Battle Wednesday: The Battle of Stalingrad

     Hello everybody and welcome back to another edition of Nations Made Fun! I'll be your host, Mr. Nations, your tour guide to this impressive world! Today on Battle Wednesday, we're going to be discussing the Battle of Stalingrad, the battle that essentially led to the downfall of Hitler's regime. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dive straight into it!

     The Battle of Stalingrad was a brutal battle fought between the Russian forces and the Nazi's of Germany. The battle is known as one of the longest and bloodiest military engagements, lasting from August 1942 to February 1943, More than 2 million soldiers fought in close quarters and nearly 2 million were killed in combat, including tens of thousands of Russian civilians.

     When the battle was done and dusted, Russians recaptured Stalingrad and took in 100,000 German soldiers, though pockets of resistance continued to fight in the city until early March. Most of the captured soldiers died in imprisonment from either starvation or disease.

     Fun Facts:

• Adolf Hitler was very angry at General Paulus for losing the battle. He stripped Paulus of his rank and held a day of national mourning for the shame that Paulus brought upon Germany for losing.
• German tanks had a hard time fighting in the streets of Stalingrad. Much of the city had been turned to rubble which the tanks could not go over or around.
• General Zhukov would lead the Soviet Union to many more victories by the end of World War II. He was one of the most decorated generals in the history of the Soviet Union.

     Post War Stalingrad:

     

     Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad

     https://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/battle_of_stalingrad.php