Stalingrad
- Germans wanted the oil fields of the Caucasus region
- Begins 1942 Sept. 1
- Germans capture much of the city in street to street fighting
- Nov. 23 1942 Germans get trapped in city
- Germans are ordered to fight to the death
- German troops would never be the same after Russian victory (300,000 German troops)
The End of the War on the Eastern Front
- From Stalingrad onward Germans were on the defensive
- Russians advance all the way to Berlin
- Largest tank battle in history at Kursk
- Russian tanks were bigger than German tanks (due to the size of their railways)
- Jan. 27 1944 Siege of Leningrad broken
- April 16 1945 begin the offensive on Berlin
Summary
Germans want Russian oil, they capture much of the city (Stalingrad) in street to street combat. When the Germans get trapped in the city, they are ordered not to back out but that is eventually changed. From this point on, Germans were on the defensive for essentially the first time in the war. Russians advance to Berlin, creating the largest tank battler in history.