Deadliest Battle in History: Stalingrad | Animated History

[Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] m [Music] foreign hi i'm griffin johnson the armchair historian as the nazi invasion of the soviet union dragged on hitler and his high command found themselves falling short of critical objectives operation barbarossa was meant not only to seize soviet territory but more critically to supply the third reich with desperately needed raw materials namely oil germany was running out of fuel even with their junior partner romania pouring over 100 000 tons of oil barrels into germany's collective tank as the vermost burned through their meager supplies hitler and high command turned their gaze toward capturing the oil fields of caucasia the summer of 1942 would see the nazis focus their efforts on the southern soviet union with the goal of capturing these oil fields a plan better known as fallblau or case blue however hitler would later add another objective the capture of the city of stalingrad a logistical center named for his communist frenemy in this video we will focus on the bloody and brutal battle of stalingrad as two dictators send their men into a meat grinder for the sake of oil and renown before we hit the streets of stalingrad we'd like to thank our friends over at raid shadow legends for sponsoring this video this great mobile and pc game now has over 600 champions for you to play as prepare for epic conflicts against raid's newest clan boss the six-headed hydra this is raid's biggest and craziest clan boss yet with six unique heads each won a boss battle in its own right test your skills against its head of torment as it fills your champions hearts with fear preventing you from moving and accessing key skills or against its head of suffering which uses its pain link ability to send part of whatever damage you do to it back to your champions and be sure to try out my favorite game mode the pvp arena and pit your champions against thousands of other players from all around the world furthermore raid shadow legends is unveiling a new limited edition champion to add to your team esports legend and navi superstar simple just log into raid shadow legends for 7 days between now and january 28th and simple will be added to your roster of champions 100 free now is also the perfect time to get started with raid shadow legends new players who sign up in the next 30 days will get the epic champion vergas 200 000 silver one energy refill one xp boost and one ancient shard so you can summon amazing champions from the moment you start playing all of these rewards will be waiting for you here use our link in the description or scan the qr code to sign up and join and now to the battle of stalingrad [Music] the city of stalingrad formerly known as zaritsen was not originally part of nazi plans for case blue though an important transport hub hosting a number of factories and steel works the initial drafts of case blue were focused entirely on securing the caucasian oil fields the volga hugging city of half a million inhabitants just didn't figure in two german plans with the failure of operation barbarossa still fresh in their minds and the front line stagnating the dawn of spring meant it was time for a new push into the soviet union this push involved an axis army of 1.3 million men 300 000 of whom were soldiers from italy romania hungary and croatia advancing towards ostragon before securing their northern flank along the dawn and the volga then advancing south toward the caucasus the ever erratic hitler however decided this plan was far too simple and ordered army group south split in two so they could achieve both objectives simultaneously the newly christened group a would drive for the caucasus mountains in the south while group b would make for the ostragon by way of the don and volga satisfied that he had complicated his generals lives sufficiently hitler let the offensive begin on june 28th the soviets were taken completely by surprise and found the second verse of the nazi invasion the same as the first the germans made rapid progress into soviet territory and by mid july the german sixth army under friedrich palus was within striking distance of stalingrad hitler ordered stalingrad be taken on july 23rd in addition to being a transport hub and possessing some manufacturing stalingrad served as an artery in the lend lee system that saw allied supplies shipped to the soviets by way of iran but hitler's sixth army was growing weaker with every instant german supply lines were stretched so thin that in a grim omen of things to come some germans resorted to eating their horses in addition a full quarter of paulus's casualties thus far had been due to typhus and dysentery which dug their claws deep into both german and soviet forces speaking of soviets stalin had predicted hitler's change of strategy and was making preparations factories turned out a tidal wave of tanks and reserves were brought in to reinforce stalingrad on july 27th stalin issued the infamous order 227 commanding all soviet soldiers to take not a step back and laid down heavy penalties for officers who retreated without approval the command was given in direct response to an idea that was sweeping the dispirited red army the soviets should outrun the nazis retreating deeper and deeper into the vast territories of the soviet union until the most advantageous time to fight presented itself where the will to fight did in his order stalin countered this narrative with one of his own russian civilians forced under the german yoke were cursing the red army for abandoning them in their time of most desperate need the workers of russia called on their