On this day, 83 years ago, on August 19, 1942 (July 8, 1942 in the lunar calendar), the Battle of Stalingrad began. Street fighting in Stalingrad: Soviet troops resisted at Mamayev Krana When the German army rushed to the great plains between the Don and Volga rivers, Hitler was also a little confused. Which should we win first? As the Russian proverb goes: A horse is facing two bundles of grass and does not know which bundle to eat first. Facts have shown that at times like this, Hitler did not know the height of heaven and earth. This time it was the same. He actually wanted to eat both bundles of grass. The German army divided into two groups. Paulus led the 6th Army to attack Stalingrad, and the 4th Panzer Army to attack the Caucasus oil fields. On July 23, this decision was written into the famous Instruction No. 45 in the history of the German Army. When German Army Chief of Staff Halder proposed to concentrate his efforts to save the head, Hitler accused him of "old officers having only professional ability but no passion" and dismissed him. Paulus's 6th Corps rushed towards Stalingrad, breaking through the Soviet defenses, and nothing could stop it. In desperation, the Soviet Army even put two tank groups that were being formed into battle, but as soon as they were thrown in, they were drowned by the raging waves of war and put the troops that were being formed into use. This incident attracted criticism at that time, but even critics had to think that with Stalingrad's defense very weak, Stalin had no choice but to do so. In early August, Hitler regretted it. He ordered the 4th Panzer Army, which had attacked the Caucasus oil fields, to return north to support the 6th Army's attack on Stalingrad. In fact, the 4th Panzer Corps had reached only 80 kilometers away from the largest oil-producing area of the Soviet Union, but had to turn around and insert northeast. At this time, in Stalingrad, the Soviet garrison was less than 190,000 people, with more than 300 tanks and more than 300 aircraft. Paulus commanded an offensive force of nearly 300,000 people, more than 700 tanks, and more than 1200 aircraft. He formulated a textbook-style battle plan and launched his first attack on Stalingrad on August 19. Stalingrad is backed by the Volga River and is a small city with less than 100,000 residents, but its military industry is very developed. When the German army reached the suburbs, the workers began to dismantle the assembly line and plan to transfer it to the rear. When Stalin, who was far away in Moscow, heard about this, he immediately called to stop it. No machine tool could be dismantled, and no factory could be withdrawn. They were required to continue production on the edge of the battlefield or in the center of the battlefield. The products would be put into battle once they got off the assembly line. Workers, raw materials, assembly lines, and products would coexist with the city. August 26th. Moscow. Stalin urgently summoned Zhukov in the Kremlin, read him the appointment of the National Defense Council, and appointed Zhukov assistant to the Supreme Commander. He was ordered to fly quickly to Stalingrad, where he organized a local counterattack to contain the German reserves and prevent them from attacking Stalingrad. In the early morning of September 3, Zhukov received a telegram from Stalin stating that Stalingrad might be captured no later than tomorrow and a counterattack should be organized quickly. At dawn on September 5, the Soviet army organized a counterattack, but the German aviation forces held the control of the air, and the Soviet counterattack had little effect. On September 10, the German vanguard troops entered the urban area of Stalingrad. They searched carefully, but they hardly saw the Soviet troops. In fact, the Soviet troops had organized and delayed their entry into the city and held positions in various vital areas. Now that the Soviets are in the houses and the Germans are on the streets, the two sides are fighting a battle that cannot be waged by high-speed tanks, mobile artillery and motorized infantry. This is close combat, street combat, and hand-to-hand combat. It became known as the "Rat War". September 12th. Moscow. Stalin summoned Zhukov and Vasilevsky, who had just returned from the front. They studied a big problem: the only way to save Stalingrad was to organize a larger battle there, which was to use Stalingrad to attract the German heavy army, and then use powerful reserves to encircle the German heavy army. It is called Project Uranus. However, according to calculations at the time, it would be mid-November to organize a reserve team equipped with sufficient equipment at the earliest, which means that the defenders of Stalingrad would have to last for more than two months. Can you hold it down? This was the most severe test for the Soviet army. From September 13, the German army that had entered the city of Stalingrad began to squeeze against the banks of the Volga River. They rushed from one ruin to another, and the "Rat War" began. The most exciting hand-to-hand combat of World War II took place in these ruins. The Soviet army had no reserves, and every soldier was involved in a life-and-death struggle. It often happens that the broken walls captured by one side at a great price are infiltrated back by the other side at night. The bombed factory became the center of resistance. Workers at the tractor factory were still making tanks and armored vehicles even after the German army had broken into the factory doors. Half of the famous October Revolution factory was occupied by German troops, while production was still going on as usual in the other half. Throughout September, 200 tanks and 150 armored vehicles were produced in these war-torn and smoke-filled factories. They fire as soon as they get off the assembly line. On October 4, Paulus organized another large-scale attack, focusing on three factories that had become Soviet defensive fortresses. The German army dispatched 800 dive bombers and bombed one after another, maintaining the momentum of the attack for 10 days. Chuikov believed that October 14 was the bloodiest and cruelest day in the entire battle. On this day alone, 61 staff officers were killed in battle in his headquarters alone. On November 11, Paulus launched his last attack. The severe winter was approaching. He wanted to reach the Volga River a few hundred yards away in the shortest possible time. Therefore, the attack area was very short, only 400 meters. The huge impact force was squeezed on a tip of a knife. On the 400-meter-wide front line, the powerful firepower