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beginning when Nazi Germany and its Axis allies attacked and became locked in a protracted struggle with the Soviet Union for control over the Soviet city of Stalingrad -
Stalin refuses to evacuate civilians and says army will fight harder to defend city. -
The most brutal street fighting ever seen when Soviet forces are backed into a 9 by 3 mile strip along the Volga river. -
Red Army's advance cannot be delayed and Germans cannot prevent encirclement.
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Two Soviet pincers meet at Kalach, a vital Don River crossing.
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Paulis is ordered to defend Stalingrad after Hitler vetoed Operation Thunderclap, the plan to break out the Sixth Army.
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The German position in Stalingrad is all but lost. Hitler promotes Paulus. He surrenders a few days later.
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The remaining 91,000 men of the Sixth Army surrender. Total causalities on both sides for Stalingrad are near 2 million.
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the Soviet Union gained a decisive strategic advantage on the Eastern Front, with the German Sixth Army surrendering and the Soviets launching a counteroffensive that pushed the Germans back.