The defeat of the Germans at Stalingrad. The battle of Stalingrad: briefly the most important thing about the defeat of the German troops

The panorama rotunda rises above top level museum complex. It looks like a hyperboloid of revolution, made of prestressed concrete (compression force 100 tons) and lined with white limestone.

The idea of ​​creating a panorama dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad appeared during the war, in particular, it was mentioned in an open letter to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin, Major General G.I. Anisimov dated December 12, 1943. In 1944, the Committee for Architecture under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Union of Soviet Architects announced open competition for the preliminary design of the restoration of Stalingrad. It was attended not only by professional architects, but also by everyone. A significant part of the projects included a panorama. It was at this competition that the idea to perpetuate the Battle of Stalingrad in the panorama was finally formed and approved. The first resolution on the construction of a panorama in Stalingrad was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR in December 1958. According to him, the panorama was to be built on Mamayev Kurgan, on the site of the Hall of Military Glory. But already in 1964, by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR of April 18 (No. 483), it was decided to exclude the panorama "Battle on the Volga" from the memorial ensemble on Mamaev Kurgan. Subsequently, it was decided that the panorama would be part of the museum complex " Battle of Stalingrad» on Guards Square, near the ruins of a mill and the legendary Pavlov’s House. On February 2, 1968, on the day of the 25th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi troops near Stalingrad, a memorial plate was laid at the base of the future panorama building.

The creation of the canvas of the panorama itself began with the creation in 1944 of the collapsible and mobile panorama "The Heroic Defense of Stalingrad" under the direction of H. Kotov, V. Yakovlev. The picturesque canvas reflected the events of September 15-20, 1942. In these September days, Mamayev Kurgan was recaptured from the enemy, but only for a short time, which caused controversy about the correct choice of the moment depicted on the canvas.

In 1948, work began on sketches for a new panorama. A group of artists from the studio named after M.V. M. B. Grekova, headed by A. Gorpenko, consisting of P. Zhigimont, G. Marchenko, L. Andriyak, V. Kuznetsov and B. Nikolaev. Work on the canvas was completed in 1950. The panorama "Battle of Stalingrad" was an exhibition sketch. The subject of the canvas is the January battles of 1943 for the top of Mamaev Kurgan. After the panorama was shown in Moscow in 1950, it was sent to Stalingrad, where it was shown at the Pobeda cinema until 1952.

In 1958, after the decision to build a panorama, the Greeks went to Stalingrad. A small wooden pavilion was built on the top of Mamayev Kurgan to work on sketches and a complete photograph of the area was made. In the course of subsequent work on the panorama, a new group of authors was formed - N. But, V. Dmitrievsky, P. Zhigimont, P. Maltsev, G. Marchenko, M. Samsonov, F. Usypenko and G. Prokopinsky. Artists viewed a large number of film and photographic documents, got acquainted with the testimonies of the participants in the battle, historical works, attended the exercises of the troops of the Kyiv military district under the command of V. I. Chuikov. The Greeks were advised by a military group - Marshals Soviet Union V. I. Chuikov, A. I. Eremenko, N. I. Krylov, Chief Marshal of Artillery N. N. Voronov.

In 1961, the artists prepared a sketch of the panorama "The Defeat of the Nazi Troops at Stalingrad" 1/3 of the natural size. However, to create a full-sized panorama, the Greeks had to paint a pictorial canvas 16x120 meters in size (about 2,000 square meters) and create about 1,000 square meters. m decorations. In the summer of 1980, artists N. But, V. Dmitrievsky, P. Zhigimont, P. Maltsev, G. Marchenko, M. Samsonov, F. Usypenko began to transfer the drawing to canvas, and then to painting. From mid-April 1981, the team of authors began to work on the creation of a subject plan, which lasted about six months.

In the spring of 1982, the creation of the panorama was completed and already July 8, 1982 took place Grand opening. Panorama area of ​​2000 sq. m became the largest pictorial canvas of Russia, one of the largest panoramas in the world, which still remains the only one painted on the theme of the Great Patriotic War.

