Stand and Die

The fighting over the ground of the Mamayev Kurgan hill mass, a prominent terrain feature of the central city area of Stalingrad, was among the most bitter of the fall and winter of 1942. This is a large hilly area …

1942-09-27

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The fighting over the ground of the Mamayev Kurgan hill mass, a prominent terrain feature of the central city area of Stalingrad, was among the most bitter of the fall and winter of 1942. This is a large hilly area extending up from the Volga River through the center of the city towards the west, commanding a critical position across the entire city. Today, it holds a deeply moving memorial for the Russian people.

Mamayev Kurgan, Stalingrad, Russia

In the Battle of Stalingrad, Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia. Marked by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, it is one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with an estimated 2 million total casualties. After their defeat at Stalingrad, the German High Command had to withdraw considerable military forces from the Western Front to replace their losses. The German offensive to capture Stalingrad, a major industrial and transport hub on the Volga River that ensured Soviet access to the Caucasus oil wells, began in August 1942, using the 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army. The attack was supported by intense Luftwaffe bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble. The battle degenerated into house-to-house fighting, as both sides poured reinforcements into the city. By mid-November, the Germans had pushed the Soviet defenders back at great cost into narrow zones along the west bank of the river.

Wikipedia: Battle of Stalingrad

German

Russians