Stalingrad: How the Soviet's Won the Deadliest Battle in History

[@warographics643]

Get the best offer at ridge.com/warographics and right now you can save up to 40% through June 15. Thank you Ridge for the sponsorship.

[@ragingmonk6080]

Even before the United States entered World War II in December 1941, America sent arms and equipment to the Soviet Union to help it defeat the Nazi invasion. Totaling $11.3 billion, or $180 billion in today’s currency, the Lend-Lease Act of the United States supplied needed goods to the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1945 in support of what Stalin described to Roosevelt as the “enormous and difficult fight against the common enemy - bloodthirsty Hitlerism.” 400,000 jeeps & trucks 14,000 airplanes 8,000 tractors 13,000 tanks 1.5 million blankets 15 million pairs of army boots 107,000 tons of cotton 2.7 million tons of petrol products 4.5 million tons of food

[@ragingmonk6080]

That is how the Soviets won.

[@kleinenfuchse5365]

​@@ragingmonk6080 by buying Ridge wallets? You're a proper donut, aren't you? 🍩

[@ragingmonk6080]

@@kleinenfuchse5365 Finish eating your crayons and shuffle off to bed.

[@kleinenfuchse5365]

@@ragingmonk6080 after being fartbirthed, your first toy was a ridge wallet

[@maddog526]

The battle of Stalingrad life expectancy for a soldier was only 24 hours and more than 19,000 people were being killed per day until the battle finally ended

[@matgeezer2094]

It's an utterly incredible story

[@warbrain1053]

​@@shigatsuningenthere is also a difference in scale. If you consider the ammount of troops in stalingrad and the ammount in some region, you will see that is different. When 1000 have a 4 hour life expectancy against 20k with a 24h expectancy the 20k will have more losses over a day if both are reinforced

[@jakel8627]

​@Micke J All Ukrainian soldiers are trained. This isn't a corrupt mercenary group. Get your facts straight.

[@thesauceman8457]

@@shigatsuningenThe war would be over already if 4 hours was accurate, use your brain. Russia is not the power house they once might’ve been

[@kookuclock]

@@thesauceman8457 Spot on. Extreme amounts of corruption within have degraded that Russian Federation for sure. It’s in a really watered down state currently, they gambled and lost.

[@astonrichardson5288]

That was a cold ass quote by Chuikov “More Germans lost their lives trying to take Pavlov’s House than they did taking Paris.” 😂

[@velouris76]

For anyone interested, Anthony Beevor’s book “Stalingrad” is arguably the best book on this battle, and really does capture the colossal scale and brutality…it is a superb book, though you do need to read it in small doses at times. One thing that shows the huge scale of this battle: Even in the city today (now called Volgograd), bodies from the battle are still being discovered, almost 80 years on, almost every time construction work is being carried out.

[@pyromania1018]

I disagree. I think David Glantz's "Stalingrad" quadrilogy was much better. Beevor was good, but he couldn't keep his slightly pro-German bias from showing.

[@velouris76]

@@pyromania1018 Pro-German bias?? I’ve read both Berlin, and Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor, and not once did I ever detect any bias like that, nor have I ever read anyone write or say that in any review of those two books…that’s the first time I heard any claim of a pro-German bias…

[@bthorn5035]

​@velouris76 Beevor caught flack for exposing embarrassing stats about the Russians during the battle. He spent weeks at the Russian Archives when they first opened to the public back in the 90's. He had to smuggle lots of info past the censors who were trying to limit what he saved. Now, every time his book is mentioned in the KZbin comment section, there's ALWAYS someone attacking him or his work. He really triggers the commie sympathizers.

[@fergusmacleod9036]

​@@velouris76 I've seen it it been said around more Marxist circles of the internet, if you look up Antony Beaver pro German you'll see a couple articles from small pro communist blogs but not much else. I wouldn't put to much weight on what pyromania is saying.

[@pyromania1018]

@velouris76 I've read them, too, and he tends to focus a bit much on Soviet atrocities while only paying the bare minimum of attention to German atrocities. He also pays only lip service to Soviet units that actually behaved more humanely, never going into detail about them. He also (slightly) falls into the trap of labeling Zhukov as a "throw endless waves of men at the enemy until they run out of ammo" type of general. He goes into great detail about German suffering, while paying little attention to the suffering the Germans inflicted on others.

