Hitler's 1941 Invasion of Russia | Part 4: Fortress Stalingrad

"In the blazing city, we do not suffer cowards..." - Vasily Chuikov. This episode marks the penultimate episode of our series tracing Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's 1941 invasion of the USSR. Join us as we follow Marshal Friedrich Paulus and the Wehrmacht 6th Army to their fateful end at Stalingrad. Through poignant handwritten letters, we'll delve into how frontline soldiers grappled with their mortality and the erosion of their faith in Nazi propaganda. Throughout the episode, we explore the ingenious and brutal strategies employed by Marshall Vasily Chuikov to maintain order amidst the chaos. In the desperate streets of Stalingrad, Rattenkrieg, or 'war of the rats,' emerged as a brutal form of close-quarters urban combat, marked by intense, chaotic skirmishes within the sprawling ruins of the city. As the tide turns against the Wehrmacht, we witness the Nazi High Command's struggle against Adolf Hitler's insistence on a symbolic last stand. The Battle of Stalingrad, often deemed the deadliest in history, holds a profound place in Russian pride today. Tune in to learn why. ⚡Help support the show on Patreon check out our supporting reels on Instagram, and receive email updates whenever a new episode drops by joining our mailing list.⚡ CHAPTERS: 00:00-Introduction 03:37-Main Characters Recap 06:30-Episode Start 12:18-Chuikov's Innovations 21:09-Wermacht on brink of victory 29:48-Luftwaffe Bombing Run 35:24-Red Army heroism 40:30-Wermacht dug in for winter 49:38-Operation Uranus begins 📓SOURCES: Barbarossa Through Soviet Eyes: The First Twenty-Four Hours by Artem Drabkin, Alexei Isaev, Christopher Summerville  Stalingrad by Antony Beevor Russia at War, 1941–1945: A History by Alexander Werth  Blood red snow by by Günter K. Koschorrek Through the Maelstrom: A Red Army Soldier's War on the Eastern Front by Boris Gorbachevsky The forgotten soldiers by Guy Sajer  Until the Eyes Shut: Memories of a machine gunner on the Eastern Front by Andreas Hartinger Stalin: Triumph and Tragedy by Dmitri Volkogonov Marshall of Victory: Memoirs of Giorgy Zhukov Blitzed: Drugs In The Third Reich by Norman Ohler The Diary of Wehrmacht Soldier William Hoffman Various accounts: IREMEMBER.RU German Propaganda Archive: Joseph Goebbels: 1933-1945 (calvin.edu)   Barbarossa : the Russian-German conflict, 1941-45 by Alan Clarke  Kiev 1941: Hitler's Battle for Supremacy in the East by David Stahel Reminiscences and Reflections. Volume 1 by Georgii Konstantinovich Zhukov The Third Reich at War by Richard J. Evans  Moscow Strikes Back - 1942 USSR Propaganda Film Molotovs Radio Broadcast:  Transcript: https://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/great-patriotic-war/pdf/22-06-1941-molotov-radiospeech.pdf Audio: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn1000646   🎉PATRONS Tom G 👑 Angus S👑 Seth M👑 Claudia K👑 Phil B Lisa K Malcolm G Alex G Caleb I Alan R Jim G Luke G Tom   ✍🏻ATTRIBUTIONS All images are public domain unless stated otherwise. Paid Artlist.io license for 'Anthology Of Heroes Podcast' utilised for numerous sounds/music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices