defense center. The location of the heights made it possible to fire at all the approaches to them with crossfire. All the hollows and steep slopes of the heights were mined and covered with barbed wire, and the approaches to them crossed deep and winding ravines. The Soviet infantry that reached this line was forced to lie down under heavy fire from the dismounted units of the Romanian cavalry division, reinforced by German units.

The enemy carried out violent counterattacks, trying to push the attackers back to their original position. At that moment it was not possible to get around the heights, and after a powerful artillery raid, the soldiers of the 304th Infantry Division stormed the enemy fortifications. Despite the hurricane of machine-gun and automatic fire, by 4 p.m. the enemy's stubborn resistance had been broken.

As a result of the first day of the offensive, the troops of the Southwestern Front achieved the greatest success. They broke through the defenses in two areas: southwest of the city of Serafimovich and in the Kletskaya area. A gap up to 16 km wide was formed in the enemy defenses.

On November 20, south of Stalingrad, the Stalingrad Front went on the offensive. This came as a complete surprise to the Germans. The offensive of the Stalingrad Front also began in adverse weather conditions.

It was decided to begin artillery preparation in each army as soon as the necessary conditions for this were created. It was necessary to abandon its simultaneous conduct on the scale of the front, however, as well as from aviation training. Due to limited visibility, it was necessary to fire at unobservable targets, with the exception of those guns that were launched for direct fire. Despite this, the enemy's fire system was largely disrupted.

Soviet soldiers are fighting in the street. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

After the artillery preparation, which lasted 40-75 minutes, the formations of the 51st and 57th armies went on the offensive.

Having broken through the defenses of the 4th Romanian army and repelled numerous counterattacks, they began to develop success in the western direction. By the middle of the day, conditions were created for the introduction of army mobile groups into the breakthrough.

The rifle formations of the armies advanced after the mobile groups, consolidating the success achieved.

To close the gap, the command of the 4th Romanian army had to bring into battle its last reserve - two regiments of the 8th cavalry division. But even this could not save the situation. The front collapsed, and the remnants of the Romanian troops fled.

The incoming reports painted a bleak picture: the front was split, the Romanians were fleeing the battlefield, the counterattack of the 48th Panzer Corps was thwarted.

The Red Army went on the offensive south of Stalingrad, and the 4th Romanian Army, which was defending there, was defeated.

The Luftwaffe command reported that due to bad weather, aviation could not support ground troops. On the operational maps, the prospect of encirclement of the 6th Wehrmacht Army clearly loomed. The red arrows of the blows of the Soviet troops hung dangerously over its flanks and were about to close in the area between the Volga and the Don. In the course of almost continuous meetings at Hitler's headquarters, there was a feverish search for a way out of the situation. It was necessary to urgently make a decision about the fate of the 6th Army. Hitler himself, as well as Keitel and Jodl, considered it necessary to hold positions in the Stalingrad region and confine themselves to a regrouping of forces. The leadership of the OKH and the command of Army Group "B" found the only way to avoid disaster in withdrawing the troops of the 6th Army beyond the Don. However, Hitler's position was categorical. As a result, it was decided to transfer two tank divisions from the North Caucasus to Stalingrad.

The Wehrmacht command still hoped to stop the offensive of the Soviet troops with counterattacks by tank formations. The 6th Army was ordered to stay where it was. Hitler assured her command that he would not allow the encirclement of the army, and if it did happen, he would take all measures to unblock it.

While the German command was looking for ways to prevent the impending catastrophe, the Soviet troops developed the success achieved. A subdivision of the 26th Panzer Corps, during a daring night operation, managed to capture the only surviving crossing over the Don near the town of Kalach. The capture of this bridge was of great operational importance. The rapid overcoming of this large water barrier by the Soviet troops ensured the successful completion of the operation to encircle the enemy troops near Stalingrad.

By the end of November 22, the troops of the Stalingrad and Southwestern fronts were separated by only 20-25 km. On the evening of November 22, Stalin ordered the commander of the Stalingrad Front, Yeryomenko, to join tomorrow with the advanced troops of the Southwestern Front, which had reached Kalach, and close the encirclement.