[@HrosoSK]

For anyone really interested in the Battle of Stalingrad there is one amazing historian with youtube channel called TIK History, he is making Stalingrad documentary episode by episode which covers the entire operation day by day. Each episode is approx 45 minutes long and now it has around 40 episodes sooooo many hours of thorough history lesson. Amazing guy, amazing in depth descriptions and overall really well done with referencing many sources.

[@BasedProletarianJacob420]

TIK History’s kinda a crazy guy

[@unholyiiamas]

​@@BasedProletarianJacob420Yeah, he has some great material for sure, but some of his views are a bit... Odd.

[@holidayfish]

@@unholyiiamas how so? I hear a lot of bad stuff about him but it all stems to his video saying nazis were socialists without any further explanation other than “I don’t agree with it so everything else he says is trash” Is all his shade coming from salty tankies?

[@Kaltagstar96]

You know a war is apocalyptic when one side loses around 800,000 men and they lost the LEAST amount of soldiers!

[@TurtleChad1]

"The Germans say they are willing to sacrifice anything to take this city, we will show them the meaning of sacrifice " - unknown Soviet soldier

[@cj16423]

Over the hedge is THE movie of all time, amazing pfp.

[@duncancurtis5108]

Jude Law with his sniper rifle.

[@DasGoodSoup]

just a turtle is a commie sympathizer .

[@stormshadow5283]

Unknown Russian soldier*

[@mommywithnokidsss]

@@stormshadow5283 No they were correct. At that time, Russia was the Soviet Union. Your little ‘correction’ is irrelevant.

[@nigelyorkshiremanwadeley6263]

Despite everything you read or watch about this particular battle, it is just impossible to imagine the scale of death and destruction that took place. Not to mention the utter disregard for so many lives and the ultimate failure of the whole operation.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:45 - Chapter 1 - The black gold 3:05 - Mid roll ads 4:55 - Back to the video 7:20 - Chapter 2 - Into the city 12:45 - Chapter 3 - The siege continues 15:35 - Chapter 4 - Operation uranus 17:50 - Chapter 5 - Winter storm 20:55 - Chapter 6 - The last stand

[@hohooooooooify]

A true comrade

[@jeddkeech259]

Thanks 🙏

[@BEEFYJERKY214]

Bro said mid toll ads 😭😭🤣

[@arturobonilla2489]

👏

[@thomascantwakeup]

Thank

[@stc3145]

Pavlov only captured the house but was wounded and evacuated soon after. Several officers actually lead the long defence but Pavlov in the end got the glory.

[@trenttoski125]

No ur talking about captain afanasaiev. Pavlov was the one who took over after afanasaiev got blinded

[@giodandosu]

yeah is a hard mith to disprove...

[@unitedwestanddividedwefall3521]

Idk where I saw it. But there was a diary 📔 of a German soldier, he wrote so happily and optimistic about the regime and hopes of conquest and grandeur , his last few entires you read the dread and hopelessness, and frustration with the operation, he described the Russians as cast iron monsters who don’t sleep don’t stop, then he stopped writing and the diary was found.

[@iancourter7291]

Great video! Stalingrad is an endlessly fascinating battle. I’d like to humbly offer one correction: Hermann Goering insisted that the Luftwaffe COULD handle transporting all the supplies necessary for the “air bridge,” which was part of the problem. His extremely unrealistic promises to Hitler about the Luftwaffe’s capabilities are part of what led Germany to failure time and again.

[@micnorton9487]

That's true,, and Goering may have thought the luft could do it but 700 tons a day doesn't mean use utility or training planes or any stupid shyt you can find,, and the Russians were starting to get braver fighter pilots and the good transport planes get shot down and THEN you're fukked...

[@havocgr1976]

Exactly, but that was Goring, he always said what Hitler wanted to hear and not the truth.

[@Rudizel]

That’s what Hitler gets for listening to a guy who can’t even manage his own weight let alone an entire Air Force.

[@laffybmonkey]

The whole operation was doomed to fail they should of beaten British forces first with the oil from the USSR then went after it

[@Chainyanker007]

Goering and his Luftwaffe got stopped by the RAF in the Battle of Britain in mid-1940, after that the Germans could forget about invading England. No doubt they wrecked havoc with the British bombers but once America joined the war the tide turned with the Nazis fighting a two front war. Then Goering failed to carry sufficient supplies to the Eastern front.

[@ballinlikestalin878]

David Fyodorovich Oistrakh was someone during this battle who has an unusual story, being a violinist during active fighting. one of the most heroic acts in his life was a performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto to the end in the central music hall during the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942 while central Stalingrad was being massively bombed by the German forces.

[@hello7032]

The arts will not be silenced even in war.

