What was the turning point of the war (WWII) Stalingrad battle - Essay Example

STALINGRAD World War Two was the most violent event in world history. It lasted for six years and claimed tens of millions of lives. In its huge and complex history, it is possible to find sub-wars and regional theatres that have their own narratives. In an event so enormous, is it possible to find a single turning point in which the war would have changed? The answer must be yes. The events surrounding the Battle of Stalingrad could have turned out very differently. If the Nazis had been able to breakthrough the Soviet resistance at that time, the Germans may have won.

This was the single most important turning point of the Second World War. Stalingrad was a battle of epic proportions between Soviets and Nazis. A few years earlier, Hitler, at the height of his powers, had gone back on the Ribbentrop-Molotov agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union. Stalin had watched with unease as the Germans had taken over most of Europe. He wanted to avoid invasions, so he cut a deal with Hitler, dividing Poland and promising peace. From Hitler's point of view this was only a method of buying time.

He wanted the Soviet oil fields and he wanted the Soviet territory. But although Hitler was a fan of German history, he would have done better to student French history and the disastrous consequences of Napoleon's invasion of Russia more than a hundred years earlier. Had he studied this campaign, he would have seen that armies invading Russia must be properly equipped and must be prepared for very difficult weather. Perhaps most importantly, securing supply lines through these massive territories following a scorched earth retreat by Russians, is truly difficult.

Hitler and Paulus learned this the hard way (Murray and Millett, 282). All of these things led to the German defeat at Stalingrad. At the time, it was hard to tell what the consequence would be, but eventually they became clear. The German defeat at Stalingrad was the beginning of the end for Hitler's war machine. Once the defeat became apparent, it was evident that Hitler had lost his Sixth Army. This was a devastating blow. Even worse, Germany would not have access to the oilfields they had needed within Russia (Jukes, 24).

These twin blows began to slow down the Wehrmacht. Within a few months, the Soviets had revved up production and had begun to launch an assault on Germany's eastern territories. It was then only a matter of time before Germany collapsed. Stalingrad was a brutal battle in which thousands died. It was a major turning point of the war. Had things been different, and Hitler had captured Stalingrad, Moscow would soon have fallen. The Soviet Union was then in a precarious place. Perhaps there would have been a coup against Stalin.

Hitler would have had more oil. He would have no one standing between him and Iran and India. He could have created a global empire. This scenario was fortunately prevented by the brave men and women who fought the Nazis at Stalingrad. Works consulted Jukes, Geoffrey. Hitler's Stalingrad decisions. University of California Press, 1985 Murray, Williamson and Allan R. Millett. A War To Be Won: Fighting the Second World War. Cambridge: Harvard Press, 2001.