February 2 victory at Stalingrad. The day of the defeat of Nazi troops in the Battle of Stalingrad

"Considering special meaning defeat by Soviet troops Nazi troops in the Battle of Stalingrad to achieve victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 and in connection with the 75th anniversary of this February 2, 2018 historical event, I decide to form an organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the celebration,” says the text of the Decree, according to which the chairman of the committee is appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Rogozin.

By the same Decree, the President instructed the Government to, within a month, approve the composition of the committee for preparing and holding the celebration, develop and approve a plan of main events, and also recommend to the authorities state power subjects of the Russian Federation to take part in the preparation and holding of the celebration.

Battle of Stalingrad - major battle between the troops of the USSR on the one hand, and the troops of the Third Reich, Romania, Italy, Hungary, on the other, during the Great Patriotic War from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943.

It took place on the territory of modern Voronezh, Rostov, Volgograd regions and the Republic of Kalmykia of the Russian Federation.

The German offensive lasted from July 17 to November 18, 1942. Its goal was to capture the Great Bend of the Don, the Volgodonsk Isthmus and Stalingrad (modern Volgograd). The implementation of this plan would block transport links between the central regions of the USSR and the Caucasus, creating a bridgehead for further offensive with the aim of seizing the Caucasian oil fields.

During the period November-January, the Soviet army managed to force the Germans to get bogged down in defensive battles, encircle a group of German troops as a result of Operation Uranus, repulse the unblocking German strike "Wintergewitter" and narrow the encirclement to the city limits of Stalingrad.

The battle is one of major events World War II and along with the battle on Kursk Bulge became a turning point in the course of hostilities, after which German troops completely lost the strategic initiative. The battle included the Wehrmacht's attempt to capture the left bank of the Volga in the area of ​​Stalingrad (modern Volgograd) and the city itself, the confrontation in the city, and the Red Army counteroffensive (Operation Uranus), which resulted in the Wehrmacht's 6th Army and other German allied forces inside and around the city they were surrounded and partly destroyed, and partly captured.

The Battle of Stalingrad is the most bloody battle In the history of mankind, according to rough estimates, the total losses of both sides in this battle exceed 2 million people. The Axis powers lost a large number of men and weapons and were subsequently unable to fully recover from the defeat.

Military significance of victory was the removal of the threat of the Wehrmacht seizing the Lower Volga region and the Caucasus, especially oil from the Baku fields.

Political significance was the sobering up of Germany's allies and their understanding of the fact that the war was impossible to win. Turkey abandoned the invasion of the USSR in the spring of 1943, Japan did not begin the planned Siberian Campaign, Romania (Mihai I), Italy (Badoglio), Hungary (Kallai) began to look for opportunities to exit the war and conclude a separate peace with Great Britain and the USA.

For Soviet Union, who also suffered big losses During the battle, victory at Stalingrad marked the beginning of the liberation of the country, as well as the occupied territories of Europe, leading to the final defeat of the Third Reich in 1945.

The battle begins.

In July, when German intentions became completely clear to the Soviet command, it developed plans for the defense of Stalingrad. On July 12, the Stalingrad Front was created (Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko, from July 23 - General V.N. Gordov). It included the 62nd Army, promoted from the reserve under the command of Vasily Chuikov, the 63rd, 64th armies, as well as the 21st, 28th, 38th, 57th combined arms and 8th air armies of the former South -Western Front, and from July 30 - the 51st Army of the North Caucasus Front. The Stalingrad Front received the task of defending in a zone 530 km wide (along the Don River from Babka 250 km northwest of the city of Serafimovich to Kletskaya and further along the line Kletskaya, Surovikino, Suvorovsky, Verkhnekurmoyarskaya), to stop further advance of the enemy and prevent his exit to the Volga. By July 17, the Stalingrad Front had 12 divisions (a total of 160 thousand people), 2,200 guns and mortars, about 400 tanks and over 450 aircraft. In addition, 150-200 long-range bombers and up to 60 fighters of the 102nd Air Defense Aviation Division (Colonel I.I. Krasno-Yurchenko) operated in its zone. Thus, by the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad, the enemy had a superiority over the Soviet troops in men by 1.7 times, in tanks and artillery by 1.3 times, and in aircraft by more than 2 times.

To create a new defense front, Soviet troops, after advancing from the depths, had to immediately take positions on terrain where there were no previously prepared defensive lines. Most of the formations of the Stalingrad Front were new formations that had not yet been properly put together and, as a rule, did not have combat experience. There was an acute shortage of fighter aircraft, anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery. Many divisions lacked ammunition and vehicles.

On July 17, at the turn of the Chir and Tsimla rivers, the forward detachments of the 62nd and 64th armies of the Stalingrad Front met with the vanguards of the 6th German Army. Interacting with the aviation of the 8th Air Army (General T.T. Khryukin), they put up stubborn resistance to the enemy, who, in order to break their resistance, had to deploy 5 divisions out of 13 and spend 5 days fighting them . In the end, the enemy knocked the forward detachments from their positions and approached the main defense line of the troops of the Stalingrad Front. The resistance of the Soviet troops forced the Nazi command to strengthen the 6th Army. By July 22, it already had 18 divisions, numbering 250 thousand people. combat personnel, about 740 tanks, 7.5 thousand guns and mortars. The troops of the 6th Army supported up to 1200 aircraft. As a result, the balance of forces increased even more in favor of the enemy. For example, in tanks he now had a twofold superiority. By July 22, the troops of the Stalingrad Front had 16 divisions (187 thousand people, 360 tanks, 7.9 thousand guns and mortars, about 340 aircraft).