[@resileaf9501]

Love the way you retell those incredible tales of heroism and massive battles. You have a way of really giving weight to these events in a way that few can.

[@rubenp8320]

Thank you for reminding me of the Romanian battalions. My parents and grandparents didn’t talk about it at all, much less post Cold War.

[@michaeldawson6791]

Would love a whole video on the night witches. Russian women dive bombers who attacjed at night and turned their engines off to attack silently from the dark.

[@andyyang3029]

I second this, anything with a sabaton song deserves a video

[@helenafarkas4534]

they did so in outdated planes as well - which actually worked to their advantage as they didn't need dedicated airfields so they could launch sorties from nearby fields to the germans - which allowed them to launch multiple raids per night - as well as survive antiaircraft fire meant to destroy more modern aircraft. the germans were so petrified of them that a man who actually managed to shoot one of them down was awarded the Iron Cross on the spot.

[@zachariahjonahmaldonado5897]

They turned off their engines because their planes were too shitty and old to actually manoeuvre correctly. I wonder how much of it is popular history that's regurgitated because it makes for good KZbin shorts vs Battlefield effectiveness and the usual post war inflation of victories. Do we even know if they hit anything? Did the Germans even know it was the night witches bombing them? How could they have, they attacked at night.

[@The_Republic_of_Ireland]

From the depths of hell in silence...

[@ReinbouDash]

​@@The_Republic_of_Ireland Cast their spells, explosive violence..

[@Play4it1]

Should have read David Glanz before writing this script. The Germans didn't outflank the Russians on the path to Stalingrad, they thought tooth an nails for every inch of ground for weeks. Whole army groups were encircled by the Soviets and were almost destroyed. The army that reached Stalingrad was a spent force already. And the split in two was forced by supply constrictions, only one railroad led to Stalingrad and was already insufficient to support half the army.

[@zachariahjonahmaldonado5897]

Which is why Tik's absurdly in depth video series on Stalingrad starts with the approach.

[@joshjwillway1545]

@@zachariahjonahmaldonado5897 Tik deserves an award for his military videos, his political ones are a different thing however

[@callumjohnston858]

@@joshjwillway1545 It's genuinely impressive to see a man spend so long making such intricate documentaries, only to trip on his own dick at part way through. Ah well, at least there's Time Ghost.

[@tarekmalaeb8229]

one of the greatest if not the greatest video covering the battle of Stalingrad, thank you.

[@andyyang3029]

This war was the epitome of the brutal eastern front and Stalin's relentless tactics. I do hope you'll start covering the Pacific theatre a little more! Iwo Jima, perhaps?

[@maximilianodelrio]

This war was the eastern front lol

[@NeiyMaritz]

No, we won't cover the pacific theater

[@SovereignwindVODs]

he's done the battle of Midway, the liberation of the Phillipines, and the battle of Manila so far. But yeah, I'd also be interested to see more of the Pacific

[@bman6065]

Stalin's relentless tactics? Stalin set the initiative, not how it was done. Which I'm sorry but Simon only scratched the surface here.

[@bman6065]

@@SovereignwindVODs Dan Carlin's Supernova in the East was top notch 👌

[@paulmeredith2037]

Hi Simon can you please do a video Sir Nicholas George Winton MBE was named a British Hero of the Holocaust by the British Government. Winton was awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Fourth Class, by the Czech President Václav Havel in 1998. he was a British humanitarian who helped to rescue jewish children who were at risk from Nazi Germany just months before the start of World War II he saved 669 children all of them would’ve probably have been killed by the Nazis if he hadn’t got them out please do a video on this man thank you Paul.

[@jackpugh4168]

Great video! I really appreciate the return to covering historical battles.

[@hammerqos]

Have seen.many documentaries on Stalingrad but this is the best I have come across. Well done Simon.

[@Ck-pm7op]

My grandfather father thought in Stalingrad on the German side. Don’t know when he got deployed but I believe it was in the beginning of siege. In some way he survived but at some point he got captured by the soviets. He then spend seven years as a prisoner in the gulags and he also helped the soviets rebuild I think Saint Petersburg( ain’t sure witch city) after seven years he got back to south germany where my family’s from. He always told my dad that he had massive respect for the Russians he spoke Russian fluent, one thing that stuck with me when my grandfather told me the history is how he told how they where treated, ( he only ate potato crust, and I was like damn typical russian but then he told me yeah but the soviets only ate potatoes and they gave them what was left. I don’t know why that stuck with me but I guess it’s showed some type of compassion 🤷🏼

