Though the blitzkrieg tactic worked at first, it failed when the Germans attacked Stalingrad. Here, the German army had to enter the city and fight a long and vicious battle with the Soviets. The intense cold, stubborn Soviet resistance, and eventually the lack of supplies all contributed to the eventual defeat of the German army. The Soviets responded with their own offensive, which eventually led to Germany's defeat in World War II. The Soviets won by using the same tactic that the Germans had successfully used against them: they attacked the flanks and surrounded them. The victory at Stalingrad proved to be the end of Nazi Germany's peak and the beginning of its rapid decline until its final destruction in 1945. Hitler and his short-lived empire collapsed as a result of the Battle of Stalingrad because it destroyed much of the German forces and also ended the offensive in Russia. This eventually turned the tide and led to not only the destruction of Germany but also ushered in a new era of global politics. Never again would a war of such magnitude ever be forced upon the world....
