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Thread: Have a look at my final history essay :D

  1. #1
    Smith's Avatar Since 1989.. BT Rep: +1
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    After many weeks im finally done my history ISU on Why Hitler lost the Battle of Stalingrad.

    Please have a look and tell me what you think, any constructive critisizm is welcomed, considering its worth 10% of my final grade. Its about 1700 words, which is alot for me, but its worth it.

    Stalingrad Essay June 6th 2005 Andrew Smith


    By June of 1942, WWII had been raging on across Europe for approximately two

    and a half years. Hitler now had Russia in his sights. At this time, the city of

    Stalingrad itself was not on Hitler’s agenda, but Caucasus, which held 70% of

    Russia’s oil production and 63% of its natural gas was a main target. “We knew

    than in two years time, that is by the end of 1942, beginning of 1943, the English

    would be ready, the Americans would be ready, the Russians would be ready

    too, and then we would have to deal with all three of them at the same time….we

    had to try to remove the greatest threat from the east…. At the time it seemed

    possible.” This battle was important because it was the first major battle in which

    Hitler lost suffered major losses. It would be the turning point in the war, and it

    would lead to the downfall of the Nazi power. It was also important because

    Stalingrad held many factories that could be used for Nazi supplies. To

    understand why Hitler lost the war; we have to understand the reasons why Hitler

    lost the battle that started the loosing streak. The reasons why Hitler lost the

    Battle of Stalingrad were the failure to re supply the 6th army with the Luftwaffe,

    Hitler’s obsession with “Stalin’s City and Russian snipers.


    After Russia had encircled the German 6th army at Stalingrad, Hitler had the

    Army Group Don, under the command of Field Marshal von Manstien, come up

    with a relief mission in which the Luftwaffe would use JU-52’s and HE-111’s to

    drop the required 700 tons per day of ammunition, clothing, food and general

    supplies to the surrounded soldiers. "My Luftwaffe is invincible...And so now we

    turn to England. How long will this one last - two, three weeks?" This quote was

    not from Stalingrad, but it proves my thesis because the Germans saw their air

    force as superior to everyone else’s. Hitler thought it could do anything he

    wanted it to do, even though the airlift at Stalingrad was impossible. Many of

    Hitler’s officials warned him that it would be impossible to supply that many

    supplies in that amount of time, mostly because the bulk of the German transport

    planes were in Africa. The plan was revised and soon the required amount was

    pushed down to 500 tons of supplies per day. This plan was impossible in the

    first place for a few reasons. First the cold Russian winters could affect the

    airplanes so they wouldn’t start, or would stall in mid flight. Because of this the

    Germans could only supply 94 tons of the needed 300 tons per day. The most

    successful part of the relief mission was from the 19th to the 21st of December,

    when the Germans supplied 700 tons of supplies over three days. To make

    things worse the Russian Army continued to widen the space between German

    airports and the 6th army and installed increasing numbers of anti-aircraft guns in

    that space. So for each run the planes had to carry more fuel and fewer

    supplies. For example the supply airfields at Tazinskaya and Morosovskaya were

    captured on the 22nd of December, this made the transport planes fly 60 extra

    miles every run. In the end Marshal von Manstein gave up on the relief mission

    on the 23rd of December. In conclusion, if Hitler had re supplied his army then he

    would have probably been able to fight off the Russians. But he didn’t and

    because of that his air force was crushed and the 6th army was forced to

    surrender. Because of this failed relief mission the 6th army was split in two, the

    north and south pocket. The south pocket was forced to surrender on the 31st of

    January, and the north surrendered on the 3rd of February.





    Hitler’s saw the Russians as inferior people; he thought that they would crumble

    once he attacked. Hitler never thought that they would be able to put up a fight.

    Hitler’s ego got in his way, it clouded his judgment and therefore Hitler’s

    obsession with taking “Stalin’s City” would cause him to loose thousands of

    troops, and it would be the beginning of the end of the war. Hitler never really

    wanted Stalingrad in his summer plans he was just going for the oil rich

    Caucasus. But he changed his mind because it was the city of Stalin and if

    captured it would lower Russian morale. He only wanted the city because it was

    “Stalin’s City”. Hitler’s obsession with this city would cloud his judgment, and taint

    his planning. For example the 4th Panzer Army was useless inside the city

    because the streets were narrow so there was no room for them to move around.