[@markprange4386]

8:26 North of the Grain Elevator: in the distance at left are the ruins of Stalingrad Medical Institute. Alex. Skvorin identified this. 12:00 Dom Pavlova. Still there in 2023. The ruined near end was demolished and re-built. 12:14 Is this an actor? 12:43 Vasily Zaitsev was not in the fight for Dom Pavlova. 12:47 Traktor Zavod. German photo. 13:04 A fallen conveyor gantry by the Martinovskiy 'Shop of Krasnyi Oktyabr'. One of them is still intact. 14:28 At left is the Univermag building. 20:38 Uphill from the main railyard. 20:48 22:08 At left is the ruined L-shaped railwaymen's apartment house. At right is the ruined Railwaymen's (administative) Building.

[@pyromania1018]

Order 227 was greeted with apathy at worst, and downright enthusiasm at best. Many saw it as a good morale boost, and most blocking detachments simply tossed retreating soldiers back into the fray rather than kill them.

[@Play4it1]

It's a middle management trick. Stalin threatened to kill his commanders if their men retreated without his order. Obviously, the commanders not wanting to be shot than placed the responsibility on their men to never retreat without orders. Barely anyone was shot because it would have been counter productive since the Soviets had a numerical inferiority in the defense of Stalingrad.

[@LegendaryCollektor]

Lol ok

[@NoMoreCrumbs]

​@@LegendaryCollektor Even TIK, an inveterate anticommunist war historian here on KZbin, has agreed with this sentiment. Enemy at the Gates was not a documentary

[@aaronkochenrath5863]

​@@LegendaryCollektor the war was not like "enemy at the gates"

[@pyromania1018]

​@LegendaryCollektor The blocking detachments just weren't big enough. I'm not saying that Soviet soldiers *weren't* shot or hanged from behind for "cowardice", but it wasn't as common as later media claimed.

[@trevorslinkard31]

More people died in the five months at Stalingrad alone than over the course of the entire eight years of the Iran-Iraq War. Let that one sink in; one battle was as deadly as a single small war.

[@SuperDfhh]

This is one of the best videos I have ever seen on Stalingrad. Thank you.

[@blackcat2628zd]

Brilliant episode. The description of the ice inferno is perfect. My heart is bleeding for the human sacrifices made by the people of Stalingrad and the Soviet Army. But also I feel sorry for the German kids, freezing and starving and seeing that there is no way out. Hitler should have read something about Napoleon and winter in Russia. It would spare him the disappointment . He did the same mistake in Leningrad. The siege of this beautiful city was maybe worse than the battle of Stalingrad because the civilians were the ones who suffered the most. Practically every mother had to choose which child has a chance to live because there was not enough food for all of them, poor heating, lack of clothes and just a slight chance that this inferno will end one day.

[@jrmckim]

But Hitler thought he was better than Napoleon. That man's ego not only killed millions of Europeans but also his own countrymen.

[@longtabsigo]

23:00; If you were to add up all of the American Military killed since the founding of this nation in 1776, that sum would still be far fewer than the number of humans who died in the battle of Stalingrad.

[@malcomx1924]

Yeah it was such a sinister move of the communist party to force everybody to stay in the city, and not even let the civilians retreat. But at least it held the Germans off long enough for the American lend lease program aid to show up, so that the Russians didn’t lose every battle anymore.

[@johnnyclements9757]

Absolutely great work as always , Simon. Would love to see a video on the Guadalcanal campaign, had a relative who fought there.

[@luyandzabavukiledlamini4693]

The Battle of Stalingrad itself demonstrates the bravery and sacrifice the Soviets made a achieve victory against all odds to defend their homes and protect their,"Motherland"

[@SmokyTheGoaty]

Lmao they were being forced by their superiors. Your choices were get shot by your Soviet commanders or get shot by the Germans.

[@jamesduffy7549]

​@@SmokyTheGoaty don't get your history from movies. Standard practice was being sent back to your unit or detained

[@JohnSmith-rw2yn]

11:40 for a good description of the grain elevator from the German perspective, if you watch the episode about stalingrad from the series, The World At War, they have a diary from a German soldier there who recounts how hard it was to take and how many men were found and there shock.

[@Bamboozler2349]

Despite small inaccuracies and generalizations, this channel has great story telling that makes it interesting.

[@JuanMendoza-sz8iy]

Does "small inaccuracies" includes maddeningly unnecessary apostrophes?

[@jacobmarkham2162]

Please continue to do WW2 videos! They’re the best videos on the channel.

