Battle of Stalingrad
Kevin Pendergast
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HIST 2P26
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Dr. Colin Rose
Vasili I. Chuikov
February 12, 1900 - March 18, 1982
Vasili I. Chuikov commanded the Soviet 62nd Army in the defence of Stalingrad.1 Chuikov started his military career during the Russian Civil War. 2 Following the Civil War, Chuikov attended the Frunze Military Academy from 1923-1925.3 After his graduation, Chuikov worked as diplomatic courier in China and subsequently worked in China from 1927-1929 as a part of the Special Far East Army to recapture Russian control over the Far Eastern Railway.4
Chuikov was very privileged to survive Stalin’s purge of officers where many were murdered or were forced into Gulags. Chuikov’s good fortune continued after he was promoted to commander of the 9th Army prior to the invasion of Finland.5 Unfortunately for Chuikov, his fortune had run dry during the Battle of Suomussalmi where the Finnish mowed down the 9th Army.6 Considering how the Soviet Union handled failure, Chuikov was lucky to walk away with his life. In the face of his responsibility in the insurmountable defeat at Suomussalmi, Chuikov was promoted to Lieutenant General in June of 1940.7 The only reasonable root of the promotion could be directed to the likelihood that Chuikov had powerful friends.
In spite of his promotion to Lieutenant General, the odds of Chuikov retaining a position of responsible command seemed remote. However, after being sent to China to work as a Soviet Military Attache where he sent continuous requests to return to an assigned combat command, in May of 1942 Chuikov was appointed Deputy Commander of a reserve army.8 When the Stalingrad front Commander of the time, Andrey Ivanovich Eremenko, needed to replace the General of the 62nd Army, Vasili I. Chuikov was his first choice.9 Stalin was understandably wary of Eremenko’s recommendation, however Eremenko vouched for Chuikov’s ability.10
After Chuikov’s appointment, despite overwhelming odds, Chuikov and the 62nd Army were able to stop waves of Axis assaults from capturing the city of Stalingrad.11 Chuikov realize that that the only way to prevent the German onslaught from overwhelming their positions was to have regular counter attacks to make every German “feel that he was living under the muzzle of a Russian gun”.13
Chuikov’s ruthlessness was an important quality in his success at Stalingrad, however it did come at the cost of thousands of Russian lives. He was quoted after the battle saying, “Time is blood”.14 Chuikov was able to find redemption, though at a terrible price, in his incredible command in the defence of Stalingrad. The fighting at Stalingrad was complete savagery, Soviets and Axis fought block for block, building for building, floor for floor.15 When asked if he understood the situation in August of 1942, Chuikov responded, “We shall hold the city or die here”.16 His willingness to sacrifice such heavy casualties was monumental the Soviet’s victory at Stalingrad.
Friedrich Paulus
September 23, 1890 - February 1, 1957
During the Battle of Stalingrad Fredrich Paulus commanded the German 6th Army.17 He is remembered as a scrupulous and a precise commander. Growing up Paulus wanted a career in the military, however he expected he would have to settle for a career in law.18 Paulus military career started in World War I when he was deployed as an officer cadet of the 111th Infantry Regiment.19 Within two years, Paulus had been promoted to lieutenant.20
Following Germany’s defeat in World War I, Paulus was one of the 100 000 men selected to remain in German army.21 During the 1920s and 1930s, Paulus continued to grow in seniority.22 By 1934, Paulus attained command of a new motorized battalion and a year later, at the newly built Panzer Headquarters, became a chief of staff.23 Paulus became the Chief of Staff of the new 10th Army on the eve of the invasion of Poland.24 In the aftermath of the Polish campaign, the 10th Army was renumbered to become the 6th Army.25
Prior to June 1941, all of Paulus’s attention went to the planning Operation Barbarossa.26 When the invasion of the Soviet Union began, Paulus traveled to different headquarters within Russia to retrieve resources from commanders.27 It was not until January of 1942 when Paulus was named commander of the 6th Army.28
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Prior to his command of the 6th Army Paulus had little experience commanding troops.28 Despite this lack of experience, Paulus and the 6th Army gave little territory to the Russians throughout the duration of the winter of 1942.29 There was a rift however between Paulus and his new field marshal Von Brock who believed Paulus course of actions were too cautious with his counter-attacks on the Soviets.30
After surrendering, Paulus would go on to testify a the Nuremberg Trials. 31
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What separated Paulus from other German commanders was his greater care for the well-being of his soldiers. Paulus was a competent commander, his few flaws contributed to the destruction of the German 6th Army.
