strategies
The Nazis used the "staggered offense" which allowed the German Air-force or Luftwaffe to help one group of the army and then another. When it looked to Hitler like the Nazis would easily defeat the Soviets, he spread out his army and sent troops North to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and some South to the oil fields of the Caucasus. He sent the famed 6th Army and General Fredrick Paulus to seize the city of Stalingrad. Hitler wanted the city more as a symbolic move than a strategic reasons. When the 6th army couldn't even reach the Volga River to get into to Stalingrad, Hitler was furious. He sent reinforcements to help with the directions to surround the city coming from the North and South. Prior to the attempted seize, he ordered the Luftwaffe heavily bomb the city.
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The Soviets were much less organized compared to the efficient Nazi killing machine. Most of the Red Army offensives were poorly planned and only for the purpose of slowing German troops down. Even after they had suffered staggering loses Stalin would not allow any retreat. He was willing to throw as many men at the Nazis as he had to, regardless of their suffering. The Red Army was having such a difficult time during the German assault that soldiers started running away to save themselves. This brought the Axis powers inward. Stalin was enraged and then ordered that if any of the soldiers were to try and retreat they would be shot by their own comrades. War strategies from both sides fell apart and turned into house-to-house combat in the ruined buildings of Stalingrad.
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