of both sides formed a fire net, and the soldiers of both sides were bloodshot and drunk. Everyone knows that there can be no captured alive in this battle. They fought for four days and four nights with guns, bayonets, punches, and teeth in every pile of tiles, until only god-like, filthy, and blood-red-eyed Soviet soldiers remained on the position. Then there was a deep and terrifying silence-a death-like silence that shrouded the slowly drifting ruins. However, the silence did not last long. A few days later, at dawn on November 19, the rumbling sound of artillery in the distance was heard amidst the fog. To the north of the shattered city, 2000 Soviet cannons began to blast. This was the prelude to the "Uranus Plan", and the Soviet army's large-scale counterattack began. On the evening of November 23, the two vanguard units of the Soviet Union met due west of Stalingrad, about 30 kilometers behind the Paulus Army. This move was of great significance. It meant that 250,000 German troops in Stalingrad were surrounded. The deadly Russian winter was at hand, and the Paulus Corps was besieged in a narrow area. In front of it was the Volga River that could never be crossed, and behind it was the winding of the Don River that could never be retreated. Paulus was not too panicked at this time. He stayed there as long as he could get supplies until the reinforcing German army launched a large-scale relief offensive. Hitler immediately organized a rescue plan codenamed "Winter Storm". On December 11, Field Marshal Manstein personally oversaw the battle. The 4th Panzer Corps took the lead, followed by a huge train of trucks carrying 3000 tons of supplies for the 6th Army, but this rescue army was firmly withstood by the Soviets 50 kilometers away from Stalingrad. In fact, the Soviet encirclement was relatively thin at this time. If Paulus was facing Manstein's receiving direction and both sides launched an offensive at the same time, one pulling and the other fighting, they would still stand out. However, the two sides did not reach a tacit understanding. Seeing that things had come to this, Manstein was afraid that he would also fall into it, so he simply turned around and went back. On January 8, 1943, the Soviet Army sent messengers into the encirclement to persuade the German army to surrender. The Soviet side stated that it was decent to guarantee the personal safety of German officers and soldiers who laid down their weapons and send them back home after the war. Paulus sent the original text of the Soviet ultimatum to Hitler and reported that the troops had run out of ammunition and food. In the severe cold of minus 30 degrees, medicines had been used up. In order to reduce the pain of the wounded, they had to freeze to death in the snow and hoped to be allowed to surrender to save the lives of the survivors. The original of Hitler's reply is preserved to this day. It said: No surrender! We must fight until the last soldier, one shot at a time, in order to make an unforgettable contribution to saving the Western world. On the morning of January 10, 5000 Soviet cannons fired in unison and launched the final offensive of the Battle of Stalingrad. The final stage of the fighting was particularly fierce. German generals spread rumors among the soldiers that no Russians would be allowed alive and drove the soldiers to fight to the death. On January 30, the remnants of the once-powerful 6th Army were divided into three small bag-shaped positions. Paulus, whose headquarters were located in the basement of a department store, telegraphed Hitler: "The final collapse will not take 24 hours. "At this time, Hitler was busy appointing 117 officers in the encirclement. Paulus was promoted to Marshal. Hitler said: " In the history of the German army, no Field Marshal has ever been captured alive." This is a suggestion that Paulus committed suicide in the line of duty. But Paulus did not commit suicide, and the 6th Army did not fight to the last soldier. At 7 p.m. on January 31, the transmitter of the Corps Command sent the last telegram: "The Russians have arrived at the door of our basement. We are destroying equipment." A few minutes later, several Soviet soldiers poked their heads into the basement. A few minutes later, Paulus, who was sitting on the camp bed, became a prisoner. When he later met with the Soviet field commanders, Paulus remembered that he was already a marshal by this time and asked the Soviet army to treat him as a marshal. Two months ago, nearly 300,000 people in the Sixth Army were killed in battle in addition to the more than 20,000 wounded who were airlifted home, and 123,000 people were captured by the Soviet Army. This captured army included 24 generals walking towards the Siberian prisoner of war camp in the ice and snow. Amid the Soviet victory celebrations, a stocky Ukraine general warmly kissed Zhukov, the big winner. The appearance of Nikita Khrushchev reminds people of the Battle of Kharkiv more than half a year ago. In that battle, according to the German army, the number of Soviet casualties and captured was 250,000. Now, the Soviet army has avenged Kharkiv. Even the Red Star published an editorial emphasizing this point. At the time, they did not realize that the battle they had just won would become a turning point in the entire war. Stalingrad tractor factory continues to produce during the war Stalingrad Street Battle: Soviet troops resist Stalingrad Street Battle in the small town of the "Red October" factory area: Sergeant Pavlov waits in a building in Lenin Square Stalingrad Street Battle: Sergeant Pavlov waits in a building in Lenin Square Street Battle: Soviet troops resist Stalingrad Street Battle at Sadowaya Station: The Soviet Army resisted at the "Barrack" factory. In mid-to-late November, the Soviet Army began to counterattack. The main assault direction first pointed to the 3rd Army of Romania, the Soviet Marine Brigade of the Coastal Group Army, and the German Army captured more than 2500 officers, including 24 generals. In the Battle of Stalingrad, 32 divisions and 3 brigades were completely wiped out, and 16 divisions were severely injured. On January 10, 1943, the Soviet Army launched an offensive campaign codenamed "Ring." Annihilation of the besieged German troops In December, the Soviet troops annihilated the two newly formed German assault groups and smashed the German attempt to relieve the siege. The Soviet troops continued to shrink the encirclement, forming a continuous internal front. On November 23, the two Soviet troops met in Karachi and Sovtsky and surrounded 22 German divisions