![]() Meanwhile, the commander of the 62 nd Army, Vasily Chuikov, implemented new small-unit tactics that helped Red Army forces close the distance with the enemy and achieve remarkable feats in the rubble strewn streets of Stalingrad. German forces were stymied by the 62 nd Army as the Soviet high command strategically fed rifle divisions, including elite Guards units, while husbanding larger forces for an eventual encirclement. Similar to the Soviet narrative that was created around 1941, Soviet propaganda claimed the genius of Joseph Stalin’s command abilities lured German forces to the gates of Stalingrad to wear down the 6 th Army and eventually surround and destroy it. In the Soviet Union, the history of the battle for Stalingrad was surrounded by its own coterie of myths. At that point, those trapped in the city might have been able to escape had Adolf Hitler and 6 th Army commander, Friedrich Paulus, acted in their best interest and not betrayed them. Once German forces were depleted, their allies failed to pick up the slack and crumbled on the flanks as the Soviets launched their offensive and were able to encircle the 6 th Army in the remains of Stalingrad and its periphery. It was only then that the Red Army was able to begin bleeding the 6 th Army dry as a fanatical but faceless enemy utilized every bombed-out building, hole, and sewer to make life hell for the average German soldier. ![]() Both sides offered their own parochial explanation often determined by the ideological paradigms of the Cold War.Įntrenched in Western literature was a heavily German-influenced view which dictated that the initial German approach toward the city encountered limited opposition until fighting for the city proper began among the ruins of Stalingrad. ![]() Yet we are still asking ourselves: how did they manage to do it? This question is especially pertinent since the first year of the war generally proved disastrous for the Soviets. Credit: Unknown Ukrainian photographer/Public Domain.Įighty years ago, the Red Army managed to stop, contain, and ultimately defeat the largest German army on the Eastern Front. Top image: Soviet troops awaiting a German attack in the Stalingrad suburbs, 1942. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |