"The defense of
Stalingrad from July to November 1942, the counter-offensive of November
19, 1942, that trapped the Axis forces in and around the ruined city,
and the German surrender on February 2, 1943, marked the turning point
of the European Theatre of World War II. The intensity and sheer scale of the Battle of Stalingrad illustrate the ferocity of the German-Soviet War. Heavy German bombardment, killing thousands of civilians, had turned
the city into a landscape of ruins. Workers of the city's weapons
factories started personally handing over arms and ammunition to the
defending soldiers as the Germans closed in, and eventually continued
the fight themselves. Ever more Soviet troops were shipped into the city
across the Volga River
under enemy fire. German superiority in tanks became useless in the
rubble of urban warfare. Fierce man-to-man fighting in streets,
buildings and staircases continued for months. The Red Army
moved its strategic reserve from Moscow to the lower Volga and
transferred all available aircraft from the entire country to the
Stalingrad area. The Germans eventually lost a quarter of their total
forces deployed on the Eastern Front, and never fully recovered from the
defeat. The total casualties on both sides are estimated at nearly 2
million, within a period of 200 days. Stalingrad was awarded the title
Hero City in 1965."
Another heroic city,
Brian
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