The battle of stalingrad (1942-1943) was violent conflict between the armies of Russia and Germany. The conflict between the two nations was ignited when Germany
broke the peace treaty they had with Russia and invaded the Soviet Union.
German forces entered the city of stalingrad (named after Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin) after reducing it to ruins after massive bombing raids. The Russians counterattacked and the ensuing conflict became recorded as the
single bloodiest battle in
human history. Fighting inside the city ruins was extremely feroucious with both sides losing thousands of men each
day. The Russians themselves lost 10,000 men in one day after a fierce counterattack. The Russians overwhelmed pockets of
German resistance with suicidal banzai like charges and took back parts of their city. Fighting on the city hill known as Mameyev Kurgan was particulary bloody. The hill was bombed so many times that after the
war grass would not grow their for years, and even today one can still find bones and pieces of
metal embedded in the soil of the hill. The battle ended after the Soviets surrounded the Germans with a successful counter attack known as Operation Blau, causing the surrender of
German forces in the area. Casualties for both sides are recorded as a total of 2 million people including civilians. The battle was immortalized for its complete disregard for human life, barbarism and unprecedented loss of human life.
A movie called enemy at the gates is about a young soviet
sniper who is caught up in the battle and its harsh realities.