The plot of the panorama is the final stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, when the Soviet troops were carrying out Operation Ring. The main objective of this operation was the dismemberment of the encircled German group. Solving the task, the two armies (21st and 62nd) of the Don Front met on the northwestern slope of Mamaev Kurgan on January 26, 1943. It was this day and the moment when the fighting took place in a relatively small area, where the concentration of troops was especially high, that is depicted in the panorama, and the meeting of the two armies is its main compositional center.

The observation deck is conditionally located on the top of the Mamaev Kurgan, more precisely, on one of the city's concrete drainage basins. A grandiose panorama of the battle on January 26, 1943 opens before the viewer. The familiar silhouettes of the city are visible - a mill, Pavlov's House, January 9th Square, the water tower of the Stalingrad-1 station, an elevator, the Krasny Oktyabr, Lazur, Chermet factories.

The artists pay great attention to the theater of operations and topography, the interaction of various branches of aviation and ground units - infantry, tanks, artillery. And yet the panoramic canvas is not an accurate historical illustration. The Greeks recreated the heroic spirit of the time, created the image of the destroyed but victorious Stalingrad and a generalized image of the courage of its defenders. To do this, they used the technique of combining in time and space, well known in easel painting and panoramic practice.

Against the backdrop of hostilities on January 26, 1943, panorama painters resurrect the legendary feats of the Battle of Stalingrad, through specific events, telling about the great feat of the living and the fallen, about the huge price for the Victory.

Matvei Methodievich Putilov, ordinary signalman of the 308th rifle division.

On October 25, 1942, at the lower village of the Barrikady plant, Matvey received an order to eliminate the break in the communication line. During the search for the place of the cliff, the signalman was wounded in the shoulder by a fragment of a mine. Already at the very target, an enemy mine crushed the second hand of a fighter. Losing consciousness, Matvey Putilov squeezed the ends of the wire with his teeth, thereby restoring the connection.

This feat was accomplished in the area of ​​school No. 4 along Pribaltiyskaya Street. Matvey Putilov was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War.

Nikolai Filippovich Serdyukov, locksmith of the Barricades plant, junior sergeant, commander of the 44th Guards rifle regiment Don Front.

On January 13, 1943, in the battle near Stary Rogachik, he was wounded, but continued to fight. Promotion in this area was fettered by 3 German bunkers located on a high-rise. Together with two fighters, Nikolai Serdyukov went to storm the German positions. Two firing points were destroyed by grenades, but both comrades of Nikolai died in the process. To destroy the third firing point, Nikolai Serdyukov rushed forward and closed the embrasure of the bunker own body. Having received a short respite, the squad fighters destroyed the surviving Nazis.

Nikolai Serdyukov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, he was also awarded the Order of Lenin.

Mikhail Averyanovich Panikakha, private of the Pacific Fleet.

From the end of August 1942, he fought as part of the 193rd Infantry Division in Stalingrad, and was deputy squad leader. On October 2, 1942, near the village of the Krasny Oktyabr plant, the positions of the division were attacked by fascist tanks. Mikhail Panikakha with two Molotov cocktails crawled closer to the attacking tanks, but one bottle was shattered by a bullet, the Red Army soldier was engulfed in flames. Covered in flames, Mikhail Panikakha with the remaining bottle rushed to the head tank of the enemy and lay down on top of the engine room. The tank burned down along with the crew, and the rest of the vehicles retreated.

Victor Andreevich Rogalsky, Lance Sergeant.

On August 10, 1942, in a group of attack aircraft, he covered the crossing over the Don. From a direct hit by an anti-aircraft shell, his plane caught fire, but the plane, engulfed in fire, continued to storm the target. Viktor Rogalsky directed the car, enveloped in flames, at the accumulation of enemy armored vehicles, destroying up to a dozen tanks.

Nechaev Mikhail Efimovich, Captain, Battalion Commander of the 130th Tank Brigade of the 24th Tank Corps of the 1st Guards Army of the Southwestern Front.

