It was a dark time for Europe as Hitler and his armies conquered and destroyed all in their path. Before attack Stalingrad, German rule in Europe had reached its greatest extent late in 1942 when the Germans were beginning to bear down on Stalingrad. The Germans had gone far into Soviet Russia by June of 1941, yet had suffered a defeat in the Battle of Moscow, and were not able to stabilize by spring 1942.
Hitler knew it would be predictable, and foolish to attack the same place again, and he also knew that if he could defeat the Russians at Stalingrad, he would gain a very strategic piece of land to mount his operations from. It was at this time that the Germans began Operation Blau, the operation that would be meant for the attack on Stalingrad. (Yoder, "Barbarossa")
Yet, for the Russians in Stalingrad, the third largest city in the Soviet Union, the Russian people thought that war was far off. However, in the middle of August 1942, The Stalingrad City Soviet began to consider evacuating civilians of the city, and to prepare for attack. (Yoder, “Death of a City”)
The battle of Stalingrad was a main turning point in World War II, and a major victory for the Russians. While the German's weak battle tactics and arrogant attitude towards fighting, as well as the intelligent Russian battle plans slowed the German advance battle into Stalingrad, the battle of Stalingrad could not have been won without the Russian's nationalism, and an important home “field” advantage.
According to Operation Blau, the German army had been split up into two groups, German army group A and German Army group B; the commanding officer over both armies was Field Marshal Fedor Von Bock. Army Group B included the Sixth army, and was the most powerful as it was supposed to be the army that finished Russia once and for all. (Editors, Time Life Books, 261)
The German Army Group B began attacking Stalingrad on August 24, 1942. Even though plans were made to evacuate Stalingrad in mid-August, by the time the battle had started, the majority of Russian civilians were still living in the city. The first attacks made by the Germans were those of the Luftwaffe, which bombed downtown Stalingrad, reducing that part of the city to burning rubble.
Over 40,000 Russians were killed in these first attacks, and soon afterward, an actual evacuation of the great city began; yet Stalin urged citizens to stay in the city saying that it would strike fear into the hearts of the enemy.
Men were ordered into factories, and women were sent to dig trenches, and ready battlements. After this primary German attack, the nationalism of the Russians began to be seen all over the streets and homes of Stalingrad. The editors of Stalingrad's local paper printed out a one-page edition, with the headline reading “We Will Smash the Enemy at the Gates of Stalingrad!” (Yoder, “Death of a City”)
The Russian's nationalistic pride, and love for their country drove many to stay and fight against the invading German forces. The first days of the battle, German's orders were to “shave-off” balconies chimneys and other structures that may be harboring the enemy. Even with doubled efforts to stop civilians from standing against the Russian army, thousands of Russian civilians remained in Stalingrad, wanting to fight for a country, and city that they loved.
While Russian nationalism was a key benefit for the Russian's moral, and fighting tactics, a real advantage came from the fact that the Russians knew every “nook and cranny” of Stalingrad, and were prepared to fight the Germans on the streets of their home. The Russian troops and remaining civilians barricaded the streets with paving stones, mined alleys, sniped from rooftops and threw Molotov cocktails to gain an advantage over the advancing Germans.
One famous Russian sniper, Vasily Zaitsev struck fear into the hearts of German officers by obtaining over 149 kills during the course of the battle. “Pavlov's House”, a building that Sergeant Yakov Pavlov held for 59 days before being relieved, became recognized as a miracle of sorts; Pavlov would mount anti-tank guns on the roof tops of buildings, easily destroying the tanks below, who could not raise their guns high enough to hit the turrets.
The soviet propaganda machine used these legends to construct entire stories of Zaitsev taking on famous German snipers, and Pavlov holding off teems of the advancing enemy, making the Russian citizens all the more willing to try to become a Soviet legend and die for their countries. Large German Panzer IV tanks equipped with heavy armor and weaponry were completely useless in the tight streets of Stalingrad; the fact that tank fighting was drawn to a minimum was very damaging to the advancing German Army.
