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Why were the Germans defeated, and how did the Soviet Union manage to win the Battle of Stalingrad? The German army was hobbled by Hitler's micromanaging and tactics, intransigence, and poor German battlefield leadership. The Soviet's benefitted from superior Soviet leadership, numbers, and tactics.

In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. It was a surprise attack that violated the Molotov-Ribbentrop treaty signed in 1939 between Germany and the Soviet Union. The agreement was a non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union intended to ensure that neither country attacked the other.<ref> Antill, Peter, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1846030285/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1846030285&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5003bb4d6f737c623351c1b4b5e3dd33 Stalingrad 1942]'' (Osprey Publishing, London, 2007), p. 18</ref> Up to one million German soldiers and their allies pushed into the western Soviet Union on the first day of the German invasion. As a result of their tactical surprise, the German army achieved a series of spectacular victories. Despite heroic Soviet resistance, Germany seized much of present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic States.<ref> Bellamy, Chris, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375724710/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375724710&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=16f371fee7048dbf23fed6056f05d325 Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War]''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf & Random House.2007), p. 23</ref> The Red army suffered spectacular reverses and sustained massive losses. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops were killed and up to a million and a half taken prisoner. A quarter of a million men surrendered during the German capture of Kyiv, alone.<ref>Antill, p. 18</ref>

[[File:Stalingrad two.jpg|thumbnail|350px|left|German soldier at Stalingrad]]

Hitler's General Staff had intended to ‘win the war by Christmas.’ <ref> MacDonald, p. 234 </ref> However, despite defeat near Moscow, there was still widespread optimism among the German generals. The German general staff eventually stabilized the German front line and fended off further Soviet attacks during early 1942. Hitler and his generals planned a Spring offensive that they hoped would lead to Stalin suing for peace or unconditional Soviet surrender.

In the late summer of 1942, the German army engaged in a rapid advance through southern Russia. It was reminiscent of the early days of Barbarossa. The 6th army was invincible, and they defeated a series of Russian divisions and armies. By August, they were on the Volga near the city of Stalingrad. The city (today Volgograd) had been renamed Stalingrad in honor of Stalin, who had seized the city from the White Counter-Revolutionaries in 1920. <ref>Antil, p. 117</ref>

[[File:Stalingrad three.jpg|thumbnail|300px|Fighting at Stalingrad]]

Hitler saw the war regarding his rivalry with Stalin, and he decided to attack the city because of its symbolic value. However, the original aim of the offensive in Southern Russian was to secure the oil fields in the Caucasus. The oil was essential for the German war machine.

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The Germans launched a massive air assault on the city, under the command of General Paulus. Much of the city was reduced to rubble. The Germans devoted some of their finest units to the city's capture, much against senior Generals such as Von Kleist’s wishes, who openly opposed Hitler’s wish to capture the city. In August of 1942, the Germans fought their way into the city, which was first lightly defended. The Soviet commander of the Soviet forces was Vasily Chuikov, who was 42 years old and led the Soviet 62nd Army. He was to prove to be an indomitable fighter and an inspirational leader.<ref> Beevor, p. 173</ref> He organized his army and many of the city's civilians into a formidable defensive force.

Chuikov and the defenders used the city's rubble as defensive cover and to slow down the German advance. They also put up a suicidal resistance and fought for every street and building. Soviet snipers decimated the German forces. After three months of fierce fighting, the Germans eventually captured some 90% of the city and reached the Volga. It appeared that they were on the verge of victory. The Soviets had been building up their forces in great secrecy to the north and the south of the city. Amazingly, German intelligence did not spot the massive build-up of Soviet divisions. The Soviets under Zhukov attacked the 6th army’s flank as they continued to capture the last remaining pockets of resistance in Stalingrad. The Soviets deliberately selected those sectors of their allies' German lines, such as the Hungarians and the Romanians. The Soviet High Command estimated that these units would not fight and would quickly surrender. On the night of the 23rd of November, the Red Army attacked and quickly swept passed the Hungarian, Rumanian, and Italian divisions and they began to encircle the 6th army in Stalingrad, just as it was on the verge of seizing the city.<ref> Antil, p. 135</ref>

[[File: Hitler.jpg|thumbnail|200px|left|Adolf Hitler]]

By 1942, Hitler had been very successful in all his campaigns. He had only experienced defeat at the Battle of Britain and near Moscow. However, neither defeat had stopped the German war machine from going on the offensive and from securing more victories on the face of it. Hitler, as commander in chief of the army, had great faith in his military abilities and as a strategist. He believed that he was a military genius and was destined to lead the German people to victory. Central to Hitler’s views on military tactics was that willpower could achieve anything on the battlefield.

However, because of Hitler's order to not retreat under any circumstances, Paulus stayed in Stalingrad, and he and his army became trapped in the city on the 23rd of November, 1942. Over a quarter of a million Germans had been cut-off in the city on the Volga. Undoubtedly, Paulus's own indecisive character played its part. Still, Hitler’s orders to stand and fight and never to concede ground meant that the Germans did not conduct a tactical retreat and avoid the slow death of the 6th army in the winter of 1942-43.<ref>Beevor, p. 158</ref>

News of the German divisions' encirclement under Paulus was a severe blow to Hitler, and he ordered an immediate attack to relieve the encircled forces in Stalingrad. Goering intervened and believed that the Luftwaffe or German air force could re-supply Paulus’ army. Goering promised Hitler that he would supply the Germans in Stalingrad with all that was needed. In the end, the Luftwaffe’s efforts to supply the besieged forces were utterly inadequate. It has been estimated that the German air force only dropped one-quarter of the material and the food that the German soldiers needed to fight and survive in the Russian Steppe during the winter.

Von Man stein’s forces came within thirty kilometers of the besieged Germans, but Paulus refused to break out and link up with the relief forces. He possibly could have saved some of his troops. However, this would have required him to disobey Hitler’s explicit orders. In the end, he refused to do so, and the opportunity was lost. If Hitler had allowed his generals more flexibility, Von Paulus could have saved some of his divisions from complete annihilation.<ref> Hoyt, Edwin Palmer. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312868537/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312868537&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=91516cd718a10f8a333413ab02d19515 199 Days: The Battle for Stalingrad]'' (New York: A Forge Book, 1999), p. 167</ref>

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However, the German army was far from defeated, and in early 1943, Von Manstein inflicted a devastating defeat on the Red Army at Kharkov.<ref> Hoyt, p. 2013</ref> However, the German army had lost its aura of invincibility, and the Soviets believed that they could defeat. Furthermore, after Stalingrad, many more Germans became critical of Hitler and his policies. This was particularly the case in the German military. After the debacle, there have even been suggestions that the German generals conspired to start a mutiny in the army and depose Hitler.<ref> Beevor, p. 221</ref> However, these plots did not succeed.

Stalingrad was one of the most important battles in WW II, if not in entire human history. It was a catastrophic defeat for the German army, and they never recovered from the battle. The defeat was avoidable. The main reason for the defeat was that Hitler became obsessed with the idea of capturing the city. This irrational behavior led him to ignore his Generals' warnings and to make several strategic mistakes. Hitler's mistakes and errors allowed the Soviets to take advantage of the situation to encircle and annihilate an entire German 6th army. The responsibility for the cataclysmic defeat was Hitler's.