УДК 94(47).084.8

EDN YAVITS

 

Original article

 

Actions of German Aviation to Stop Soviet Cargo Transportation at the Initial Stage of the Battle of Stalingrad

Shlyahtunov M. A., Gorshunov D. M.

 

Abstract

Introduction. In the conditions of international tension and the threat of unleashing a large-scale confrontation between Russia and the countries of the collective West, an important role is played by the analysis of armed conflicts of the past in order to form an optimal plan for countering an eventual enemy. Among the many wars in which Russia participated, the Great Patriotic War is the largest and closest in time, one of the turning points of which was the Battle of Stalingrad.

Materials and methods. The material of the study was the actions of German aviation at the initial stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, which aimed to suppress cargo transportation in the operational area. Materials in the public domain were used as sources of information.

Results and discussion. The article discusses the tactics of German aviation to stop cargo transportation by river and rail, reflects the countermeasures taken by the Soviet leadership.

Conclusion. In order to ensure the sustainable existence of the State and its confrontation with the enemy in an armed conflict, it is necessary to secure key transport arteries. The leading role in this matter should be assigned to air defense units, for the successful actions of which modern systems and complexes for detecting and defeating air attack means should be available, corresponding to current threats.

Keywords: aviation weapons of destruction, Great Patriotic War, Volga Flotilla, transport, tactics of German aviation

For citation: Shlyahtunov MA, Gorshunov DM. Actions of German Aviation to Stop Soviet Cargo Transportation at the Initial Stage of the Battle of Stalingrad. Bulletin of the Research Institute of the Humanities by the Government of the Republic of Mordovia. 2023;15(4):88—95. EDN YAVITS

 

REFERENCES

 

1. Voznesensky N. The Military Economy of the USSR during the Patriotic War. Moscow;1948. (In Russ.)

2. Degtev DM. The Air Battle for Stalingrad. Luftwaffe Operations in Support of Paulus’ Army. 1942 — 1943. Moscow;2021. (In Russ.)

3. Kovalev IV. Transport in the Great Patriotic War (1941 — 1945). Moscow;1981. (In Russ.)

4. Opalev MN. Unknown Pages of the Participation of Formations of Artillery Armored Trains of the Red Army in the Battle of Stalingrad. Science Journal of Volgograd State Universiti. Series 4. History. 2011;(2):65—70. (In Russ.)

5. Svetlishin NA. The Air Defense Forces of the Country in the Great Patriotic War. Moscow;1979. (In Russ.)

 

The article was submitted 04.08.2023; approved after reviewing 12.10.2023; accepted for publication 17.10.2023.

 

Information about the authors:

Mikhail A. Shlyakhtunov, Senior Lecturer of the Military Training Center of the Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University) (4 Volokolamskoye Highway, Moscow 125993, Russia), Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Lieutenant Colonel, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5405-7596, shlyahtunov@gmail.com

Dmitry M. Gorshunov, Student of the Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University) (4 Volokolamskoye Highway, Moscow 125993, Russia), GorshunovDmitrii@yandex.ru

 

Authors contributions:

Shlyakhtunov M. A. — concept development, methodology definition, scientific text editing;

Gorshunov D. M. — data collection and literature analysis.

 

Conflict of interests: the authors declare no conflict of interests.

 

The authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.