Anticipating such a development of events and in order to prevent the complete encirclement of the 6th field army, the German command urgently transferred the 14th tank corps to the area east of Kalach. Throughout the night of November 23 and the first half of the next day, units of the Soviet 4th mechanized corps held back the onslaught of enemy tank units rushing south and did not let them through.

The commander of the 6th Army already at 18 o'clock on November 22 radioed to the headquarters of Army Group "B" that the army was surrounded, the situation with ammunition was critical, fuel supplies were running out, and food was enough for only 12 days. Since the command of the Wehrmacht on the Don did not have any forces that could release the encircled army, Paulus turned to the Headquarters with a request for an independent breakthrough from the encirclement. However, his request went unanswered.

Red Army soldier with a banner. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Instead, he was ordered to immediately go to the boiler, where to organize an all-round defense and wait for help from outside.

On November 23, the troops of all three fronts continued the offensive. On this day, the operation reached its climax.

Two brigades of the 26th Panzer Corps crossed the Don and launched an offensive against Kalach in the morning. A stubborn battle ensued. The enemy fiercely resisted, realizing the importance of holding this city. Nevertheless, by 2 p.m., he was driven out of Kalach, which housed the main supply base for the entire Stalingrad group. All the numerous warehouses with fuel, ammunition, food and other military equipment located there were either destroyed by the Germans themselves or captured by Soviet troops.

At about 4 p.m. on November 23, the troops of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts met in the Sovetsky area, thus completing the encirclement of the enemy's Stalingrad grouping. Despite the fact that instead of the planned two or three days, the operation took five days, the success was achieved.

An oppressive atmosphere reigned at Hitler's headquarters after the news of the encirclement of the 6th Army was received. Despite the obviously disastrous situation of the 6th Army, Hitler did not even want to hear about the abandonment of Stalingrad, because. in this case, all the successes of the summer offensive in the south would have been nullified, and with them all hopes for conquering the Caucasus would have disappeared. In addition, it was believed that the battle with the superior forces of Soviet troops in the open field, in harsh winter conditions, with limited means of transportation, fuel and ammunition, had too little chance of a favorable outcome. Therefore, it is better to gain a foothold in the positions occupied and strive to unblock the grouping. This point of view was supported by the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Reichsmarschall G. Goering, who assured the Führer that his aircraft would supply the encircled group by air. On the morning of November 24, the 6th Army was ordered to take up an all-round defense and wait for a deblocking offensive from the outside.

Violent passions also flared up at the headquarters of the 6th Army on November 23. The encirclement ring around the 6th Army had just closed, and a decision had to be made urgently. There was still no response to Paulus's radiogram, in which he requested "freedom of action". But Paulus hesitated to take responsibility for the breakthrough. By his order, the corps commanders gathered for a meeting at the army headquarters in order to work out a plan for further actions.

Commander of the 51st Army Corps General W. Seidlitz-Kurzbach called for an immediate breakthrough. He was supported by the commander of the 14th Panzer Corps General G. Hube.

But most of the corps commanders, led by the chief of staff of the army General A. Schmidt spoke out against. Things got to the point that in the course of a heated dispute, the infuriated commander of the 8th Army Corps General W. Gates threatened to personally shoot Seydlitz if he insisted on disobeying the Fuhrer. In the end, everyone agreed that Hitler should be approached for permission to break through. At 23:45, such a radiogram was sent. The answer came the next morning. In it, the troops of the 6th Army, surrounded in Stalingrad, were called "troops of the fortress of Stalingrad", and the breakthrough was denied. Paulus again gathered the corps commanders and brought them the order of the Fuhrer.

Some of the generals tried to express their counterarguments, but the army commander rejected all objections.

An urgent transfer of troops from Stalingrad began to the western sector of the front. In a short time, the enemy managed to create a grouping of six divisions. In order to pin down his forces in Stalingrad itself, on November 23, the 62nd Army of General V.I. Chuikov went on the offensive. Its troops attacked the Germans on the Mamayev Kurgan and in the area of ​​the Krasny Oktyabr plant, but met with fierce resistance. The depth of their advancement during the day did not exceed 100-200 m.

By November 24, the encirclement was thin, an attempt to break through it could bring success, it was only necessary to remove troops from the Volga front. But Paulus was a too cautious and indecisive person, a general who was used to obeying and accurately weighing his actions. He obeyed the order. Subsequently, he confessed to the officers of his headquarters: “It is possible that the daredevil Reichenau after November 19, he would have made his way to the west with the 6th Army and then told Hitler: "Now you can judge me." But, you know, unfortunately, I'm not Reichenau."

