10 of the Bloodiest Battles of World War II - History | HowStuffWorks
The largest of these structures, Fort Douaumont, was captured by the Germans in 1915 and triggered the infamous Battle of Verdun, the longest ...
More than 1,100,000 Soviet forces
And it was a decisive battle that changed the tone of the war in favor of the Allies. Although the Soviets took back Stalingrad, it was the first public failure Hilter acknowledged. <anchor>More than 1,100,000 Soviet forces</anchor>, and approximately 40,000 civilians died during the battle. Axis casualties are estimated to have been around 800,000.
Battle of Stalingrad | History, Summary, Location, Deaths, & Facts | Britannica
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[Battle of Stalingrad](https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad)

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Introduction & Top Questions
[References & Edit History](https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad/additional-info) [Quick Facts & Related Topics](/facts/Battle-of-Stalingrad)

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[![Battle of Stalingrad](https://cdn.britannica.com/54/199954-004-7505E3A1/soldiers-Soviet-offensive-troops-German-Battle-of-February-1943.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/54/199954-050-51845DAC/soldiers-Soviet-offensive-troops-German-Battle-of-February-1943.jpg)[![The brutal Battle of Stalingrad explained](https://cdn.britannica.com/33/180233-138-2BEFA2E3/Overview-Battle-of-Stalingrad.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](/video/180233/Overview-Battle-of-Stalingrad)[![Examine how Stalin's Red Army defeated Hitler's Fourth and Sixth Armies in the Battle of Stalingrad](https://cdn.britannica.com/80/22980-138-4F96779A/Battle-of-Stalingrad-fighting-Germans-Allied-Victory.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](/video/22980/Battle-of-Stalingrad-fighting-Germans-Allied-Victory)[![Battle of Stalingrad](https://cdn.britannica.com/67/198167-004-35A13CD4/German-soldiers-Battle-of-Stalingrad-January-1943.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/67/198167-050-9C31E566/German-soldiers-Battle-of-Stalingrad-January-1943.jpg)[![Battle of Stalingrad monument](https://cdn.britannica.com/33/178233-004-491C4551/Motherland-Calls-statue-sacrifices-Russia-Volgograd-Battle.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/33/178233-050-C87283C2/Motherland-Calls-statue-sacrifices-Russia-Volgograd-Battle.jpg)[![Battle of Stalingrad](https://cdn.britannica.com/64/127264-004-206B38E9/Battle-of-Stalingrad-Red-October-factory.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/64/127264-050-AAC14C86/Battle-of-Stalingrad-Red-October-factory.jpg)[![Paulus, Friedrich: surrender at Stalingrad](https://cdn.britannica.com/65/127265-004-B2FAAE1E/Friedrich-Paulus-German-Battle-of-Stalingrad-January-31-1943.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/65/127265-050-C6161973/Friedrich-Paulus-German-Battle-of-Stalingrad-January-31-1943.jpg)[![Volgograd, Russia](https://cdn.britannica.com/72/40572-004-620C22D2/Motherland-Calls-statue-sacrifices-Russia-Volgograd-Mamayev.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/72/40572-004-620C22D2/Motherland-Calls-statue-sacrifices-Russia-Volgograd-Mamayev.jpg)

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- [Who won the Battle of Stalingrad?](/question/Who-won-the-Battle-of-Stalingrad)
- [When was the turning point of the Battle of Stalingrad?](/question/When-was-the-turning-point-of-the-Battle-of-Stalingrad)
- [What was the cause of World War II?](/question/What-was-the-cause-of-World-War-II)
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Read Next


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[Timeline of the Battle of Stalingrad](/list/timeline-of-the-battle-of-stalingrad)

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Contents


[World History](/browse/World-History)[Wars, Battles & Armed Conflicts](/browse/Wars-Battles-Conflicts)

