The Battle of Stalingrad is widely considered the bloodiest single battle of World War II. It was fought between the Red Army and the Axis forces, particularly the Wehrmacht, on the Eastern Front from August 1942 to February 1943. It was the result of the Wehrmacht's implementation of a plan codenamed "Fall Blau", which aimed to capture the southern regions of the USSR, access to the Caucasus and the oil fields in Maykop and Baku. However, in the course of the implementation of this plan, as a result, in particular, of the intervention of Adolf Hitler, the capture of the city of Stalingrad became one of the main objectives of the operation. For Nazi Germany, this decision turned out to be one of the worst in the history of World War II. The Battle of Stalingrad turned into terribly bloody and very difficult urban battles, during which every house or street was fought, and the front line often passed through rooms or staircases in apartment buildings! Ultimately, the Wehrmacht suffered a major defeat, and the entire 6th Army, including Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, was captured by the Soviets. It is estimated that during the entire Battle of Stalingrad, the Axis forces lost about 850,000 soldiers - killed, wounded and captured. The Battle of Stalingrad also marked a turning point in the war on the Eastern Front, which from that time began to take a favorable direction for the USSR.