    They would get stuck and be easy targets for the Russian anti-tank units. This

    could have been avoided if Hitler was to plan more, but he wanted the city then,

    not in a few weeks. Because of this engineers were sent in to remove roadblocks

    and piles of rubble “Since the operations proposed for the relief of Sixth Army

    cannot be successful, it is decisive that orders for a break-out be issued. This

    must be done at once. The last possible moment has arrived.” But Hitler would

    not let them break through, he wanted the city at all costs. If Hitler hadn’t been so

    stubborn, he could have saved many lives. Hitler was so obsessed with the city

    that he sent poorly equipped Germans, not prepared for the cold winters and with

    inferior weapons to fight anyway. He also used the Luftwaffe to support the 6th

    army even when Hitler’s generals and officers advised against it. It got so bad

    that after the 6th army was surrounded the Russians sent a surrender request to

    Hitler, but he refused, two days later the Russians heavily assaulted the

    Germans from three sides. Hitler ordered to fight to the last man. In the end, out

    of desperation Hitler promoted Paulus to Field Marshal in hopes that he would

    fight to the death or take his own life, because no German Field Marshal had

    ever been taken alive. If Hitler hadn’t been so obsessed with the city, and thought

    more about his plan he might have won. He let his ego get in his way, and it

    tainted his thinking. If he had not ignored the Russian strength and actually

    thought they would have been a challenge, he might have planned it

    out more and done a better job.



    Snipers like Vasily Zaitsev were vastly read about in newspapers. They would be

    a major role in Stalingrad. They offered morale boosts for the soldiers, and took

    out important targets such as German officers and lieutenants. One example of

    this was the Vasily Zaitsev story. Vasily Zaitsev was the onetime shepherd who

    had perfected his marksmanship hunting deer in the Ural foothills. He joined the

    army when he was 26, and became a sniper in Stalingrad. Vasily Zaitsev had

    killed at least 40 Germans in ten days. The Germans got worried, so to combat

    this they sent SS Colonel Heinz Thorwald, a teacher at an elite sniper school in

    Berlin to take care of Zaitsev. He followed the Colonel for two days before his

    instructor came with him. His instructor saw him when they were camping and

    moved and was hit. Zaitsev tells the story of how he got the Colonel:

    "For a long time I examined the enemy positions, but could not detect his hiding place. To the left was a tank, out of action, and on the right was a pillbox. Where was he? In the tank? No, an experienced sniper would not take up position there. In the pillbox, perhaps? Not there, either - the embrasure was closed. Between the tank and the pillbox, on a stretch of level ground, lay a sheet of iron and a small pile of broken bricks. It had been lying there a long time and we had grown accustomed to its being there. I put myself in the enemy's position and thought - where better for a sniper? One had only to make a firing slit under the sheet of metal, and then creep up to it during the night."

    The next day he was out again, he put a helmet on a piece of sheet metal and

    raised it. The Colonel shot at it and hit it, thinking he had killed Zaitsev he yelled

    out in joy. Zaitsev aimed and fired one shot into the Colonels head. By the end of

    the war it is said that Zaitsev killed over 149 Germans. Snipers were important in

    Stalingrad because there stories boosted soldiers morale, and they took out

    German officers and lieutenants.



    The reasons why Hitler lost the Battle of Stalingrad were the failure to re supply

    the 6th army with the Luftwaffe, Hitler’s obsession with “Stalin’s City”, and

    Russian snipers. He chose to ignore his officers in the field and relied instead on

    his Generals to bolster his own ego in this war. "The disaster of Stalingrad

    profoundly shocked the German people and armed forces alike...Never before in

    Germany's history had so large a body of troops come to so dreadful an end." This

    proves that the Germans did not count on loosing so bad, they thought they

    would triumph with in weeks. But they didn’t, they lost because of many different

    reasons. Hitler refused to let any of his army surrender and ordered they fight

    until the last man was standing. Because of Hitler’s obsession, his infantry was

    ill-equipped to deal with the extreme winter temperatures and the German tanks

    and machinery were also no match for the Russian winter. It cost Hitler the war

    because it was the first battle in which Hitler lost major in. Hitler lost all of his 6th

    army, and he needed it to fight on other fronts. Through it all, his men were

    dropping dead from starvation and the stress of non-stop fighting. The Luftwaffe

    supply runs where the defeat of the German air force and the snipers played a

    major role. Although this battle only lasted one year, the casualties were

    extremely high. The Russian army lost over half a million men and the civilian

    death toll ran in the tens of thousands. The battle for Stalingrad was a turning

    point in the war.
    wHAT DO YOU think?
    Last edited by Smith; 06-05-2005 at 07:21 PM.

  2. Lounge   -   #2
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    Looks nice, dunno if all the facts are real
    Last edited by {I}{K}{E}; 06-05-2005 at 07:18 PM.

  3. Lounge   -   #3
    Mr JP Fugley's Avatar Frog Shoulder BT Rep: +4
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    Let us hope the marker is not of Scottish, Irish or Welsh descent.
    "there is nothing misogynistic about anything, stop trippin.
    i type this way because im black and from nyc chill son "

  4. Lounge   -   #4
    Smith's Avatar Since 1989.. BT Rep: +1
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    Quote Originally Posted by {I}{K}{E}
    Looks nice, dunno if all the facts are real

    No, i made it all up, there was never a battle of Stalingrad.

