Military and Political Decisions of the Supreme Command of the USSR and Germany on the Eve of the Battle of Stalingrad (June – July 1942)

Abstract

Introduction. 2022 marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad, which became a turning point not only of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders and their allies, but of the entire World War II of 1939–1945. The Battle of Stalingrad covered the territories of modern Voronezh, Rostov, Volgograd regions and the Republic of Kalmykia. The military and political decisions of the supreme command of the USSR and Germany on the eve of the Battle of Stalingrad in June – July 1942 became the starting point in the future battle. Methods and materials.The study used problem-chronological, comparative-historical, and statistical methods. The study of the materials was based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. During the analysis of documents from domestic archives, memoirs, statistical information, a significant amount of material was processed; the problems of the prehistory of the Battle of Stalingrad in domestic and foreign historiography were studied. Analysis. As a result of the study conducted by the authors, various directives, orders of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command to the Soviet troops in the Stalingrad direction, as well as the enemy’s planning mechanism for the seizure of Stalingrad territory were analyzed. Results. It has been established that the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, even before the start of hostilities in the Stalingrad direction, took measures to concentrate strategic reserves, create defensive lines, and reorganize the management of front-line troops. The authors’ contribution. V.A. Afanasenko proposed the idea and concept of the article, determined the chronology of the beginning of the preparatory actions preceding the Battle of Stalingrad. M.V. Medvedev analyzed the work of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on the preparation and use of combat reserves in battles within the great bend of the Don, carried out a scientific revision of the article.