Battle of Stalingrad Map

    The Battle of Stalingrad was a major and decisive battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the southwestern Soviet Union.The Battle of Stalingrad was Hitler's major push for dominance on the Eastern front. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943 and was marked by constant close-quarters combat and lack of regard for military and civilian casualties. It is among the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with the higher estimates of combined casualties amounting to nearly two million. The heavy losses inflicted on the German army made it a significant turning point in the whole war. After the Battle of Stalingrad, German forces never recovered their earlier strength, and attained no further strategic victories in the East. The war was going "quite well" up until this point. Germany's biggest misfortune came when the Soviets elimintaed Romania and Italy at Stalingrad, leaving German forces completely surrounded.

---

Germany's Strengths:
1,011,500 men
10,290 artillery
675 tanks
1,216 aircraft

Casualties and Losses:
850,000 dead or wounded

Soviet's Strengths:
1,000,500 men
13,541 artillery
894 tanks
1,115 aircraft

Casualties and Losses:
478,000 dead or wounded