"How significant was Stalingrad on the eastern front For soviet victory and German Defeat?"

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Mind Map on "How significant was Stalingrad on the eastern front For soviet victory and German Defeat?", created by tullyp17 on 11/06/2014.
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"How significant was Stalingrad on the eastern front For soviet victory and German Defeat?"
  1. As a factor for Allied victory.
    1. the Battle of Stalingrad marked the end of Germany's advances into eastern Europe
      1. this battle was the first major German loss during World War II. After the Germans lost in Stalingrad, they did not advance any farther into eastern Europe or Russia. This is because the Soviet army gained strength and spent a lot of the rest of World War II fighting the Germans to get the territory that Russia had lost back.
      2. As a showcase of Hitler's poor decision making.
        1. Death toll of axis powers in excess of 850,000 to ad to this 90% of the German mechanised machinery was destoryed or rendered useless. These figures go to show the magnitude of Hitlers decisions.
          1. The use of Blitzkrieg prior to the initial assault made the assault almost impossible as the streets were blocked by debris and collapsed buildings.
            1. A very widely concentrated assault across the eastern front meant that there was no spear head to the assault. This may have had a disastrous effect compared to what the spearhead approach may have been able to achieve
              1. Hitler decision to fire or dismiss the majority of the existing German higher command could have meant that the German higher command may have been left lacking in informed and correct decision making ability
              2. As a turning point moral Russian Morale and propaganda.
                1. Post Stalingrad propaganda threatened Hitlers position as Fuhrer.
                  1. Russian propaganda using German generals in Russian POW camps
                    1. Acts of 'heroism' at the battle of Stalingrad was aimed to inspire Russian soldiers to fight courageously for the 'Motherland'
                      1. 60% brutal forced acts of heroism. 40% Propaganda.
                      2. As a 'wake up call' for German troops.
                        1. First very serious defeat for German troops since the start of operation Barberossa.
                          1. Death toll of axis powers in excess of 850,000 to ad to this 90% of the German mechanised machinery was destoryed or rendered useless
                            1. Forced the German higher command to adapt to new threats posed by Zhukov and the increasingly innovative Russian higher command
                            2. On the economy of Germany
                              1. The Axis suffered 850,000 total casualties (wounded, killed, captured) among all branches of the German armed forces and its allies; 400,000 Germans, 200,000 Romanians, 130,000 Italians, and 120,000 Hungarians were killed, wounded or captured
                                1. On the material side, the Germans losses were 900 aircraft (including 274 transports and 165 bombers used as transports), 500 tanks, and 6,000 artillery pieces.122–123 According to a contemporary Soviet report, 5,762 artillery pieces, 1,312 mortars, 12,701 heavy machine guns, 156,987 rifles, 80,438 sub-machine guns, 10,722 trucks, 744 aircraft, 1,666 tanks, 261 other armoured vehicles, 571 half-tracks, and 10,679 motorcycles were captured by the Soviets. An unknown amount of Hungarian, Italian, and Romanian material was lost.
                                  1. Aircraft losses of the Luftwaffe for the supply of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, and the recovery of wounded from 24 November 1942 to 31 January 1943 totalled 495 of varying types. These losses equate to about 50% of total aircraft committed. In addition, the Luftwaffe training program was stopped and sorties in other theatres of war such as the mediterranean and african campaigns were significantly reduced to save fuel for use at Stalingrad.
                                    1. German supplies by air aimed to keep the German clutch on the Russians strong by supplying the armies with food, ammuntion and medical supplies.
                                    2. On the economy of Russia
                                      1. Huge civilian loss of life. Estimates of well into the hundreds of thousands if not millions have been made although it is almost impossible to put a figure on. Furthermore there was almost irrepairable damge inflicted to hundreds of thousands of properties in and around Stalingrad. Primarily to do with the bombing of Stalingrad prior to the main offensive. This damage would have cost the Russians economy hundreds of millions to put right and mend. This would inflict a heavy burden on the Russian economy for decades to come
                                        1. The USSR, according to archival figures, suffered 1,129,619 total casualties. 478,741 personnel killed or missing, and 650,878 wounded or sick. On the materiel side for the USSR lost 4,341 tanks destroyed or damaged, 15,728 artillery pieces, and 2,769 combat aircraft
                                          1. The phenomenal losses in terms of humatarian, military and civilians property destruction took decades to make right and cost the Russians massive sums of money in order to restore the damage inflicted by both Russian and German forces at Salingrad
                                          2. Advances in Russian tactics.
                                            1. Operation Uranus planned and coordinated by Zhukov could be seen as the first definitive counterattack from the Russians. Whereby the Russian forces attacked the weaker Romanian and Italian forces and encircled the remaining German forces in a fierce battle known as the cauldron.
                                              1. Soviet commanders adopted the tactic of always keeping the front lines as close to the Germans as physically possible. Chuikov called this "hugging" the Germans. This forced the German infantry to either fight on their own or risk taking casualties from their own supporting fire; it neutralised German close air support and weakened artillery support. In order to reduce losses, Chuikov’s stated that they needed to narrow the gap between the Russian positions and the German positions to the minimum, so the German dive bombers will not be able to drop their bombs on the Russian positions without risking the German soldiers.
                                                1. Order No. 227
                                                2. Advances in Russian military equipment .
                                                  1. The weapons that they used the most were: · Tokarev SVT-40 · MosinNagant 1882 · PPS-42 · PPSh-41 · Tokarev TT-30 · PTRS-41 · DP-28 · T-34 · Gibovski G-11 · Waco CG-3 · the Yakovlev Yak-series -14 -6 and -8 This included tanks, aircrafts, and guns. Many new armoured vehicles and aircraft were introduced into order to best suit the style of hand to hand combat seen in Stalingrad
                                                    1. The battle was won due to lack of technology as opposed to key technology. The Germans had rifles, machine guns, panzer tanks and even support from the “Luftwaffe”. However the battle came down to hand to hand combat in individual street battles. The Russians won because they overpowered the Germans with their manpower. General Zhukov divided his men into six armies to surround the city of Stalingrad and trap the Germans.
                                                    2. Advances in German tactics
                                                      1. Rattenkrieg, or "Rat's War," the opposing forces broke into squads eight or 10 strong and fought each other for every house and yard of territory. The battle saw rapid advances in street-fighting technology, such as a German machine gun that shot around corners and a light Russian plane that glided silently over German positions at night, dropping lethal bombs without warning.
                                                        1. One of the most important plans established by the Germans was the “Operation Blue” that consisted in concentrating all the available forces in the southern flank, then, destroying the front line of Russian forces there, and then spread in two directions to the most important industrial sectors remaining in South Russia.
                                                        2. Advances in German equipment.
                                                          1. In Germany: The weapons that they used the most were: Germans: Karabiner 1898 Kurtz Gewehr 41 MP40 MP38 MG42 MG34 Walther P38 Flammenwerfer 35 Flammenwerfer 41 Panzer and Tiger Tanks JU88 JU Junkers 52 This also included machine guns, minor weapons, tanks, and aircrafts.
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