[@nathanstewart446]

Please do a video on the Wisconsin Iron Brigade. They served in some of the fiercest battles of the American Civil War and were heroes at Gettysburg but no one talks about them

[@scottkrater2131]

Wisconsin troops didn't make up the whole Iron Brigade. There were troops from Michigan and Indiana in the Brigade.

[@nathanstewart446]

@@scottkrater2131 True. Two of the five regiments that made up the Iron Brigade were from Michigan and Indiana but the rest were from Wisconsin

[@scottkrater2131]

@@nathanstewart446 yes they were, and a damn good fighting unit they were. As good as any elite unit during the war.

[@darknessoftruth9314]

For days, I have crept through shadows like a rat. This place once echoed with conversations of friends and lovers. No longer. Mark my words, Comrade... One day things will change. We will take the fight to their land, their people... to their blood. Sgt. Viktor Reznov AKA the Wolf. Submachine Gunner 62nd Rifle Army

[@Livoirienyvoitrien]

2.5 million for one battle. It is beyond imagination. Can one say that it was a necessary sacrifice? My grandfather fought there, caught a bullet and got out. He died in 1974 when I was seven years old. I remember him, calling me to his dead bed to say good-bye,the family lined up aside it, crying. They just levelled my grandparents‘ grave two years ago, but left the remains in it. New beloved ones of somebody will he buried there soon. The bullet is still in there. The bullet that saved his life. For another thirty years. It is strange. Our history alienates me from myself. The ghosts of the dead, friend and foe, walk behind me. My grandfather loved the Russians. Said how they were so much more humane and kind. Gone with the wind.

[@Balrog-tf3bg]

Of the entire sixth army, only about 5000 soldiers ever returned home in the 1950s, and over one million Soviets died, plus most people in the city. So many starved to death too. The sixth could have broken out, but Hitler just wouldn’t let them

[@ErnestoBrausewind]

One of the most eerie and valuable family heirloom - my Grandfathers marching orders out of Stalingrad which we found in an equally touching war-foto-album in the attic. He was a tank mechanic who was pulled out by airlift after it was clear that there wasn't any maintenance possibly any more and they needed the guys for preparing the counteroffensive - learn a proper trade.

[@firesideshats]

Man you do know especially back then you didn't really get a choice of what core you where going into. You could have a trade and they would throw you in infantry so that little point you said really didn't fcking matter lol

[@MrPaxio]

yeah i aint getting paid peanuts to risk my life and waste my time to become one of many

[@MrPaxio]

by one of many, i mean the mechanic

[@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg]

Ah A Happy Helmut

[@DreadfulMeep]

Your grandfather is a lucky hero.

[@wadakagiso238]

i love you my fav history youtube guy. beautiful english voice not too deep but not to soft and jokes are on point. I LOVE YOU WAROGRAPHIC MAN, THE BEST

[@randalpumpkin2788]

Another great video, warographics putting out absolute bangerrrs lately

[@PerfectSense77]

I’ve read about this battle in detail before but your take on it is still fresh and interesting to hear.

[@morstyrannis1951]

“Amateurs study strategy, professionals study logistics.” There are several claims of authorship for this statement. Stalingrad is perhaps the ultimate example of its truth. A former corporal sending his nation to war and treating his professional general staff with contempt. We're fortunate the former corporal had so much hubris. Without it, the results might have been far different.

[@bloodbrotherbear]

Well done on your story telling Simon !

[@angelvalerio9746]

Can you please do a video about the Aztec Eagles?

[@mangrove]

"You wouldn't have had much fun in Stalingrad, would you?" "Not much fun in Stalingrad, no."

[@DeaDGoD_XIV]

"If he opens his big mouth again, it's lampshade time!"

[@AnthonyRodriguez-om6id]

Pretty good brief overview on the battle. One bit about it being hitler’s fault, actually it was the luftwaffe that guaranteed they could make the airlift work. Also the Soviet tanks didn’t stumble on the airfield, they knew that was a German base and was being used to fly supplies to Stalingrad.

[@markprange2430]

0:20 7:20 This photo is from September 19 in Minina. Luftwaffe officer Helmut Schnatz. The grain elevator building is in the distance. 0:25 This is near the Railwaymen's Building.

[@scottmullarkey4885]

Excellent work, great video fact boy!

[@AsemSaleh]

12:37 so true... I am from Syria... In the early forties Syria was still under the French occupation. People gloated over the French surrender to the Nazis. I am from a village in the mountains of Latakia. It took the French two whole years (1918-1920) to occupy the mountains. And the defenders were too few compared to the French who outnumbered us probably 100 to 1.

[@jdharris8132]

Very good video on the battle. One of the better ones I’ve seen. Thanks for your hard work.

[@michaelsinger4638]

Marshal Chuikov came up with the perfect tactics for fight in a ruined city. Neutralizing the Germans combined arms advantage. Then the classic double envelopment sealed the deal.

[@mike-sk2li]

If you call throwing peasant farmers into the breach with no weapons by the thousands a tactic? we'll it did work I guess. Brute force is not a tactic

[@NoMoreCrumbs]

@@mike-sk2li Enemy at the Gates was not a documentary. If the Germans lost to unarmed, untrained peasants that says more about them than the Soviets

[@bludfyre]

​@@mike-sk2li *citation needed. That whole myth was concocted by the German generals after the war, aided by the Soviet Union basically sealing their records from Western Historians until the end of the Cold War. TIK history dismantled this argument very well on his channel.

[@callumjohnston858]

@@bludfyre it should be noted that tik does good battle breakdowns, but he's shite at the political aspects of ww2.

[@bludfyre]

@@callumjohnston858 While I disagree with TIK on a number of his political views (and I think he is seriously reaching with his Naziism-is-Gnosticism argument, I still find him helpful for challenging my views and helping crystallize my political opinions.

[@UnexpectedWonder]

I've always held the Battle of Stalingrad as the Greatest Battle in History. It's one the truly changed the History of the world and how Warfare is fought in the Modern Era.

[@joshwright9136]

Dude how many channels are you on?? I swear no matter what I search for you're always popping up

[@KW-qd1bi]

Ive always wondered how Germany lost the battle of stalingrad when they held the majority of the city. Apparently we should collectively appreciate Hitlers incompetence

[@maximilianodelrio]

Because holding a ruined city is not very useful when you leave your flanks exposed and get cut off

[@theBEASTisJJ]

They were encircled and destroyed by the Soviets. Operation Uranus. It didn’t help that the ones guarding 6th army’s flank were the under equipped Romanians, Hungarians and Italians.

[@bludfyre]

I see you fell for the German Officers' propaganda after the war... it was all "Madman Hitler!" Was Hitler an evil human being? Yes... but he was not the reason the Nazis lost. Blaming everything on Hitler was a convenient cop-out to absolve the German generals of their mistakes, bad decisions, and also robs the Allies (including the Soviets) of their courage, brilliance, and sacrifice.

[@bludfyre]

​@@theBEASTisJJ I'm glad you added the qualifier "under-equipped." The Romanians and Hungarians were infantry who were begging their German allies for anti-tank capabilities... and the Germans had none to spare. So when Soviet tanks started attacking, they had no way to defend themselves.

[@mirquellasantos2716]

Germans are used to losing but again bad guys always lose.

[@acarmory]

One of your best videos for this channel!

[@humedesmond7774]

The 6th Army is argumentatively the best fighting army in the Wermarcht. Stalingrad is not a city of much vital importance being the the Wermarcht can easily cut off Soviet supplies by simply controlling part of the Volga river. Hitler's obsession of taking the city instead of going for Baku costed him his best soldiers and showed his enermies that Germans are not invincible and can be defeated. Hitler's luck literally turned from the lost of the battle and goes on a downward spiral to eventual defeat.

[@AZTLANSOLDIER13]

Churchill's co opting bu warmongers and Britains betrayal of Western European civilization by allying with marxists tyranny is why Germany lost. Great Britain really cared about eastern europe

[@conormacneill8284]

Some interesting stuff on Stalingrad from the WW2 channel and Rob Citino: The Germans purposely pulled their troops from the flanks, leaving those to the Romanians, in October to try to take the city quickly. It didn’t work out and made operation Uranus possible. Stalingrad was only the second turning point. The German army was smashed outside Moscow the year prior. Barbarossa originally had 3 axes of advance (Baltic/north, Belorussia/Moscow/center, and Ukraine/South). Losses in Moscow and the earlier part of Barbarossa meant by 1942 the Germans only had the resources for an offensive push in one operational area. They choose the south/Caucuses as Simon said because they needed the oil. In the wake of operation Uranus, German troops outside the city retreated and left their Allies high and dry. This was a contributing factor to Italy dropping out of the war. Operation torch/the western advance in North Africa actually helped the soviets a lot in the weeks before before kicking off operation Uranus. German/Italian Convoys to North Africa were being badly mauled so they diverted a lot of the Luftwafe/airlift strength to that sector. The transport planes were then also badly mauled and the Germans could have very much used them a few weeks later in Stalingrad. The reason the Germans allocated so many men/resources to North Africa was in large part because they viewed it as necessary to keep Italy in the war. It also helped that they hadn’t invaded the USSR yet. Following the disasters in North Africa/Stalingrad, Italy began feeling peace offers/plans to oust Mussolini. The loss of Sicily finally sealed the deal and Italy was out of the war.

