The Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Normandy Essay

The Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Normandy were two vital battles in World War II. Stalingrad was the site of a critical WWII Soviet victory that terminated Germany’s advance to the east. Peaceful Normandy took it’s place in history as the starting point in the triumphant march across Europe. Both these intense events were extremely significant in the outcome of the second world war. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;After the Germans failed to win the war totally in 1941, they decided to start a fresh effort, and hoped that this would lead to victory. This effort eventually led to the city of Stalingrad in 1942. Different from the the three pronged attack of the previous year, this one had two attack directions. One from Kharkov to†¦show more content†¦Before this, there was a huge aerial bombardment that destroyed most of the outer suburbs, thus pushing back the Russians to their middle line of defense. Because of the German bombing, the rubble which had accumulated provided easily defensible positions. The horribly inefficient Russians were now able to maintain some sort of defensive line, however, foolish charges into enemy lines only achieved marginal success at times. When it came right down to it, the Russians had sized the battle down to house to house fighting, a style of combat which, although the Germans could perform, would not allow them to take advantage of their superior equipment. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;By the end of the first week of September, Hitler realized that his offensive was not cutting through the enemy as promised. Despite renewed major pushes by the attackers on October 14th, and November 11th, the defense line, (which was now isolated into three sections) was never reduced. Angering Hitler, he quickly replaced some of his generals. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Meanwhile, while all this bungling, and well, embarrassment went on, Soviet staff was preparing for a flanking battle, which would envelope 6th Army into a large pocket, and bring about its total destruction. General Zhukov and C. General AlexanderShow MoreRelatedThe Bombing Of Pearl Harbor1173 Words   |  5 Pages Though the war was bloody and brutal for everyone involved, the upper hand belonged to the Axis powers throughout the majority of the war. Three of the most pivotal times in World War II were the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Normandy. All three of these points in the war either brought something new into the war or changed the pecking order between rivaling countries. 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