On November 27, the Fuhrer ordered Field Marshal von Manstein prepare the deblockade of the 6th field army. Hitler relied on new heavy tanks - "Tigers", hoping that they would be able to break through the encirclement from the outside. Despite the fact that these machines had not yet been tested in combat and no one knew how they would behave in the conditions of the Russian winter, he believed that even one battalion of "Tigers" could radically change the situation near Stalingrad.

While Manstein received reinforcements from the Caucasus and prepared the operation, Soviet troops expanded the outer ring and fortified it. When on December 12 Panzer Group Gotha made a breakthrough, it was able to break through the positions of the Soviet troops, and its advanced units were separated from Paulus by less than 50 km. But Hitler forbade Friedrich Paulus to expose the Volga Front and, leaving Stalingrad, to make his way towards the “tigers” of Goth, which finally decided the fate of the 6th Army.

By January 1943, the enemy was driven back from the Stalingrad "cauldron" by 170-250 km. The death of the encircled troops became inevitable. Almost the entire territory occupied by them was shot through by Soviet artillery fire. Despite Goering's promise, in practice, the average daily aviation capacity in supplying the 6th Army could not exceed 100 tons instead of the required 500. In addition, the delivery of goods to the encircled groups in Stalingrad and other "boilers" caused huge losses in German aviation.

The ruins of the fountain "Barmaley" - which has become one of the symbols of Stalingrad. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

On January 10, 1943, Colonel General Paulus, despite the hopeless situation of his army, refused to capitulate, trying to tie down the Soviet troops surrounding him as much as possible. On the same day, the Red Army launched an operation to destroy the 6th field army of the Wehrmacht. In the last days of January, Soviet troops pushed the remnants of Paulus's army into a small area of ​​​​the completely destroyed city and dismembered the Wehrmacht units that continued to defend. On January 24, 1943, General Paulus sent one of the last radiograms to Hitler, in which he reported that the group was on the verge of destruction and offered to evacuate valuable specialists. Hitler again forbade the remnants of the 6th Army to break through to his own and refused to take out of the "cauldron" anyone except the wounded.

On the night of January 31, the 38th motorized rifle brigade and the 329th sapper battalion blocked the area of ​​the department store where Paulus' headquarters was located. The last radiogram received by the commander of the 6th Army was an order for his promotion to field marshal, which the headquarters regarded as an invitation to suicide. Early in the morning, two Soviet parliamentarians made their way into the basement of a dilapidated building and handed over an ultimatum to the field marshal. In the afternoon, Paulus rose to the surface and went to the headquarters of the Don Front, where Rokossovsky was waiting for him with the text of surrender. However, despite the fact that the field marshal surrendered and signed the capitulation, in the northern part of Stalingrad the German garrison under the command of Colonel General Stecker refused to accept the terms of surrender and was destroyed by concentrated heavy artillery fire. At 16.00 on February 2, 1943, the terms of surrender of the 6th field army of the Wehrmacht came into force.

The Hitlerite government declared mourning in the country.

For three days, the funeral ringing of church bells sounded over German cities and villages.

Since the Great Patriotic War, Soviet historical literature has claimed that a 330,000-strong enemy grouping was surrounded in the Stalingrad area, although this figure is not confirmed by any documentary data.

The point of view of the German side on this issue is ambiguous. However, with all the scatter of opinions, the figure of 250-280 thousand people is most often called. This figure is consistent with the total number of evacuees (25,000), captured (91,000), and enemy soldiers killed and buried in the battle area (about 160,000). The vast majority of those who surrendered also died from hypothermia and typhus, and after almost 12 years in Soviet camps, only 6,000 people returned to their homeland.

Kotelnikovskaya operation Having completed the encirclement of a large group of German troops near Stalingrad, the troops of the 51st Army of the Stalingrad Front (commander - Colonel-General A. I. Eremenko) in November 1942 came from the north to the approaches to the village of Kotelnikovsky, where they entrenched themselves and went on the defensive.

