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Operation Blue
Hitler issued Führer Directive No. 41, code-named "Operation Blue", ordering the Sixth Army to capture Stalingrad, with a deadline of August 25. -
War Begins
The war was a brutal and protracted struggle between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany and its Axis Allies for control of the city of Stalingrad. -
The Volga River
The German army reached the Volga River, a vital transportation artery connecting the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea with central Russia. Control of the Volga would enable Germany to cut off Soviet trade and military deployments. -
Launch Attack
The Germans launched a massive ground offensive to capture the city of Stalingrad, which began with brutal house-to-house fighting. -
Operation Uranus
The operation was a counterattack by the Red Army against the Germans at Stalingrad. It was a turning point in the war, shifting the focus of the war from the Axis to the Allies. -
Kesselschlacht
Using tactics previously used by Germany, two Soviet pincer attacks effectively encircled large numbers of German troops. -
Unternehmen Wintergewitter
Field Marshal Erich von Manstein launched Unternehmen Wintergewitter in an attempt to relieve the German Sixth Army trapped in Stalingrad, but the German advance was ultimately halted by strong Soviet resistance. -
Paulus agreed Surrender
The Sixth Army was surrounded by seven Soviet armies. Hitler promoted Paulus to Field Marshal and reminded him that a German commander of that rank had never surrendered. Paulus defied Hitler's orders and agreed to surrender. -
The German Sixth Army Surrenders
After running out of ammunition and food, the 6th Army finally surrendered after months of fighting, becoming the first of Hitler's field armies to surrender.