Battle of Stalingrad
Image taken from wikipedia.org
In 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. This action broke a peace agreement between the two countries. The Germans advanced miles into the country, destroying towns, killing people, and burning the landscape. The city of Moscow fell after millions of people were killed in the battle to hold the city. The Russian forces pulled back to beyond the Volga River. Here they would make their stand at the city called Stalingrad. If the Germans took this city, there would be no hope for victory for Russia. So, millions of young Russian soldiers arrived in the destroyed city to decide the fate of their country.
The Russians had issued an order for the troops coming into the city. That order was no retreating, and anyone who tried to do so would be shot. This created extreme difficulties for the the Russian soldiers. They would take fire from front and back if trying to advance or retreat. Soon the fight was taken to the Germans as the cold Russian winter set in. Temperatures dropped below freezing and the two forces battled it out on the streets of Stalingrad. Bitter house-to-house fighting ensued. It became clear after a few months that the Germans were not going to become victorious. They retreated and the Russians were able to reclaim the city, but not after losing millions of lives in one of the worst battles of human history.
