June 10, 2001

After Stalingrad


After Stalingrad

By 1942, Stalin figured the strength of the Nazi army was beginning to wane and that he, finally, would have a strategic advantage. Stalin planned to liberate Leningrad and establish strongholds at Sevastopol and Kharkov.

The siege on Leningrad began on September 8, 1941, and lasted till January 27, 1944. Sevastopol was captured in 1942, after a nine month siege, by combined German and Romanian forces. The Soviets did not get the city back until 1944 , reassigning it to Ukraine in 1954. In February 1943, Stalin was occupying Kharkov and on February 19, Hitler launched an offensive and retook Kharkov.

Stalin stationed a large number of troops in and around Moscow. He expected Hitler to attack the city again in 1942. Instead, Hitler decided to attack and take Sevastopol. In the process, he devastated the Soviet forces stationed at Kerch in Crimea and captured Sevastopol and the oil rich areas in the Caucasus by June 1942. Hitler, scared off by the brutal Russian winter to the north, was making his play in the south, driving deeper into Soviet territory.

The Soviet military leaders realized that they could not launch a defensive at every single attack point. Hitler's strategy of encirclement was, by now, well known and Soviet troops were pulled back to the Volga River and into the Causacus Mountains. The Nazis interpreted this action as a sign that the Soviet army was severely weakened and had run out of backup troops. As a result, Germany thought that they had a clear shot of reaching both the Volga River and the Causasus at the same time.

Germany made the mistake of stretching out the front. As a result, they were not able to take and hold Stalingrad or get into the Cacasus Mountains. The extended supply line was quickly weakened and Nazi troops soon found themselves facing another Russian winter. Meanwhile, the Soviets had positioned large numbers of troops to the north and south of Stalingrad. On November 19, 1942, Soviet troops overwhelmed Rumanian and German forces at Stalingrad. Germany tried to take Stalingrad again but was forced to face defeat in February 1943. Soviet forces hammered away at Hitler's troops to the south, forcing their retreat from the Causasus and the southern front.

A pattern seemed to have developed. Soviet troops were generally successful in the winter while the Nazis achieved victories in the summer. Hitler's goal for the summer of 1943 was to take the central Russian area around Kursk. Hitler attacked Kursk on July 5, 1943, but was forced out after suffering sizeable losses. This was to be the last major Nazi offensive on the Russian front.

After the Nazi defeat at Kursk, the Soviets were finally in a position to drive the Germans out. They began a series of operations which, by the fall of 1943, succeeded in pushing the German troops across the Dnieper River. The German line in the Crimea was broken and Smolensk was liberated by the Soviets. Ukraine and Leningrad were relieved of Nazi domination early in 1944. During the same year, the Soviets drove the Nazis out of Belarus and entered Poland.

Next Page > On to Berlin > Page 1, 2

Photographs courtesy of Funet Russian Archives

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955