ENDURING LESSONS OF MILITARY ART: THE GERMAN DECISION TO FOCUS ON STALINGRAD IN 1942
ENDURING LESSONS OF MILITARY ART: THE GERMAN DECISION TO FOCUS ON STALINGRAD IN 1942

Summary/Abstract: War principles’ correct use foster victory both on the battle and in war. Conversely, their ignoring or misusing paves the way to defeat. If total misunderstanding of the environment is added to these, a catastrophic defeat can occur, as it was the case of Germans at Stalingrad and, after that, on the entire Eastern Front. Why is it important to study the “old Stalingrad case” today? The simplest answer is that war has always been a permanent reality in the world, its nature has remained unchanged even though its character has changed and that is why military art has always been studied in all military high education institutions. Moreover, in the last period, due to the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, the specter of war has strongly approached our borders, so the critical analysis through the lens of military art’s teachings, with its enduring and nourishing lessons, is no futile endeavor, but a mandatory one, helping military leaders to make important decisions, to know and be able to apply them differentially according to new specific war circumstances.

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