On December 26, 1942, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe Novoandreevsky farm (near the village of Tatsinskaya), five T-34 tanks under the command of Nechaev entered into battle with the advancing German tanks. They destroyed seven enemy vehicles, while losing four of their tanks. Captain Nechaev sent the last one, engulfed in flames, with a jammed T-34 turret, to the enemy’s lead vehicle, ramming it. Both tanks were killed in a terrible explosion.

Kapinan Mikhail Efimovich Nechaev was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Sergei Sergeevich Markin, driver of the 102nd tank brigade.

On November 20, 1942, his brigade fought in the area of ​​​​the village of Kletskaya. In a fierce battle, the entire crew of his tank was killed, and Sergei Markin himself was mortally wounded. Bleeding, Sergei Markin got out of the burning car and wrote on the armor of the tank with his blood: "I'm dying. My Motherland, the party will win!”

For the heroism shown in battle, Senior Sergeant Sergei Sergeevich Markin was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class.

Khanpasha Nuradilovich Nuradilov, during the fighting in the Serafimovich area in September 1942, he commanded a machine-gun platoon.

In the battle on September 12, 1942, he was seriously wounded, but continued to fight, destroying 250 Nazis and 2 machine guns. In this battle, Nuradilov died.

Khanpasha Nuradilov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously.

Gulya (Marionella) Vladimirovna Koroleva, medical instructor of the medical battalion of the 280th Infantry Regiment.

She went to war as a volunteer, before the war she was a film actress.

On November 23, 1942, during the battle for height 56.8 in the area of ​​​​the Panshino farm, she carried 50 wounded soldiers from the battlefield, and at the end of the day, with a group of soldiers, she went on the attack to the height. Bursting into the enemy trenches, Gulya Koroleva destroyed 15 soldiers and officers with several throws of grenades.

Mortally wounded, Koroleva fought to the end. She was awarded the Order of the Red Banner posthumously.

In 2005, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Victory, the specialists of the Grabar All-Union Restoration Center restored the canvas of the panorama. Restoration work continued for two years.

On February 2, 1943, the last Nazi grouping that fought in the north of Stalingrad laid down its arms. The Battle of Stalingrad ended with a brilliant victory for the Red Army. Hitler blamed the defeat on the Luftwaffe command. He yelled at Goering and promised to hand him over to be shot. Another "scapegoat" was Paulus. The Fuhrer promised after the end of the war to betray Paulus and his generals to a military tribunal, as he did not comply with his order to fight to the last bullet ...

“The troops of the Don Front have completely completed the liquidation of the Nazi troops surrounded in the Stalingrad region. On February 2, the last center of enemy resistance was crushed in the area north of Stalingrad. The historic battle of Stalingrad ended in a complete victory for our troops.

In the Svatovo region, our troops captured district centers Pokrovskoe and Lower Duvanka. In the Tikhoretsk region, our troops, continuing to develop the offensive, captured the regional centers of Pavlovskaya, Novo-Leushkovskaya, Korenovskaya. In other sectors of the front, our troops continued to conduct offensive battles in the same directions and occupied a number of settlements.

AT German Empire three days of mourning was declared for the dead. People wept in the streets when the radio announced that the 6th Army had been forced to surrender. On February 3, Tippelskirch noted that the Stalingrad catastrophe "shook the German army and the German people ... Something incomprehensible happened there, not experienced since 1806 - the death of an army surrounded by the enemy."

The Third Reich not only lost the most important battle, lost a battle-tested army, suffered huge casualties, but also lost the glory that it acquired at the beginning of the war and which began to fade during the battle for Moscow. It was a strategic turning point in the Great Patriotic War.

The best fighters of the 95th Rifle Division (62nd Army), after the liberation of the Krasny Oktyabr plant, were photographed near the workshop, which was still on fire. The soldiers rejoice at the received gratitude from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I. V. Stalin, addressed to the units of the Don Front. In the front row on the right is the division commander, Colonel Vasily Akimovich Gorishny.