# Battle of Stalingrad

World War II



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External Websites


- [Warfare History Network - Stalingrad: Battle in the Cauldron](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/stalingrad-battle-in-the-cauldron/)
- [University of Central Arkansas - “Stalingrad is Hell”: Soviet Morale and the Battle of Stalingrad](https://uca.edu/cahss/files/2020/07/2016-11-Liddil-stalingrad-is-hell.pdf)
- [Academia - The Battle of Stalingrad in Western Historical Perspective](https://www.academia.edu/21873606/The_Battle_of_Stalingrad_in_Western_Historical_Perspective)
- [HistoryNet - Battle of Stalingrad: Operation Winter Tempest](https://www.historynet.com/battle-of-stalingrad-operation-winter-tempest/)
- [The National WWII Museum - Unsung Witnesses of the Battle of Stalingrad](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/unsung-witnesses-battle-stalingrad)
- [History Learning Site - The Battle of Stalingrad](https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/famous-battles-of-world-war-two/the-battle-of-stalingrad/)
- [Jewish Virtual Library - The Battle of Stalingrad](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-battle-of-stalingrad)
- [World War II Database - Battle of Stalingrad](https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=3)
- [Spartacus Educational - Stalingrad](https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSstalingrad.htm)
- [Ohio State University - Origins - Stalingrad at 75, the Turning Point of World War II in Europe](https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/august-2017-stalingrad-75-turning-point-world-war-ii-europe?language_content_entity=en)

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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

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External Websites


- [Warfare History Network - Stalingrad: Battle in the Cauldron](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/stalingrad-battle-in-the-cauldron/)
- [University of Central Arkansas - “Stalingrad is Hell”: Soviet Morale and the Battle of Stalingrad](https://uca.edu/cahss/files/2020/07/2016-11-Liddil-stalingrad-is-hell.pdf)
- [Academia - The Battle of Stalingrad in Western Historical Perspective](https://www.academia.edu/21873606/The_Battle_of_Stalingrad_in_Western_Historical_Perspective)
- [HistoryNet - Battle of Stalingrad: Operation Winter Tempest](https://www.historynet.com/battle-of-stalingrad-operation-winter-tempest/)
- [The National WWII Museum - Unsung Witnesses of the Battle of Stalingrad](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/unsung-witnesses-battle-stalingrad)
- [History Learning Site - The Battle of Stalingrad](https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/famous-battles-of-world-war-two/the-battle-of-stalingrad/)
- [Jewish Virtual Library - The Battle of Stalingrad](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-battle-of-stalingrad)
- [World War II Database - Battle of Stalingrad](https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=3)
- [Spartacus Educational - Stalingrad](https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSstalingrad.htm)
- [Ohio State University - Origins - Stalingrad at 75, the Turning Point of World War II in Europe](https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/august-2017-stalingrad-75-turning-point-world-war-ii-europe?language_content_entity=en)

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

- [Battle of Stalingrad - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)](https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Battle-of-Stalingrad/623984)


Written by


[Raymond Limbach\
\
Raymond Limbach is an independent historian who has an M.A. in Land Warfare (International Perspective) with honors and a graduate certificate in German Military Studies from the American Military University....](/contributor/Raymond-Limbach/9569262)

Raymond Limbach

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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.](/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419)

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• [Article History](https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad/additional-info#history)


Table of Contents


[![Battle of Stalingrad](https://cdn.britannica.com/54/199954-050-51845DAC/soldiers-Soviet-offensive-troops-German-Battle-of-February-1943.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https://cdn.britannica.com/54/199954-050-51845DAC/soldiers-Soviet-offensive-troops-German-Battle-of-February-1943.jpg)

Battle of Stalingrad

[See all media](https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad/images-videos)

Date: August 22, 1942 - February 2, 1943 _(Show more)_

Location: [Russia](/place/Russia)[Volga River](/place/Volga-River)[Volgograd](/place/Volgograd-Russia)_(Show more)_

Participants: [Germany](/place/Germany)[Soviet Union](/place/Soviet-Union)_(Show more)_

Context: [World War II](/event/World-War-II)[Eastern Front](/event/Eastern-Front-World-War-II)[The Motherland Calls](/topic/The-Motherland-Calls)_(Show more)_

Key People: [Fedor von Bock](/biography/Fedor-von-Bock)[Vasily Chuikov](/biography/Vasily-Chuikov)[Erich von Manstein](/biography/Erich-von-Manstein)[Nicholas](/biography/Nicholas-Russian-grand-duke)[Friedrich Paulus](/biography/Friedrich-Paulus)_(Show more)_

[See all related content →](/facts/Battle-of-Stalingrad)

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Top Questions


### Who won the Battle of Stalingrad?

The Battle of Stalingrad was won by the Soviet Union against a German offensive that attempted to take the city of [Stalingrad](https://www.britannica.com/place/Volgograd-Russia) (now Volgograd, Russia) during [World War II](https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II). Although German forces led a strong attack into Soviet territory, a strategic counteroffensive by Soviet forces flanked and surrounded a large body of German troops, eventually forcing them to surrender.

