Chapter 42 Chapter 12 The Tragedy of Stalingrad

The Russians took Stalingrad as a turning point in the war, and rightfully so.The British considered the Battle of Britain equally important.Americans believed that the participation of the United States in the war was the main reason for the final victory of the Allies. There are many in Germany who feel reluctance to regard the Battle of Stalingrad as the decisive battle of the Second World War.In fact, none of these individual events should be considered truly decisive.The outcome of the war was determined by many factors, the most important of which was probably the consequences of Hitler's policies and strategies, which ultimately placed Germany at a hopeless disadvantage against its enemy.

In terms of the setback of the German offensive on the Volga, Stalingrad should indeed be regarded as a turning point.However, although the losses of the Sixth Army were undoubtedly very serious, their significance did not mean that the war on the Eastern Front, especially the war as a whole, was lost.Such a solution would still be possible if the German policy and military leadership had decided that they wanted nothing more than a stalemate.