The German command made every effort to break through the corridor to the 6th Army surrounded by Soviet troops. For this purpose, in early December, in the area of ​​the village. Kotelnikovsky, an attack group was created consisting of 13 divisions (including 3 tank and 1 motorized) and a number of reinforcement units under the command of Colonel-General G. Goth - the Goth army group. The group included a battalion of heavy Tiger tanks, which were first used on the southern sector of the Soviet-German front. In the direction of the main attack, which was inflicted along the Kotelnikovsky-Stalingrad railway, the enemy managed to create a temporary advantage over the defending troops of the 51st Army in men and artillery by 2 times, and in terms of the number of tanks - more than 6 times.

They broke through the defenses of the Soviet troops and on the second day they reached the area of ​​​​the village of Verkhnekumsky. In order to divert part of the forces of the strike force, on December 14, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe village of Nizhnechirskaya, the 5th Shock Army of the Stalingrad Front went on the offensive. She broke through the German defenses and captured the village, but the position of the 51st Army remained difficult. The enemy continued the offensive, while the army and the front no longer had any reserves left. The Soviet Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, in an effort to prevent the enemy from breaking through and releasing the encircled German troops, allocated the 2nd Guards Army and the mechanized corps from its reserve to reinforce the Stalingrad Front, setting them the task of defeating the enemy strike force.

On December 19, having suffered significant losses, the Goth group reached the Myshkova River. 35-40 km remained to the encircled grouping, however, Paulus's troops were ordered to remain in their positions and not strike back, and Goth could no longer move further.

On December 24, having jointly created approximately double superiority over the enemy, the 2nd Guards and 51st Armies, with the assistance of part of the forces of the 5th Shock Army, went on the offensive. The 2nd Guards Army delivered the main blow towards the Kotelnikov group with fresh forces. The 51st Army was advancing on Kotelnikovsky from the east, while enveloping the Gotha group from the south with tank and mechanized corps. On the first day of the offensive, the troops of the 2nd Guards Army broke through the enemy's battle formations and captured the crossings across the Myshkova River. Mobile formations were introduced into the breakthrough, which began to rapidly move towards Kotelnikovsky.

On December 27, the 7th Panzer Corps came out to Kotelnikovsky from the west, and the 6th Mechanized Corps bypassed Kotelnikovsky from the southeast. At the same time, the tank and mechanized corps of the 51st Army cut off the enemy grouping's escape route to the southwest. Continuous strikes against the retreating enemy troops were carried out by aircraft of the 8th Air Army. On December 29, Kotelnikovsky was released and the threat of an enemy breakthrough was finally eliminated.

As a result of the Soviet counter-offensive, the enemy's attempt to release the 6th Army encircled near Stalingrad was thwarted, and the German troops were thrown back from the outer front of the encirclement by 200-250 km.

76 years have passed since the fascist tanks, like a devil from a snuffbox, ended up on the northern outskirts of Stalingrad. And hundreds of German planes, meanwhile, brought down tons of deadly cargo on the city and its inhabitants. The furious roar of engines and the ominous whistle of bombs, explosions, groans and thousands of deaths, and the Volga, engulfed in flames. August 23 became one of the most terrible moments in the history of the city. In total, 200 fiery days from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943, the great confrontation on the Volga continued. We recall the main milestones of the Battle of Stalingrad from the beginning to the victory. A victory that changed the course of the war. A victory that cost a lot.

In the spring of 1942, Hitler divides Army Group South into two parts. The first should capture the North Caucasus. The second is to move to the Volga, to Stalingrad. The summer offensive of the Wehrmacht was called Fall Blau.

Stalingrad, like a magnet, attracted German troops to itself. The city that bore the name of Stalin. The city that opened the way for the Nazis to the oil reserves of the Caucasus. The city is located in the center of the transport arteries of the country.

To resist the onslaught of the Nazi army, on July 12, 1942, the Stalingrad Front was formed. Marshal Timoshenko became the first commander. It included the 21st Army and the 8th Air Army from the former Southwestern Front. More than 220,000 soldiers of three reserve armies: the 62nd, 63rd and 64th were also brought into the battle. Plus artillery, 8 armored trains and air regiments, mortar, tank, armored, engineering and other formations. The 63rd and 21st armies were supposed to prevent the Germans from forcing the Don. The rest of the forces were thrown to defend the borders of Stalingrad.

