Transcript Stalingrad: Deadliest Battle of World War II

Stalingrad:
Deadliest Battle of World War II
By:
Chris Roberts, Brooke Clarke, Jess Snyder
and
Tyler Wech
Stalingrad
Stalingrad was under attack by the
German Sixth Army.
The deadliest battle in military history
killed two million people and took place
northeast of the Black Sea.
A five month battle between Hitler and
Stalin.
The battle of Stalingrad began at 6p.m. on
August 23, 1942.
Soviet Resistance
Hitler launched a plan to control the Soviet
Union and their oil deposit.
The Soviet people retaliated against
Hitler’s army.
Hitler’s army was miserable in the harsh
Russian winters.
The German’s fought man to man in the
streets cellars and ditches. This is why it
was called the Rat War.
The Siege of Stalingrad
The German troops spent a horrible
Christmas in small camp near Stalingrad.
They were not well equipped for the
winter.
The people inside the city didn’t have
enough food so they began to eat other
dead people.
Soviet snipers shot German officers to
gain revenge and fame.
The Duel
• Vasily had confirmed Major Konings was a
“super sniper.”
• With three days of observing the enemies
habits Zaitsev made a plan.
• Vasily shot Konings between the eyes.
• Konings is dead.
• According to legend Vasily claimed his
give-away scope as his trophy.
Hitler Forbids Surrender
By the middle of winter Germans planned their
own attack called “Operation Winter Storm.”
The brilliant strategy of Zhukov, Vasilevsky and
Voronov had outwitted the men of the Third
Reich.
On January 8th 1943 the soviet offered Paulus
surrender terms, he refused.
Hitler promoted Paulus to Field Marshall. A
reminder that no German Field Marshall had
ever surrendered. Paulus had only one option,
according to the Fuhrer: commit suicide.
German Surrender
• On January 31, 1943 Paulus surrendered.
• By February 2, 1943 both the northern and
southern parts of Stalingrad were back in Soviet
hands. Hitler had sustained a massive defeat
from which he would never recover.
• Stalingrad ultimately caused Hitler to do what he
wanted Paulus to do: commit suicide.
• Russians took part of Hitler’s skull.
“The Swords of Stalingrad”
• Ten months after the German surrender,
Winston Churchill recognized the
extraordinary suffering and heroism of the
Stalingrad people. He presented the
jeweled “Sword of Stalingrad" to the Soviet
leader.
• It bears this engraving: To the steelhearted citizens
of Stalingrad, a gift from King George VI as a token of the
homage of the British people.