The Battle of STALINGRAD was the most important battle of WWII.

"December 1941 decided the war." No it didn't. In December 1941, Japan was winning and Germany although pushed back 100 miles, had inflicted heavy losses on the Soviets. "That month made sure that the Axis would not end the war victoriously." That is completely false. As I said earlier, in December 1941, Japan was winning. Germany was in no way destroyed. In 1941, while Germany suffered about 800,000 dead, the Soviets lost 7-8 million men. "The importance of events or battles doesn't have to relate to the amount of casualties sustained." I never said that the amount of casualties sustained determins how significant a battle is. However I would argue that the Battle of Stalingrad, where Germany suffered 850,000 casualties including 107,000 captured was more important than the Battle of Moscow where Germany only lost 174,000"400,000 men. http://en.wikipedia.org... http://en.wikipedia.org... "So even though the Battle of Moscow destroyed relatively few German divisions and even though the attack on Pearl Harbor destroyed 4 of the 8 battleships present there, the overall conclusion of that month saw that the war waged by Germany became unwinnable." At Pearl Harbor, the US lost: 4 battleships sunk 3 battleships damaged 1 battleship grounded 2 other ships sunk 3 cruisers damaged 3 destroyers damaged 3 other ships damaged 188 aircraft destroyed 159 aircraft damaged 2,402 killed 1,247 wounded http://en.wikipedia.org... These losses show that Pearl Harbor did not change the coarse of the war. After Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Moscow, the war for the axis powers was in no way shape or form unwinnable. "In other words the geopolitical and strategic results are more important if you really want to determine the most important event(s) or pivotal moment during World War II." The most pivotal (critical) year of WWII was the year 1942 when Hitler was throughing everything he had at Stalingrad and the Caucus oil fields. Germany was being bombed to pieced. The Second Battle of El Alamein was happening. The year 1941 was simply the year when WWII truly became a global war. The outcome of the war was decided in 1942 with the German defeat at Stalingrad and the Second Battle of El Alamein. "The Battle of Moscow / December '41 is of great importance because it ended the Blitzkrieg tactics that had allowed the Germans to overtake much of western Europe and the western USSR. It was at this point that they ran out of steam and where the Red Army reorganized and reformed itself." Another historical inaccuracy. The Germany Blitzkrieg resumed in the summer of 1942 when Hitler launched Case Blue to capture Stalingrad and the Caucus oil fields. The summer offensive was almost unstoppable and would have succeeded had Germany Hitler not turned his attention to fighting the bloodiest battle in history in order to capture Stalingrad. The Red Army reorganized and reformed itself after the Battle of Stalingrad; before the Battle of Stalingrad the Red Army had launched two offensives, one at Kharkov and one in the Crimea. Both failed! And this was in 1942, before the Battle of Stalingrad. So your claim is completely incorrect. "Imagine a bull, chasing a man. The man runs away with the enraged bull right behind him. Then, the man suddenly turns and grips the bull by the horns and forces him to a standstill. They stand still, each looking eachother in the eye." And then the Bull is killed at the Battle of Stalingrad. Nice story to explain the eastern front. Thank you! "In december '41, the war became a global war, with the joining of the European and Pacific theatre. The entry of the US not only meant that the industrial might (which at the time constituted more than that of the USSR and Germany combined) would now reside in the Allied camp, it also meant that the US (through lend & lease) would deliver over $11 billion in materials: over 400,000 jeeps and trucks; 12,000 armored vehicles, 11,400 aircraft and 1.75 million tons of food to the Soviet Union. Without that assistance (and the constant bombing of German industry) the German and Soviet production capacity would have remained relatively equal, meaning the war's end was unforeseeable." The US entered the war in late 1941, however it did not really start fighting until 1942. Operation Torch (invasion of Morocco) and the Battle of Midway took place in 1942. America started sending lend lease supplies in 1940, and these supplies saved Britain. The US was sending supplies to Britain and the USSR even before it entered the war so just because the USA entered the war, it does not mean the war is won. "Back to the bull and the man. The man at this point regains his strength and starts to slowly push back the bull. The Battle of Stalingrad in this analogy is a push, just like Kursk and Bagration were pushes. However, what was the turning point? The moment the man stopped the bull in his tracks and regained his strength to push back: the Battle of Moscow and the US joining the Allied camp." Well said. However the bull quickly recovered from the defeat at Moscow and launched an offensive towards the Caucus oil fields and Stalingrad, the Battle of Moscow did not kill the bull, the Battle of Stalingrad did. In 1941 the axis were winning. By late 1942 and early 1943 the axis were losing on all fronts.