Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 5,328
The German army was poised to capture the Russian city of Stalingrad in the fall of 1942. To prevent this, Soviet Marshal Georgi Zhukov devised a two-part plan: On the southern half of the Russian front, Zhukov would engage the Germans at Stalingrad directly; on the northern half, he would launch surprise attacks intended to break through the German lines and divert enemy troops away from Stalingrad. Zhukov did save the city, but Operation Mars proved to be one of the costliest military campaigns ever.
Having risen through the ranks of the Soviet army after serving in World War I, Zhukov insisted during the 1930s that the army be modernized. The thousands of new planes and tanks he succeeded in having built may have saved the Soviet Union from collapse in the face of Germany's 1941 invasion. As a strategist, Zhukov relied on overwhelming force, which allowed him to launch simultaneous offensives in order to surround enemy units. This approach proved effective in defending Leningrad and Moscow, so Zhukov amassed a force of more than 1.5 million troops for his plan to liberate Stalingrad.
In the north, massive Soviet artillery bombardment led to several breakthroughs in the German lines, but Zhukov underestimated the effects of wintry weather and German anti-tank defenses. German artillery destroyed frozen roads easily, preventing Soviet reinforcements from reaching the front, and the suddenly isolated Soviet attackers were butchered.
Perhaps because of his history of success, Zhukov refused to call off the offensive until weeks later, when he had lost 500,000 men--more than the United States lost during all of World War II. But because his forces in the south were able to encircle and destroy the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad, Zhukov's record remained untarnished. He ensured his status as the Soviet Union's greatest war hero when he led the army into Berlin two years later.
Having risen through the ranks of the Soviet army after serving in World War I, Zhukov insisted during the 1930s that the army be modernized. The thousands of new planes and tanks he succeeded in having built may have saved the Soviet Union from collapse in the face of Germany's 1941 invasion. As a strategist, Zhukov relied on overwhelming force, which allowed him to launch simultaneous offensives in order to surround enemy units. This approach proved effective in defending Leningrad and Moscow, so Zhukov amassed a force of more than 1.5 million troops for his plan to liberate Stalingrad.
In the north, massive Soviet artillery bombardment led to several breakthroughs in the German lines, but Zhukov underestimated the effects of wintry weather and German anti-tank defenses. German artillery destroyed frozen roads easily, preventing Soviet reinforcements from reaching the front, and the suddenly isolated Soviet attackers were butchered.
Perhaps because of his history of success, Zhukov refused to call off the offensive until weeks later, when he had lost 500,000 men--more than the United States lost during all of World War II. But because his forces in the south were able to encircle and destroy the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad, Zhukov's record remained untarnished. He ensured his status as the Soviet Union's greatest war hero when he led the army into Berlin two years later.
