The Germans were unprepared for Russia’s brutal winter and suffered freezing temperatures, starvation and disease. They saw the writing on the wall and had a chance to escape but Hitler commanded they “hold their positions to the last man and the last round…” He also promised additional provisions – provisions that never arrived.

The carnage was horrific on both sides.īy mid-November, the Germans found themselves outnumbered, outgunned, extremely low on food and medical supplies and surrounded by Russians.

Ferocious fighting ensued as the Germans fought their way through the city, building by building, house by house and were met with heavy resistance. When the German Sixth Army reached Stalingrad in September, they were unprepared for the well-armed and well-trained Red Army. But Stalin rallied both Russian troops and civilians who dug in and vowed to fight to the end. Germany’s Epic Defeat at the Battle of Stalingradīy June 1942, Hitler had advanced into the Soviet Union and hoped to easily take the strategic city of Stalingrad, the namesake city of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

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