Stalingrad The Turning Point

This study is an historical analysis of the Soviet-German conflict during World War II and focuses on the years 1941-1943. It examines the relative economic and military power of the two nations to determine if there was a shift in advantage, or turning point, during that period. To quantify those elements of power, it uses criteria taken from a current strategic analysis model. This model assesses elements of national power to aid in strategic problem solving and international policy formulation. Specific criteria are applied to four specific military events between 1941 and 1943. The resulting data is then graphed to compare relative military and economic power. The graphs serve as the basis for conclusions. Among the conclusions which may be drawn from this study are: the Battle of Stalingrad was not the economic turning point of the war when considering the criteria of industrial labor and armaments production; Stalingrad was the military turning point, considering military forces and equipment on the Soviet-German front. This study concludes that this method of assessing relative national power of nations can be applied in an historical context to evaluate past wars. It may assist historians to better understand the factors that led to various turning points throughout history.

The Battle of Stalingrad is rightfully known as the "turning point" of the Second World War.

In August 1942, Wigand Wüster was a twenty-two-year-old officer in the German Wehrmacht. The short life expectancies of the Eastern Front made him a veteran commander even at that age. He led a battery in an artillery regiment as it approached Stalingrad for a World War II–defining clash with the Soviet Red Army. For Wüster, the preceding months had been marked by heat, dust, endless marches, and brief skirmishes with the enemy—but mostly by an ongoing battle with his bullying battalion commander. Stalingrad would change everything. In this brutally honest account, Wüster provides a glimpse into the Eastern Front rarely seen before. With frankness, humor, and perception, Wüster takes the reader from the heady days of the German 1942 summer offensive into the icy hell of Stalingrad’s final hours—and finally into his Soviet captivity. Accounts of artillery on the Eastern Front are rare, and Wüster was an especially keen observer of the hell of Stalingrad. The book has been supplemented with photos and maps by Jason Mark, who originally published it through his Australia-based company Leaping Horseman Books.

In August 1942, Wigand Wüster was a twenty-two-year-old officer in the German Wehrmacht. The short life expectancies of the Eastern Front made him a veteran commander even at that age. He led a battery in an artillery regiment as it approached Stalingrad for a World War II-defining clash with the Soviet Red Army. For Wüster, the preceding months had been marked by heat, dust, endless marches, and brief skirmishes with the enemy--but mostly by an ongoing battle with his bullying battalion commander. Stalingrad would change everything. In this brutally honest account, Wüster provides a glimpse into the Eastern Front rarely seen before. With frankness, humor, and perception, Wüster takes the reader from the heady days of the German 1942 summer offensive into the icy hell of Stalingrad's final hours--and finally into his Soviet captivity. Accounts of artillery on the Eastern Front are rare, and Wüster was an especially keen observer of the hell of Stalingrad. The book has been supplemented with photos and maps by Jason Mark, who originally published it through his Australia-based company Leaping Horseman Books.

In this gripping new look at the 20th century's most crucial conflict, historian Bell analyzes 12 unique turning points that determined the character and the ultimate outcome of the Second World War.