At dawn on July 23, the enemy’s northern and, on July 25, southern strike groups went on the offensive. Using superiority in forces and air supremacy in the air, the enemy broke through the defenses on the right flank of the 62nd Army and by the end of the day on July 24 reached the Don in the Golubinsky area. As a result, up to three Soviet divisions were surrounded. The enemy also managed to push back the troops of the right flank of the 64th Army. A critical situation developed for the troops of the Stalingrad Front. Both flanks of the 62nd Army were deeply engulfed by the enemy, and its exit to the Don created a real threat of a breakthrough of fascist German troops to Stalingrad.

By the end of July, the Germans pushed the Soviet troops behind the Don. The defense line stretched for hundreds of kilometers from north to south along the Don. To break through the defenses along the river, the Germans had to use, in addition to their 2nd Army, the armies of their Italian, Hungarian and Romanian allies. The 6th Army was only a few dozen kilometers from Stalingrad, and the 4th Panzer, located south of it, turned north to help take the city. South group The “South” (A) army continued to move further into the Caucasus, but its decline slowed down. Army Group South A was too far to the south to provide support to Army Group South B in the north.

No step back!

July 28, 1942 people's commissar defense I.V. Stalin turned to the Red Army with order No. 227, in which he demanded to strengthen resistance to the enemy and stop his advance at all costs. The strictest measures were envisaged against those who showed cowardice and cowardice in battle. Practical measures were outlined to strengthen morale and discipline among the troops. “It’s time to end the retreat,” the order noted. - No step back!" This slogan embodied the essence of order No. 227. Commanders and political workers were given the task of bringing to the consciousness of every soldier the requirements of this order.

The stubborn resistance of the Soviet troops forced the fascist German command to turn back on July 31 Caucasian direction to Stalingrad 4th Panzer Army (General G. Hoth). On August 2, its advanced units approached Kotelnikovsky. In this regard, there was a direct threat of an enemy breakthrough to the city from the southwest. Fighting broke out on the southwestern approaches to it. To strengthen the defense of Stalingrad, by decision of the front commander, the 57th Army was deployed on the southern front of the outer defensive perimeter. The 51st Army was transferred to the Stalingrad Front (General T.K. Kolomiets, from October 7 - General N.I. Trufanov).

The situation in the 62nd Army zone was difficult. On August 7-9, the enemy pushed its troops behind the Don River, and encircled 4 divisions west of Kalach. Soviet soldiers They fought in encirclement until August 14, and then in small groups they began to fight their way out of encirclement. Three divisions of the 1st Guards Army (General K.S. Moskalenko, from September 28 - General I.M. Chistyakov) arrived from the Headquarters Reserve and launched a counterattack on the enemy troops and stopped their further advance.

Thus, The enemy's plan - to break through to Stalingrad with a swift blow on the move - was thwarted by the stubborn resistance of Soviet troops in the big bend of the Don and their active defense on the southwestern approaches to the city. During the three weeks of the offensive, the enemy was able to advance only 60-80 km. Based on an assessment of the situation, the fascist German command made significant adjustments to its plan.

On August 19, fascist German troops resumed their offensive, launching attacks in the general direction of Stalingrad. 22 August 6th german army crossed the Don and captured a 45 km wide bridgehead on its eastern bank, in the Peskovatka area, on which six divisions were concentrated. On August 23, the enemy's 14th Tank Corps broke through to the Volga north of Stalingrad, in the area of ​​the village of Rynok, and cut off the 62nd Army from the rest of the forces of the Stalingrad Front. The day before, enemy aircraft launched a massive air strike on Stalingrad, carrying out about 2 thousand sorties. As a result, the city suffered terrible destruction - entire neighborhoods were turned into ruins or simply wiped off the face of the earth.

On September 13, the enemy went on the offensive along the entire front, trying to capture Stalingrad by storm. Soviet troops failed to contain his powerful onslaught. They were forced to retreat to the city, where fierce fighting broke out on the streets.

Battle in the city.

By August 23, 1942, out of 400 thousand residents of Stalingrad, about 100 thousand were evacuated. On August 24, the Stalingrad City Defense Committee adopted a belated resolution on the evacuation of women, children and the wounded to the left bank of the Volga. All citizens, including women and children, worked to build trenches and other fortifications.

On August 23, the 4th Air Fleet carried out its longest and most destructive bombardment of the city. German aircraft destroyed the city, killed more than 90 thousand people, destroyed more than half of the housing stock of pre-war Stalingrad, thereby turning the city into a huge territory covered with burning ruins. The situation was aggravated by the fact that after the high-explosive bombs, German bombers dropped incendiary bombs. A huge fire whirlwind formed, which burned the central part of the city and all its inhabitants to the ground. The fire spread to other areas of Stalingrad, since most of the buildings in the city were built of wood or had wooden elements. Temperatures in many parts of the city, especially in its center, reached 1000 C. This would later be repeated in Hamburg, Dresden and Tokyo.

The burden of the initial fight for Stalingrad fell on the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, a unit staffed primarily by young female volunteers with no experience in destroying ground targets. Despite this, and without adequate support available from other Soviet units, the anti-aircraft gunners remained in place and fired at the advancing enemy tanks of the 16th Panzer Division until all 37 air defense batteries were destroyed or captured. By the end of August, Army Group South (B) reached the Volga north of the city, and then south of it.

On initial stage Soviet defense relied heavily on " Civil uprising workers", recruited from workers not drawn into military production. Tanks continued to be built and were staffed by voluntary crews consisting of factory workers, including women. The equipment was immediately sent from factory assembly lines to the front line, often without even painting and without installed sighting equipment.

