Battle of Stalingrad

“…this is a book that anyone interested in the Stalingrad Campaign should read, if just to get another take on the history of it.” – A Wargamers Needful Things The Battle of Stalingrad was the bloodiest battle of the Second World War. An estimated 2 million individuals, military as well as civilian, became casualties in a savage struggle which lasted for more than five months. Stalingradâ€s strategic position on the River Volga in southern Russia meant that whoever controlled the city controlled access to the oil fields of the Caucasus. Without that oil, the Germans were ultimately destined to fail on all fronts. The Battle of Stalingrad was, therefore, arguably, the most important conflict of the entire war. Yet, the author argues that both Hitler and Stalin lost sight of the real objectives of the campaign, with the capture of Stalingrad becoming seen as the end in itself. Stalingrad was not specified as a particular objective of the Germans in the original plan of Operation Read more