Stalingraders are also preparing for defense, in the city they form parts of the people's militia.

The beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad was rather unusual for that time. There was silence, tens of kilometers lay between the opponents. The Nazi columns were rapidly moving east. At this time, the Red Army was concentrating forces to the Stalingrad line, building fortifications.

July 17, 1942 is considered to be the start date of the great battle. But, according to the statements of the military historian Alexei Isaev, the soldiers of the 147th Infantry Division entered the first battle on the evening of July 16 near the farms of Morozov and Zolotoy not far from the Morozovskaya station.

From that moment on, bloody battles begin in the big bend of the Don. Meanwhile, the Stalingrad Front is replenished by the forces of the 28th, 38th and 57th armies.

The day of August 23, 1942 became one of the most tragic in the history of the Battle of Stalingrad. Early in the morning, General von Wittersheim's 14th Panzer Corps reached the Volga in the north of Stalingrad.

The enemy tanks ended up where the inhabitants of the city did not expect to see them at all - just a few kilometers from the Stalingrad Tractor Plant.

And in the evening of the same day, at 4:18 pm Moscow time, Stalingrad turned into hell. Never before has any city in the world withstood such an onslaught. For four days, from 23 to 26 August, six hundred enemy bombers made up to 2,000 sorties daily. Each time they brought death and destruction with them. Hundreds of thousands of incendiary, high-explosive and fragmentation bombs were constantly raining down on Stalingrad.

The city was on fire, choking on smoke, choking on blood. Generously flavored with oil, the Volga also burned, cutting off people's path to salvation.

What appeared before us on August 23 in Stalingrad struck me as a severe nightmare. Incessantly, here and there, fire-smoke plumes of bean explosions soared upwards. Huge pillars of flame rose to the sky in the area of ​​oil storage facilities. Streams of burning oil and gasoline rushed to the Volga. The river was on fire, steamships on the Stalingrad roadstead were on fire. The asphalt of streets and squares stankly smoked. Telegraph poles flared up like matches. There was an unimaginable noise, tearing the ear with its infernal music. The squeal of bombs flying from a height mixed with the rumble of explosions, the rattle and clang of collapsing buildings, the crackle of raging fire. The dying people moaned, wept angrily and cried out for help, women and children, - he later recalled Commander of the Stalingrad Front Andrey Ivanovich Eremenko.

In a matter of hours, the city was practically wiped off the face of the Earth. Houses, theaters, schools - everything turned into ruins. 309 Stalingrad enterprises were also destroyed. Factories "Red October", STZ, "Barricades" lost most of the workshops and equipment. Transport, communications, water supply were destroyed. About 40 thousand inhabitants of Stalingrad died.

The Red Army and the militias hold the defense in the north of Stalingrad. Troops of the 62nd Army are fighting hard on the western and northwestern borders. Hitler's aviation continues its barbaric bombardment. From midnight on August 25, a state of siege and a special order are introduced in the city. Its violation is punished strictly, up to execution:

Persons engaged in looting, robbery are to be shot at the scene of the crime without trial or investigation. All malicious violators of public order and security in the city should be tried by a military tribunal.

A few hours before this, the Stalingrad city defense committee adopts another resolution - on the evacuation of women and children to the left bank of the Volga. At that time, no more than 100,000 were taken out of the city with a population of more than half a million people, not counting those evacuated from other regions of the country.

The remaining residents are called to the defense of Stalingrad:

We will not give up our native city to the Germans for desecration. Let us all stand as one to protect our beloved city, our home, our family. We will cover all the streets of the city with impenetrable barricades. Let us make every house, every quarter, every street an impregnable fortress. Everyone to build barricades! All who are able to carry weapons, to the barricades, to defend their native city, native home!

And they respond. Every day, about 170 thousand people go out to build fortifications and barricades.

By the evening of Monday, September 14, the enemy made his way into the very heart of Stalingrad. The railway station and Mamaev Kurgan were captured. Over the next 135 days, height 102.0 will be recaptured and lost again more than once. The defense was also broken through at the junction of the 62nd and 64th armies in the area of ​​Kuporosnaya Balka. Hitler's troops got the opportunity to shoot through the banks of the Volga and the crossing, along which reinforcements and food were going to the city.