By September 1, 1942 Soviet command could provide its troops in Stalingrad only by risky crossings across the Volga. In the midst of the ruins of the already destroyed city, the Soviet 62nd Army built defensive positions with firing points located in buildings and factories. The battle in the city was fierce and desperate.

Snipers and assault groups detained the enemy as best they could. The Germans, moving deeper into Stalingrad, suffered heavy losses. Soviet reinforcements were transported across the Volga from the eastern bank under constant bombardment by German artillery and aircraft.

The average life expectancy of a newly arrived Soviet private in the city sometimes fell below 24 hours.

German military doctrine was based on the interaction of military branches in general and especially close cooperation infantry, sappers, artillery and dive bombers. To counter this, the Soviet command decided to take a simple step - to constantly keep the front lines as close to the enemy as physically possible (usually no more than 30 meters). Thus, the German infantry had to fight on their own, or risk being killed by their own artillery and horizontal bombers, with support only possible from dive bombers. A painful struggle went on for every street, every factory, every house, basement or staircase. The Germans, naming the new urban war“rat”, they joked bitterly that the kitchen had already been captured, but they were still fighting for the bedroom.

Battle on Mamayev Kurgan, the blood-soaked heights overlooking the city were unusually merciless. The height changed hands several times. At the grain elevator, a huge grain processing complex, the fighting took place so densely that Soviet and German soldiers could feel each other's breath. The fighting at the grain elevator continued for weeks until Soviet army did not give up her position. In another part of the city, an apartment building, defended by the Soviet platoon in which Yakov Pavlov served, was turned into an impregnable fortress. Despite the fact that this building was subsequently defended by many other officers, it was assigned original title. From this house, later called « Pavlov's house», one could see the square in the city center. The soldiers surrounded the building with minefields and set up machine-gun positions. The soldiers joked: “... Our Pavlov has his own house in Stalingrad, but the Germans are not registered in it...”.

Seeing no end to this terrible struggle, the Germans began to bring heavy artillery to the city, including several giant 600-mm mortars. The Germans made no effort to transport troops across the Volga, allowing Soviet troops to erect a huge number of artillery batteries on the opposite bank. Soviet artillery on the eastern bank of the Volga continued to identify German positions and treat them with increased fire. The Soviet defenders used the emerging ruins as defensive positions. German tanks could not move among piles of cobblestones up to 8 meters high. Even if they were able to move forward, they came under heavy fire from Soviet anti-tank units located in the ruins of buildings.

Soviet snipers, using the ruins as cover, also inflicted heavy losses on the Germans. Sniper Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev During the battle he destroyed 225 enemy soldiers and officers (including 11 snipers).

In November, after three months Through carnage and a slow, costly advance, the Germans finally reached the banks of the Volga, capturing 99% of the destroyed city and splitting the remaining Soviet forces in two, trapping them in two narrow pockets. In addition to all this, a crust of ice has formed on the Volga, preventing the approach of boats and supply loads for those caught in difficult situation Soviet troops. Despite everything, the struggle, especially on Mamayev Kurgan and in the factories in the northern part of the city, continued as furiously as before. The battles for the Red October plant, the tractor plant and the Barrikady artillery plant became known throughout the world. While Soviet soldiers continued to defend their positions, firing at the Germans, workers at factories and factories repaired damaged soviet tanks and weapons in close proximity from the battlefield, and sometimes on the battlefield itself. The appearance of assault groups in the city changed the situation - the Germans suffered huge losses, losing an average of 150-200 people per day. It was in Stalingrad that special forces were created - Soviet assault groups.

Offensive phase of the battle(Operation Uranus).

Balance of power.

THE USSR:

– Southwestern Front (General N.F. Vatutin). It included the 21st, 5th Tank, 1st Guards, 17th and 2nd Air Armies;

– Don Front (General K.K. Rokossovsky). It included the 65th, 24th, 66th armies, 16th air army:

– Stalingrad Front (General A.I. Eremenko). It included the 62nd, 64th, 57th, 8th Air Force, and 51st Armies.

Axis Powers:

– Army Group “B” (General M. Weichs). It included the 6th Army (General F. Paulus), the 2nd Army (General G. Salmuth), the 4th Panzer Army (General G. Hoth), the 8th italian army(General I. Gariboldi), 2nd Hungarian Army (General G. Jani), 3rd Romanian Army (General P. Dumitrescu), 4th Romanian Army (General C. Constantinescu);

– 4 air fleet(General V. Richthofen);

– Army Group “Don” (Field Marshal E. Manstein). It included the 6th Army, the 3rd Romanian Army, the Hoth Army Group, the Hollidt Task Force;

– two Finnish voluntary units.

The beginning of the Wehrmacht offensive and counter-operation.

On November 9, 1942, the Red Army began its offensive withinOperation Uranus. On November 23, in the Kalach area, an encirclement ring was closed around the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht. It was not possible to completely implement the Uranus plan, since it was not possible to split the 6th Army into two parts from the very beginning (with the attack of the 24th Army between the Volga and Don rivers). Attempts to liquidate those encircled on the move under these conditions also failed, despite a significant superiority in forces - the superior force had an effect tactical training Germans. However

The 6th Army was isolated and its fuel, ammunition and food supplies were progressively dwindling, despite attempts to supply it by air by the 4th Air Fleet under the command of Wolfram von Richthofen.

Operation Winter Storm.

