In the late spring of 1942, after the winter stalemate in the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Adolf Hitler renewed his offensive against Leningrad in the north and Moscow in the center, but this time he divided his attack in the south into two fronts, one designed to capture the Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus and the other to capture the important industrial city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd). This dispersal of German strength over four fronts proved to be disastrous.

Stalingrad was a modern city, built in the 1930s as a model of the "workers' paradise," its factory complexes balanced by parks and small detached houses, each with its own garden. It was particularly important to the ego of the man for whom it was named, Joseph Stalin. Fighting began on August 23, by which time the Soviet army had been heavily reinforced. The battle proved to be fierce and costly for both sides, as every building in the city was bitterly contested, often in hand-to-hand fighting. By November, fighting within Stalingrad still raged, but on November 19 the German Sixth Army found themselves encircled in a brilliant counterstroke by the Soviet Army.

In two pincer movements, one from the north and another from the south, the Soviets completely surrounded the German forces in the city. The only logical German strategy was to try to break through the encirclement and retreat to the west, but Hitler, who by this time had become obsessed with Stalingrad, insisted that the army remain in place, promising that they would be relieved by additional German forces and that supplies would be flown in by the German air force. Neither promise was kept, and the Sixth Army, already exhausted by the bitter struggle for the city, now faced starvation and another Russian winter. Finally, with his own headquarters overrun, the German commanding officer, General Friedrich von Paulus, surrendered. After 164 days of savage, brutal warfare, the fighting formally ended on February 2, 1943. German losses--dead, wounded, and captured--amounted to an astonishing 1.2 million. The German army never fully recovered from this defeat, which ranks as one of the fiercest battles in the history of modern warfare.

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on Military Topics at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to Military Topics and other relevant topics.