The first phase of World War II is marked by the intensity of the performance of the Wehrmacht, the German army. During this period, the Germans advanced through different parts of Europe conquering and expanding the Nazi empire quickly. This advance was possible, in part, thanks to the application of an innovative war tactic for that period.
Called a blitzkrieg, this strategy consisted of carrying out massive attacks with infantry, artillery, armor and aviation against a focal point of the opposing army, the Schwerpunkt. As soon as the opposing defenses gave way, the Germans took advantage of it with rapid movement, in order to penetrate and separate the enemy army.
The success of this tactic allowed the Germans to quickly conquer Poland, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Yugoslavia, etc. The greatest triumph of the Germans in this phase of the conflict occurred in the victory against the French, surprising the world by its speed. The French armies, obsolete, were not able to resist the German armies, mainly due to the inefficiency of the French commanders in understanding the strategy of attack of the Germans.
With success in Western Europe, Germany focused its attention on the United Kingdom and carried out heavy air strikes against London and other English cities. The attacks, however, were not enough to defeat the English. Hitler's next step was to plan the invasion of the Soviet Union, in one of the greatest actions of the conflict and defining the direction the war would take.
The turning point in the war scene began with the Battle of Stalingrad, which took place between 1942 and 1943. The Soviet city, located on the banks of the Volga River, witnessed the greatest combat of World War II. In reports on this episode, the battles for the conquest of each house, street and block are counted.
The Soviets, in a gigantic mobilization, managed to stop the momentum of the German attack and, after almost losing and at a very high cost, emerged victorious. Historians estimate that the Soviets lost nearly 1.2 million lives in Stalingrad, while the Germans had almost 800,000 deaths, which totaled almost 2 million deaths in that city alone.