Hitler decided to invade the Soviet Union because he wanted world domination and they were standing in the way.  At first he attacked Moscow and Leningrad, but had to go to Stalingrad to defeat the Russians.  He had planned on going in the summer so that he could quickly defeat them and go home, but they got off schedule. This would end up leaving the Nazis right in the middle of a Russian winter without any winter clothes later on in the war.

Moscow and Leningrad

Known as Operation Typhoon, Hitler first tried to take Moscow in 1941.  He attacked in November, but wasn't secessful so he moved on to Leningrad. In Operation BLUE, Hitler attcked Leningrad in May 1942, intending to take oil fields in southern Russia. Now Hitler wanted Stalingrad. Not only was this town dominated by the Caucasus, but because it also meant a lot in value to the Russians and to Stalin (it was named after him).

The Battle

The actuall battle of Stalingrad was called Operation Barbarossa by the Nazis.  In August 1942, they came in and bombed the city.  This proved to be very effective because a lot of the buildings were made from wood.  When the Germans came into the city on ground, they had to fight not only the Soviet armies, but the citizens too.  After fighting for nearly three months, and attack from the Soviet army surprised the Germans.  They split into two and went on opposite sides around the city until they met with the Nazis and surrounded them. Hitler called in the Luftwaffle to bring more supplies to the Nazis, but they were weakening.  Then on January 8th, 1943, the Soviets attacked again and destroyed the German airfield-cutting off the supplies to the Nazis. The Germans were cold and out of food and other necessities. They had no choice so on February 2, 1943, the Nazis surrendered and ended the battle of Stlaingrad.

After

An estimated 25 million casualties was the effect of the Battle of Stalingrad. Only 6,000 Germans made it back home.