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71st Anniversary of The Battle of Stalingrad

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Today is a day that most, if not all, CoH players will be familiar with. Arguably one of the most famous battles of WW2 - the first day of the Battle of Stalingrad.

While it ostensibly only lasted for just over 5 months, it has become known for the ferocity of combat, the number of casualties (both combat and civilian personnel) and perhaps more importantly is viewed as where it became obvious that the Wehrmacht was running out of steam.

Total casualties for this battle have been estimated between 1.2 and 1.8 million, surpassed only by the Siege of Leningrad. The latter, however, also being notable for being one of the longest sieges in history - a total of 872 days.

The previous year had seen the failure of Operation Barbarossa, the intention of which was to effectively defeat the Soviet Union in one fell swoop. In the spring of '42, the war had been progressing positively on all fronts - the Atlantic, Northern Africa and here in the East the line had been stabilised.

Stalin anticipated that the summer attack would come for Moscow. The Germans had other ideas, however: attacks towards the south of the Soviet Union, the destruction of industrial capacity around Stalingrad, and blockade of the Volga River, a key route between the Caspian Sea & northern Russia.

The 1942 campaign was designated "Case Blue". Delays in besieging Sevastopol led to Case Blue starting at the end of June instead of May, and a further delay due to logistics errors slowed the German advance by a further week.

At the beginning of August, the Germans were only a few dozen kilometers from Stalingrad. The Russians belatedly realised the target of the campaign and Lt. Gen. Vasiliy Chuikov was put in command of the 62nd Army on the defence. With the situation looking bleak, he said of his task, "We will defend the city or die in the attempt." Defence of Stalingrad at all costs.

At 4pm on 23rd August, 1942, the assault on Stalingrad began!
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