Stalingrad The Cauldron of Doom 13 September 1942 2 February 1943 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Oct 01, 2023 221 likes •409 views

Stalingrad The Cauldron of Doom 13 September 1942 2 February 1943 Russias and Germanys Verdun of World War II 1 Germanys Furthest Advance into Russia in WWII 2 3 German Army Front Spring / Summer Offensives

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Stalingrad – The Cauldron of Doom

13 September 1942 – 2 February 1943 Russia’s and Germany’s “Verdun” of World War II

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2

Germany’s Furthest Advance into Russia in WWII

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3

SLIDE 4

4 German Army Front

Spring / Summer Offensives
Advances S.E. in Effort to Seize

Key Oil Producing Regions of the Caucasus Mountains.

German 6th Army

General von Paulus
300,000 Germans Soldiers
Lacking Significant Armor
Germany will be at the Greatest

Extent of their Supply Line

Advance on Stalingrad

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5

City of Stalingrad

“Modern” Factor City

 Showpiece of Russian Industry

Volga River
Pre-War Population of 850,000

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6

Heaviest fighting in the city will take place at the Tractor Factory.

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7

Three Dominant Factories

Dzerzhinsky Tractor Factory
Barrikady Ordnance Factory
Red October Steel Plant

Red October Plant

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8

The Fighting Becomes Static – Does Not Change

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9

Intensity and Savagery

f the Fighting
Fighting is House to House
In the Sewers
In the Factories
Becomes a Battle of Attrition
Hitler Wants to Capture the City =

Stalin’s name

Stalin wants to Save City = His name!

 Nikita Khrushchev Serves as a Political Commissar at Stalingrad!  Becomes a Battle of Supply  Russians Reinforcing across the Volga River  Germans Bring in by Air – Importance of Airfields!

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10

SLIDE 11

11 Soviets Launch Operation “Uranus” Germans Surrounded!!

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12

Becomes a Battle of Logistics

Encirclement Cuts Off Germans

 Creates the Kessel (“Cauldron”)

Soviet Supply Line Improves

 Moves Across the Volga  Men / Material / Food

German Supply Line Shrinks

 Depends on Airfields  Requires 800 Tons Supplies Daily  Luftwaffe only delivers 120 Tons Daily  German Soldiers Begin to die of Malnutrition – Starvation!

SLIDE 13

13 The End!

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14

2 February 1943 – The End

Approximately 300,000 Germans Entered

160,000+ Dead (Axis = 500,000+)
130,000 Captured (91,000 at end)
1955 – Only 6,000 Returned to Germany
22 Generals including von Paulus
Most catastrophic defeat in German

history! Campaign Cost Axis (Romania, Italy, Spain, Hungary) between 500,000 – 850,000 casualties.

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15

Stalingrad Becomes for Russia a Symbol of Sacrifice

279’ Tall / Weight = 7,900 Tons of Concrete

“The Motherland Calls”

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16

1.1 Million Casualties

485,751 Dead

 Pre-War Stalingrad = 850,000 Residents (workers)  Post-Battle Stalingrad = 9,800 Civilians left in city

Start 14 September 1942 – End 2 February 1943

141 Days of Continuous Combat
3,445 Russians Died Each Day!
14,500 Russian Soldiers (= one division) Executed

by Russian Military Police for Cowardice or Desertion!

German War Dead 40,000 in Mass Grave!

Russia’s Price for Victory at Stalingrad

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17

From 19 November 1942 (Start of Uranus) through 2 February 1943

154,885 Dead
330,892 Wounded

The Hero of Stalingrad

Soviet General Vasily Chuikov

Gains Fame as the Defender of Stalingrad

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