On February 2, Russia marks one of the days of military glory - the Day of the defeat by the Soviet troops of German fascist troops in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943.

The plans of the German fascist command, set for the summer of 1942, included the defeat of Soviet troops in the south of the country. July 17, 1942 began the first stage of the Battle of Stalingrad.

Specifically, the plans of the Nazis were as follows: to seize the oil regions of the Caucasus, the rich agricultural districts of the Don and the Kuban, to disrupt communications linking the center of the country with the Caucasus, and to create conditions for the end of the war in their favor. The fulfillment of this task was assigned to army groups "A" and "B".

Literally four months later the Soviet troops gave a decisive rebuff to the enemy: on November 19, 1942, Soviet troops launched a counter-offensive near Stalingrad.

The surrender of the city was then equaled not only to military, but also to ideological defeat. The fighting went on for every quarter, for every house, the central station of the city passed from hand to hand 13 times. January 31, 1943, the commander of the German forces F.Paulus surrendered.

200 heroic days of the defense of Stalingrad went down in history, as the most bloody and cruel. During the defense of the city, more than seven hundred thousand Soviet soldiers and officers were killed and wounded.