battle of stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the battle with the most deaths during world war II. It was also considered a major turning point in the war in favor of the allies. The city Stalingrad is in southwest Russia. This city was important industrially, it was also named after the Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin. The battle of Stalingrad lasted from 23 August 1942 to 2 February 1943. The battle started with the Luftwaffe (German air force) bombing the city. The city was destroyed and had no chance but to surrender to the Germans. However, by november that year, the Soviets planned a counter attack. They surrounded the German army and trapped them in the city of Stalingrad. The German army then surrendered, because they were starved and were freezing. Over 750,000 German and 500,000 Russian soldiers died in this Battle. This battle was the first time German faced such a defeat.