The Turning Point of the War as Considered by Historians (Part 2)
(History writer: Sosei Nishimata)
– Turning point of the war situation considered by historians (Part 1)
Stalingrad turned into a fierce battlefield
Let me cite the Battle of Stalingrad as another example of how an unexpected place turned into a fierce battlefield due to the course of events.
Stalingrad, an industrial city on the west bank of the Volga River, is now called Volgograd (currently, there seems to be a movement in Volgograd to change the city name back to Stalingrad).
The city is an important transportation hub in the Volga region. However, when Hitler’s German army launched its invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, no one could have predicted that Stalingrad would turn the tide of battle. This is because the German army had a strategy of concentrating forces and capturing Moscow in a short period of time.
However, Hitler, who failed in the short-term capture of Moscow, changed his strategy to occupy the resource zone in the direction of Ukraine. Although the evaluation of this decision is divided even now, Hitler made the decision to give priority to the war economy in anticipation of a long-term war.
The Germans planned to occupy the area roughly up to the Volga River. At this point Stalingrad is just one of several cities to conquer. However, in this city there was a ferry terminal that crossed the wide Volga River.
Crumbling in front of the mighty German forces, the Soviet forces retreated towards Stalingrad in an attempt to cross the Volga and escape east. As a result, German attacks also converged toward Stalingrad, and the city was surrounded by German forces.
The Soviet military leaders who saw the situation became impatient. If Stalingrad fell to the enemy, the counteroffensive on the west bank of the Volga would lose its foothold. Therefore, we decided to send reinforcements one after another to Stalingrad by piston transport by ferry.
Many of the Soviet soldiers sent at this time were mobilized soldiers who were poorly trained and equipped. In the end, the Soviet army only had an area about the size of the shopping street in front of the station, but they managed to survive the German attack by continuing their human-wave tactics.
And in the stalemate of the war, both dictators, Hitler and Stalin, began to insist on the name of the city. The name Stalingrad = “Stalin’s city” eventually took on a symbolic meaning, and was the end of the lives of soldiers.
Eventually, the Germans were exhausted, exhausted, and helpless. In technical terms, it is the “offensive limit”. On the other hand, the Soviet side continued to mobilize soldiers and increase the production of weapons during this period, and was preparing for a counteroffensive.
In November 1942, the Soviet army finally went on a full-scale counterattack, and the German army that had surrounded Stalingrad was surrounded by the Soviet army. Attempts to break through the Soviet encirclement failed, and the German forces in the direction of Stalingrad finally surrendered to the Soviet forces. The number is said to be between 200,000 and 380,000. The German army could not recover from this blow, and after that it became a defensive battle.
By the way, the German (Western) side has a strong tendency to regard the Battle of Stalingrad as the turning point in the German-Soviet war, but the Soviet side seems to attach great importance to the Battle of Kursk, which occurred later. . What do you see as the turning point in that war? It’s interesting that the losing side and the winning side are evaluated differently.
Sousei Nishimata’s “Japanese castles from 1” is now on sale!
A book that added a new manuscript to the serialization on JBpress, “‘Japanese Castle’ that is useful as an education,” has been released. I don’t know much about castles, but I’m a little curious. I don’t really know where to look and how to look interesting. For those who are interested in castles for the first time and those who want to know more, we will tell you about the fun of castles and the fun of walking around them.Publisher: JBpress Publisher: Wanibooks
