Member-only story
Why Germany Risked It All To Conquer Stalingrad
A stew of reasons and plans changed
It was never the plan to make a bloody last stand at Stalingrad. In fact, the original German plans for the sector didn’t include Stalingrad at all. While the city was a strategic logistical and industrial hub, there was no pressing reason to take the city outright. Stalingrad could have easily been bypassed, cut off, and starved into submission. The German goals for the southern front in their war in Russia were not to knock out Stalingrad but to race for Baku, secure the critical mountain crossings, and take possession of the desperately needed oil fields located along the Black Sea.
As Army Group South was starting to make its approaches into the Caucasus, Hitler looked at a map and saw something that immediately piqued his interest. Stalingrad was a city that bore the name of the Soviet Union’s magnetic leader. It was the city where Stalin had won fame during the Russian Civil War. It was a valuable symbol. How embarrassing would it be if Germany could take Stalin’s own prize city?
Hitler immediately wired his commanders and said that they should take time to divert and take the city before continuing on their originally planned route. This threw the original plans into disarray. There had not been consideration for such an undertaking. Stalingrad…