  5. Lounge   -   #5
    (>Zero Cool<)'s Avatar he is Spartacus!
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    were you perchance watching 'enemy at the gates' whilst creating this? at least you left out the bit about Vasily being a young english chappie and the Colonel being american

    oh and just saw JP's remarks you do know that english is not the same as British all you americans are the same, you all think that
    Last edited by (>Zero Cool<); 06-05-2005 at 09:30 PM.

  6. Lounge   -   #6
    manker's Avatar effendi
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    Info for TehCanuck:

    Wales and Ireland are separate from the barbarous English/Scottish alliance, The McBannockburn clan joined forces with English pirates in days of yore and annexed Scotland for the pleasure of plump Londoners who'd grown too hot because of the rigours of decadent living.

    Even today Danny Baker and Alfie Moon are free to roam in the Scottish gloaming as they see fit.
    Last edited by manker; 06-05-2005 at 09:50 PM.
    I plan on beating him to death with his kids. I'll use them as a bludgeon on his face. -

    --Good for them if they survive.

  7. Lounge   -   #7
    (>Zero Cool<)'s Avatar he is Spartacus!
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    EDIT: Actually Manker wrote all the fictitious, correctly spelt and boring stuff in the text below...I just added the smilies and fecked up the quotage ...so all credit/blame should go to him..........burn him at the stake i say

    Info for TehCanuck:

    Wales and Ireland are separate from the barbarous English/Scottish alliance, The McBannockburn clan joined forces with English pirates in days of yore and annexed Scotland for the pleasure of plump Londoners who'd grown too hot because of the rigours of decadent living.

    Even today Danny Baker and Alfie Moon are free to roam in the Scottish gloaming as they see fit I thought that was part of our punishment
    Last edited by (>Zero Cool<); 06-05-2005 at 10:29 PM.

  8. Lounge   -   #8
    manker's Avatar effendi
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    Quote Originally Posted by (>Zero Cool<)
    Info for TehCanuck:

    Wales and Ireland are separate from the barbarous English/Scottish alliance, The McBannockburn clan joined forces with English pirates in days of yore and annexed Scotland for the pleasure of plump Londoners who'd grown too hot because of the rigours of decadent living.

    Even today Danny Baker and Alfie Moon are free to roam in the Scottish gloaming as they see fit I thought that was part of our punishment


    I had the exact same idea for a post not ten minutes ago. Wish I'd done it now 'cause that was really quite good
    I plan on beating him to death with his kids. I'll use them as a bludgeon on his face. -

    --Good for them if they survive.

  9. Lounge   -   #9

    Urgent

    Stalingrad Essay June 6th 2005 Andrew Smith *better title?

    ByJune of 1942, WWII had been raging on across Europe for approximately two *Starting withBy ithink is naughty english,WWII abreviation...

    and a half years. Hitler now had Russia in his sights. At this time, the city of

    Stalingrad itself was not on Hitler’s agenda, buthowever the Caucasus, which held 70% of

    Russia’s oil production and 63% of its natural gas was a main target.
    “ We knew

    thaT in two years time, that is by the end of 1942 and beginning of 1943, the English

    would be ready , the Americans would be ready, and the Russians would be ready

    too , and then we would have to deal with all three of them at the same time….we

    had to try to remove the greatest threat from the east…. At the time it seemed

    possible.”QUOTE BY WHOM???? did you quote this correctly its actually a really crappy quote mabe leave for later
    This (which battle??) battle was important strategically vital because since it was the first major battle in which

    Hitler lost suffered major losses. It would be the turning point in the war, and it

    would lead to the downfall of the Nazi power.
    It (IT?) was also important because

    Stalingrad held many factories that could be used for Nazi supplies.
    (put this line in later) To

    understand why Hitler lost the war; we have to understand the reasons why Hitler

    lost the battle that started the loosing streak.


    etc
    etc
    more paragraphs?
    Last edited by 99%; 06-05-2005 at 10:24 PM.

  10. Lounge   -   #10
    (>Zero Cool<)'s Avatar he is Spartacus!
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    Quote Originally Posted by manker
    Quote Originally Posted by (>Zero Cool<)
    Info for TehCanuck:

    Wales and Ireland are separate from the barbarous English/Scottish alliance, The McBannockburn clan joined forces with English pirates in days of yore and annexed Scotland for the pleasure of plump Londoners who'd grown too hot because of the rigours of decadent living.

    Even today Danny Baker and Alfie Moon are free to roam in the Scottish gloaming as they see fit I thought that was part of our punishment


    I had the exact same idea for a post not ten minutes ago. Wish I'd done it now 'cause that was really quite good

    ehm oops... kinda messed up the quotage ...fecking danny baker keeps ringing my doorbell trying to swap his daz

    edit: fixed....sorta... credit where credit is due
    Last edited by (>Zero Cool<); 06-05-2005 at 10:30 PM.

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