Battle of Stalingrad

The pivotal Battle of Stalingrad, fought in the winter of 1942/43, was a major turning point in the Second World War. It was the bloodiest conflict in the history of warfare with well over 1 million and perhaps over 2 million casualties. Invading German forces reached the River Volga in July 1942. Although the Wehrmacht's stated aim was to cross the Volga and seize Russian territory to the East, Hitler ordered the Sixth Army under General Friedrich Paulus to take the city first, probably because it had been renamed in honour of Stalin. It was formerly known as Tsaritsyn and was called Stalingrad from 1925 to 1961 when the Krushchev government renamed it Volgograd.

The battle began on 23 August 1942 with a massive bombardment of the city by the Luftwaffe. The Germans mounted a sustained ground attack and, despite fierce and relentless defence by the Red Army, had captured some 90% of Stalingrad by November. The Russians had been gathering reinforcements in the meantime and, with massive production of their formidable T-24 tanks underway, were able to mount a counter-attack on 19 November. This was a spectacular success and the Red Army completed a pincer movement to the west of Stalingrad, thereby encircling the Sixth Army which was trapped in the city environs.

Wehrmacht reinforcements were unable to break through the new Soviet defences and the besieged Sixth Army was worn down by cold and hunger. In defiance of Hitler's order that they should fight to the last man, Paulus surrendered on 31 January 1943. A few pockets of German resitance were overcome in the next couple of days and, on 2 February, the battle was over.