### What is the significance of the Battle of Stalingrad?

The Battle of Stalingrad is considered to be one of the greatest battles of [World War II](https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II). It marked a turning point in the war and significantly weakened Germany’s military forces.

### When was the turning point of the Battle of Stalingrad?

The turning point of the Battle of Stalingrad was a Soviet counteroffensive named Operation Uranus. It targeted the weak Axis forces defending the flanks of the German armies trying to take the city. The Soviets surrounded the German Sixth Army, which surrendered (against the orders of [Adolf Hitler](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler)) on January 31, 1943.

### How many people died during the Battle of Stalingrad?

Axis casualties during the Battle of Stalingrad are estimated to have been around 800,000, including those missing or captured. Soviet forces are estimated to have suffered 1,100,000 casualties, and approximately 40,000 civilians died. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the deadliest battles in [World War II](https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II).

[![The brutal Battle of Stalingrad explained](https://cdn.britannica.com/33/180233-138-2BEFA2E3/Overview-Battle-of-Stalingrad.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop)](/video/180233/Overview-Battle-of-Stalingrad)

The brutal Battle of Stalingrad explainedOverview of the Battle of Stalingrad (1942–43).(more)

[See all videos for this article](/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad/images-videos)

**Battle of Stalingrad**, (July 17, 1942–February 2, 1943), successful [Soviet](https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union) defense of the city of Stalingrad (now [Volgograd](https://www.britannica.com/place/Volgograd-Russia)), [Russia](https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia), U.S.S.R., during [World War II](https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II). Russians consider it to be one of the greatest battles of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the [German](https://www.britannica.com/place/Third-Reich) advance into the [Soviet Union](https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union) and marked the turning of the tide of war in favour of the [Allies](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Allied-Powers-international-alliance).

[![Examine how Stalin's Red Army defeated Hitler's Fourth and Sixth Armies in the Battle of Stalingrad](https://cdn.britannica.com/80/22980-138-4F96779A/Battle-of-Stalingrad-fighting-Germans-Allied-Victory.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop)](/video/22980/Battle-of-Stalingrad-fighting-Germans-Allied-Victory)

Examine how Stalin's Red Army defeated Hitler's Fourth and Sixth Armies in the Battle of StalingradIn the Battle of Stalingrad (1942–43), the advancing Germans were finally stopped by the Red Army in desperate house-to-house fighting. From _The Second World War: Allied Victory_ (1963), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.(more)

[See all videos for this article](/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad/images-videos)

Stretching about 30 miles (50 km) along the banks of the [Volga River](https://www.britannica.com/place/Volga-River), Stalingrad was a large industrial city producing armaments and tractors and was an important prize in itself for the invading German army. Capturing the city would cut Soviet transport links with southern Russia, and Stalingrad would then serve to anchor the northern [flank](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/flank) of the larger German drive into the oil fields of the [Caucasus](https://www.britannica.com/place/Caucasus). In addition, seizing the city that bore the name of Soviet leader [Joseph Stalin](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Stalin) would serve as a great personal and [propaganda](https://www.britannica.com/topic/propaganda) victory for [Adolf Hitler](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler). German war planners hoped to achieve that end with Fall Blau (“Operation Blue”), a proposal that Hitler assessed and summarized in Führer Directive No. 41 on April 5, 1942. Hitler’s goal was to eliminate Soviet forces in the south, secure the region’s economic resources, and then wheel his armies either north to [Moscow](https://www.britannica.com/place/Moscow) or south to conquer the remainder of the Caucasus. The offensive would be undertaken by Army Group South under Field Marshal [Fedor von Bock](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fedor-von-Bock). On June 28, 1942, operations began with significant German victories.

