Stalingrad is now just a name in history and Western scholars are apt to belittle the contribution of this battle to the ultimate defeat of Hitler. It was a shock defeat for Hitler and Field marshal Von Paulos surrendered, the first ever Field Marshal of the German army to have ever surrendered and taken as POW. Western historians try and minimise the contribution of the Russians to the defeat of Germany, but the fact is Hitler would never have been defeated if there was no Russia and a man called Josef Stalin. He was the iron man who led Russia at that
time and in a battle of wills, it was Stalin who prevailed.In December 1942 the German army was surrounded by the Red army under Zhukov and Hitler could have saved the Germany army under Paulos, in case he had accepted Field Marshal Manstein's plan to allow the German army to break out. But Hitler insisted on no retreat and Stalin coined the word "we have no land beyond the Volga". This sealed the fate of the German army as the Luftwaffe failed to establish a SUPPLY BRIDGE in the
severe winter and the Russian sdes[ite heavy losses never ceded an inch as they fought with tenacity with the Volga river on one side. One can read the history books that in early 1943 Paulos, hungry and dispirited led 93000 German troops as POWs. The greatest land battle ever in world history was over and after that, it was a one-way drive towards Berlin.The 75th anniversary will be upon us soon and it is about time to take stock of what war is all about. Yes, there is pride and nationalism involved and these cannot be delinked. The Western world has to acknowledge the contribution of Josef Stalin who in my book is one of the greats of the last century. India should take lessons from Stalingrad and one hopes the ills perpetuated by Nehru and sadly still followed by Modi are given short shrift and the military given its due in the polity of the nation.
