2. Battle of Stalingrad

        In the summer of 1942, Hitler send the 6th army to conquer Stalingrad, a major industrial center of the U.S.S.R.  The battle began on August 23, 1942 when the German Luftwaffe began night bombings on the city, crumbling the city to ruins.  Stalin, however refused to yield the city to Germany.  By November 9, Germany controlled 90% of the city but the tide of the battle shift in the favor of the U.S.S.R. when the bitter Russian winter came about.  The bitter conditions and the resurgence of Soviet attacks forced the Germans to surrender on February 2 , 1943.  The remaining 90,000 German troops surrendered to the Soviets.  From this point on the Germans were forced to be on defensive rather than offensive.  While the lives of 1 million Soviets were lost, Germany's inability to fully capture Stalingrad truly changed the outcome of the war.

Pictured above is the devastation that was the result of the Luftwaffe bombing of Stalingrad.