The Battle of Moscow, D-Day, and Stalingrad

The Battle of Moscow, D-Day, and Stalingrad

During World War II many battles were fought. Many lives were lost, but many were also saved. The Allies and the Axis Powers clashed in many bloody encounters. Three of the most important battles were The Battle of Moscow in 1941, D-Day in 1944, and the Battle of Stalingrad (sometimes referred to as Volgograd) in 1942-43.

Hitler initially invaded Moscow due to its strategic location in being the capital of the Soviet Union. In September 1941, the German advance to Moscow was halted due to the Germany army's need to send troops south to Kiev. On October 2, 1941, the forces that were initially supposed to invade Moscow reassembled, and 60 divisions resumed the advance. They were now racing against time to travel 200 miles to Moscow before the start of winter. During the time of October 2-13 the casualties and captured Soviet forces totaled approximately 600,000.

On October 15, the German armies captured Kalinin and territories north and west of Moscow. Meanwhile, the Fourth German Army made a direct attack at the city which was now only 40 mere miles away. Fear was instilled on the Soviet citizens and the Soviet government, besides Stalin himself, evacuated 550 miles southeast. The Germans, with their prize nearly in their grasps, suddenly realized that the Soviet resistance was becoming fierce and more effective, not to mention the weather which was preventing German armor from advancing. Hitler was largely unprepared for the Russian winter. His troops had not been issued cold-weather clothing and equipment. Nevertheless, Hitler gave strict orders forbidding withdrawal. As a result, the weather began to take its deadly toll.

It was the weather that now claimed more lives than the enemy, and the Germans were never able to mount another assault on the Soviet capital. The Battle of Moscow was the first major defeat the Nazis suffered on land in World War II. The German army held in place throughout the rest of 1942 and into early 1943, before beginning to fall back in March 1943, reeling under one Soviet thrust after another.

D-Day, also known as the Normandy Campaign, took place from June to August 1944, on Omaha Beach in Normandy. The allied invasion began on June 6, 1944. The plan, called Operation Overlord, was prepared since 1943 and was assigned to General Eisenhower. In May, 1944, tactical bombing was started in order to destroy German communications in Northern France. On June 6, British and American forces landed behind the enemy's coastal fortification known as the Atlantic Wall. On the initial surge, many Americans and British soldiers were killed, most without firing a single shot. The Allies eventually captured Northern France and were one step closer to defeating the Axis Powers.

During World War II, the city of Stalingrad (currently known as Volgograd), was nearly destroyed in a battle that marked a major turning point in the war and a landmark in military history. In Sept., 1942, a German army exceeding 500,000 men and commanded by General Paulus began an all-out attack on Stalingrad, which was defended by 16 Soviet divisions. Stalin ordered that the city be held at all costs. After two months of house-to-house fighting, the Germans had taken most of the city; but the Soviet garrison, receiving supplies across the Volga, held out, and thus giving time to prepare a counterattack. Hitler stressed the importance and of taking the city, and despite extremely large casualties, he refused to take his general staff's