soldiers to fight back in stalingrad these same civilians were conscripted to dig trenches or work emergency shifts in arms factories after nearly a month of preparations on both sides the germans and their allies crossed the don river on august 21st setting the stage for one of the bloodiest actually the bloodiest fight in history the luftwaffe opened the assault on stalingrad with a multi-day bombing which reaches its zenith on august 23rd 600 bombers of luftflota 4 level massive swaths of this city killing between 40 to 75 000 people german spearheads draw close to the city not long thereafter encountering fanatical resistance before driving to the volga on the northern side and are promptly cut off by the communists a pocket forms around this spearhead and troops under general gustav anton von wiederscheim are encircled two days later general hermann hoth leads the fourth panzer army in an attack on the southern side of the city only for the russians to turn him back a second armored spearhead manages to break through the northern pocket and drop off critical supplies but the would-be rescuers abandon the pocket when it becomes clear they did not bring sufficient infantry to hold their position the soviets to the south slowly lose men to the northern front line with the final division remaining in the sector belonging to the nkvd the secret police are soon reassigned to the northern sector as well and the drawdown gives hoth an opening as the civilian population breaks into a panic he drives northward ultimately covering 20 kilometers or just under 12.5 miles the soviet commander yayaramka withdraws his men to better defensive positions within the city as the germans advance august ends with paulus's sixth army breaking into the northern encirclement relieving their comrades after a week of dug-in fighting the german lines solidify and as september begins the nazis partially encircled stalin's city gyorgy zhukov future hero of the soviet union launches an attack in the north meant to break up the german line and once again encircle the fascists but the germans are able to hold fast zhukov may not encircle his foes but he captures their attention and ties down a number of paulus's men hitler seeing yet another opportunity to complicate matters dismisses the commander of army group b and takes personal command of operations in the north with the fuhrer himself as their leader the germans continue to make the exact same slow but steady progress into stalingrad with the fourth gaining ground to the south the 29th motor division in particular becomes the first german unit to reach the southern shores of the volga on september 9th with the 29th in place the soviet defenders are split into their constituent groups the 62nd and 64th armies find themselves cut off from each other with the 60-second reliant on supplies ferried across the volga supplies that must make their way through intense german fire the 62nd is woefully under strength with their only complete division being the nkvd rifleman that were pulled out in the face of hoth's drive last month despite their shortcomings these 60-second fights hard resisting the germans as they push into the suburbs vasily choikov commander of the 62nd orders his frontline troops to hug the german lines keeping in constant contact to prevent the luftwaffe providing air support lest they bomb their fellow aryans the close quarters leads to intense urban combat as the soviets fight the axis room by room house by house opening a brutal new phase of the battle the germans reached stalingrad proper on september 13th the luftwaffe once again rains bombs onto the city playing a duet of destruction with german heavy artillery these soviets respond in kind counter-barraging with their own guns and katyusha rockets elements of the sixth army push deep into the city and force the soviets into a near envelopment despite fierce resistance the germans capture critical hills overlooking the city center and over the next two days the germans will advance through stalagrad center capturing railway stations and driving hard for the volga with the fourth providing support in the south the sixth army reaches the volga in just one day placing the germans well inside stalingrad but all is not sunshine and sauerkraut for the germans the soviets recapture the heights overlooking the city center on september 16th general von wiederscheim who had so nobly commanded the encircled germans at the opening of the assault is sacked when he posits the germans will ultimately fail to take stalingrad and suggests a withdrawal from their volga positions and further complicating matters a group of 50 soviet soldiers fortify a grain elevator famously holding off the germans as their offensive begins to slow the ragged soviets in the grain elevator would hold out for another four days until the germans finally cleared them on the 21st these would not be the last soviet holdouts however as around this same time a group of soviet soldiers seize and fortify an apartment block that would come to be known as pavlov's house pavlovs would hold out until november a siege within a siege of 60 days the germans end september holding roughly two-thirds of stalingrad and preparing for a final push into the industrial heartland of the city the beleaguered soviets are reinforced by the 1047th rifle regiment who cross the volga on the 22nd they are not the only reinforcements these soviets can expect however the temperature in stalingrad begins dropping the icy winds a dispatch from the russian's old ally general winter these gales provide a fitting prelude to a storm gathering in the russian camp for almost the entire month of september