The newly formed Wehrmacht Army Group Don, under the command of Field Marshal Manstein, attempted to break the blockade of the encircled troops (Operation Winter Storm). It was originally planned to begin on December 10, but the offensive actions of the Red Army on the outer front of the encirclement forced the start of the operation to be postponed to December 12. By this date, the Germans managed to present only one full-fledged tank formation - the 6th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht and (from infantry formations) the remnants of the defeated 4th Romanian Army. These units were subordinate to the control of the 4th Panzer Army under the command of G. Hoth. During the offensive, the group was reinforced by the very battered 11th and 17th tank divisions and three air field divisions.

By December 19, units of the 4th Tank Army, which had actually broken through the defensive formations of the Soviet troops, encountered the 2nd Tank Army, which had just been transferred from the reserve of the Headquarters guards army under the command of R. Ya. Malinovsky. The army consisted of two rifle and one mechanized corps. During the oncoming battles, by December 25, the Germans retreated to the positions they were in before the start of Operation Winter Storm, having lost almost all their equipment and more than 40 thousand people. It is this episode of the war that is described in Yuri Bondarev’s novel “Hot Snow”.

Operation "Little Saturn".

According to the plan of the Soviet command, after the defeat of the 6th Army, the forces involved in Operation Uranus turned west and advanced towards Rostov-on-Don as part of Operation Saturn. At the same time, the southern wing of the Voronezh Front attacked the 8th Italian Army north of Stalingrad and advanced directly west (towards the Donets) with an auxiliary attack to the southwest (towards Rostov-on-Don), covering the northern flank of the South-Western front during a hypothetical offensive.

However, due to the incomplete implementation of “Uranus”, “Saturn” was replaced by “Little Saturn”. A breakthrough to Rostov (due to the lack of seven armies pinned down by the 6th Army at Stalingrad) was no longer planned; the Voronezh Front, together with the Southwestern Front and part of the forces of the Stalingrad Front, had the goal of pushing the enemy 100-150 km to the west from the encircled 6th Army. 1st Army and defeat the 8th Italian Army (Voronezh Front).

The offensive was planned to begin on December 10, however, problems associated with the delivery of new units necessary for the operation (those available on site were tied up at Stalingrad) led to the fact that A. M. Vasilevsky authorized (with the knowledge of I. V. Stalin) a postponement of the start of the operation on December 16th.

On December 16-17, the German front on Chira and on the positions of the 8th Italian Army was broken through, and Soviet tank corps rushed into the operational depths. However, in the mid-20s of December, operational reserves (four well-equipped German tank divisions), initially intended to strike during Operation Wintergewitter, began to approach Army Group Don.

By December 25, these reserves launched counterattacks, during which they cut off the tank corps of V.M. Badanov, which had just burst into the airfield in Tatsinskaya (86 German aircraft were destroyed at the airfields). The corps escaped from the encirclement, refueling the tanks with a mixture of aviation gasoline captured at the airfield and motor oil.

After this, the front line temporarily stabilized, since neither the Soviet nor the German troops had enough strength to break through the enemy’s tactical defense zone.

Combat operations during Operation Ring.

On December 27, N.N. Voronov sent the first version of the “Ring” plan to the Supreme Command Headquarters. Headquarters, in Directive No. 170718 of December 28, 1942 (signed by Stalin and Zhukov), demanded changes to the plan so that it would provide for the dismemberment of the 6th Army into two parts before its destruction. Corresponding changes have been made to the plan. On January 10, the offensive of the Soviet troops began, the main blow was delivered in the zone of the 65th Army of General Batov. However, German resistance turned out to be so serious that the offensive had to be temporarily stopped.

From January 17 to 22, the offensive was suspended for regrouping; new attacks on January 22-26 led to the dismemberment of the 6th Army into two groups (Soviet troops united in the area Mamayev Kurgan), was liquidated by January 31 southern group(the command and headquarters of the 6th Army led by Paulus were captured), by February 2 the northern group of those surrounded under the command of the commander of the 11th Army Corps, Regimental General Karl Strecker, capitulated. Shooting in the city continued until February 3 - the Hiwis resisted even after German surrender February 2, 1943, since they were not in danger of being captured. The liquidation of the 6th Army, according to the “Ring” plan, was supposed to be completed in a week, but in reality it lasted 23 days. (The 24th Army withdrew from the front on January 26 and was sent to the General Headquarters reserve).

Total during Operation Ring were taken prisoner more than 2,500 officers and 24 generals of the 6th Army. In total, over 91 thousand Wehrmacht soldiers and officers were captured. According to the Don Front headquarters, the trophies of the Soviet troops from January 10 to February 2, 1943 were 5,762 guns, 1,312 mortars, 12,701 machine guns, 156,987 rifles, 10,722 machine guns, 744 aircraft, 1,666 tanks, 261 armored vehicles, 80,438 vehicles, 10 6 79 motorcycles , 240 tractors, 571 tractors, 3 armored trains and other military equipment.

Capitulated a total of 20 German divisions: 14th, 16th and 24th Panzer, 3rd, 29th and 60th Motorized Infantry, 100th Jäger, 44th, 71st, 76th , 79th, 94th, 113th, 295th, 297th, 305th, 371st, 376th, 384th, 389th infantry divisions. In addition, the Romanian 1st Cavalry and 20th Infantry Divisions surrendered, Croatian regiment from the 100th Jaeger Division. The 91st air defense regiment, the 243rd and 245th separate assault gun battalions, and the 2nd and 51st rocket mortar regiments also capitulated.

The victory of Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad is the largest military-political event during the 2nd World War. The Great Battle, which ended with the encirclement, defeat and capture of a selected enemy group, made a huge contribution to achieving a radical turning point during the Great Patriotic War and had a decisive influence on further move throughout the 2nd World War.