World War II Events

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[![Samuel Bak: Smoke](https://cdn.britannica.com/71/67871-004-331F7D7D/Smoke-Samuel-Bak-oil-linen-Holocaust-1997.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Holocaust\
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1933 - 1945](/event/Holocaust "Holocaust") [![Invasion of Poland](https://cdn.britannica.com/39/185239-050-ACC5D1A6/soldiers-German-vehicles-Poland-September-1939.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Invasion of Poland\
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September 1, 1939 - October 5, 1939](/event/Invasion-of-Poland "Invasion of Poland") [![default image](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-124/images/shared/default-rectangle.jpg?v=3.124.78)\
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Battle of the Atlantic\
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September 3, 1939 - May 8, 1945](/event/Battle-of-the-Atlantic "Battle of the Atlantic") [![Dunkirk evacuation](https://cdn.britannica.com/13/130313-050-06B17D56/British-troops-water-ships-Allied-France-Dunkirk-1940.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Dunkirk evacuation\
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May 26, 1940 - June 4, 1940](/event/Dunkirk-evacuation "Dunkirk evacuation") [![North Africa campaigns of World War II](https://cdn.britannica.com/82/220182-050-87393CE5/British-Axis-campaigns-in-North-Africa-World-War-II.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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North Africa campaigns\
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June 1940 - May 13, 1943](/event/North-Africa-campaigns "North Africa campaigns") [![the Blitz](https://cdn.britannica.com/79/142179-050-CB131A12/Smoke-air-raid-London-Docklands-capital-British-Sept-7-1940.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Battle of Britain\
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July 1940 - September 1940](/event/Battle-of-Britain-European-history-1940 "Battle of Britain") [![Vichy: Battle of France](https://cdn.britannica.com/22/205622-050-BC257C58/Vichy-France-Germany-June-1940-armistice-map.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Vichy France\
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July 1940 - September 1944](/event/Vichy-France "Vichy France") [![German bombing of London during the Blitz](https://cdn.britannica.com/81/142181-050-F07B28D6/dome-smoke-fire-bombing-raid-St-Pauls-Cathedral-1940.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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the Blitz\
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September 7, 1940 - May 11, 1941](/event/the-Blitz "the Blitz") [![aftermath of the Battle of Crete](https://cdn.britannica.com/69/209369-050-4D3C6015/Battle-of-Crete-World-War-II-Heraklion-Crete.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Battle of Crete\
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May 20, 1941 - June 1, 1941](/topic/Battle-of-Crete "Battle of Crete") [![German soldiers during Operation Barbarossa](https://cdn.britannica.com/01/150101-050-810CE9A9/soldiers-German-part-Soviet-Union-Operation-Barbarossa-1941.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Operation Barbarossa\
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June 22, 1941](/event/Operation-Barbarossa "Operation Barbarossa") [![German troops at the Battle of Moscow, 1941–1942](https://cdn.britannica.com/10/254310-050-7D9DC675/Battle-of-Moscow-Undated-image-of-the-World-War-II-campaign-against-the-Soviet-Union-German-units-marching-just-ahead-of-Moscow.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Battle of Moscow\
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September 30, 1941 - January 7, 1942](/event/Battle-of-Moscow "Battle of Moscow") [![Pearl Harbor attack](https://cdn.britannica.com/81/71381-050-0042470B/battleship-attack-Pearl-Harbor-Japanese-Hawaii-December-7-1941.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Pearl Harbor attack\
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December 7, 1941](/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack "Pearl Harbor attack") [![Wake Island](https://cdn.britannica.com/06/64306-050-D63C593C/Wake-Island.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Battle of Wake Island\
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December 8, 1941 - December 23, 1941](/event/Battle-of-Wake-Island "Battle of Wake Island") [![U.S. troops advancing on Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, in 1943](https://cdn.britannica.com/74/71374-050-F1F8607D/troops-Tarawa-Gilbert-Islands-World-War-II-1943.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Pacific War\
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December 8, 1941 - September 2, 1945](/topic/Pacific-War "Pacific War") [![Bataan Death March](https://cdn.britannica.com/58/166758-050-0BA34030/Prisoners-Bataan-Death-March-March-1942.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Bataan Death March\
