In my opinion, Hitler was definitely the one to blame for the Stalingrad loss. He was really persistent in winning the war, and I believe that was their major downfall. The soldiers were in horrible conditions. They had bad weather, barely any food, and they were running low on ammo. Now, I applaud Hitler for his determination, but there is a certain point where enough is enough. Having no food, and bad weather makes the soldiers weak. Not to mention, it makes them have no motivation for fighting when all they can think about is how they're freezing their toes off and ready to eat the person next to them. How much good would it really do to have them fight when they are starving and because of the starvation they can't focus and they're weak.
The soldiers having no ammunition and just waiting to be terminated is ridiculous. I can't believe that Hitler would be so irrational as to have the soldiers just stand there waiting for their death, rather than retreating or surrendering. If the circumstances were better, than his plan might have worked. But, the generals didn't even believe in his cause anymore. They knew that it was a lost battle because they didn't have the resources that they needed. So, what was the point in staying and killing more men, when they could have surrendered, or retreated, and ultimately saved more lives. Even though Manstein did withdraw and leave Paulus alone, I think he ultimately made the right decision. He realized that there was no way to win without the proper resources. Way to go Manstein for disobeying Hitler!
You make a good point about the morale of the German soldier. It is kind of as if the Nazi 6th Army is getting weaker and weaker as the battle rages, and the Soviets that keep pouring into the city (although dying in large numbers), find themselves learning as a whole how to win. This battle will have devastating consequences for the Nazis. Great post Autumn!
ReplyDeleteI think that Hitler didn't want to look weak by retreating though. Besides, it's not him that's out there on the battle field, risking his life for a stupid reason, it's the Nazi's who are doing that. He's not putting himself in direct danger at all which would make him more likely to continue to order troops into the battle
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