Question Home

Position:Home>History> What battle decided the eastern front?


Question: What battle decided the eastern front!?
Stalingrad is often considered the turning point of world war II!. But what German defeat was the most significant and eliminated the possibility of a German victory!? Was it the battle for Moscow!? If the Germans had won this battle they would have taken the capital and possibly the war!. Or was it Stalingrad!? The grave of the sixth army!.Or the battle of Kursk!? A German victory here could have turned the course of the war!. Defeat ensured the demise of the Germans

In your opinion which was the most significant battle in the East and ensured the Germans would not be victorious!. Please give some reasons for your decisionWww@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
The start of Barbarossa is what decided the war in the Eastern Front (which decided the war in Europe)!.
1!. Hitler delayed the start of the offensive by 2 months!. Combined with an early winter, that meant that the offensive failed to reach Moscow!. And failing to reach Moscow by winter in the first year of the war meant that Germany would lose!. By then, the Russians would begin to identify better military leaders!. They would mobilize their industry!. They would expand production of T-34's!. US supplies would have time to reach the Russians!.
2!. The other battles you cite were important!. But by the time they happened, it was either unlikely Moscow would fall (the Russians had time to mobilize), Stalingrad hastened things (by taking away 600K German frontline troops), and Kursk bled important resources!. In that sense, they were like the battle of the Ardenne in the West--tantalizing but ultimately they just hastened the end!. But the initial offensive (getting off late, not covering more ground sooner, failing to get to Moscow 2 months sooner) decided the war!. Everything after that was just a matter of how long it would take!.

Think of it this way--you can argue that Japan lost the war in the Pacific as soon as they attacked the US!. Because the Japanese had no hope of conquering the US!. So once US industry got ramped up, the US would outproduce the Japanese in ships, planes, carriers and turn the tide of the war!. Midway made the war end sooner!. The atom bomb ended the war sooner!. But one can argue that Japan lost the war in the Pacific at Pearl Harbor--by bringing the US into the war and failing to anhiliate our entire Pacific fleet!.

Well, I feel the same about Germany invading Russia!. Just too damn big of a country with too much resources!. By failing to administer a knock-out blow by the fall of winter in the first year, they lost!. Because Russia could regroup and the other allies could begin to bleed resources that were needed in the East (allied bombing campaign, North Africa campaign)!. A year later (when Stalingrad) was a factor, by then Germany was facing resource demands on several fronts!. And by the time Kursk happened, it was a reasonable argument that the Germans might have benefited more by allocating those same resources to other theaters!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It was definitely Stalingrad!. because it managed to hold out under terrible suffering long enough for the russian winter to set in which was the finish on the eastern front for Germany!. I still have an old Daily Mirror with the headlines "Stalingrad is still Defiant", the advance on Moscow hinged on the Germans taking Stalingrad!. But even if the Germans had reached Moscow, they would have found an empty city!. Stalin had plans for a mass evacuation of the population of Moscow and all its treasures!. No food would be left behind or anything to assist the enemy!. This was the same tatic used against Napolean when he entered Moscow!. There was no food to feed his troops, so he was forced to retreat in the Russian winter!. The whole population had left the city, but returned when Napolean retreated!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Stalingrad would be the key turning point!.

The Germans could not recover from this battle!.

Hitler kept on feeding his soldiers to the Russians!. After Stalingrad the germans had few major successes after this!.

But it was not only a decisive battle that turned the war against the germans!. It was also the fact of the supply problems due to the distance from Germany to the front and the other fronts in Europe and North AfricaWww@QuestionHome@Com

Stalingrad was the turning point!.
Kursk was a slight Russian victory, although they lost more men and material, they had the reserves to make this up!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Kursk was the turning point BUT Stalingrad was the straw that broke the Camel`s back!.Www@QuestionHome@Com