The Battle of Stalingrad was a major turning point in World War II, and is considered the bloodiest battle in recorded human history. The battle was marked by the brutality and disregard for civilian casualties on both sides. The battle is taken to include the German siege of the southern Russian city of Stalingrad (today Volgograd), the battle inside the city, and the Soviet counter-offensive which eventually trapped and destroyed the German Sixth Army and other Axis forces in and around the city. Total casualties are estimated at be ...

Including:

• Battle of Stalingrad - Background
• Battle of Stalingrad - Operation Blau
• Battle of Stalingrad - The Battle Opens
• Battle of Stalingrad - The Battle in the City
• Battle of Stalingrad - The Soviet Counter-attack
• Battle of Stalingrad - Soviet Victory
• Battle of Stalingrad - Dramatization

Read more here: » Battle of Stalingrad: Encyclopedia - Battle of Stalingrad

See also:

Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Stalingrad - Background, Battle of Stalingrad - Operation Blau, Battle of Stalingrad - The battle opens, Battle of Stalingrad - The Battle in the City, Battle of Stalingrad - The Soviet Counter-attack: Operation Uranus, Battle of Stalingrad - Soviet Victory, Battle of Stalingrad - Dramatization

Read more here: » Battle of Stalingrad: Encyclopedia II - Battle of Stalingrad - Background

On 22 June 1941 Germany and its Axis allies invaded the Soviet Union, quickly advancing deep into Soviet territory. Having suffered defeat after defeat during the summer and autumn of 1941, Soviet forces counter-attacked in the Battle of Moscow in December 1941. The exhausted German forces, ill-equipped for winter warfare and with overstretched supply lines, were stopped in their drive towards the capital and in some cases driven back. The Germans stabilized their front by spring 1942. Plans to launch another offensive against Moscow ...

See also:

Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Stalingrad - Background, Battle of Stalingrad - Operation Blau, Battle of Stalingrad - The Battle Opens, Battle of Stalingrad - The Battle in the City, Battle of Stalingrad - The Soviet Counter-attack, Battle of Stalingrad - Soviet Victory, Battle of Stalingrad - Dramatization

Read more here: » Battle of Stalingrad: Encyclopedia II - Battle of Stalingrad - Background

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, abbreviated USSR (Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик (СССР) listen ▶ (help·info); tr.: Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik [SSSR]), more commonly known as the Soviet Union (Russian: Сове́тский Сою́з; tr.: Including:

• Soviet Union - History
• Soviet Union - Politics
• Soviet Union - Leaders of the Soviet Union
• Soviet Union - Foreign relations
• Soviet Union - Republics
• Soviet Union - Related articles

Read more here: » Soviet Union: Encyclopedia - Soviet Union

Adolf Hitler ▶ (help·info) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 to his death by suicide. He was leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP), better known as the Nazi Party. Under Hitler's charismatic leadership Germany emerged from the depths of defeat to rebuild its economy and its decimated military. At the height of their power during World War II, ...

Including:

• Adolf Hitler - Early years
• Adolf Hitler - Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich
• Adolf Hitler - World War I
• Adolf Hitler - The early years of the Nazi Party
• Adolf Hitler - Hitler's entry and rise
• Adolf Hitler - The Hitler Putsch
• Adolf Hitler - The rebuilding of the party
• Adolf Hitler - The road to power
• Adolf Hitler - The Brüning administration
• Adolf Hitler - The cabinets von Papen and Schleicher
• Adolf Hitler - Hitler's appointment as Chancellor
• Adolf Hitler - Reichstag Fire and the March election
• Adolf Hitler - The Enabling Act
• Adolf Hitler - Removal of remaining limits
• Adolf Hitler - The Third Reich
• Adolf Hitler - Economics and culture
• Adolf Hitler - Repression
• Adolf Hitler - Rearmament and new alliances
• Adolf Hitler - The Holocaust
• Adolf Hitler - World War II
• Adolf Hitler - Opening moves
• Adolf Hitler - Path to defeat
• Adolf Hitler - Defeat and death
• Adolf Hitler - Legacy
• Adolf Hitler - Medical health
• Adolf Hitler - Hitler's family
• Adolf Hitler - The origin of the name Hitler
• Adolf Hitler - Trivia
• Adolf Hitler - Hitler's associates
• Adolf Hitler - Documentaries
• Adolf Hitler - Dramatizations
• Adolf Hitler - Media
• Adolf Hitler - Hitler's speeches