In the Battle of Stalingrad, new features of the military art of the USSR Armed Forces manifested themselves with all their might. Soviet operational art was enriched by the experience of encircling and destroying the enemy.

The victory at Stalingrad had a decisive influence on the further course of the 2nd World War. As a result of the battle, the Red Army firmly seized the strategic initiative and now dictated its will to the enemy. This changed the nature of the actions of German troops in the Caucasus, in the areas of Rzhev and Demyansk. The attacks of the Soviet troops forced the Wehrmacht to give the order to prepare the Eastern Wall, which was supposed to stop the advance of the Soviet Army.

The outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad caused confusion and confusion in the Axis countries. A crisis began in the pro-fascist regimes in Italy, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. Germany's influence on its allies sharply weakened, and disagreements between them noticeably worsened. The desire to maintain neutrality has intensified in Turkish political circles. Elements of restraint and alienation began to prevail in the relations of neutral countries towards Germany.

Total losses Red Army in Stalingrad defensive operation amounted to 643,842 people, 1,426 tanks, 12,137 guns and mortars, 2,063 aircraft.

Total lossesWehrmacht– over 800,000 people. killed. In the reference book "Second World War”, published in Germany in 1995, indicates that 201 thousand soldiers and officers were captured at Stalingrad, of whom only 6 thousand returned to their homeland after the war.

According to Soviet sources, Soviet troops buried 140 thousand enemy soldiers and officers on the battlefield (not counting the tens of thousands of German troops who died in the “cauldron” within 73 days).

Historical meaning Battle of Stalingrad.

The historical significance of the Battle of Stalingrad is extremely great. The victory won by the Red Army in it changed the course of events not only Soviet-German front, but also in other theaters of the Second World War. This happened as a result of a brutal and persistent struggle, which required enormous efforts and sacrifices from Soviet people. The Great Battle of Stalingrad ended in a brilliant victory for the Soviet Union and its Armed Forces. The Red Army defeated five armies fascist Germany and its allies: two German (6th and 4th Panzer), two Romanian (3rd and 4th) and one Italian (8th). During the counteroffensive, 32 divisions and 3 brigades were completely destroyed, and 16 enemy divisions suffered a serious defeat, losing more than half of their strength. Its losses amounted to over 800 thousand people. In just 200 days and nights of the battle on the Volga, throwing more and more divisions into battle, the enemy lost up to 1.5 million people killed, wounded and captured. He also lost about 3.5 thousand tanks and assault guns, over 3 thousand combat and transport aircraft, more than 12 thousand guns and mortars, 75 thousand vehicles (10), etc. This number of people and military equipment was enough for staffing 75-80 divisions.

2-02-2016, 18:12

The military history of Russia knows many examples of courage, heroism and military valor. But the battle that changed the course of the Great Patriotic War - the battle for Stalingrad - deserves special mention.

The date of the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad is considered to be July 17, 1942. It was on this day that units of the 62nd Army entered into battle with the advanced units of the Wehrmacht - this is how the first, defensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad began. Under the pressure of superior enemy forces, Soviet troops were forced to constantly retreat, occupying either poorly equipped or completely unequipped lines.

By the end of July, German troops reaching the Don created the threat of a breakthrough to Stalingrad. That is why on July 28, 1942, the order of the Supreme Command Headquarters No. 227, better known as the order “Not a step back!”, was communicated to the troops of the Stalingrad and other fronts. However, despite the stubborn resistance of the Soviet troops, the enemy managed to break through the defenses of the 62nd Army and reach Stalingrad.

On August 23, Stalingrad experienced its longest and most destructive bombardment. After the raid, which claimed the lives of more than 90 thousand people, the city turned into burning ruins - almost half of the city was destroyed. It was on this day that the city defense committee addressed the population of the city, in which “everyone who is able to bear arms” was called upon to defend hometown. The call was heard and thousands of citizens joined the units of the 62nd and 64th armies defending the city.

In early September, the enemy was able to capture certain areas of the city located in the northern part. Now he was faced with the task of going to the city center to cut the Volga. The enemy's attempts to break through to the river led to colossal losses: in the first ten days of September alone, the Germans lost more than 25 thousand people killed. As a result, the commanders of the German armies operating near Stalingrad were summoned to Hitler's headquarters, where they received orders to capture the city as soon as possible. By mid-September, about 50 enemy divisions were involved in the Stalingrad direction, and the Luftwaffe, flying up to 2,000 sorties a day, continued to destroy the city. On September 13, after a powerful artillery barrage, the enemy launched the first assault on the city, hoping that superior forces would allow them to take the city outright. There will be four such assaults in total.

It is after the first assault that the fighting in the city will begin - the most fierce and intense. Fights in which every house was turned into a fortress. On September 23, the defense of the famous Pavlov's House began. The enemy will not be able to take this house, which has become a symbol of the courage of the defenders of Stalingrad, despite the fact that it was defended by about three dozen soldiers, and will be marked as a “fortress” on Paulus’s operational map. There were no pauses or lulls in the battles on the territory of the city - the battles went on continuously, “grinding” soldiers and equipment.

It was only by mid-November that the advance of German troops was stopped. The plans of the German command were thwarted: instead of a non-stop and rapid advance to the Volga, and then to the Caucasus, German troops were drawn into grueling battles in the Stalingrad area.

