Battle of Stalingrad 1943 -2013

[Thunder Bolt]

It's only taken 70 years to recognise the work of the help Britain gave Russia with the Arctic convoys.
Arctic convoy veterans to get medal after years of campaigning | World news | guardian.co.uk

 

[Seagull on the wing]

Hitler chose to go for Stalingrad to get at the oilfields in the Caucasus,but he made the mistake in the beginning by opening two fronts in Europe as well as having his Afrika corp to worry about...had he went with one front at a time he could've conquered the world. A friend of mine years ago was on the Russian convoys,he said his reception at port was great from the people but the police and officals were very suspicous of them and they were followed everywhere,heard after the war that families that helped British sailors were rounded up and sent to the gulags....don't think Stalin was any better Hitler,both evil.

 

[Smirko]

f*** the bastards of the redarmy, they killed my people, destroyed my country, raped our woman! f*** them all.

Don't hold back!

 

[Silent Bob]

I was staying in Russia and noticed loads of memorials/statues commemorating the war. Thing that struck me was they all read 1941-1945.

I asked the people I was with about the allies etc and they didn't even know Britain was involved in the second world war!

The Russians are a funny bunch at the best of times, but in UK education (certainly these days) they take in a lot about the allies, and the pre-war german state. Overall i think there's a lot of respect to the yanks and russians from our end, a lot of gratitude.

But as I said, funny bunch!

Yeah 41-45 is what was called the Great Patriotic War, undoubtedly there's a propaganda element to this view of history but it's true that the whole Western Front is small in comparison, something like 20% of German casualties, and Britain's main contribution really was to serve as a base for America. Our own national myth overstates our importance in the war so it's not hard to see why when Russia does the same they don't even know we exist.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

How do you overstate our importance when for nearly two years we were the only nation who stood up to Hitler?

 

[Shoreham Gull]

The biggest mistake the Germans and Japanese made was not attacking Russia on two fronts. If they'd done that they'd have been overrun.

The Japanese not attacking Russia was the reason why they had such success.

Japan might been in world war 2, but they was never on-side with nazi's , they was in the war for there selfs...

They didn't believe in nazi policy's and was also very good allies with British till pearl harbour!

I still think Britain was linked to bombing of pearl harbour, meeting up with Japanese governments etc before it,,,,

perfect way to bring USA into the war, otherwise USA never would have gone to war...
Still never understand reason why Japan attacked USA , what was the gain to pick on such a giant..

 

[Shoreham Gull]

I recently went to Russia and visited the site of the battles and they are still digging up corpses to this day. Totally harrowing to think of the immense loss of life.

They dig up for nazi treasure.. I.e. clothes etc all nazi stuff, so they can sell it.

Everything related to Russia is no better then being nazi's them selfs,
Well they walked to Berlin took half of it and caused death and rape on way through Poland etc..

And the Cold War started, which has been caused nothing but problems..

If nazi's took Russia! Would they still beat USA and the whole British empire? I think not..
Just prolonged the war abit!

 

[Gyuribá]

I'd suggest the Arrow Cross and Hungarian fascism might also have had something to do with that.

So because of 1 year of AC regime the hungarians wanted 40 years of red terror, thousands of deaths in 1956 for themselves? I dont think so. Rathyer your goverment, and your american friends gave us to Mr. Stalin as a present. And he wanted us.

 

[daveinprague]

f*** the bastards of the redarmy, they killed my people, destroyed my country, raped our woman! f*** them all.

Hungarian forces were part of the axis forces that invaded Russia. You reap what you sow.

 

[Dandyman]

Hungarian forces were part of the axis forces that invaded Russia. You reap what you sow.

Exactly, Hungary entered the war on the side of the Nazis in April 1941 under the dictatorship of Admiral Horthy.

 

[Dandyman]

How do you overstate our importance when for nearly two years we were the only nation who stood up to Hitler?

"We" were actually the British Empire including India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and a host of African nations. Which is not to detract from the heroism of 1940.

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

Tis amazing how so many display such knowledge of a war they never fought, nor studied in any depth from reliable commentary and multiple perspective.

Anyway, 1943-2013 ? That's a bloody long war. And there was me thinking it had finished.

 

[Gyuribá]

Hungarian forces were part of the axis forces that invaded Russia. You reap what you sow.

Thats true. We joined Mr. Adolf to help us getting justice about losing 2/3 part of our 1000 year country after WWI. But as far as I know Hitler have to convince and threaten Horthy to join the attack in Russia. So he delayed the german occupation with this deicison for 3 years. And we did not deserve that 40 years for this attack Im sure.

