Russia celebrated the anniversary of the victory of the Battle of Stalingrad on February 2.
Putin took advantage of the event to boost the national spirit of Russians and at the same time send a message to Ukrainians, Europeans and Americans.
"It's unbelievable, but German tanks are threatening us again," the Russian president said, referring to Germany's decision to send Leopard tanks to help the Ukrainian army. He attended the anniversary events in Volvograd (the new name for Stalingrad) and drew a parallel between the current war in Ukraine and the 1942-43 Battle of Stalingrad against Nazi Germany. "Forgetting the lessons of history leads to the repetition of terrible tragedies," Putin said, adding, "Those who are leading European countries, including Germany, into a new war against Russia and expect to defeat it on the battlefield obviously do not understand that a modern war with Russia would be completely different today."
Why was the Battle of Stalingrad so important and went down in history? Why was the victory of the red army so decisive?
The Germans with Operation Barbarossa (June 22, 1941) attack the Soviet Union and have signed a non-aggression pact with it since 1939.
At the end of 1941, Wehrmacht soldiers are close to Moscow, but they do not manage to capture it. In the spring of 1942, they opened a second front towards the oil fields of the Caucasus. The aim is twofold, to control the oil and thus solve their energy needs and at the same time to prevent the Soviets from being supplied with it.
On their way is Stalingrad, an important industrial city on the banks of the Volga. The city is relatively small (800,000) but stretches for tens of kilometers on the right bank of the river.
In their first major attack (August 1942) the Germans manage to control a large part of the city.
The outcome of the operation seems easy for the Germans, the Soviets are resisting, Stalin wants to hold the city for sure, Hitler wants to capture it, the symbolism is huge for him, since it bears the name of his great rival and former ally .
German planes literally flatten the city.
The battles are dramatic, often hand-to-hand, the Germans begin to have problems with supplies of war material and food, winter is coming, Stalin tries to cheer up the morale of the red army, the war is not simply against the invading Germans but transforms in a great patriotic war for the salvation of the Motherland.
One of the special historical characteristics of the Russian race is intense patriotism; they do not care whether the Tsar, Stalin or Putin is in power.
And Stalin knows this very well, which is why he calls the war "patriotic". In a historic speech on November 7, 1943 (the anniversary of the October Revolution), she calls on all available citizens, all reserves, even women inexperienced in arms to give everything for the defense of the city.
It forbids the inhabitants to leave it, as well as to retreat during the battle. Any Russian soldier who retreats is killed by the other Russians behind him.
The Red Army's counteroffensive begins on November 18.
The Germans are surrounded, the battlefield extends to a radius of 100 kilometers around the city, Marshal Von Paulus decides to make an orderly retreat due to the lack of munitions and food, Hitler forbids him and orders him to continue with the promise of air resupply – on the advice of Goering who believes it is possible - and finally the Germans capitulate and surrender on February 2nd.
It is the first major defeat of the Germans.
It's time for the countdown to Hitler. Militarily and psychologically the shock is huge for the Germans. On the side of the Allies, the exact opposite is happening. Germany is not invincible. It is the time when the Allies begin to believe that they will win the war.
Stalin is the big winner; the cult of his person takes on global proportions and he negotiates from a position of power now with Churchill and Roosevelt. And this will be clearly seen at the Teheran conference at the end of 1943. The battle of Stalingrad had about 2,000,000 casualties (with the wounded and prisoners who were mostly killed; official figures give 1,200,000 casualties... 800,000 Russians, 400,000 Germans).