**Unbelievable Sacrifice: The Battle That Changed History!** Over two million lives were lost in a brutal clash that turned a city into a hellscape. Discover how relentless courage and ...

This was a significant battle for both Soviet troops and the fascists. According to rough estimates, the total losses on both sides in this battle exceeded two million people. Truly, every stone in Stalingrad was scorched by fire and stained with blood.

During this battle, Soviet troops struck the world twice - first with their unwavering endurance during a four-month defense, when the front, like a steel spring, was compressed to the limit, and then with the swiftness of their offensive, when this compressed spring straightened with titanic force and encircled more than 330,000 invaders in a giant ring. It was truly hell on earth, from which Soviet soldiers emerged victorious at a tremendous cost.

Balance of Power

Today's young people may wonder - why were such colossal sacrifices necessary? The answer is simple - without the victory at Stalingrad, there would have been no victory salutes in May 1945.

Firstly, Stalingrad was a major industrial city on the banks of the Volga, along which vital transport routes connected central Russia with its southern regions, including the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, where oil fields were located. Capturing Stalingrad would have allowed the Nazis to cut off these communications.

Secondly, the very fact that the city bore Stalin's name - Hitler's main enemy - made its capture a significant ideological and propaganda gain. Ordinary soldiers likely did not know the names of many military operations; they were far removed from high politics and unaware of the secrets of the general staffs, Soviet or German. But they knew one thing for sure - the enemy wanted to seize Stalingrad, and their task was to defend the city at all costs.

Photo: kommersant.ru

Especially since by the fall of 1942, fascist Germany had already captured the Baltics, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova, as well as western and southern regions of Russia. German troops continued the blockade of Leningrad and maintained significant forces near Moscow. However, Germany could no longer advance as it had in 1941 - across the entire Soviet-German front, but was forced to limit itself to the southern direction. For this, five German armies, one Romanian, one Italian, and one Hungarian army were prepared, united into the Army Group "South."

- The German command aimed to deprive the Soviet Union of its main economic resources - coal, industrial enterprises in the Donbas, grain from Kuban and the Volga region, oil from Baku, - shared with me a participant in those battles, a holder of five military orders and 35 medals, member of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, Almaty resident Leonid Girsh. - By establishing control over the Volga, the main water artery of the USSR, the Germans aimed to sever the central regions of the country from the southern ones. At the same time, the enemy had a manpower superiority over the Soviet troops by 1.7 times, in tanks and artillery by 1.3 times, and in aircraft by more than two times.

The City in Flames

At first, there were only sporadic air raids on the city, but on August 23, the Germans decided to storm it for the first time. On that sultry summer day, the bombers of Richthofen's air squadron hovered over Stalingrad. It's hard to say how many there were. The air was filled with a continuous roar. The sky was obscured - only planes. They flew in groups, dropped bombs, then flew away, and others came immediately after. In just one day, there were two thousand air sorties. Such a thing had never happened in any war!

"The city suffered terrible destruction - entire blocks were simply wiped off the face of the earth," recalled Almaty resident Sofia Rumyantseva, who was an anti-aircraft gunner during the war. She had notched several enemy aircraft kills. A holder of the Order of the Patriotic War II class and many medals, including "For the Defense of Stalingrad," "For Military Merit," and "For Courage," she recounted with a trembling voice the burning ruins that Stalingrad had become.

- The Germans primarily aimed to destroy the anti-aircraft artillery; bombs were constantly exploding nearby, but we kept firing until our barrels turned red. There was nowhere to hide, we didn't even have helmets, so in two days we lost half our personnel. I still remember with a shiver how the wounded fell from the embankment, where there used to be a school turned into a hospital, some without an arm, some without a leg, many died on the spot. I remember how the nurses rushed about, trying to lift someone on stretchers. The wounded were carried to the crossing, while they were being shot at from the air. And what was happening at the crossing! The Volga was on fire, oil from the wrecked tankers spilled into the water. We carried water, soaked bags, and threw them on the guns to cool them down faster.

As the fire began to subside, a heavy spirit of ash settled over the city, - she recalled. - The smells of charred wood, burnt metal, and singed brick mingled into something intoxicating, heavy, and acrid. As soon as a breeze blew, soot and ash began to swirl in the air. We soaked cotton balls in ammonia and breathed that way.

No Step Back!

During these days, the famous Stalin's Order No. 227 "No Step Back!" was issued, in which he demanded to strengthen resistance against the enemy and, by all means, stop his advance. Retreat meant execution on the spot.

- Many say now that it was a very cruel order, but it was difficult to hold positions otherwise, - Leonid Girsh was convinced. - Just imagine if the Germans had crossed the Volga, as planned? They would have reached the southern part of the Urals, descended into the interfluve of the Volga and Don, and then invaded the Caucasus along the lower reaches of the Don. This would mean that the country would lose coal and steel from the Donbas, grain from Kuban and the Volga region, and oil from Baku.

Moreover, establishing control over the Volga, the main water artery, would have split the USSR, severing communication between the center and the south. Thus, according to the Germans' logic, this would have determined the outcome of the war in their favor. That is why we fought with such ferocity, as did they.

- Before the war, the Germans were a prosperous nation, - Leonid Girsh also recalled, - they lived a measured life, had normal food, and faced no climatic stresses… And then they found themselves in such a predicament. But they fought bravely. They were a worthy opponent, well-trained and technically equipped, unlike us. This victory is all the more significant considering that we were not only fighting against Germany, but also Italy, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria. All these combat units - Italian, Romanian, Hungarian - were also present at Stalingrad.

Now some say: you fought against Germany. Not at all! Five countries fought on Germany's side. The entire industrial potential of Europe was in Hitler's hands. And all this came crashing down on us. But despite all this power, we stood firm!

Stalingrad turned into a vast territory of fire. Flames rose hundreds of meters into the air, the ground trembled from explosions, buildings collapsed. Metal even warped in the flames!

Street fighting was marked by its ferocity - battles were fought for every house, every floor, every apartment, basement, or stairwell… The Germans, calling this urban warfare "Rattenkrieg, Rat War," bitterly joked that they had already captured the kitchen but were still fighting for the bedroom.

According to historians, the average life expectancy of a newly arrived Soviet private in the city sometimes fell below twenty-four hours, as the struggle was ruthless. But there was no other way to win.

Deadly Clash

For two and a half months, the Germans stormed Stalingrad. The battle at Mamaev Kurgan was particularly merciless. The fact that this height, towering over the city, was soaked in soldiers' blood is not an allegory but a historical fact.

As Leonid Girsh recalled, the fighting was so intense that a person's psyche simply could not withstand it.

- Even the weather seemed to go berserk - the frost reached over 30 degrees, the wind knocked us off our feet, - he recounted. - We slept right on the snow, and surprisingly, we didn't get sick! We had a little pot, a spirit stove, which we lit, melted snow, and drank - there was no water. During the day, as a rule, there was no food either, because the Germans bombed everything from the air. Only at night were field kitchens brought to the front, and we were fed. But since they were located about 80