Firstly, Paulus commanded his army from his headquarters in Nizhne-Chirskaya which was approximately 100 miles from Stalingrad.32 As a result, it was difficult for Paulus to react quickly to events on the battlefield and properly communicate commands efficiently. This greatly contrasts how Vasili I Chuikov commanded, who had a much more hands on style of commanding.33 Furthermore, it is evident that Von Brock was correct in calling Paulus strategic approach as passive. Had Paulus been daring enough, some historians believe he could have saved the bulk of his army had he sent men north and south to engage the Soviet forces attempting to surround the city. Paulus’s general lack of imagination compared to Chuikov leads most historians to conclude that the Soviets out commanded him.
Gregory Zhukov
December 1, 1896 - June 18, 1974
Perhaps the most important figure in the defence of the Eastern Front was Soviet General Gregory Zhukov. Zhukov’s military career started after being conscripted to the tsar’s army in 1915, after World War I broke out.34 He was assigned to the cavalry, and a year later in 1916 Zhukov was fighting on the front where he soon acquired his first medal for capturing a German Officer.35
Zhukov quickly rose through the ranks of the Soviet military. In May of 1939, Zhukov was sent to command the First Soviet Mongolian Army Group in where he was strategically pivotal in the Battle of Khalkin Gol victory over the Japanese, after which he was declared a Hero of The Soviet Union.36
On February 1, 1941 Zhukov was appointed as the chief of the Red Army’s General Staff and Deputy Minister of Defence of the USSR.37 Four months later, Nazi Germany launched their invasion of the Soviet Union.38 Zhukov was essential to the leadership of the defence the Nazi invasion.39 In September of 1941, Zhukov was tasked with the defence of the Leningrad Front.40
Zhukov was appointed as Stalin’s Supreme Commander in August of 1942 where he was commanded to the defence of Stalingrad.41 The promotion had been made by Stalin out of desperation, he wanted Zhukov to command the defence, as he would, with ruthless conviction.42
Prior to Zhukov’s appointment to the Stalingrad Front, the German Wehrmacht controlled 90% of the city but were unable to finish the 62nd Army.43 Stalin’s trust in Zhukov’s judgement was rare amongst soviet generals and rarely had objections to Zhukov’s battle plans.44 Gregory Zhukov and Chief of General Staff Aleksandr Vasilevsky devised Operation Uranus in September of 1942.45
The operation completely changed the tide of the Battle of Stalingrad where the Soviet Army with a force of over 1 million men surrounded Axis forces in the city of Stalingrad.46 Zhukov was essential to the strategic defence of Stalingrad and was perhaps the most influential figure in the battle. Without this daring operation, the course of not only the Battle of Stalingrad be different, but also the rest of the Second World War.
1. Greezicki, Roger. "Living Under the Muzzle of a Russian Gun: A Consideration of the Generalship of
Paulus and Chuikov at Stalingrad." Journal Of Slavic Military Studies 27, no. 4 (October 2014): 618-638. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Beevor, Antony. Stalingrad. n.p.: New York : Penguin, 1999., 1999.
17. Greezicki, Roger. "Living Under the Muzzle of a Russian Gun: A Consideration of the Generalship of
Paulus and Chuikov at Stalingrad." Journal Of Slavic Military Studies 27, no. 4 (October 2014): 618-638. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid.
34. Roberts, Geoffrey. Stalin's general : the life of Georgy Zhukov. n.p.: London : Icon, 2012., 2012.
35. Ibid.
36. Ibid.
37. Ibid.
38. Ibid.
39. Ibid.
40. Ibid.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid.
43. Ibid.
44. Ibid.
45. Roberts, Geoffrey. Victory at Stalingrad : the battle that changed history. n.p.: London : Longman, 2002.
2002.