Under heavy enemy fire, the soldiers of the Volga military flotilla and pontoon battalions begin to transfer from Krasnoslobodsk to Stalingrad units of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Rodimtsev.

In the city there are battles for every street, every house, every piece of land. Strategic objects change hands several times a day. The Red Army soldiers try to stay as close to the enemy as possible in order to avoid attacks by enemy artillery and aircraft. Fierce fighting continues on the outskirts of the city.

Soldiers of the 62nd Army are fighting in the area of ​​the tractor plant, "Barricade", "Red October". Workers at this time continue to work almost on the battlefield. The 64th Army continues to hold the defense south of the Kuporosny settlement.

And at this time, the Nazi German forces pulled together in the center of Stalingrad. By the evening of September 22, the Nazi troops reach the Volga in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bJanuary 9 Square and the central pier. These days, the legendary history of the defense of Pavlov's House and Zabolotny's House begins. Bloody battles for the city continue, the Wehrmacht troops still fail to achieve the main goal and take possession of the entire bank of the Volga. However, both sides suffer heavy losses.

Preparations for the counteroffensive at Stalingrad began in September 1942. The plan for the defeat of the Nazi troops was called "Uranus". The operation involved units of the Stalingrad, Southwestern and Don Fronts: more than a million Red Army soldiers, 15.5 thousand guns, almost 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns, about 1350 aircraft. In all positions, the Soviet troops outnumbered the enemy forces.

The operation began on November 19 with massive shelling. The armies of the Southwestern Front strike from Kletskaya and Serafimovich, during the day they advance 25-30 kilometers. In the direction of the village of Vertyachy, the forces of the Don Front are throwing. On November 20, south of the city, the Stalingrad Front also went on the offensive. On this day, the first snow fell.

On November 23, 1942, the ring closes in the area of ​​Kalach-on-Don. The 3rd Romanian army was defeated. Around 330 thousand soldiers and officers of the 22nd divisions and 160 separate units of the 6th German Army and part of the 4th Panzer Army were surrounded. From that day on, our troops begin the offensive and every day they squeeze the Stalingrad cauldron more and more tightly.

In December 1942, the troops of the Don and Stalingrad fronts continue to crush the encircled Nazi troops. On December 12, Field Marshal von Manstein's army group made an attempt to reach the encircled 6th Army. The Germans advanced 60 kilometers in the direction of Stalingrad, but by the end of the month the remnants of the enemy forces were driven back hundreds of kilometers. It's time to destroy the army of Paulus in the Stalingrad cauldron. The operation, which was assigned to the fighters of the Don Front, received the code name "Ring". The troops were reinforced with artillery, and on January 1, 1943, the 62nd, 64th and 57th armies of the Stalingrad Front were transferred to the Don Front.

On January 8, 1943, an ultimatum with a proposal to surrender was transmitted by radio to Paulus's headquarters. By this time, the Nazi troops were severely starving and freezing, the reserves of ammunition and fuel came to an end. Soldiers are dying of malnutrition and cold. But the offer of surrender was rejected. From Hitler's headquarters comes the order to continue the resistance. And on January 10, our troops go on a decisive offensive. And already on the 26th, units of the 21st Army joined the 62nd Army on Mamaev Kurgan. The Germans surrender by the thousands.

On the last day of January 1943, the southern grouping ceased resistance. In the morning, Paulus was brought the last radiogram from Hitler, counting on suicide, he was given the next rank of Field Marshal. So he became the first field marshal of the Wehrmacht to surrender.

In the basement of the Central Department Store in Stalingrad, they also took the entire headquarters of the 6th field German army. In total, 24 generals and more than 90 thousand soldiers and officers were captured. The history of world wars has never seen anything like it before or since.

It was a disaster, after which Hitler and the Wehrmacht could not come to their senses - they dreamed of the "Stalingrad cauldron" until the end of the war. The collapse of the fascist army on the Volga convincingly showed that the Red Army and its leadership were able to completely outplay the vaunted German strategists - this is how that moment of the war was assessed army general, Hero of the Soviet Union, participant in the Battle of Stalingrad Valentin Varennikov. - I well remember with what merciless jubilation our commanders and ordinary soldiers received the news of the victory on the Volga. We were incredibly proud that we broke the back of the most powerful German grouping.