The Soviets held back the enemy's advance and were able to create the preconditions for a counteroffensive. Operation Uranus, a strategic offensive operation of the Soviet troops, began on November 19, 1942. Colonel General A.I. described the events of those days best of all. Eremenko “... just yesterday we, gritting our teeth tightly, said to ourselves, “Not a step back!”, And today the Motherland ordered us to move forward!” The Soviet troops, who launched a rapid offensive, inflicted terrible blows on the enemy, and in just a few days the German troops faced the threat of encirclement.

November 23rd part of the 26th tank corps, joining forces with units of the 4th Mechanized Corps, surrounded an enemy force of almost 300,000. On the same day it capitulated for the first time German group troops. This memoir will be published later German officer intelligence department “stunned and confused, we did not take our eyes off our headquarters maps (...) with all the forebodings, we did not even think about the possibility of such a catastrophe.”

However, the disaster was not long in coming: soon after the encirclement of German troops, the Supreme High Command Headquarters decided to eliminate the encircled enemy group...

On January 24, F. Paulus will ask Hitler for permission to surrender. The request will be rejected. And on January 26, units of the 21st and 62nd armies will meet in the Mamayev Kurgan area: thereby, the Soviet troops will cut the already surrounded enemy group into two parts. On January 31, Paulus will surrender. Only the northern group of troops will offer meaningless resistance. On February 1, 1,000 guns and mortars will rain down an avalanche of fire on enemy positions. As the commander of the 65th Army, Lieutenant General P.I., recalled. Batov “...after three to five minutes the Germans began to jump out and crawl out of the dugouts and basements...”

In the report of I.V. To Stalin, representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, Marshal of Artillery N.N. Voronov and Colonel General K.K. Rokossovsky reported: “Fulfilling your order, the troops of the Don Front at 16.00 on February 2, 1943 completed the defeat and destruction of the enemy’s Stalingrad group. Due to the complete liquidation of the encircled enemy troops, combat operations in the city of Stalingrad and in the Stalingrad region ceased.”

This is how the Battle of Stalingrad ended - greatest battle, which turned the tide not only in the Great Patriotic War, but also in the Second World War as a whole. And on the day of Military Glory of Russia, the day of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, I would like to pay tribute to the memory of every Soviet soldier who died in those terrible battles and thank those who have lived to this day. Eternal glory to you!

The Battle of Stalingrad is one of the largest in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. It began on July 17, 1942 and ended on February 2, 1943. According to the nature of the fighting, the Battle of Stalingrad is divided into two periods: defensive, which lasted from July 17 to November 18, 1942, the purpose of which was the defense of the city of Stalingrad (from 1961 - Volgograd), and offensive, which began on November 19, 1942 and ended on February 2, 1943 year with the defeat of the group of fascist German troops operating in the Stalingrad direction.

In the Battle of Stalingrad in different time troops of the Stalingrad, South-Western, Don, left wing of the Voronezh fronts, Volga military flotilla and the Stalingrad Air Defense Corps Region (an operational-tactical formation of Soviet air defense forces).

The fascist German command planned in the summer of 1942 to defeat Soviet troops in the south of the country, seize the oil regions of the Caucasus, the rich agricultural regions of the Don and Kuban, disrupt communications connecting the center of the country with the Caucasus, and create conditions for ending the war in its favor. This task was entrusted to Army Groups A and B.

For the offensive in the Stalingrad direction, the 6th Army under the command of Colonel General Friedrich Paulus and the 4th Tank Army were allocated from the German Army Group B. By July 17, the German 6th Army had about 270 thousand people, 3 thousand guns and mortars, and about 500 tanks. They were supported by the 4th Air Fleet (up to 1,200 combat aircraft). The Nazi troops were opposed by the Stalingrad Front, which had 160 thousand people, 2.2 thousand guns and mortars, and about 400 tanks.

It was supported by 454 aircraft of the 8th Air Army, 150-200 aviation bombers long range. The main efforts of the Stalingrad Front were concentrated in the large bend of the Don, where the 62nd and 64th armies occupied the defense in order to prevent the enemy from crossing the river and breaking through by the shortest route to Stalingrad.

The defensive operation began on the distant approaches to the city at the border of the Chir and Tsimla rivers. Bid Supreme High Command(Headquarters of the Supreme High Command) systematically strengthened the troops in the Stalingrad direction. By the beginning of August, the German command also introduced new forces into the battle (8th Italian Army, 3rd Romanian Army).

The enemy tried to encircle Soviet troops in the large bend of the Don, reach the area of ​​​​the city of Kalach and break through to Stalingrad from the west.

But he failed to accomplish this.

By August 10, Soviet troops retreated to the left bank of the Don and took up defense on the outer perimeter of Stalingrad, where on August 17 they temporarily stopped the enemy. However, on August 23, German troops broke through to the Volga north of Stalingrad.

From September 12, the enemy came close to the city, the defense of which was entrusted to the 62nd and 64th armies. The fierce ones turned around street fighting. On October 15, the enemy broke through to the area of ​​the Stalingrad Tractor Plant. On November 11, German troops made their last attempt to capture the city. They managed to get to the Volga south of the Barrikady plant, but they could not achieve more.

With continuous counterattacks and counterstrikes, the troops of the 62nd Army minimized the enemy's successes, destroying his manpower and equipment. On November 18, the main group of Nazi troops went on the defensive. The enemy's plan to capture Stalingrad failed.

Even during the defensive battle, the Soviet command began to concentrate forces to launch a counteroffensive, preparations for which were completed in mid-November. Back to top offensive operation Soviet troops had 1.11 million people, 15 thousand guns and mortars, about 1.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units, over 1.3 thousand combat aircraft.