The central square of Stalingrad on the day of the surrender of German troops in the Battle of Stalingrad. Leaving for the square soviet tanks T-34
The 6th German Army was surrounded during the implementation of the strategic offensive operation "Uranus". On November 19, 1942, the troops of the Southwestern and Don Fronts launched an offensive. On November 20, units of the Stalingrad Front went on the offensive. On November 23, units of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts joined in the Soviet area. Parts of the 6th were surrounded field army and 4th tank army(22 divisions total strength 330 thousand people).

On November 24, Adolf Hitler rejected the proposal of the commander of the 6th Army, Paulus, to go for a breakthrough before it was too late. The Fuhrer ordered to hold the city at all costs and wait for outside help. It was a fatal mistake. On December 12, the Kotelnikovskaya German group launched a counteroffensive in order to unblock the Paulus army. However, by December 15, the enemy offensive was stopped. On December 19, the Germans again tried to break through the corridor. By the end of December, the German troops, who were trying to unblock the Stalingrad group, were defeated and were driven back even further from Stalingrad.

As the Wehrmacht was pushed further and further west, Paulus' troops lost hope of salvation. Chief of staff ground forces(OKH) Kurt Zeitzler unsuccessfully urged Hitler to allow Paulus to break out of Stalingrad. However, Hitler was still against the idea. He proceeded from the fact that the Stalingrad group fetters a significant number of Soviet troops and thus prevents the Soviet command from launching an even more powerful offensive.

At the end of December, a discussion of further actions was held in the State Defense Committee. Stalin proposed that the leadership of defeating the encircled enemy forces be placed in the hands of one person. The rest of the GKO members supported this decision. As a result, the operation to destroy the enemy troops was headed by Konstantin Rokossovsky. Under his command was the Don Front.

By the beginning of Operation Koltso, the Germans, surrounded by Stalingrad, were still a serious force: about 250 thousand people, more than 4 thousand guns and mortars, up to 300 tanks and 100 aircraft. On December 27, Rokossovsky presented Stalin with a plan of operation. It should be noted that the Headquarters practically did not strengthen the Don Front with tank and rifle formations.

The front had fewer troops than the enemy: 212 thousand people, 6.8 thousand guns and mortars, 257 tanks and 300 aircraft. Due to the lack of forces, Rokossovsky was forced to give the order to stop the offensive and go on the defensive. decisive role artillery was supposed to play in the operation.

One of critical tasks, which had to be solved by Konstantin Konstantinovich after the encirclement of the enemy, was the elimination of the "air bridge". German aircraft by air they supplied the German group with ammunition, fuel, food. Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering promised to transfer up to 500 tons of cargo to Stalingrad daily.

However, as the Soviet troops moved west, the task became more and more complicated. We had to use more and more remote from Stalingrad airfields. In addition, Soviet pilots under the command of Generals Golovanov and Novikov, who arrived at Stalingrad, actively destroyed enemy transport aircraft. Big role anti-aircraft gunners also played in the destruction of the air bridge.

Between November 24 and January 31, 1942, the Germans lost about 500 vehicles. After such losses, Germany was no longer able to restore the potential of military transport aviation. Very soon, German aviation could only transfer about 100 tons of cargo per day. From January 16 to 28, only about 60 tons of cargo were dropped per day.

The position of the German group deteriorated sharply. Ammunition and fuel were scarce. Hunger has begun. The soldiers were forced to eat horses left over from the defeated Romanian cavalry, as well as horses that were used for transport purposes in the German infantry divisions. Ate and dogs.

Food shortages were noted even before the encirclement German troops. Then it was found that the food ration of soldiers is no more than 1800 kilocalories. This led to the fact that up to a third of the personnel suffered from various diseases. Hunger, excessive mental and physical stress, cold, lack of medicines became the causes of high mortality among the Germans.

Under these conditions, the commander of the Don Front, Rokossovsky, proposed to send an ultimatum to the Germans, the text of which was agreed with the Headquarters. Given the hopeless situation and the senselessness of further resistance, Rokossovsky suggested that the enemy lay down their arms in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. The prisoners were promised normal food and medical care.