Despite the surrender, the northern group 6th Army Wehrmacht under the command of Colonel-General Strecker continued to resist, but it did not last long. February 2 already Commander of the 11th Army Corps Karl Strecker compiled and transmitted to the headquarters of Army Group "Don" his last radiogram:

The 11th Army Corps, consisting of six divisions, did its duty. The soldiers fought to the last bullet. Long live Germany!

Introduction

On April 20, 1942, the battle for Moscow ended. The German army, whose offensive seemed unstoppable, was not only stopped, but also thrown back from the capital of the USSR by 150-300 kilometers. 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, code-named Fall Blau - "Blue Option". The initial goal of the German strike 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, was also going 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 the German troops managed to push back 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, the 4th Panzer Army of Hermann Goth broke through between Kursk and Kharkov. The Germans went to the Don.

At this point, Hitler, by personal order, made a change to the Blue Option, which later cost Nazi Germany dearly. He divided Army Group South into two parts. Army Group "A" was supposed to continue the offensive in the Caucasus. Army Group B was to reach the Volga, cut off the strategic communications that connected 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 major industrial center), but also purely for 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.

The alignment of forces and the first stage of the battle

Army Group B, advancing on Stalingrad, included the 6th Army of General Paulus. The army consisted of 270 thousand soldiers and officers, about 2200 guns and mortars, about 500 tanks. From the air, the 6th Army was supported by the 4th Air Fleet of General Wolfram von Richthofen, which numbered about 1200 aircraft. A little later, towards the end of July, the 4th Panzer Army of Herman Goth was transferred to Army Group B, which included on July 1, 1942 the 5th, 7th and 9th Army and the 46th Motorized corps. The latter included the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.

The Southwestern Front, renamed Stalingrad on July 12, 1942, consisted of about 160,000 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 rest had from 300 to 4000 people. The 8th Air Army, which operated 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 a sector more than 500 kilometers wide. A separate problem for the Soviet troops was the flat steppe terrain, on which 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 offensive of the German troops 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 pushed the Soviet troops back almost 70 kilometers, to the main line of defense of Stalingrad. The German command, which expected to take the city on the move, decided to surround the Red Army units at the villages of Kletskaya and Suvorovskaya, seize crossings across the Don and develop the offensive against Stalingrad without stopping. For this purpose, two strike groups were created, advancing from the north and south. The northern group was formed from units of the 6th Army, the southern group from units of the 4th Panzer 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 the mobile formations of the front reserve, as well as the 1st and 4th tank armies, which had not yet completed the formation, took part. Tank armies were a new regular structure within the Red Army. It is not clear who exactly put forward the idea of ​​their formation, but in the documents this idea was first voiced to Stalin by the head of the Main Armored Directorate, Ya. N. Fedorenko. In the form in which the tank armies were conceived, they did not last long enough, subsequently undergoing a serious restructuring. But the fact that it was near Stalingrad that such a staff unit appeared is a fact. The 1st Panzer Army struck 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 unblock 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 near 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 ​​\u200b\u200bthe village of Nizhne-Chirskaya.

Despite the fact that the new units entered the battle on the move and their combat capabilities suffered from this, by the indicated date the Red Army managed to push the Germans and even threaten their encirclement. Unfortunately, the Nazis managed to bring fresh forces into battle and help the group. After that, the fighting escalated 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 the penalties for unauthorized retreat from the battlefield, introduced penal units for the guilty fighters 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 rigidity, was adopted 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 withdraw 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. The Stavka ordered the Stalingrad Front to drive the Germans to the western (right) bank and restore the line of defense 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 made significant progress, capturing the Repair station, the station and the city of Kotelnikovo, the settlement of Zhutovo. On the same days, the 6th Romanian corps of the enemy came to the Don. In the zone of operations of the 62nd Army, the Germans went on the offensive on August 7 in the direction of Kalach. The Soviet troops were forced to retreat to the left bank of the Don. On August 15, the Soviet 4th 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 withdrew beyond the Don and took up defensive positions on the outer line of the city fortifications. On August 17, the Germans resumed the onslaught and by the 20th they managed to capture the crossings, as well as a bridgehead in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe 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 aircraft made about 2,000 sorties. Many quarters of the city were in ruins, oil storage facilities were on fire, about 40 thousand civilians died. The enemy broke through to the line Rynok - Orlovka - Gumrak - Peschanka. The struggle passed 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 grouping of the Nazis was approximately 500. From the air, the enemy was supported by at least 1000 aircraft. The threat of the capture of the city became tangible. To eliminate it, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command transferred to the defenders two completed armies (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 onslaught on the city, pulling back about 8 infantry, two tank and two motorized divisions. Again, it was not possible to carry out the complete defeat of the Nazi units. Fierce battles for the internal defensive bypass went on for a long time.