Read more here: » Adolf Hitler: Encyclopedia - Adolf Hitler

In the winter of 1942–1943 the Soviets conclusively won the Battle of Stalingrad. One complete German army had been lost, along with about 500,000 Germans and Axis allies, seriously depleting the Axis strength in the east. With an Allied invasion of Europe clearly looming, Hitler realized that an outright defeat of the Soviets before the western Allies arrived had become unlikely, and he decided to force the Soviets to a draw. In 1917 the Germans had built the famous Hindenburg line on the Western Front, shortening their lines and t ...

See also:

Battle of Kursk, Battle of Kursk - Background, Battle of Kursk - German plans, Battle of Kursk - Soviet plans, Battle of Kursk - Operation Citadel, Battle of Kursk - Preliminary Actions, Battle of Kursk - Main Battle, Battle of Kursk - Allied landing on Sicily, Battle of Kursk - Soviet counteroffensive, Battle of Kursk - Battle ends

Read more here: » Battle of Kursk: Encyclopedia II - Battle of Kursk - Background

In April 1942 Vasilievsky succeeded Boris Shaposhnikov as Chief of the General Staff. In this position Vasilievsky's great organisational skills were shown at their best. In late 1942 he was was the General Staff representative and overall supervisor of the Stalingrad Front, and together with Georgy Zhukov the main planner of the operations there, which led to Germany's greatest defeat on the Eastern Front. The historian David Glantz identifies Vasilievsky as the real architect of victory at the Battle of Stalingrad, arguing that Georgy Zhuk ...

See also:

Aleksandr Vasilevsky, Aleksandr Vasilevsky - Background and early career, Aleksandr Vasilevsky - Chief of the General Staff, Aleksandr Vasilevsky - Defence Minister

Read more here: » Aleksandr Vasilevsky: Encyclopedia II - Aleksandr Vasilevsky - Chief of the General Staff

The war between Germany and the Soviet Union began on 22 June 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet-occupied portion of Poland, and ended on 8 May 1945, when Germany's armed forces surrendered unconditionally following the Battle of Berlin. Germany was able to call on the manpower of three other Axis Powers - Italy, Hungary and Romania - to support them at the front and the subsequently occupied territories, with some assistance from anti-communist partisans as well as a Spanish division. The Soviet Union had help from partisans in many coun ...

See also:

Eastern Front World War II, Eastern Front World War II - Overview, Eastern Front World War II - Background, Eastern Front World War II - Operations, Eastern Front World War II - Invasion: Summer 1941, Eastern Front World War II - Moscow and Rostov: Autumn 1941, Eastern Front World War II - Soviet counter-offensive: Winter 1941, Eastern Front World War II - Don Volga and Caucasus: Summer 1942, Eastern Front World War II - Stalingrad: Winter 1942, Eastern Front World War II - Kursk: Summer 1943, Eastern Front World War II - Eastern Front in Fall and Winter 1943, Eastern Front World War II - Eastern Front in Summer 1944, Eastern Front World War II - Eastern Europe: January–March 1945, Eastern Front World War II - End of War: April–May 1945, Eastern Front World War II - Leadership, Eastern Front World War II - Occupation and repression, Eastern Front World War II - Industrial output, Eastern Front World War II - Casualties

Read more here: » Eastern Front World War II: Encyclopedia II - Eastern Front World War II - Overview

Finland began to actively seek a way out of the war after the disastrous German defeat at Stalingrad in January–February 1943. Edwin Linkomies formed a new cabinet with the peace process as the top priority. Negotiations were conducted intermittently in 1943–44 between Finland and its representative Juho Kusti Paasikivi on the one side, and the Western Allies and the Soviet Union on the other, but no agreement was reached. Instead, on June 9, 1944, the Soviet Union opened a major offensive against Finnish positions on the Karelian ...