On January 8, 1943, an attempt was made to give the German troops an ultimatum. Previously, the Germans were informed by radio of the appearance of truce and ceased fire in the area where the ultimatum was to be delivered to the enemy. However, no one came out to meet the Soviet parliamentarians, and then they opened fire on them. Soviet attempt to show humanity to the defeated enemy was not successful. Grossly violating the rules of war, the Nazis fired on the Soviet parliamentarians.

However, the Soviet command still hoped for the reasonableness of the enemy. The next day, January 9, a second attempt was made to give the Germans an ultimatum. This time the Soviet parliamentarians were met German officers. The Soviet parliamentarians offered to take them to Paulus. But they were told that they knew the content of the ultimatum from a radio broadcast and that the command of the German troops refused to accept this demand.

The Soviet command tried to convey to the Germans the idea of ​​the senselessness of resistance through other channels: hundreds of thousands of leaflets were dropped on the territory of the encircled German troops, German prisoners of war spoke on the radio.

On the morning of January 10, 1943, after a powerful artillery and air strike, the troops of the Don Front went on the offensive. The German troops, despite all the difficulties with the supply, put up fierce resistance. They relied on a fairly powerful defense, organized in equipped positions that the Red Army occupied in the summer of 1942. Them battle formations were dense due to the reduction of the front.

The Germans made one counterattack after another, trying to hold their positions. The offensive took place in heavy weather conditions. Frost and snowstorms hindered the movement of troops. In addition, Soviet troops had to attack in open areas, while the enemy held the defense in trenches and dugouts.

However, Soviet troops were able to penetrate the enemy's defenses. They were eager to liberate Stalingrad, which became a symbol of the invincibility of the Soviet Union. Every step cost blood. Trench after trench, fortification after fortification, was taken by Soviet soldiers. By the end of the first day, Soviet troops in a number of sectors wedged into the enemy defenses for 6-8 km. The 65th Army of Pavel Batov had the greatest success. She was advancing in the direction of the Nursery.

The 44th and 76th German infantry and 29th motorized divisions defending in this direction suffered heavy losses. The Germans tried to stop our armies at the second defensive line, which mainly passed along the middle Stalingrad defensive bypass, but they were not successful. On January 13-14, the Don Front regrouped its forces and on January 15 resumed the offensive. By the middle of the day, the second German defensive line had been broken through. The remnants of the German troops began to retreat to the ruins of the city.

January 1943 Street fighting

January 24, Paulus reported the death of the 44th, 76th, 100th, 305th and 384th infantry divisions. The front was broken, strong points remained only in the area of ​​the city. The catastrophe of the army became inevitable. Paulus offered to save the remaining people to give him permission to surrender. However, Hitler did not give permission to capitulate.

The plan of the operation, developed by the Soviet command, provided for the division of the German group into two parts. On January 25, the 21st Army of Ivan Chistyakov made his way into the city with western direction. FROM east direction the 62nd army of Vasily Chuikov was advancing. After 16 days of fierce fighting on January 26, our armies united in the area of ​​​​the village of Krasny Oktyabr and Mamaev Kurgan.

Soviet troops divided the 6th German army into northern and southern groups. The southern group, sandwiched in the southern part of the city, included the remnants of the 4th, 8th and 51st army corps and the 14th tank corps. During this time, the Germans lost up to 100 thousand people.

It must be said that it is quite long term The operation was associated not only with a powerful defense, dense defensive formations of the enemy (a large number of troops in a relatively small space), and a shortage of tank and rifle formations of the Don Front. The desire of the Soviet command to avoid unnecessary losses also mattered. German nodes of resistance crushed with powerful fire strikes.
The encirclement rings around the German groups continued to shrink.

The fighting in the city continued for several more days. On January 28, the southern German grouping was torn into two parts. On January 30, Hitler promoted Paulus to field marshal. In a radiogram sent to the commander of the 6th Army, Hitler hinted to him that he should commit suicide, because no German field marshal had yet been captured. On January 31, Paulus surrendered. The southern German group capitulated.

On the same day, the field marshal was taken to Rokossovsky's headquarters. Despite the demands of Rokossovsky and the commander of the artillery of the Red Army Nikolai Voronov (he took an active part in the development of the "Ring" plan) to issue an order to surrender the remnants of the 6th Army and save the soldiers and officers, Paulus refused to give such an order, under the pretext that he was a prisoner of war , and his generals now report personally to Hitler.

