Why was The Battle of Stalingrad so Deadly?

Why was The Battle of Stalingrad so Deadly?

The Battle of Stalingrad. Inarguably one of the most merciless and destructive battles throughout history. Resulting in nearly two million total casualties between August 23, 1942, through February 2, 1943, the German siege resulted in a decisive victory for the Soviets… although at the cost of over a million Russian casualties. The numbers of the Battle of Stalingrad seem ridiculously high, on both sides. So, why was the Battle of Stalingrad so deadly?

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♦Music Used :

Music: Miguel Johnson - No Turning Back
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♦Script & Research :
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#History #Documentary

[Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

I’d say one of the reasons that casualties were so high was because of the nature of the combat in Stalingrad. It was all fought room by room, house by house, so there was lots of extremely intense urban fighting in the city. The Russians and Germans would have been literally a stones throwaway from each other’s trenches and bunkers.

[stevedavenport]

I think a military historian could spend an entire career studying this battle.

[thezeroalchemist]

Order 227 is actually about retreating without orders (and retreat orders did go out) and the death penalty was only for the officers of those units, and not every single soldier. Furthermore, even those caught retreating would usually get sent to penal battalions and into suicide missions, rather than outright executions, since the USSR could not simply throw away vital manpower.

[mikepravica]

Only the Russians could continue making tanks in Stalingrad all the while being under siege from the nazis. What an incredible story!

[davey]

This battle is an example of Total War, both sides were involved in all out fighting they were either victorious or dead.

[JohnDoe-zjdj]

“Germany’s chancellor”, are you not allowed to say Hitler?

[vitoscaletta]

“- Lt. Hans von Witzland: The best thing about the cold is...
- Fritz Reiser: You don't have to worry about sunburn.”
- Stalingrad (1993) movie

[Kyyyylle]

Imagine being such a chad that you keep churning out tanks from burning factories

[richpontone]

When you fight inside a city, then your casualties go up tremendously.
Remember, the Soviet Army lost as many soldiers as the Germans but the Soviets had a greater number of men and women that they could throw into the fight.
In the final thrusts against the Germans, General Zhukov threw his main forces against the German flanks, and those flanks were defended by mostly Romanians, Italians and Spaniards who had little motivation to fight.
As for fighting in a city, General Eisenhower refused to involve Allied troops in attacking Berlin giving that job to the Soviet Army, The Soviets lost over 100, 000 soldiers in killed and wounded, something the Allies refused to pay that price in human lives.
Remember, the Russians realized that this was a war of extermination. If they lost, the Russian people would either be exterminated or enslaved until they die from starvation, or being overworked. The Russians understood that and fought harder than any people did before.

[TamadorStoneskin]

I lived in Stalingrad (now Volgograd) for about 6 months in 2015. The War Museum there is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. The monument of Мамая Курган (Mamaya Kurgan) is chillingly beautiful.
I also met a veteran of the battle who told me a little about his time. According to him women and small children were allowed to evacuate (when there were boats to evacuate on) but the male population was forced to stay.

[keikei]

One correction, a major reason for taking Stalingrad is that taking it was necessary to take the oil from the Caucasus Mountains. At this point Germany was very low on oil, and taking Stalingrad would have allowed German forces to cut off Red Army units in the Caucasuses and push in

[ThatBasedGuy]

"But Stalin, they're just citizens living in Stalingrad"
"I don't know man, seems kinda soldiers to me"

[davidandersson]

caught me off guard with "operation uranus" LOL

[ecksdee]

Last Time i was this early we were still waiting for Steiners Attack

[Saygex]

Don't worry, Steiner's counter-attack will save the German 6th Army

[WheelsRCool]

Part of the reason the battle was so deadly is because the Germans bombed the city to smithereens, which meant there was rubble everywhere, which made it very difficult for the German troops to maneuver their tanks and troops. Furthermore, the Soviets then took advantage of this and utilized the rubble to build up lines of trenches that the Germans were forced to repeatedly go over top of. These trenches connected defensive nodes armed with machine guns, which the Soviets used to create interlocking fields of machine gun fire. The trenches also allowed for constant communication between the defensive nodes. In addition, the Soviets used the sewers to maneuver and have communication.

In addition, General Chuikov who Stalin had sent in to take command, utilized a strategy which he called "Hug the Enemy, " meaning you wanted to be no more than say a grenade throw away from the enemy. This would make it bloody for the enemy and also deny the enemy his ability to use his heavy weapons as they would kill their own men along with the enemy's.

Pushing through all of this thus turned Stalingrad into a literal meat grinder. Division after division of the 6th Army was poured into Stalingrad. This required the army to pull more and more troops from the flanks to re-enforce the center, thus weakening the flanks further and further.

[lisasommer]

My grandpa died in the „Kessel“ of Stalingrad with nearly the complete 6th German Army. Watchin this gave me shivers. What an unimaginable hell for both sides. RIP to all the senseless killed humans and animals of this war.

[jamesricker]

Short answer: prolonged close quarters Urban combat is going to rack up casualties

[WeSeGe]

It was deadly cause they were killing each other,

[hoxvigr]

My grandma in this battle was a little girl moving-giving smokes to the soldiers in the front lines