The two cities were of great meaning to the Russians as both – especially Stalingrad – would be important turning points in the war if taken by the Germans. Also, these cities were crucial life sources for the Russian people as they were full of critical factories that supplied troops with weapons and food for example.
The German forces dropped more than 1000 tons of bombs on Stalingrad, but still Stalin initially forbade any evacuation from the city, even of children. These tactics by the Germans were very similar tactics to that of Blitzkrieg. However, when the Russian winter struck, the advance slowed to a halt. Conditions were terrible with sub-zero temperatures and snow. The German soldiers were not equipped for these conditions and they were held up by Russian resistance at Leningrad and Moscow.
In the spring of 1942 the Germans advanced again but were held up by stubborn Russian resistance at Stalingrad. The ferocity of the fighting at Stalingrad shocked the Germans, who were used to the relative ease of their Blitzkrieg tactics. Suddenly they were faced with hand-to-hand combat, often only yards away from the enemy.
Soviet Veteran Suren Mirzoyan remembers the blood lust of the time. “I was like a beast. I wanted only one thing – to kill. You know how it looks when you squeeze a tomato and juice comes out? Well it looked like that when I stabbed them. Blood everywhere. Every step in Stalingrad meant death. Death was in our pockets. Death was walking with us.”
Then the Germans were again hit by the winter. In January 1943, the German army at Stalingrad (100,000 men) surrendered. The Russians began to push the Germans back and in June 1944 all German armies had been driven from Russia. The Russian resistance was crucial to the outcome of the war. With a total of 75% of German forces being in Russia, it gave the Allies time to prepare for a major offensive in the West.
The scale of the event is clearly shown through these figures of the strength of both armies for the battle:-
A total of 20 million Russians (soldiers and civilians) died. The fact that the Battle of Stalingrad was so bloody – the average life-expectancy of a Soviet private soldier was only 24 hours in the battle – it was no surprise that so many people did die. I feel that Stalingrad and Leningrad were significant in many ways, both for the Germans and for the Russians.
I think the Germans thought the two cities were important for statistical reasons than for supply lines. Hitler knew that this could possibly be the last major offensive in the East if Germany could win this final battle against Soviet Russia. Hitler had so far conducted the war as he saw fit, and knew that the future of the war was in his hands. However, he made a big mistake by moving ¾ of the German army into Russia which cost him the war. The Allies could now prepare a major offensive in the West (D-Day). Furthermore, the cold severe weather meant that the Russians could now drive all German forces out of Eastern Europe.
For the Russians, Stalingrad and Leningrad I think were important for mainly supply lines and for keeping the Germans away. The two cities were great forts in reassuring Russia’s future. I think that if the fall of the two cities had happened, then the Russians would have had no chance in keeping the Germans out of Soviet Russia and possibly not even weakening the Germans – even if D-Day still took place. This is because the Russian resistance that were stopping the Germans from advancing would have run out of supplies of weapons such as tanks, guns, etc and would have had no fight to put up.
I think the significance of the Battle for Stalingrad and Leningrad can easily be seen by just looking at the death count – 20 million Russians (soldiers and civilians). That surely shows the significance of the two cities.