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April 9, 1942](/event/Bataan-Death-March "Bataan Death March") [![eastern New Guinea, from the 10th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, c. 1902](https://cdn.britannica.com/28/131728-050-25E197B7/Map-10th-edition-New-Guinea-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-1902.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Kokoda Track Campaign\
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July 1942 - January 1943](/event/Kokoda-Track-Campaign "Kokoda Track Campaign") [![Battle of Stalingrad](https://cdn.britannica.com/54/199954-050-51845DAC/soldiers-Soviet-offensive-troops-German-Battle-of-February-1943.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Battle of Stalingrad\
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August 22, 1942 - February 2, 1943](/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad "Battle of Stalingrad") [![Warsaw Ghetto Uprising](https://cdn.britannica.com/66/67966-050-D3BCF511/family-marching-Jews-head-column-way-Warsaw-1943.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Warsaw Ghetto Uprising\
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April 19, 1943 - May 16, 1943](/event/Warsaw-Ghetto-Uprising "Warsaw Ghetto Uprising") [![Allied decoy tank](https://cdn.britannica.com/90/234790-050-A1BEF706/Dummy-tank-decoy-world-war-II.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Operation Fortitude\
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1944](/event/Operation-Fortitude "Operation Fortitude") [![Normandy Invasion](https://cdn.britannica.com/52/81352-050-1E8B816B/assault-troops-American-landing-craft-Normandy-Invasion-June-6-1944.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Normandy Invasion\
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June 6, 1944 - July 9, 1944](/event/Normandy-Invasion "Normandy Invasion") [![U.S. Marines on Saipan, Mariana Islands, 1944](https://cdn.britannica.com/71/71371-050-72483477/US-Marines-fire-Saipan-Japanese-World-War-1944.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Battle of Saipan\
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June 15, 1944 - July 9, 1944](/event/Battle-of-Saipan "Battle of Saipan") [![default image](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-124/images/shared/default-rectangle.jpg?v=3.124.78)\
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Operation Bagration\
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June 23, 1944 - August 19, 1944](/event/Operation-Bagration "Operation Bagration") [![Cowra, New South Wales, Australia](https://cdn.britannica.com/57/167057-050-4307A65D/Cowra-New-South-Wales-Australia.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Cowra breakout\
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August 5, 1944](/event/Cowra-breakout "Cowra breakout") [![default image](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-124/images/shared/default-rectangle.jpg?v=3.124.78)\
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Operation Market Garden\
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September 17, 1944 - September 27, 1944](/event/Operation-Market-Garden "Operation Market Garden") [![Battle of the Bulge](https://cdn.britannica.com/92/122492-050-91C1B938/soldiers-American-Ardennes-Battle-of-the-Bulge.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Battle of the Bulge\
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December 16, 1944 - January 16, 1945](/event/Battle-of-the-Bulge "Battle of the Bulge") [![Yalta Conference](https://cdn.britannica.com/99/118399-050-5D3B61A2/Winston-Churchill-Franklin-Roosevelt-Joseph-Stalin-Yalta-1945.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Yalta Conference\
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February 4, 1945 - February 11, 1945](/event/Yalta-Conference "Yalta Conference") [![Battle of Iwo Jima](https://cdn.britannica.com/35/10735-050-C7D46C6C/US-Marines-flag-Mount-Suribachi-Iwo-Jima-February-1945.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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Battle of Iwo Jima\
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February 19, 1945 - March 26, 1945](/topic/Battle-of-Iwo-Jima "Battle of Iwo Jima") [![default image](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-124/images/shared/default-rectangle.jpg?v=3.124.78)\
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Battle for Castle Itter\
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May 5, 1945](/event/Battle-for-Castle-Itter "Battle for Castle Itter") [![Atomic bombing of Hiroshima](https://cdn.britannica.com/34/76534-050-EE7422B0/mushroom-cloud-aircraft-Hiroshima-Japan-people-city-August-6-1945.jpg?w=500&h=500)\
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atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki\
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August 6, 1945 - August 9, 1945](/event/atomic-bombings-of-Hiroshima-and-Nagasaki "atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki")