See also:

Continuation War, Continuation War - Introduction, Continuation War - Aims of war, Continuation War - Background, Continuation War - Before World War II, Continuation War - The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the Winter War, Continuation War - After the Moscow Peace Treaty, Continuation War - Interim peace, Continuation War - Attempted Nordic Defence Alliance, Continuation War - Re-armaments, Continuation War - Denmark and Norway occupied, Continuation War - Finland seeks German rapprochement, Continuation War - Continued Soviet pressure, Continuation War - British disregard, Continuation War - Improved relations with Nazi Germany, Continuation War - Attempted Defence Union with Sweden, Continuation War - Road to War, Continuation War - Petsamo Crisis, Continuation War - Diplomatic Activities, Continuation War - Cooperation with Germany, Continuation War - To the Opening of Hostilities, Continuation War - Finnish Offensive 1941, Continuation War - Reconquest of Ladoga Karelia, Continuation War - Reconquest of Karelian Isthmus, Continuation War - Occupation of East Karelia, Continuation War - Advancement from Northern Finland, Continuation War - Political Development, Continuation War - International volunteers and support, Continuation War - Diplomatic manoeuvres, Continuation War - The end of the war, Continuation War - Conclusion, Continuation War - Battles and operations

Read more here: » Continuation War: Encyclopedia II - Continuation War - The end of the war

Born into a peasant family in Strelkovka, Maloyaroslavets Raion, Kaluga Guberniya (now Zhukovo Raion Kaluga Oblast), Zhukov was apprenticed to work in Moscow, and in 1915 was conscripted into the army of the Russian Empire, where he served in a dragoon regiment as a private. During World War I, Zhukov was awarded the Cross of St George twice and promoted to the rank of non-commissioned officer for his bravery in battle. He joined the Bolshevik Party after the October Revolution, and his background of poverty became an asset. After recovering ...

See also:

Georgy Zhukov, Georgy Zhukov - Prewar career, Georgy Zhukov - World War II, Georgy Zhukov - Postwar career, Georgy Zhukov - Contemporary Opinion, Georgy Zhukov - Trivia, Georgy Zhukov - Awards, Georgy Zhukov - Memories, Georgy Zhukov - Additional reading, Georgy Zhukov - Reference

Read more here: » Georgy Zhukov: Encyclopedia II - Georgy Zhukov - Prewar career

Vasilevsky was born into a not very prosperous family of priest Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vasilevsky in Novaya Golchikha near Kostroma, east of Moscow. He was forth of eight children in the family. He studied for 4 months in the Aleksander's Military Law Academy (Александровская военно-юридическое училище) in 1915. He served in the army of the Russian Empire as a junior staff captain in World War I. He left the army after the October revolution joining the Red Army in April 1919 and took part in the Russia ...

See also:

Aleksandr Vasilevsky, Aleksandr Vasilevsky - Background and early career, Aleksandr Vasilevsky - Chief of the General Staff, Aleksandr Vasilevsky - Defence Minister

Read more here: » Aleksandr Vasilevsky: Encyclopedia II - Aleksandr Vasilevsky - Background and early career

As a celebration of their elite status, the Großdeutschland was permitted to wear unique insignia. An intertwined GD was displayed on the shoulder straps, and a cuff title, of the type granted to Waffen-SS units, was also distributed. The original version, which was silver writing on a green background left the unit unimpressed. Silver on green was the same colour of the Postal Service’s cuff title. In 1940, a new cuff title, this one silver on black (like the SS) was greeted happily. The cuff titles may be one reason that the ...

See also:

Grossdeutschland Division, Grossdeutschland Division - Creation and Early History - Wachregiment Berlin, Grossdeutschland Division - Großdeutschland - France and The Low Countries, Grossdeutschland Division - Yugoslavia - Barbarossa, Grossdeutschland Division - Großdeutschland Expands – 1942 – Fall of Kharkov, Grossdeutschland Division - Kharkov – Kursk – Dnieper, Grossdeutschland Division - East Prussia - Defeat, Grossdeutschland Division - Großdeutschland Insignia, Grossdeutschland Division - Orders of Battle, Grossdeutschland Division - Bibliography

Read more here: » Grossdeutschland Division: Encyclopedia II - Grossdeutschland Division - Großdeutschland Insignia

By late February 1942 the Soviet winter counteroffensive, which had pushed the Germans from the gates of Moscow and recaptured Rostov in the south, had petered out, leaving both sides licking their wounds. A paranoid Stalin attempted to read the mind of the German military, and was convinced that the Germans were on their deathbed, and ready to collapse. So he decided to exploit this conceived weakness within the German military on the Eastern Front by launching a renewed offensive during the spring. Stalin's ultimate decision found heated r ...

