![]() ![]() Ultimately, it was Hitler's determination to fight to the end that led to the Germans' defeat. "It's quite possible that in the end, if Hitler had won Stalingrad, the first atomic bomb blast would have happened over Europe." This would have been a huge public loss for the Soviet Union," Hellbeck said. "The same stakes that Hitler had laid out for the Germans also applied to the Soviets. Many believed that the outcome of Stalingrad would dictate the fate of the war. The world watched for months as the Soviets repeatedly beat back the enemy, who, until that time, had rolled across Europe without defeat, Hellbeck said. 227, known as "Not One Step Back," said Rutgers University history professor Jochen Hellbeck. ![]() Soviet forces had retreated in earlier battles, and as a result, Stalin issued Order No. ![]() Hitler's hubris was matched by that of Stalin, who was determined to defend the city, today called Volgograd, at all costs. The Germans' push to take the city resulted in some of the most intense urban combat in history, according to West Point's Modern War Institute. Hitler had publicly announced that he would take the Soviet city and assumed he would do so with ease. German dictator Adolf Hitler had set his sights on Stalingrad in part because it was named after his rival, Soviet leader Josef Stalin. An estimated 750,000 Soviets died defending the city, delivering an enormous blow to the seemingly unstoppable German war machine, a psychological turning point of World War II. The Battle of Stalingrad, with its five months of fierce fighting, began exactly 80 years ago, on Aug. Adolf Hitler's aerial bombardment of the Soviet city of Stalingrad destroyed many of the city's roads and structures, which proved advantageous for the Soviet Union in urban warfare. ![]()
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