in utmost secrecy joseph stalin gyorgy zhukov and vistafka the russian high command have been formulating plans for a counter-offensive and they're almost ready to make their move as the soviet reinforcements continue to make their way into stalingrad palus launches an assault on the industrial sector the reinforced soviets pushed the nazis back and on october 4th palus learns that the 51st corps along the tip of the germanic spear has taken such extensive casualties that it has lost all offensive capability the german halt offensive operations for a full 10 days to rest and resupply save for a push on october 13th by hoth that sees the fourth army finally reach the volga the rest of october will be a hard slog for the germans and soviets both as the germans renew their assault on the industrial district and begin to make headway the germans pay dearly for every minute they advance and the bombing raids by the luftwaffe that had opened the battle bear bitter fruit goring's aces leave a trail of destruction in their wake that inadvertently shifts the battle ever so slightly in the favor of the soviet defenders the communists fortify or hide in hollowed-out buildings and mazes of rubble making the corpse of the city into a near continuous line of defenses and traps that force the germans to advance methodically and fight nose-to-nose [Music] the german advance through the industrial zone continues through november as the soviets resist them at every step by the 11th the soviets are pushed into isolated pockets of resistance in factories and houses pockets the germans throw assault after assault at assaults that soviets repel time and again before ultimately failing the germans low on men materiel and willpower begin to stumble a week later the soviets hold only a stretch of the shoreline at the volga no more than 10 percent of the city the russians are on the ropes but the germans are too battered and under-supplied to press their assault palus could count over 60 000 casualties in the sixth army alone both the germans and besieged russians lick their wounds and settle into rhythms of a stalemate neither side aware of the earth-shattering events to come as general winter covers stalingrad in a raging blizzard zhukov springs his long-prepared trap the soviets launched their mammoth counter-offensive appropriately dubbed operation uranus at 3 o'clock on november 19th 10 soviet armies totaling 1 million men almost a thousand tanks and over a thousand planes wash over the germans like a crimson tide looking to break out and lock the nazis in a pincer over a 400 kilometer or 248 mile front uranus is timed perfectly as the frigid winds serve a natural coolant for the tanks allowing them to drive harder and farther the allies land in north africa at the same time splitting the attention of high command in berlin over the course of three days the soviets succeed in completely reversing the fortunes of the battle tearing into the axis lines to encircle 40 000 romanian troops protecting the germans southern flank before driving their pincers into an almost total encirclement of the fourth and sixth armies palus is presented with a fateful decision attempt a breakout or dig in and wait for the metaphorical cavalry as the noose begins to tighten around him high command begins entertaining the idea of resupplying the sixth army by air an idea that would lay the foundation for the sixth army's destruction in a conference on the 23rd luftwaffe chief of staff hans yeshanek guarantees hitler the delivery of 500 tons of supplies per day to their forces in stalingrad despite palus estimating he needs 700 and the luftwaffe's own estimate that they could manage 300 at best the message reaches the fuhrer just as high command convinces him that a breakout is the only way to salvage the situation buoyed by his air force's confidence hitler approves the airlift the luftwaffe begins dropping critical stockpiles of ammunition and fuel but no food as the encirclement drags on the german army starves bread rations are slashed in desperation and the men begin dining on sumptuous feasts of horse fat wounded men awaiting medevac are placed into thin tents next to supply runways and as general winter marches on the german forces the wounded freeze to death in their cots on november 26th paulu sends a dispatch to friedrich von manstein overall commander of the german military paulus complains that he had not received any communication from high command for over 36 hours and that hitler had denied his request for freedom of action paulus asks von manstein to relieve his besieged force or else formally order him to attempt a breakout for his part manstein is confident that the sixth army can hold their position with the luftwaffe airdrops as their lifeline confidence that will soon be put to the test as the german starve and the soviets advance the battle of stalingrad enters its brutal conclusion as winter well and truly sets in the supply situation in the german pocket becomes dire the 3500 soviet pows who have survived long enough to be held by the germans within their encirclement are officially cut off from all rations as the germans must get every scrap of food into their own bellies the soviets resort to melting snow which is contaminated by debris and urine for water and cannibalizing on their own dead comrades meanwhile the germans guarding them begin venting their rage on their prisoners brutalizing them with their weapons and dogs when the battle of stalingrad ends only 30 soviet pows will be liberated by their comrades but that is months from now as the snow piles up around him and the luftwaffe finally begins delivering desperately needed supplies of