See also:

Second Battle of Kharkov, Second Battle of Kharkov - Background, Second Battle of Kharkov - Soviet Order of Battle, Second Battle of Kharkov - German Order of Battle, Second Battle of Kharkov - The Battle, Second Battle of Kharkov - Conclusions

Read more here: » Second Battle of Kharkov: Encyclopedia II - Second Battle of Kharkov - Background

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939 had established a non-aggression agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, and a secret protocol described how Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania would be divided between them. In the Polish September Campaign of 1939 the two powers invaded and partitioned Poland, and in June 1940 the Soviet Union, threatening to use force if her demands are not fulfilled, won the diplomatic wars against Romania and three Baltic states which de jure allowed it to peacefully occupy Est ...

See also:

Eastern Front World War II, Eastern Front World War II - Overview, Eastern Front World War II - Background, Eastern Front World War II - Operations, Eastern Front World War II - Invasion: Summer 1941, Eastern Front World War II - Moscow and Rostov: Autumn 1941, Eastern Front World War II - Soviet counter-offensive: Winter 1941, Eastern Front World War II - Don Volga and Caucasus: Summer 1942, Eastern Front World War II - Stalingrad: Winter 1942, Eastern Front World War II - Kursk: Summer 1943, Eastern Front World War II - Eastern Front in Fall and Winter 1943, Eastern Front World War II - Eastern Front in Summer 1944, Eastern Front World War II - Eastern Europe: January–March 1945, Eastern Front World War II - End of War: April–May 1945, Eastern Front World War II - Leadership, Eastern Front World War II - Occupation and repression, Eastern Front World War II - Industrial output, Eastern Front World War II - Casualties

Read more here: » Eastern Front World War II: Encyclopedia II - Eastern Front World War II - Background

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact of August 1939 had established a non-aggression agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, and a secret protocol described how Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania would be divided between them. In the Polish September Campaign of 1939 the two powers invaded and partitioned Poland, and in June 1940 the Soviet Union, threatening to use force if her demands are not fulfilled, won the diplomatic wars against Romania and three Baltic states which de jure allowed it to ...

See also:

Eastern Front World War II, Eastern Front World War II - Overview, Eastern Front World War II - Background, Eastern Front World War II - Operations, Eastern Front World War II - Invasion: Summer 1941, Eastern Front World War II - Moscow and Rostov: Autumn 1941, Eastern Front World War II - Soviet counter-offensive: Winter 1941, Eastern Front World War II - Don Volga and Caucasus: Summer 1942, Eastern Front World War II - Stalingrad: Winter 1942, Eastern Front World War II - Kursk: Summer 1943, Eastern Front World War II - Eastern Front in Fall and Winter 1943, Eastern Front World War II - Eastern Front in Summer 1944, Eastern Front World War II - Eastern Europe: January–March 1945, Eastern Front World War II - End of War: April–May 1945, Eastern Front World War II - Leadership, Eastern Front World War II - Occupation and repression, Eastern Front World War II - Industrial output, Eastern Front World War II - Casualties

Read more here: » Eastern Front World War II: Encyclopedia II - Eastern Front World War II - Background

In Finland the use (by others) of the term "Finlandization" was perceived as a brickbat stemming from an inability to understand the practicalities of how a small nation might hope to make a deal with a culturally and ideologically alien superpower without losing its sovereignty. Finland cut such a deal with Stalin's government in the late 1940s, and it was largely respected by both parties — and to the gain of both parties — until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. While the Finnish political and intellectual elite mostly understood ...