Capture of Field Marshal Paulus

The northern grouping of the 6th Army, which was defending in the area of ​​the tractor plant and the Barrikady plant, held out a little longer. However, after a powerful artillery strike on February 2, she also capitulated. Commander of the 11th army corps Karl Streiker surrendered. In total, 24 generals, 2,500 officers and about 90,000 soldiers were taken prisoner during Operation Ring.

Operation "Ring" completed the success of the Red Army at Stalingrad. The whole world saw how until recently the "invincible" representatives of the "master race" sadly wander into captivity in ragged crowds. During the offensive, the army of the Don Front in the period from January 10 to February 2, 22 divisions of the Wehrmacht were completely destroyed.

Captured Germans from the 11th Infantry Corps of Colonel General Karl Strecker, who surrendered on February 2, 1943. District of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant

Almost immediately after the liquidation of the last pockets of enemy resistance, the troops of the Don Front began to be loaded into echelons and transferred to the west. Soon they will form the southern face of the Kursk salient. The troops that passed through the crucible of the Battle of Stalingrad became the elite of the Red Army. In addition to combat experience, they felt the taste of victory, were able to withstand and defeat the enemy's elite troops.

In April-May, the armies participating in the Battle of Stalingrad received the rank of guards. The 21st Army of Chistyakov became the 6th Guards Army, the 24th Army of Galanin - the 4th Guards, the 62nd Army of Chuikov - the 8th Guards, the 64th Army of Shumilov - the 7th Guards, the 66th Zhadov - 5th Guards.

The defeat of the Germans at Stalingrad was the largest military and political event of the Second World War. The military plans of the German military-political leadership completely failed. In the war there was a radical change in favor of the Soviet Union.

Alexander Samsonov

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Photo chronicle: Battle of Stalingrad

On February 2, 1943, the last soldiers of the Sixth Army of the Wehrmacht surrendered. In Russia Stalingrad counts greatest victory, in Germany - the most crushing defeat. In the world - the turning point of the entire war. But this battle was also the bloodiest, cruelest and most terrible in the history of wars...

Battle of Stalingrad became one of the largest battles during the Great patriotic war and the turning point of World War II. The first stage of the battle - the Stalingrad strategic defensive operation- lasted from July 17 to November 18, 1942.

The plans of the fascist German command, set for the summer of 1942, included defeating the Soviet troops in the south of the country, capturing oil regions Caucasus, rich agricultural regions of the Don and Kuban, disrupt communications connecting the center of the country with the Caucasus, and create conditions for ending the war in their favor.

But the Soviet troops gave a decisive rebuff to the enemy and four months later launched a counter-offensive near Stalingrad. The second stage of the battle - Stalingrad offensive- began on November 19, 1942.

200 heroic days of the defense of Stalingrad went down in history as the most bloody and cruel. The surrender of the city was then equated not only with a military, but also with an ideological defeat. The fighting went on for every quarter, for every house, and the central station of Stalingrad passed from hand to hand 13 times. During the defense of the city, more than seven hundred thousand Soviet soldiers and officers were killed and wounded. But during this operation, Soviet troops were able to surround and destroy the main forces of the German armies. In total, during the Battle of Stalingrad, the enemy lost about one and a half million people - a quarter of his forces operating on the Soviet-German front. On January 31, 1943, the commander of the grouping of German troops participating in this battle, F. Paulus, surrendered.

The victory of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad was not only of great military importance, because as a result of the battle, our armed forces were wrested from the enemy strategic initiative and kept it until the end of the war, but also political and international importance. The victory in this battle had a significant impact on the development of the Resistance Movement in the territory European states, occupied by the Nazi invaders.

In the Battle of Stalingrad, hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers showed unparalleled heroism and courage.
55 formations and units were awarded orders, 179 were converted into guards, 26 received honorary titles.
About 100 fighters received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Stalingrad has become a symbol of resilience, courage and heroism Soviet people in the struggle for the freedom and independence of the motherland.

