The battle of Stalingrad was a significant event in World War II because it stopped the Germans from advancing further east. It was significant because Germans were no longer enlarging in at least one direction.
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EXPLANATION:
In sum, there are some facts you might want to know about this battle:
•Stalingrad was positioned in Southwest Russia on the river of Volga. It was the main industrial and communications center for the south part of the Soviet Union.
•This battle took place at the end of 1942 and early 1943.
•The battle started with the German air force, the Luftwaffe, bombarding the Volga River and then Stalingrad city. They make most of the city into rubble. Then, the German army draws near and flourished in defeating most of the city.
•However, Soviet troops were not ready to surrender. The Soviets hid throughout the city, in buildings and even sewers, attacking the German army. This fierce battle started to have an impact on Germany.
•In November, the Soviets gathered and counterattacked. They surrounded German troops inside Stalingrad. Then, the Germans started to run out of food. Ultimately, weak due to lack of food and freezing from winter, most of the German army surrendered.
•Both sides had large troops of more than 1 million troops. Each of them also had hundreds of tanks and more than 1,000 aircraft. It is projected that around 750,000 troops from the German army were killed and nearly 500,000 Russians.
•The German troop was led by General Friedrich Paulus. He was upheld to Field Marshall right before he yielded to Russia. Hitler expected that promoting Paul would improve his moral and make him not give up. The Soviet Union troop was led by General Georgy Zhukov.
•Adolf Hitler was very upset with General Paul for failing the battle. He deprived Paul of his rank and arranged a national day of mourning for the embarrassment that Paul brought to Germany in the loss.
•German tanks had difficulty fighting in the streets of Stalingrad. Many parts of the city turned to rubble that the tanks could not pass.
•General Zhukov would control the Soviet Union to win more victories at the end of World War II. He was one of the most adorned generals in the Soviet Union’s history.
•About 91,000 German troops were arrested at the end of the battle.
LEARN MORE
If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, we recommend you to also take a look at the following questions:
•Why was the battle of Stalingrad a significant event in World War II?
Keywords: battle of Stalingrad, World War II
Subject  : History
Class  : 10-12
Sub-Chapter: World War II
