Because Operation Barbarossa was considered a failure, Adolf Hitler decided that a new plan of attack needed to be formed. Hitler named this plan Operation Blue. Much to the dismay of his war generals, who wanted the target of Operation Blue to once again be Moscow, Hitler decided to focus on the oil fields in the Caucasus region. He did this for two very important reasons. The first was that without oil, the Soviet army would eventually collapse. The second was that with access to Soviet oil, it would only be a matter of time before Germany conquered Soviet Russia. Heart of the Story July 17, 1942, Germany and Adolf Hitler’s Sixth Army, led by General Paulus, reaches the gates of Stalingrad perched upon the Volga River. After trekking through the muddy trails and roads throughout the Russian Steppes and Caucuses, German forces unknowingly begin the bloodiest and most influential siege in modern history. On the other side, a cold Joseph Stalin commands his army, aided by his General, Georgy Zhukov, and prepares his orders to keep his namesake alive. By the start of the battle Soviet forces were 187,000 strong with over 2,000 pieces of artillery, however, these number increased exponentially as the battle waged on. Across the Volga stood 270,000 Nazi infantryman armed with 3,000 pieces of artillery, 500 tanks, and 600 aircraft. Similar to the Soviets, these numbers only grew. All signs and details observed before the battle pointed towards this being one of the most important battles of World War II. Both sides were placed in a do-or-die situation. Nazi Germany placed an extreme amount of resources on this battle, losing seemed almost impossible, however, it would surely spell doom for them if they began to fight a defensive war on the western front. For the Soviets, they were backed into a corner, they were fighting for their lives and for their country as a whole. A loss at Stalingrad would mean the end of Soviet Union.>