Stalingrad

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By November 1942, Adolf Hitler's empire reached its peak, stretching from North Africa to the Arctic and from the English Channel to Stalingrad. The German Army appeared invincible, but from November 19 to 23, a massive Russian counter-offensive changed everything. Over a million men, 1,560 tanks, and 1,327 aircraft launched an assault that not only obliterated two Rumanian armies but also encircled the elite German 6th Army, commanded by General Friedrich Paulus, at Stalingrad. Despite being trapped in a vast cauldron (Der Kessel), the 269,000 troops of the 6th Army resisted for seventy-two harrowing days under dire conditions. Lacking adequate winter clothing and facing temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius, they survived on meager rations of bread and watery soup. The soldiers endured immense suffering, including frostbite, dysentery, and typhus, all while being relentlessly bombarded by Russian artillery. When the 6th Army finally surrendered on February 2, 1943, only 91,000 remained alive, and they were taken to Siberian prison camps. However, surrendering to the Russians proved fatal, with only 5,000 surviving captivity to return to Germany. The author utilizes a wealth of German and Russian sources to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of this pivotal battle, providing a balanced account from both perspectives.