Russia's Day of Military Glory: The Day of Victory in the Battle of Stalingrad in 19433 photos

The German command's plans for the summer of 1942 included defeating the Soviet forces in the southern part of the country. On July 17, 1942, the first phase of the Battle of Stalingrad began. Specifically, Hitler's plans were to seize the oil-rich regions of the Caucasus, the fertile agricultural areas of the Don and Kuban, disrupt the communications linking the heart of the country with the Caucasus, and create the conditions for a victory in their favor. This task was assigned to Army Groups 'A' and 'B'. Just four months later, the Soviet forces launched a decisive counteroffensive around Stalingrad. The fall of the city would have meant not only a military but also an ideological defeat.

The battles were fought for every neighborhood, for every building; the city's central train station changed hands 13 times. On January 31, 1943, German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrendered. The 200 heroic days of Stalingrad's defense went down in history as some of the most bloody and brutal. During the defense, over 700,000 Soviet soldiers and officers lost their lives or were wounded.