On 18 December 1940 During the Second World War, Adolf Hitler authorized Operation Barbarossa which was Nazi Germany's code name for the invasion of the Soviet Union.
Hitler’s primary targets were seizing the Baltic region, Moscow and Ukraine to exterminate communism, eliminate the Soviet Unions as a military power and capture strategic resources needed to defeat Germany’s remaining rivals.
“If I do not get the oil of Maikop and Grozny then I must finish this war. — Adolf Hitler”
On 22 June 1941, the Wehrmacht (The Unified Armed Forces of Nazi Germany) supported by Italy, Hungary and Romania began their invasion. In the beginning, the Germans succeeded in occupying important economic territories primarily in Ukraine. However, the German offensive was repelled in Moscow by the Soviet Red Army. The campaign wasn’t fast enough to please Hitler, …show more content…
Stalin resisted evacuating the city and issued Order No. 227 of 27 July 1942 prohibiting unauthorized military retreat and the evacuation of Stalingrad’s inhabitants. The Soviet 62nd and 64th Armies, joined by the locals anchored their defensive lines in houses and factories. The Soviets didn’t have a choice, they had to hold Stalingrad at all costs. "Not a step back!" and "There is no land behind the Volga!" were the slogans.
On 23 August 1942 the Luftwaffe (The Aerial Warfare Branch of the German Wehrmacht) attacked the city with the most powerful air formation in the world. Sixteen hundred aircraft dropped one thousand tons of bombs during the first forty-eight hours of the battle transforming Stalingrad into a wasteland. The air raids swept The Soviet Air Force bases in the area taking complete control of the skies. In the first five weeks the air raids killed about 40 thousand people, only then did the Russian government allow the locals to leave the city. Over the course of the battle, the Germans flew seventy thousand sorties and dropped over one million
Hitler’s primary targets were seizing the Baltic region, Moscow and Ukraine to exterminate communism, eliminate the Soviet Unions as a military power and capture strategic resources needed to defeat Germany’s remaining rivals.
“If I do not get the oil of Maikop and Grozny then I must finish this war. — Adolf Hitler”
On 22 June 1941, the Wehrmacht (The Unified Armed Forces of Nazi Germany) supported by Italy, Hungary and Romania began their invasion. In the beginning, the Germans succeeded in occupying important economic territories primarily in Ukraine. However, the German offensive was repelled in Moscow by the Soviet Red Army. The campaign wasn’t fast enough to please Hitler, …show more content…
Stalin resisted evacuating the city and issued Order No. 227 of 27 July 1942 prohibiting unauthorized military retreat and the evacuation of Stalingrad’s inhabitants. The Soviet 62nd and 64th Armies, joined by the locals anchored their defensive lines in houses and factories. The Soviets didn’t have a choice, they had to hold Stalingrad at all costs. "Not a step back!" and "There is no land behind the Volga!" were the slogans.
On 23 August 1942 the Luftwaffe (The Aerial Warfare Branch of the German Wehrmacht) attacked the city with the most powerful air formation in the world. Sixteen hundred aircraft dropped one thousand tons of bombs during the first forty-eight hours of the battle transforming Stalingrad into a wasteland. The air raids swept The Soviet Air Force bases in the area taking complete control of the skies. In the first five weeks the air raids killed about 40 thousand people, only then did the Russian government allow the locals to leave the city. Over the course of the battle, the Germans flew seventy thousand sorties and dropped over one million