MOOD OF THE SOLDIERS AND OFFICERS OF THE RED ARMY AND THE GERMAN ARMY DURING THE STALINGRAD BATTLE
The battle of Stalingrad is one of the most important battles of the Great Patriotic war and the Second world war in general. The study of the moods of the participants of this epic allows a deeper understanding of not only the battle itself, but also its impact on the course of the war. The article deals with the evolution of the moods of the personnel of the opposing sides from the spring of 1942 to the beginning of February 1943, i.e. until the end of the battle of Stalingrad. The range of mood changes is quite wide: from the joy of victory to despair in case of defeat or even failure. Human psychology in war is an important theoretical and practical problem. The author analyzes the evolution of personnel sentiment on both sides of the front on the basis of declassified materials of the NKVD of the USSR and military censorship. The decisive condition for the victory of the Red Army in the battle of Stalingrad was not the mistakes of the Wehrmacht leadership, not the weather conditions, as the German generals are trying to present in their memories, but the unbreakable will of the Soviet soldiers to resist, to protect their homeland, despite temporary serious failures. Accordingly, the mood of the opposing sides changed: from the victorious euphoria in June-July 1942, to doubt the possibility of its victorious end in September-October and to the complete disappointment and hopelessness in January 1943 - in the German army, and from confusion and despair in the summer of 1942, to full confidence in the victory in January 1943 - in the Red Army.