Stalingrad Verdun Comparison

The Battle of Verdun and the Battle of Stalingrad may well be the most gruesome battles in recent history. Both are excellent examples of how important morale is in winning a war. If either of these cities would have fallen to the Germans, history might have unfolded in a very different way than what we see here today.

The Battle of Verdun and the Battle of Stalingrad both have significant similarities. The most important of these is the fact that both cities grew to hold a great importance in both societies' history which led to them becoming distinct symbols of public pride. If these cities had fallen to the enemy it's possible that France's and/or Russia's morale of troops stationed all over the Europe would have fallen drastically and perhaps led to a loss of significant battles.

In the battle of Verdun the German strategy was to pick a target that the French would not allow to be taken and by continually sending in reinforcements "the French would bleed themselves to death." Verdun had one of the highest death tolls in World War I and was the longest battle throughout the war. One of the reasons for all the death is because the French forts had been stripped down of their guns so that the defensive capabilities of the forts were diminished. The Germans also brought in over 1,200 artillery guns, which at the time was the most powerful artillery line ever and practically annihilated entire French divisions. In Stalingrad, however, the main reason for attacking the city was to severe the north-south railway link. However, just like in Verdun the city was ill prepared for war. We know this by looking at historical accounts of what happened. When the Russians saw it was clear that the German's were bound on taking the city they quickly put together a militia of about 20,000 men and set up a line of defense. Obviously a poorly trained militia of normal working citizens would not at all be able to hold off a German army and so Soviet reinforcements were ferried across the Volga River to support the militia. And so started the great battle of Stalingrad. The German's soon reached their objective in disabling the north-south communications link but they did not stop the attack on the city. Instead it was decided to take the entire city. Considering the objective had been met there doesn't seem to be any reason for continuing an advance. There was, however, a significant amount of propaganda being used throughout the war that was being used to keep the morale of the soviet soldiers up. Hitler must have realised if the city named after their great leader, Stalin, were to be destroyed, the soviet morale would fall drastically. The same is so in WWI and all other wars. The city of Verdun played a significant part in French history and so when the Germans attacked it they knew the French would not tolerate it being taken. Stalingrad was named after their mighty leader, Joseph Stalin, and was a great industrial city. Both were symbols of national pride and neither France nor Russia would accept them being overrun for fear of the morale of the troops and the rest of the population falling considerably.

This brings up the most important aspect of both these battles. This aspect being that although it is not generally known Ð'- or just not thought about Ð'- by the average person, morale is one of the most significant factors when it comes to winning a war. If the soldiers don't believe in what they are fighting for why should they fight? Or imagine fighting in a war knowing that the home you once loved is now destroyed or taken over by the enemy. Even worse imagine fighting in a war where your own commanders would shoot you down if you retreated.

In both battles officers were ordered to not fall back and took up the motto death before defeat. Soldiers were told they must advance at all costs. Joseph Stalin, the peoples Commissar, issued Order #227 which made it so there would be no more retreat and those who did so would be prosecuted or shot on the spot. This led to the phrase, "Not one step back." which was used by Stalin in his radio broadcasts. Men who retreated were even mowed down by their own machine gun fire. General Nivelle, of the 2nd Army that was defending Verdun issued the order: Ð''No surrender; no retreat, not even an inch: die where you stand.' Imagine being in a battle where the only way you might survive is by running forward into machine gun fire because you know if you run back you'll for surely be killed. Some may consider this to be barbaric and a violation of rights and freedoms but think what may have resulted if it was not done. Perhaps during WWII Stalingrad would have fallen to the Germans and which eventually might have led to the entire eastern front to be taken and German occupation of soviet territory. This would have allowed them to re-concentrate their armies to the western front and perhaps led to a defeat of the allies. The same goes for Verdun. If the Germans had succeeded in taking Verdun the French would have completely lost their spirit. Since France was also an important British ally if the French were to lose morale