World War II/The German Retreat, The Russian Advance During the
fall and early winter of 1941, German armored divisions had
advanced toward Moscow at a rapid pace, capturing hundreds of
thousands of Soviet troops in the process. By late November,
German armored divisions, within a day’s travel, threatened the
city. But by the first week of December, snow began falling, and
temperatures plunged to -40° C (-40° F). The German soldiers,
not dressed for winter weather, were freezing and losing their
will to fight. Their equipment also froze, becoming useless. The
Russian winter finally accomplished what its military had failed
to do: It halted the German offensive. The German army had
practically turned its invasion of Russia into a rout. But at
the end of July 1942, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin issued the
order, “Not a step back!” The Germans assaulted the city of
Stalingrad that month, a crucial city of the Soviet Union. In
the ruins of Stalingrad, shown here, Soviet soldiers fought the
Germans building-by-buil