[@jacobwaddell6075]

It is truly difficult for the mind to understand the scale of all of this

[@christopherfriend7402]

Absolutely love this channel!

[@alex4863]

I’ve heard rumors that at night if it’s quiet you can hear screams of war, with amount of death I wouldn’t doubt the area is haunted by devastation.

[@thedevensafe]

FANTASTIC episode, Simon!!!!

[@AOClaus]

Another channel! Holy crap Simon.

[@AS088]

Great video nicely done Simon

[@markobecaj3027]

what a great video, very well written.

[@timmystwin]

I'm so glad you mentioned the 1077th. Their sacrifice (none survived) is something never really mentioned when it comes to the war, and instead of just faking women's participation I feel media needs to mention and honour more real examples, such as theirs.

[@SafetySpooon]

Stop pretending women did nothing during the war. Especially Soviet women.

[@AB-ee5tb]

Faking women’s participation? There were quite a bit of examples of Russian women fighting in the war

[@mind-blowing_tumbleweed]

You should look up the tank raid on Tatsynskaya air field. This mission alone worth making a video game: destroying aircrafts by tanks hundreds kilometres deep in enemy territory without any chance of reinforcement

[@theodoreaguglia8902]

Anyone remember that saying about how even the rocks couldnt survive Stalingrad for long, only men endure

[@Cat-ie8lb]

Epic Series Tik. You should be extremely proud. Can I get mustard with that horse meat?

[@SJR_Media_Group]

Soviets suffered the most losses of any country in WWII. Over 27 plus million Soviet soldiers and civilians died. Losses are probably twice that. Easy to confuse Stalingrad with Leningrad. Both cities suffered atrocities at the hands of the Germans beyond comprehension. The Battle of Stalingrad deadliest battle with infantry. Battle of Kursk, largest tank battle in history. Siege of Leningrad one of largest and longest blockades in history. Now you know why the Germans finally fled the Soviet Union in fear. Once they figured out that it was impossible to stop an unstoppable tidal wave of Soviet Soldiers and Citizens, Germany was doomed. German soldiers never counted on having to fight Soviet citizens too, just Soviet Army. Soviet Army killed Germans all the way back to Germany, and killed many more once they got inside Germany. Stalin's 'pep talk' to his soldiers and citizens must have worked. Fight to the death if needed, run and you will be shot. Strange motivation speech.

[@jaredchancey1480]

Really enjoy your channels

[@multiyapples]

Rest in peace to those that passed away.

[@cjharvie7240]

Simon, I've been enjoying your videos, across many of your channels. I was wondering if anyone has ever suggested you produce a segment on Operation JERICHO, the use of De Havilland Mosquitos to create a jailbreak for condemned members of the French Resistance?

[@MarquisVincentBissetdeGramont]

👍

[@sammurphy3343]

This is why even in war some decency remains. The Germans were relentless in their cruelty to the red army that when they were surrounded mercy was completely out of the question.

[@dianecripps204]

Some great writing here.

[@pooryorick831]

I had relatives who fought at Stalingrad. My grandparents both had brothers in Germany who fought in both World Wars. Never met them of course. I've only heard stories and dang few. My grandparents never talked about Germany much.

[@sunlight9056]

Thank you Simon and your team (I assume you must have one or you wouldn't even have time to maintain that marvellous beard).

[@andyyang3029]

Yes, he has a team of writers and editors, I believe quite a few as he runs like 15 channels

[@Weeboslav]

Battle of Stalingrad saw greater loss of life than many wars

[@badluck5647]

*Most wars

[@Elitecommando501]

Millions of souls died in a violent way in a small area. May they all find peace 😮

[@Chainyanker007]

There was a Czech docudrama on Netflix awhile back, now gone, that told a story about a British civilian who got a msg from his British friend in Czechoslovakia to come help him get some Jews out to Britain before things got real bad for them. His friend then went back to English. He subsequently saved 100s of Jewish children with just the aid of a female helper by putting them on trains going west thru Germany. The kids all ended up making it to England where they were adopted. He never talked about it after he had to get out. His relatives were cleaning out his attic when he was much older years after the war had ended. They secretly did research and contacted a few hundred of the children who by then were adults with families. He got surprised when invited to a live TV show he did not know was about him, the entire audience were people he had saved. Some had come from distant countries like Australia. The movie title was something like Nick’s Family. He passed away at 100 on an anniversary date that the last train left Czechoslovakia with kids that he had arranged to save. Wonderful movie and story.

