I understand that it is an entire army essentially wiped out, but Germany still had a lot of armies available. Was it because the 6th army had a lot of tank divisions attached to it? Was it because it was bigger than other armies? Somebody explain to me why the loss of it is so hyped up.
The 6th Army represented the largest contingent of Army Group B which was Army Group South split into two parts and given two different objectives. The whole goal of Case Blau was to take the Caucasus oil fields. These oil fields were extremely important to Russian and German strategic goals. The Germans already suffering oil shortages since the beginning of Operation Barbarossa needed a large infusion of oil to continue offensive operations. With the Caucasus oil fields secured they would be able to not only fill their needs for oil, but also rob the Russians of the majority of their oil. If this would happen the Russians would not be able to continue the war for much longer.
With the Sixth Army sudden encirclement and later surrender, the entire Caucasus front laid open. Army Group A was still in the Caucasus and were just outside of Grozny one of the major oil production centers in the area. When this news came this completely turned the entire campaign on its head. Army Group B was meant to secure the flank of Army Group A and establish a defensive position on the Volga to protect against any Russian counterattacks in the rear of Army Group A. Army Group A and what was left of Army Group B needed to retreat or else face further encirclement by the Red Army. This meant that Hitler’s quest for oil was over and would never be able to threaten the Caucasus oil fields ever again.
Case Blau represented what was left from Barbarossa. Germany could never launch a full scale attack up and down the whole front as they did in July 1941. They could only focus on one part of the front and even then they got too ambitious for Case Blau. The 6th Army in Stalingrad just represents the total waste the Germans could not afford at this time. The Russians had fully gotten over Barbarossa and had rebuilt their army better than ever, Germany was still on the clock and can not afford a long drawn out fight. Now a huge amount of materials and men were lost and now the Red Army has the advantage and pushed the Germans out of the region.
Sources:
Glantz, David M., and Jonathan M. House. Stalingrad. University Press of Kansas, 2017.
Glantz, David M., and Jonathan M. House. When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler. University Press of Kansas, 2015.