See also:

Finlandization, Finlandization - Origin and international usage, Finlandization - Finnish perception, Finlandization - Historical background, Finlandization - The Paasikivi doctrine, Finlandization - Self-censorship and excessive Soviet adaptation, Finlandization - Criticism, Finlandization - Trivia

Read more here: » Finlandization: Encyclopedia II - Finlandization - Finnish perception

The Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 redrew the political map of Europe. It established 39 separate German speaking states and organised them in the German Confederation or Deutscher Bund, under the leadership of Prussia and Austria. Significantly, Prussia gained new territories in the west along the Rhine river in geographic isolation from the rest of its lands. This Ruhr valley district underwent rapid industrialisation, inspiring Prussia to establish the Zollverein, a ...

See also:

Military history of Germany, Military history of Germany - Ancient times, Military history of Germany - The Holy Roman Empire 843-1806, Military history of Germany - The Napoleonic Wars 1805-1815, Military history of Germany - The making of a united Germany 1815-1871, Military history of Germany - German Empire 1871-1914, Military history of Germany - The First World War 1914-1918, Military history of Germany - The Interwar Period 1918-1939, Military history of Germany - The Second World War 1939-1945, Military history of Germany - The Cold War 1945-1989, Military history of Germany - Military today

Read more here: » Military history of Germany: Encyclopedia II - Military history of Germany - The making of a united Germany 1815-1871

The February Revolution replaced the Tsar with the Russian Provisional Government, 1917 which was itself overthrown by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The Russian army, exhausted by its participation in World War I, was in the final stages of disintegration and collapse. Even though Bolshevik influence in the ranks was strong, the officer corps was staffed with many who violently opposed communism. The Bolsheviks perceived the Tsarist army to be one of the foundations of the hated old regime, and decided to abolish it in favor of establish ...

See also:

Military history of the Soviet Union, Military history of the Soviet Union - Tsarist and revolutionary background, Military history of the Soviet Union - Development of the structure ideology and doctrine of the Soviet military, Military history of the Soviet Union - Party control, Military history of the Soviet Union - Military counterintelligence, Military history of the Soviet Union - Political doctrine, Military history of the Soviet Union - Military-party relations, Military history of the Soviet Union - Military doctrine, Military history of the Soviet Union - Practical deployment of the Soviet military, Military history of the Soviet Union - Interwar period, Military history of the Soviet Union - World War II, Military history of the Soviet Union - The Cold War and conventional forces, Military history of the Soviet Union - The Cold War and nuclear weapons, Military history of the Soviet Union - Military-industrial complex and the economy, Military history of the Soviet Union - Collapse of the Soviet Union and the military, Military history of the Soviet Union - Timeline, Military history of the Soviet Union - Foreign military aid, Military history of the Soviet Union - Crimes against civilians, Military history of the Soviet Union - Notes

Read more here: » Military history of the Soviet Union: Encyclopedia II - Military history of the Soviet Union - Tsarist and revolutionary background

The Soviet Union is traditionally considered to be the successor of the Russian Empire. The last Russian czar, Nicholas II, ruled until March 1917 and was eventually executed. The Soviet Union was established in December 1922 as the union of the Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Transcaucasian Soviet republics ruled by Bolshevik parties. By Soviet historiography, revolutionary activity in Russia began with the Decembrist Revolt of 1825, and although serfdom was abolished in 1861, its abolition was achieved on terms unfavorable to th ...

See also:

Soviet Union, Soviet Union - History, Soviet Union - Politics, Soviet Union - Leaders of the Soviet Union, Soviet Union - Foreign relations, Soviet Union - Republics

Read more here: » Soviet Union: Encyclopedia II - Soviet Union - History

The Soviet Union is traditionally considered to be the successor of the Russian Empire. The last Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II, ruled until March 1917 and was eventually executed. The Soviet Union was established in December 1922 as the union of the Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Transcaucasian Soviet republics ruled by Bolshevik parties. By Soviet historiography, revolutionary activity in Russia began with the Decembrist Revolt of 1825, and although serfdom was abolished in 1861, its abolition was achieved on terms unfavorab ...

See also:

Soviet Union, Soviet Union - History, Soviet Union - Politics, Soviet Union - Leaders of the Soviet Union, Soviet Union - Foreign relations, Soviet Union - Republics, Soviet Union - Related articles

Read more here: » Soviet Union: Encyclopedia II - Soviet Union - History