Russia is marking on Thursday the 69th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army at the Battle of Stalingrad, the bloodiest battle in human history. The Soviet forces crashed the German army at Stalingrad on February 2, 1943. The battle lasted 200 days and resulted in over 2 million people killed.
The conquest of Stalingrad was of significant strategicic and ideological value for Hitler. The city was named after Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin. German Reichschancellor Hitler hoped to break morale of the Soviet Army and block water and ground transport routes.
The Red Army, having 160,000 troops, was outnumbered by Germans with 270,000 troops. Moreover, the German Army had three times as many aircraft.
The 62nd and 64th Armies of the Stalingrad Front clashed with the 6th Germany Army commanded by Friedrich Paulus on the line of Rivers Chir and Tsimla on July 17. Joseph Stalin made a speech with his famous Order 227 “Not one step backwards!” on July 28.
Germany started mass bombing of the city on August 23, turning it into ruins. Not a single person pronounced such words as “surrender”. Audacious fights were held for every house and quarter. The Mamayev Hill was taken over by each side numerous times. Women, elderly and teenagers were volunteers. The Red Army started its counter attack in November 1942. German divisions capitulated on February 2, 1943.
Victory at the Battle of Stalingrad was one of the breakthroughs of the Great Patriotic War and WWI. The Allies called it the beginning of the end of fascism. 1.5 million people were killed, injured or captured, Germany failed to recover from the losses at Stalingrad, comparable with losses in all its previous battles with the Soviet Union.