The enemy opposing them had 1.01 million people, 10.2 thousand guns and mortars, 675 tanks and assault guns, 1216 combat aircraft. As a result of the massing of forces and means in the directions of the main attacks of the fronts, a significant superiority of Soviet troops over the enemy was created: on the South-Western and Stalingrad fronts in people - by 2-2.5 times, in artillery and tanks - by 4-5 times or more.

Offensive Southwestern Front and the 65th Army of the Don Front began on November 19, 1942 after an 80-minute artillery preparation. By the end of the day, the defenses of the 3rd Romanian Army were broken through in two areas. The Stalingrad Front launched its offensive on November 20.

Having struck the flanks of the main enemy group, the troops of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts closed the encirclement ring on November 23, 1942. 22 divisions and more than 160 separate units of the 6th Army and partly the 4th Tank Army of the enemy were surrounded.

On December 12, the German command attempted to release the encircled troops with a strike from the area of ​​the village of Kotelnikovo (now the city of Kotelnikovo), but did not achieve the goal. On December 16, the Soviet offensive began in the Middle Don, which forced the German command to finally abandon the release of the encircled group. By the end of December 1942, the enemy was defeated in front of the outer front of the encirclement, its remnants were thrown back 150-200 kilometers. This created favorable conditions for the liquidation of the group surrounded at Stalingrad.

To defeat the encircled troops by the Don Front, under the command of Lieutenant General Konstantin Rokossovsky, an operation was carried out under code name"Ring". The plan provided for the sequential destruction of the enemy: first in the western, then in the southern part of the encirclement ring, and subsequently - the dismemberment of the remaining group into two parts by a blow from west to east and the liquidation of each of them. The operation began on January 10, 1943. On January 26, the 21st Army linked up with the 62nd Army in the Mamayev Kurgan area. The enemy group was cut into two parts. On January 31, the southern group of troops led by Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus ceased resistance, and on February 2, 1943, the northern group stopped resistance, which was the completion of the destruction of the encircled enemy. From January 10 to February 2, 1943, over 91 thousand people were captured, about 140 thousand were destroyed during the offensive.

During the Stalingrad offensive operation, the German 6th Army and 4th Tank Army, the 3rd and 4th Romanian armies, and the 8th Italian Army were defeated. The total enemy losses were about 1.5 million people. In Germany, national mourning was declared for the first time during the war.

The Battle of Stalingrad made a decisive contribution to achieving a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War. The Soviet armed forces seized the strategic initiative and held it until the end of the war. Defeat fascist bloc near Stalingrad undermined trust in Germany on the part of its allies and contributed to the intensification of the Resistance movement in European countries. Japan and Türkiye were forced to abandon plans for active action against the USSR.

The victory at Stalingrad was the result of the unbending resilience, courage and mass heroism of the Soviet troops. For military distinction shown during the Battle of Stalingrad, 44 formations and units were given honorary titles, 55 were awarded orders, 183 were converted into guards units.

Tens of thousands of soldiers and officers were awarded government awards. 112 of the most distinguished soldiers became Heroes of the Soviet Union.

In honor of heroic defense In the city, the Soviet government established on December 22, 1942 the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad", which was awarded to 754 thousand of its defenders.

On May 1, 1945, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Stalingrad was assigned honorary title hero city. May 8, 1965 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the victory Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War the hero city was awarded the order Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

There are over 200 in the city historical places associated with his heroic past. Among them are the memorial ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamayev Kurgan, the House of Soldiers' Glory (Pavlov's House) and others. In 1982, the Panorama Museum "Battle of Stalingrad" was opened.

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On July 17, 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad began - one of the main turning point battles of the Great Patriotic War.

200 days and nights of fierce fighting ended in a decisive victory for the Russian troops. After the defeat at Stalingrad, Hitler declared three days of mourning in the Third Reich. The word Stalingrad has become synonymous with the steadfastness of the Russian army and the courage of the Russian soldier.

Film 1st."Over the Abyss"
Film 2."Fracture."

For reference:

At the beginning of 1942, Hitler abandoned plans for a new offensive against Moscow and concentrated on south direction. The key to Caucasian oil and transport communications between European part USSR, Transcaucasia and Central Asia was Stalingrad - large industrial centre, an important source of supply for the front and, moreover, a city bearing the name of the leader: its capture would also have propaganda value.

The 6th Army was allocated for the attack on Stalingrad under the command of Field Marshal Friedrich von Paulus. It included 13 divisions (270 thousand people), 3,000 guns and mortars and about 500 tanks. The hastily created Stalingrad Front was inferior to it in terms of personnel by 1.7 times, in tanks and artillery - by 1.3, and in aviation - by more than 2 times. The offensive began in July 1942. Very quickly, the fighting moved from the approaches and outskirts to the streets and squares of the city. The massive German bombing on August 23 destroyed Stalingrad: more than 40 thousand people died, half of the buildings turned into burning ruins, and Soviet soldiers fought for each of them until their last breath (see on our website the film adaptation of the novel by Vasily Grossman - series "Life and Fate") . According to General Chuikov, the Nazi losses during the attempts to take the famous “Pavlov’s House” exceeded the losses during the capture of Paris.

On November 19, 1942, the Red Army began its offensive as part of Operation Uranus, and 4 days later, in the Kalach area, the encirclement ring around Paulus’s army closed. The Nazis desperately resisted. New attacks - already in January 43rd - led to the dismemberment of the 6th Army into two groups (Soviet troops united in the Mamayev Kurgan area), by the end of the month the southern one was destroyed, the command and headquarters led by Paulus were captured, and after The northern group capitulated for two days.