Urban battles 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 transferred 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 military command, set up a real hell for the enemy in the city.

September 13 in the immediate vicinity of the city were six infantry, three tank and two motorized divisions of the Germans. Until September 18, there were fierce battles in the central and southern parts of the city. South of the railway station, the onslaught of the enemy was held back, but in the center the Germans drove out the Soviet troops up to the Krutoy ravine.

The battles on September 17 for the station were extremely fierce. It changed hands four times during the day. Here the Germans left 8 burnt tanks and about a hundred killed. 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 could not be carried out, however, a large enemy grouping was held down by battles, which facilitated the situation for the units fighting in the center of Stalingrad. In general, the defense here was so strong that the enemy did not manage to reach the Volga.

Realizing that success could not be achieved in the center of the city, the Germans concentrated troops to the south to attack in an easterly direction, to Mamaev Kurgan and the village of Red October. On September 27, Soviet troops launched a pre-emptive attack, operating in small infantry groups armed with light machine guns, Molotov cocktails, and anti-tank rifles. Fierce fighting continued from 27 September to 4 October. These were the same Stalingrad city battles, stories about which freeze the blood in the veins even of a person with strong nerves. There were battles not for streets and quarters, sometimes not even for entire houses, but for individual floors and rooms. The guns were fired with direct fire almost at point blank range, an incendiary mixture was used, fire from short distances. Hand-to-hand fights have become commonplace, as in the Middle Ages, when edged weapons ruled the battlefield. In 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 were in full swing at the Barrikady plant, near the village of Orlovka, on the outskirts of the Silicate plant.

In early October, the territories occupied by the Red Army in Stalingrad were so reduced that they were shot through with machine-gun and artillery fire. Support for the fighting troops was carried out from the opposite bank of the Volga with the help of literally everything that could float: boats, steamers, boats. German aircraft continuously bombed the crossings, making this task even more difficult.

And while the soldiers of the 62nd Army were shackling and grinding the enemy troops in battle, 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 counter-offensive began, in addition to the 6th Army of Paulus, there were also the 2nd Army of von Salmuth, the 4th Panzer Army of Goth, the Italian, Romanian and Hungarian armies near Stalingrad.

On November 19, the Red Army, with the help of three fronts, launched a large-scale offensive operation, code-named "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 a professional holiday for artillerymen.

On November 23, the encirclement ring closed around the 6th Army and the main forces of the 4th Panzer Army of Goth. On November 24, about 30 thousand Italians capitulated near the village of Raspopinskaya. By November 24, the territory occupied by the encircled Nazi units covered about 40 kilometers from west to east, and about 80 from north to south. Further "compression" 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 still did not lose hope that he would be able to help the encircled from 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 able to field only one Wehrmacht tank division and a Romanian infantry division. Subsequently, two more incomplete tank divisions and some infantry joined the offensive. On December 19, Manstein's troops clashed with the 2nd Guards Army of Rodion Malinovsky, and by December 25, the "Winter Thunderstorm" died out in the snowy Don steppes. The Germans retreated to their original positions, having suffered heavy losses.

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

On January 10, 1943, the final operation of the Red Army began to eliminate the Stalingrad group of Nazis. 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 tank corps, General Hube, arrived in the boiler. He conveyed that Hitler demanded to continue resistance 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 offensive of the Soviet troops was even stopped from 17 to 22 January. After the regrouping of the Red Army, they again went on the attack and on January 26 the Nazi forces were split into two parts. The northern group was located in the area of ​​the Barricades plant, and the southern one, in which Paulus himself was, was located in the city center. Paulus' 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 of how the commander of the encircled army should have ended his military career. However, Paulus decided that it is better not to understand some of the hints. On January 31, at noon, Paulus surrendered. It took two more days to liquidate the remnants of the Nazi 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.