The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the most crucial and gruesome battles fought in Europe during World War Two. There were numerous reasons that Hitler saw fit for invading Stalingrad on September 1st, 1942 including his obsession for conquering the city named after his biggest rival, Josef Stalin. As the battle waged on both sides suffered immense casualties as they tried to gain a strangle hold on the important industrial city of Stalingrad. After 199 days of fighting, the Battle of Stalingrad concluded, beginning what many historians view as the turning point in Hitler’s European conquest as the Germans began their retreat from Russia. By 1942, Hitler had assumed control of the German Army (an army that no longer had the strength and resources seen in Operation Barbarossa) and he listened to his generals much less than he had in previous years.
Suzette B. Johnson Professor Jacqueline Nelson HIS-223-Q4273 – Modern War & Society 15EWA April 19, 2015 Analysis: The Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun was considered the longest single battle of World War 1. It began on February 21, 1916 and ended on December 16, 1916. The attack was originated by German Chief of General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn. He is quoted as stating that he wanted to “bleed France white.” Verdun held special historical significance for the French. It was a narrow stretch of land that had twenty major forts and twenty smaller ones that protected the eastern border of France.
Was General Haig a Bucher or Hero? The battle of the Somme took place from 1st July to 13 November in France near the River Somme; the battle was a big part of the First World War which was between the Triple Entente (Britain, Russia and France) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary) which was one of the most devastating battle the world had ever seen as It took so many lives within hours of the start of the battle. The Somme was the battle in which Britain and Germany fought a horrendous battle in where innocent lives were lost in the first hour or though. General Haig who was a new commander and in charge of the British army was the man who initially came up with the plan which consisted of innocent lives being lost, however he did not regret it, he thought it was a worthy sacrifice which led to the Victory of Britain. Haig only intention was to breakthrough to get the German trenches and defeat the army once and for all.
Events will be directed as precise as possible. American marines had finally moved to Europe under General Barnett’s direction on June 14, 1917, but were scattered across France to do menial tasks until they were moved to the front on March, 1918. Marines sat in trenches for 53 days waiting for further orders and suffered 872 casualties from regular artillery fire, although there was no other activity until in May. German commander Ludendorff started an offensive strike that made the closest distance
The Battle of Cantigny The battle of Cantigny was a battle between the U.S. 1st division and the German 82nd Reserve Division. It only lasted for two days (May 28-30, 1918), but it was still a very important battle for the U.S. troops. It was the first U.S. offensive and victory made by the AEF, or the American Expeditionary Forces. The battle started when the division was ordered to take over Cantigny, a village in France, North of Paris, near Man Didier in the Somme Region, to test its offensive capabilities. The Americans suffered weeks of heavy artillery and gas from the Germans.
Vimy Ridge, Captured by: Klement Bernadet Merely a week ago, 20,000 Canadian soldiers scrambled up the sleet-swept slopes of a long, low hill in northeastern france. A place called Vimy Ridge. The attack came on April 9, 1917, marking the first time in the first world war that we,the Canadian force, had fought as a unit. Vimy ridge- studded with machine guns ,dog-toothed with tunnels, and covered barbed wire- was a cornerstone of German defenses in the region. The Ridge, not far from the Belgian border, was a strtegic attle ground and had defied the Allies for months.
100 Days Offensive The Hundred Days (18 July-11 November 1918) was the final Allied offensive of the First World War on the Western Front. The stalemate on the Western Front had been broken by the great German offensives of the spring and summer of 1918, which had pushed the Allies back up to forty miles and created a series of huge salients in the Allied line. They had failed to achieve their main objective, which had been to separate the British from the French and capture the channel ports, and had drained much of the strength out of the German army. One result of the crisis caused by the first of the German offensive (second battle of the Somme), had been the appointment of Marshal Foch as commander-in-chief of all Allied armies on the Western Front. As the German offensives began to run out of power, Foch began to plan the Allied counterattack.
The first day of the ‘Battle of the Somme’ is remembered as the ‘bloodiest day of the British army’. Led by General Sir Douglas Haig, the British Army fought a long battle of trench warfare, hoping to relieve German pressure from the French at Verdun and to destroy German manpower. Starting on 1st July 1916, the battle continued until November 1916. The soldiers believed this battle would decide which side would be the victor. They also believed that the battle symbolised all the horrors of warfare in World War One.
These two wars are unparalleled in the world’s history for the devastation that occurred during the wars. The First World War gives us several obvious examples of total war. The first example is in how the primary leaders of the different countries planned on waging the war. Emperor Wilhelm II made it clear to both his admirals and his generals that he wanted them to use every means necessary to crush the French and then turn their attentions to the Russians. The battle plans of the Germans depended on quickly defeating France and then either defeating Russia, or drawing them into a stalemate.
The Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War Two in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad. The battle took place between August 1942 and February 1943. It was the largest battle on the Eastern front and is among one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. The heavy losses inflicted on the German Army making the Battle of Stalingrad a turning point in the war. Three reasons that led up to this turning point was the failure of Operation Barbarossa, the first major victory of World War Two for the Russians, and how weak the German Army had become.