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On July 9 Hitler altered his original plan and ordered the [simultaneous](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/simultaneous) capture of both Stalingrad and the Caucasus. Army Group South was split into Army Group A (under Field Marshal [Wilhelm List](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-List)) and Army Group B (under Bock). Within days, Bock was replaced at the head of Army Group B by Field Marshal Maximilian von Weichs. The [division](https://www.britannica.com/topic/division-military-unit) of forces placed tremendous pressure on an already-strained logistical support system. It also caused a gap between the two forces, allowing Soviet forces to escape encirclement and retreat to the east. As Army Group A captured [Rostov-na-Donu](https://www.britannica.com/place/Rostov-on-Don), it penetrated deeply into the Caucasus (Operation Edelweiss). Army Group B made slow progress toward Stalingrad (Operation Fischreiher). Hitler intervened in the operation again and reassigned Gen. [Hermann Hoth](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hermann-Hoth)’s Fourth Panzer Army from Army Group B to Army Group A to help in the Caucasus.

[Stalin](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Stalin) and the Soviet high command responded to the summer offensive by forming the Stalingrad Front with the Sixty-second, Sixty-third, and Sixty-fourth Armies, under Marshal [Semyon Timoshenko](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Semyon-Konstantinovich-Timoshenko). The Eighth Air Army and Twenty-first Army were also placed under his command. While the initial Soviet response to Fall Blau was to maintain an orderly [withdrawal](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/withdrawal) and thus avoid the massive encirclements and troop losses that had characterized the early months of [Operation Barbarossa](https://www.britannica.com/event/Operation-Barbarossa), on July 28 Stalin issued Order No. 227, decreeing that the defenders at Stalingrad would take “Not One Step Back.” He also refused the evacuation of any civilians, stating that the army would fight harder knowing that they were defending residents of the city.

For his part, Hitler continued to directly intervene at the operational level, and in August he ordered Hoth to turn around and head toward Stalingrad from the south. By the end of August, the Fourth Army’s northeastward advance against the city was converging with the eastward advance of the Sixth Army, under Gen. [Friedrich Paulus](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Friedrich-Paulus), with 330,000 of the German army’s finest troops. The [Red Army](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Red-Army), however, put up a determined resistance, yielding ground only very slowly and at a high cost to the Sixth Army as it approached Stalingrad.

On August 23 a German spearhead penetrated the city’s northern suburbs, and the [Luftwaffe](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Luftwaffe) rained [incendiary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incendiary) bombs that destroyed most of the city’s wooden housing. The Soviet Sixty-second Army was pushed back into Stalingrad proper, where, under the command of Gen. [Vasily I. Chuikov](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vasily-Chuikov), it made a determined stand. Meanwhile, the Germans’ concentration on Stalingrad was steadily draining reserves from their flank cover, which was already strained by having to stretch so far—400 miles (650 km) on the left (north), as far as [Voronezh](https://www.britannica.com/place/Voronezh-Russia), and 400 miles again on the right (south), as far as the [Terek River](https://www.britannica.com/place/Terek-River). By mid-September the Germans had pushed the Soviet forces in Stalingrad back until the latter occupied only a 9-mile- (15-km-) long strip of the city along the Volga, and that strip was only 2 or 3 miles (3 to 5 km) wide. The Soviets had to supply their troops by barge and boat across the Volga from the other bank. At that point Stalingrad became the scene of some of the fiercest and most-concentrated fighting of the war; streets, blocks, and individual buildings were fought over by many small units of troops and often changed hands again and again. The city’s remaining buildings were pounded into rubble by the unrelenting close combat. The most-critical moment came when on October 14 the Soviet defenders had their backs so close to the Volga that the few remaining supply crossings of the river came under German machine-gun fire. The Germans, however, were growing dispirited by heavy losses, fatigue, and the approach of winter.

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The turning point of the battle came with a huge Soviet counteroffensive, code-named Operation Uranus (November 19–23), which had been planned by Generals [Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georgy-Zhukov), [Aleksandr Mikhailovich Vasilevsky](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleksander-Mikhailovich-Vasilevsky), and [Nikolay Nikolayevich Voronov](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikolay-Nikolayevich-Voronov). It was launched in two spearheads, some 50 miles (80 km) north and south of the German [salient](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salient) whose tip was at Stalingrad. The counteroffensive utterly surprised the Germans, who thought the Soviets incapable of mounting such an attack. The operation was a “deep penetration” maneuver, attacking not the main German force at the forefront of the battle for Stalingrad—the 250,000 remaining men of the Sixth Army and Fourth Panzer Army, both [formidable](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/formidable) foes—but instead hitting the weaker flanks. Those flanks were vulnerably exposed on the open steppes surrounding the city and were weakly defended by undermanned, undersupplied, overstretched, and undermotivated Romanian, Hungarian, and Italian troops. The attacks quickly penetrated deep into the flanks, and by November 23 the two prongs of the attack had linked up at Kalach, about 60 miles (100 km) west of Stalingrad; the encirclement of the two German armies in Stalingrad was complete. The German high command urged [Hitler](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler) to allow Paulus and his forces to break out of the encirclement and rejoin the main German forces west of the city, but Hitler would not [contemplate](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/contemplate) a retreat from the [Volga River](https://www.britannica.com/place/Volga-River) and ordered Paulus to “stand and fight.” With winter setting in and food and medical supplies dwindling, Paulus’s forces grew weaker. Hitler declared that the Sixth Army would be supplied by the [Luftwaffe](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Luftwaffe), but the air convoys could deliver only a fraction of the necessary supplies.