food palus take stock of the sixth army thirty-four thousand of three hundred thousand who marched on stalingrad are still alive on december 12th von manstein launches operation winter storm an attempt to break through to palus and relieve the germans trapped in stalingrad palus asks hitler for permission to break out and once again he is refused the sixth army can only wait for liberty or destruction there are no other options von manstein drives for stalingrad and after a week is bogged down by the soviets in a mere 48 kilometer or 29 miles from the city new offensives way lay von manstein further and the dutiful palus continues to follow his fuhrer's orders to stay put as christmas arrives in stalingrad general winter makes a special delivery to the nazis on christmas day 1300 men die a frost frostbite on mass the soviets bring presents of their own launching an endless stream of harassing attacks and probes as they freeze to death or are shot by these soviets one can imagine the german soldiers ardently wishing for saint nicholas to bring them some coal at least they could burn it for warmth the new year would only bring new misery for the germans bands of soldiers roam the ruined streets looking for food and warmth thousands of wounded languish untreated due to lack of supplies these soviets offer the germans a generous surrender giving paulus the chance to save his men and himself from certain death at the hands of general zhukov or general winter the proud prussian refuses and on january 6th the soviets launch a new wave of attacks that carve the sixth army in two pieces as his men are forced into two disparate pockets paulus's supply situation worsens the soviet attacks force his soldiers to abandon critical airfields and even if they could be held the luftwaffe begins throttling back on supply drops decreasing the tonnage dropped as the encirclement drags on the 22nd the soviets again solicit a surrender and paulu sends a message to hitler that his men have no ammunition nor food and that his ability to command them is degrading by the moment two days later he reports that he has 18 000 wounded left completely untreated and begs hitler for permission to surrender his men to the soviets hitler orders paulus to hold his position to the last man the last cartridge not a day later the soviets capture the last remaining airfield that the germans can use to receive airdrops whatever paulus has in his stores was all he ever will throughout the encircled sixth and fourth a hundred thousand men die in january alone and the two armies have been split into northern and southern pockets with no way of communicating as paulo struggles with hitler's order not to surrender he receives a most unwelcome surprise a promotion from hitler himself to field marshall but instead of an honor it was a death sentence as no field marshal had ever surrendered or been captured alive before with the stroke of his pen hitler orders paulus to place himself upon the altar of national socialism and die on january 31st paulus becomes the first german field marshal taken captive to hear him tell it paulus and his headquarters staff who were based out of a department store basement were suddenly overrun by soviet forces and had no choice but to allow themselves to be taken into captivity palus would insist to the last man that he never formally surrendered to the russians and refused their commands to order his men to stand down the southern pocket collapses under the weight of paulus's capture but the northern hangs on barely the next day general carl strecker de facto commander of the northern pocket gathers his staff to tell them of the southern collapse he issues a general order empowering all troops under his command to act according to the dictates of their conscience a flowery way of saying surrender if you want to live without actually uttering the words and that is exactly what striker does on february 2nd the sixth army formally surrenders to georgie zhukov but 11 000 germans refused to give up the fight going to ground in the ruins of stalingrad there is no fanatical resistance or desperate grab at victory however these were germans fearful of soviet reprisal with no central command nor mission other than survival these holdouts would hide in the ruins and sewers by day and scavenge what they could at night their lives were desperate and violent engaging in running gunfights with soviet forces and scratching for meager survival by day it would take until march of 1943 for the soviets to root out these renegade germans and fully secure stalingrad the civilian population of stalingrad fared little better than the men in uniform though there were sporadic evacuations of civilians throughout the battle either organized by the germans or soviets or in panicked response to the shifting tides of battle the loss of life was still enormous 170 000 civilians died in the battle of stalingrad and this number includes those who died after the war after being enslaved by the germans and marched to force labor camps in the ukraine and elsewhere while the soviet pows under german care had been almost annihilated the germans would fare no better 95 of the men captured by the soviets at the end of the battle wouldn't see home again stalingrad was a bloodbath a churning engine of destruction fed by human life and misery but it was also a testament to the fighting spirit of those on the ground as the soviets clung by their very fingernails to the city and threw the germans back [Music] you

Channel: The Armchair Historian

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Length: 27min 1sec (1621 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 17 2021