 

[daveinprague]

Well, whether he threatened him or not doesnt really make a difference. Hungary, with the Nazis help appropriated Czech/slovak and Rumainian lands..those lands were, as you say, taken after ww1, but come on...those lands were lands appropriated by the Austro - Hungarian empire in the first place..Its not a matter of poor little Hungary, being manipulated, and then occupied by evil empires...to some of the people, the Austro-Hungarian empire was an evil empire.
Thats politics mate...at the end of the day, Hungarian forces were involved in the destruction of several Divisions of the Red Army in the early stages of the war...and what the Axis powers did in the Soviet Union, was bound to involve a heavy measure of revenge. The Axis powers raped their way through the Soviet Union as well, although they tended to also kill the people they raped. What happened was horrible for all the countries involved, axis, and the allies, but seriously, if youre part of an invasion force into somewhere like the Russias, the chances of it going well, were probably a bit limited, and what came back to Hungary, couldnt have been unexpected. Horrible time for everybody, including Germans.

 

[Dandyman]

Thats true. We joined Mr. Adolf to help us getting justice about losing 2/3 part of our 1000 year country after WWI. But as far as I know Hitler have to convince and threaten Horthy to join the attack in Russia. So he delayed the german occupation with this deicison for 3 years. And we did not deserve that 40 years for this attack Im sure.

You mean the break up of the Hapsburg Empire ? My grandmother was born as a subject of that Empire, despite being a Pole in a Polish city.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Japan might been in world war 2, but they was never on-side with nazi's , they was in the war for there selfs...

They didn't believe in nazi policy's and was also very good allies with British till pearl harbour!

I still think Britain was linked to bombing of pearl harbour, meeting up with Japanese governments etc before it,,,,

perfect way to bring USA into the war, otherwise USA never would have gone to war...
Still never understand reason why Japan attacked USA , what was the gain to pick on such a giant..

Actually the Japanese had tried to attack the USSR in 1939 but were defeated at Nomonhan (Or Khulkin-Gol) in August of that year. So you could argue that one of the most important battles of World War Two was fought before it started. From 1939 until December 1941 a number of experienced troops who had fought the battle under Zhukov were stationed in the east and only returned westwards after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was these troops that helped break the siege of Moscow. The Japanese motives for expansion was to be self reliant on resources, e.g oil, whilst Siberia was known to contain a number of items Japan desired it was undeveloped, and once they were defeated there it was easier to move south into Asia and the Pacific, the only thing standing in their way being the military might of the USA hence the attack on Pearl Harbor. Remember by that point France had been defeated and the British were fighting for their lives in Europe.

The bit about the Japanese-British relationship is bollocks, at most there are suggestions that the British may have sat on intelligence about a possible attack but there was certainly no collaboration. Even after the attack there was no guarantee the USA would fight in Europe, a hurdle removed by Hitler's declaration of war on the USA a few days later - probably his biggest political mistake.

 

[Gyuribá]

You mean the break up of the Hapsburg Empire ? My grandmother was born as a subject of that Empire, despite being a Pole in a Polish city.

NO!

Hungary had its own borders which had nothing to do with Austria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1000 to 1920. The result of this unfair peace agreement is that 3,3 million hungarians were outside the new borders... Lost nearly 200000 km2 and many ancient cities.

http://hu.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=F%C3%A1jl:Trianonmap.jpg&filetimestamp=20080104061947

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Japan might been in world war 2, but they was never on-side with nazi's , they was in the war for there selfs...

They didn't believe in nazi policy's and was also very good allies with British till pearl harbour!

I still think Britain was linked to bombing of pearl harbour, meeting up with Japanese governments etc before it,,,,

perfect way to bring USA into the war, otherwise USA never would have gone to war...
Still never understand reason why Japan attacked USA , what was the gain to pick on such a giant..

You left out the part where Japan and the USSR went to war with each other in 1939 before the Russians and Nazis lifted a gun in each others direction.

My enemies enemy is my friend.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

"We" were actually the British Empire including India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and a host of African nations. Which is not to detract from the heroism of 1940.

I remember reading an article on the Polish who flew in the Battle of Britain. The British pilots would hold formation and fly to orders where as the Poles were like mad men.

The first sight of German planes the Polish caught they were in an among them screaming and hollering with radio chatter to each other while causing chaos among the Luftwaffe.

Poles were vital to that battle as they were some of the most experienced Pilots the allies had.

 

[The Truth]

Tis amazing how so many display such knowledge of a war they never fought, nor studied in any depth from reliable commentary and multiple perspective.

Anyway, 1943-2013 ? That's a bloody long war. And there was me thinking it had finished.

This.