In mid-December Hitler ordered one of the most-talented German commanders, Field Marshal [Erich von Manstein](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erich-von-Manstein), to form a special army corps to rescue Paulus’s forces by fighting its way eastward (Operation Winter Tempest), but Hitler refused to let Paulus fight his way westward at the same time in order to link up with Manstein. That fatal decision doomed Paulus’s forces, since Manstein’s forces then simply lacked the reserves needed to break through the Soviet encirclement single-handedly. The Soviets then resumed the offensive (Operation Saturn, begun on December 16) to shrink the pocket of encircled Germans, to head off any further relief efforts, and to set the stage for the final capitulation of the Germans in Stalingrad. The Volga River was now frozen over solid, and Soviet forces and equipment were sent over the ice at various points within the city. Hitler [exhorted](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/exhorted) the trapped German forces to fight to the death, going so far as to promote Paulus to [field marshal](https://www.britannica.com/topic/marshal) (and reminding Paulus that no German officer of that rank had ever surrendered). With Soviet armies closing in as part of Operation Ring (begun January 10, 1943), the situation was hopeless. The Sixth Army was surrounded by seven Soviet armies. On January 31 Paulus disobeyed Hitler and agreed to give himself up. Twenty-two generals surrendered with him, and on February 2 the last of 91,000 frozen starving men (all that was left of the Sixth and Fourth armies) surrendered to the Soviets.

[![](https://cdn.britannica.com/67/198167-050-9C31E566/German-soldiers-Battle-of-Stalingrad-January-1943.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/67/198167-050-9C31E566/German-soldiers-Battle-of-Stalingrad-January-1943.jpg)

[Battle of Stalingrad](https://cdn.britannica.com/67/198167-050-9C31E566/German-soldiers-Battle-of-Stalingrad-January-1943.jpg) Captured German soldiers after the Battle of Stalingrad, January 1943.(more)

The Soviets recovered 250,000 German and Romanian [corpses](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/corpses) in and around Stalingrad, and total Axis casualties (Germans, Romanians, Italians, and Hungarians) are believed to have been more than 800,000 dead, wounded, missing, or captured. Of the 91,000 men who surrendered, only some 5,000–6,000 ever returned to their homelands (the last of them a full decade after the end of the war in 1945); the rest died in Soviet prison and labour camps. On the Soviet side, official Russian military historians estimate that there were 1,100,000 Red Army dead, wounded, missing, or captured in the campaign to defend the city. An estimated 40,000 civilians died as well.

[![](https://cdn.britannica.com/33/178233-050-C87283C2/Motherland-Calls-statue-sacrifices-Russia-Volgograd-Battle.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/33/178233-050-C87283C2/Motherland-Calls-statue-sacrifices-Russia-Volgograd-Battle.jpg)

[Battle of Stalingrad monument](https://cdn.britannica.com/33/178233-050-C87283C2/Motherland-Calls-statue-sacrifices-Russia-Volgograd-Battle.jpg) _The Motherland Calls_, statue in Volgograd, Russia, commemorating the sacrifices of Soviet soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad (1942–43).(more)

In 1945 Stalingrad was officially proclaimed a Hero City of the Soviet Union for its defense of the motherland. In 1959 construction began of an enormous memorial complex, dedicated to “the Heroes of the Stalingrad Battle,” on [Mamayev Hill](https://www.britannica.com/place/Mamayev-Hill), a key high ground in the battle that dominates the city’s landscape today. The memorial was finished in 1967; its focal point is [_The Motherland Calls_](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Motherland-Calls), a great 52-metre- (172-foot-) high statue of a winged female figure holding a sword aloft. The tip of the sword reaches 85 metres (280 feet) into the air. In the Mamayev complex is the tomb of [Chuikov](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vasily-Chuikov), who went on to lead the Soviet drive to Berlin and who died a marshal of the Soviet Union almost 40 years after the Battle of Stalingrad.

[Raymond Limbach](/contributor/Raymond-Limbach/9569262)[The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica](/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419)