On May 1, 1945, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Stalingrad was awarded the honorary title of Hero City. And on December 22, 1942, it was established (over 707 thousand participants in the battle were awarded with it). On May 8, 1965, the Hero City was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

Today, in memory of the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad, many memorials and historical sites. But the most famous monument of them is "The Motherland Calls!" on Mamaev Kurgan. And every year on February 2, the Day of Military Glory of Russia is celebrated - the Day of the defeat of the Nazi troops by the Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Taking into account the tasks to be solved, the peculiarities of the conduct of hostilities by the parties, the spatial and temporal scale, as well as the results, the Battle of Stalingrad includes two periods: defensive - from July 17 to November 18, 1942; offensive - from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943

The strategic defensive operation in the Stalingrad direction lasted 125 days and nights and included two stages. The first stage is the conduct of defensive combat operations by the troops of the fronts on the distant approaches to Stalingrad (July 17 - September 12). The second stage is the conduct of defensive operations to hold Stalingrad (September 13 - November 18, 1942).

The German command delivered the main blow with the forces of the 6th Army in the direction of Stalingrad along the shortest way across the large bend of the Don from the west and south-west, just in the defense zones of the 62nd (commander - major general, from August 3 - lieutenant general, from September 6 - major general, from September 10 - lieutenant general) and the 64th (commander - Lieutenant General V.I. Chuikov, from August 4 - Lieutenant General) armies. The operational initiative was in the hands of the German command with almost double superiority in forces and means.

defensive fighting troops of the fronts on the distant approaches to Stalingrad (July 17 - September 12)

The first stage of the operation began on July 17, 1942, in a large bend of the Don, with combat contact between units of the 62nd Army and the forward detachments of German troops. Fierce battles ensued. The enemy had to deploy five divisions out of fourteen and spend six days to approach the main line of defense of the troops of the Stalingrad Front. However, under the onslaught of superior enemy forces, Soviet troops were forced to withdraw to new, poorly equipped or even unequipped lines. But even under these conditions, they inflicted significant losses on the enemy.

By the end of July, the situation in the Stalingrad direction continued to be very tense. German troops deeply covered both flanks of the 62nd Army, reached the Don in the Nizhne-Chirskaya area, where the 64th Army held the defense, and created the threat of a breakthrough to Stalingrad from the southwest.

Due to the increased width of the defense zone (about 700 km), by the decision of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the Stalingrad Front, commanded by Lieutenant General from July 23, was divided on August 5 into the Stalingrad and South-Eastern fronts. In order to achieve closer interaction between the troops of both fronts, from August 9, the leadership of the defense of Stalingrad was united in one hand, in connection with which the Stalingrad Front was subordinated to the commander of the troops of the South-Eastern Front, Colonel General.

By mid-November, the advance of the German troops was stopped on the entire front. The enemy was forced to finally go on the defensive. This was the end of the strategic defensive operation of the Battle of Stalingrad. The troops of the Stalingrad, South-Eastern and Don fronts fulfilled their tasks, holding back the powerful offensive of the enemy in the Stalingrad direction, creating the prerequisites for a counteroffensive.

During the defensive battles, the Wehrmacht suffered huge losses. In the struggle for Stalingrad, the enemy lost about 700 thousand killed and wounded, over 2 thousand guns and mortars, more than 1000 tanks and assault guns and over 1.4 thousand combat and transport aircraft. Instead of a non-stop advance to the Volga, the enemy troops were drawn into protracted, exhausting battles in the Stalingrad region. The plan of the German command for the summer of 1942 was frustrated. At the same time, the Soviet troops also suffered heavy losses in personnel - 644 thousand people, of which 324 thousand people were irretrievable, and 320 thousand were sanitary people. The losses of weapons amounted to: about 1400 tanks, more than 12 thousand guns and mortars and more than 2 thousand aircraft.

Soviet troops continued to advance

The turning point in World War II was the great Summary 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 why 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 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 launched a counteroffensive in difficult conditions 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 moved 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 southern part 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 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 grandiose, but also 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.