The total losses of both sides in the Battle of Stalingrad - the largest during the Second World War - exceed two million people. About 90 thousand soldiers, more than 2,500 officers and 24 generals were captured. The trophies of the Soviet troops were thousands of guns, mortars and machine guns, more than 700 aircraft, over one and a half thousand tanks and other military equipment - the same amount Germany had lost before on the entire Eastern Front.

The defeat of the Nazis in the Battle of Stalingrad - along with the successful defense of Moscow and the battle on the Kursk Bulge - was a key turning point of the Second World War as a whole: German troops then finally lost the strategic initiative, and confusion and confusion in the Axis countries led to a crisis in the pro-fascist regimes in Italy and Romania , Hungary and Slovakia.

February 2 is a very important date in the history of our country; today marks one of the Days of Military Glory of Russia, the Day of the defeat of Nazi troops by Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad.

75 years ago, on February 2, 1943, the troops of the Don Front completed the defeat of the enemy surrounded by the Volga.

In combat report No. 0079/op, sent on the same day, at 16.30, to Supreme Commander-in-Chief from the headquarters of the Don Front, the results of the battle that lasted two hundred days and nights were summed up: 22 selected German divisions and many support units met an inglorious end near the Volga. Among the 91 thousand captured were 2,500 officers and 22 generals. This was the finale.

“In Stalingrad,” “Red Star” commented on the expected event, “our troops smoked the last Krauts out of their holes.” The collection of prisoners of war was enriched by several more generals. After long months of battle at Stalingrad, blessed silence reigned.

Red Army soldiers with an accordion celebrate victory in the Battle of Stalingrad on the Square of Fallen Fighters in liberated Stalingrad

The plans of the fascist German command, set for the summer of 1942, included defeating Soviet troops in the south of the country. On July 17, 1942, the first stage of the Battle of Stalingrad began. Specifically, the Nazis’ plans boiled down to the following: to seize the oil regions of the Caucasus, the rich agricultural regions of the Don and Kuban, disrupt communications connecting the center of the country with the Caucasus, and create conditions for ending the war in their favor. This task was entrusted to Army Groups “A” and “B”.

Literally four months later, Soviet troops gave a decisive rebuff to the enemy - on November 19, 1942, Soviet troops launched a counter-offensive near Stalingrad.

A rally to commemorate the end of the Battle of Stalingrad from a bird's eye view. A crowded meeting of victorious soldiers and city residents took place on February 4, 1943 on the Square of Fallen Fighters

The surrender of the city was then equated not only with a military, but also with an ideological defeat. Fights took place for every block, for every house; the city's central station changed hands 13 times. And yet our people and the soldiers of the Red Army were able to survive. On January 31, 1943, the commander of a group of German troops, F. Paulus, surrendered.

The 200 heroic days of the defense of Stalingrad went down in history as the bloodiest and cruelest. More than a million were killed and wounded during the defense of the city. Soviet soldiers and officers. The Battle of Stalingrad was the largest land battle of World War II and one of the turning points in the military operations, after which German troops finally lost the strategic initiative.

History, no matter from which side falsifiers attack it, stores, at least in documents, the eternal and holy truth. The feat of Stalingrad is immortal. It is extremely important for the heirs of Victory to know and remember which fronts and armies fought on the outskirts and in Stalingrad itself, repelled attempts to relieve the encircled army of Paulus, acted on the internal and external fronts environment. History without names, numbers, maps and diagrams is unthinkable.

But, perhaps, it is even more important to realize that Stalingrad for Russia is its fateful moment thousand years of history, a symbol of her indestructibility. At one time, Vladimir Putin said that the significance of such victories as the one achieved in Stalingrad is in terms of only one military science cannot be assessed, cannot be accommodated within the framework of habitual historical descriptions.

“They contain the very essence of the character of the people, they contain the honor and dignity of the nation,” says our president.

Stalingrad after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad. The wreck of a downed German He-111 bomber from the KG.55 "Greif" bomber group (griffin on the emblem)

Today, in memory of the Battle of Stalingrad, the Day of Military Glory of Russia is celebrated, and in Volgograd itself there are many historical places associated with its heroic past. But the most famous monument dedicated to the defenders of Stalingrad is “The Motherland Calls!” on Mamayev Kurgan.

To Volgograd to participate in festive events Numerous Russian and foreign delegations arrived. The most honorable place at the festival is, of course, given to the heroes of the legendary battle - participants in the Battle of Stalingrad and veterans of the Great Patriotic War.

Relatives of the legendary military leaders of the Battle of Stalingrad also arrived at the holiday: the sons of Colonel General, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Rodimtsev and Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky, the daughter of Marshal and Hero of the Soviet Union Andrei Eremenko.

Among the guests of honor is Anthony Skipper, Lord Mayor of the British city of Coventry. In 1944, Stalingrad and Coventry became the world's first sister cities.

Also taking part in the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Battle of Stalingrad today are delegations from Germany, Austria and Australia, deputies European Parliament, heads of partner and sister cities of Volgograd, representatives of Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, France, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Iceland and other countries.

In Volgograd, Russian President Vladimir Putin will also take part in the ceremonial events. Earlier, the head of state, by his order, gave federal status to the 75th anniversary of the Stalingrad victory.

On the occasion of the celebration of the Stalingrad victory, various celebrations are planned in the hero city. This year, residents of Volgograd have more free time to attend cultural events due to the fact that the head of the region, Andrei Bocharov, declared February 2 a day off.

Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and Chairman of the State Defense Committee of the USSR Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin kisses the “Sword of Stalingrad” at the presentation ceremony in the conference hall Soviet embassy during the Tehran Conference