[@Hillbilly001]

Holy Whistlerverse! Waro has posted 3-4 times this week. Allegedly. Simon must be driving the denizens hard. Allegedly. Cheers from Tennessee

[@SLqB11]

Im glad you mentioned Croatia ..since they were never called out for the atrocities they committed.

[@ms-go8lc]

I deeply resent listening to the tragedy of stalingrad and then having it interruoted by the cringiest ads ... ffs

[@jamesduffy7549]

Gotta fund it somehow. Would you prefer paying?

[@atakorkut5110]

And that’s why we have censorship because of people like you getting offended of an ad

[@ms-go8lc]

@@atakorkut5110 lmao ok dude

[@grumpyoldman-21]

standing and fighting to the last man might not have been the worst order, as it was only 5-10% of the troops captured at stalingrad returned home in the mid 50's

[@kasahadragon9499]

The Kakoda track ww2 is a good one to show human spirit👍 and we Auzzie owe so much to the "Fuzzy Wuzzy" 💜

[@brutusvonmanhammer]

While Stalingrad has the highest total of deaths of all battles on the Eastern front, it actually pales in comparison to the Battle of Berlin. Stalingrad produced about 1.7 million combat casulties (depending on sources) in 5 months The battle of Berlin produced 700,000 combat casulties (depending on sources) In TWO WEEKS. That's 1/3 the number of casualties in just 10% of the time. Had the battle of Berlin lasted as long as the battle of Stalingrad, it would have produced 6x as many casualties, or 7.35 MILLION Thats nearly equal to the total number of combat deaths for all sides during the ENTIRETY of WW1

[@jrmckim]

Please do a video on thw Night Witches!

[@mirquellasantos2716]

I need to thank all those Soviet warriors. They truly entered hell and fought the worst evil ever.

[@shidditiddis]

Potentially the greatest level of a video game of all time

[@iyubecaid3510]

Never forget the hero’s of Stalingrad

[@mirquellasantos2716]

The world owes those heroes so much.

[@josephbacon7493]

I had the privilege to visit in 2021. Only one building remains from then that’s how destroyed the city was it’s next to the war museum.

[@Pennysfishkeeping]

I don't think I've ever been this early! Thank you for making such great content!!!

[@pboogie3472]

Bro the intro music makes me pick up my phone like “an ad already?!” 😂

[@EAdrien92]

did i hear a yawn at 13:04? sleepy simon

[@theGhost_141]

If you believe Enemy at the Gates (the book, not the movie) Vasily Zaitsev was their best sniper and was a major morale boost to the Soviets.

[@sammurphy3343]

Your voice is kind of like James earl Jones or Morgan freeman on that by sound alone Your voice is unmistakable.

[@mattbarei9227]

Number one the comment about Pavlov's house wasn't a joke I think it was a legit comparison 😂 Paris folded like an envelope. And number 2 Vasily Zaitsev is a gangster and Enemy at the gates is a supremely underrated movie. Il never forget the cinematography in the beginning of the movie when they show a bunch of confused young Soviet soldiers hoping off trains and getting told to get on boats to cross the Volga when they zoom out and show the situation it is magnificent cinematography 🔥🔥

[@SmashBrosAssemble]

What happens when two unscrupulous despots battle each other? Well you get the Battle of Stalingrad

[@dakotamoore1565]

Simon, you and your team need to do a video on the Chosin Reservoir

[@WTEIncognito]

This must have been an insane period of time to be in , crazy stuff

[@dyxifltline]

The Stalingrad Academy of Street Fighting. Is what the general in command of the defense. Vasily Chuikov. He gets ignored or blamed for some nebulous failure. He never broke, he adapted over and over again. He had ulcers excema, spinal injuries. He was attacked over 9 times by Stukas, they were just attacking troops they saw not knowing it was him. Multiple command posts destroyed while he was in them. He ignored soviet doctrine to fight the battle in the way that was successful. When asked by Kruchev if he understood his orders? His response was that blood is time. A cold, cold understanding of war.

[@phillawrence5148]

Yet another channel with this guy?