On this day 81 years ago, February 2, 1943 the German Army under the command of Friedrich Paulus surrendered to the superior forces of the Red Army guided by the genius of Marshal General George Zhukov.
After the war Zhukov fell in and out of favour with Stalin and Paulus became an adviser to the army of the German Demoratic Republic.
The Germans had expected they would take the city on the Volga in two weeks. The battle began in August 1942.
Approximately two million people lost their lives in the battle. The city was razed to the ground.
Stalingrad was a major turning point in the war. The expression: "You cannot stop an army which has done Stalingrad,” became a mantra on the lips of Soviet citizens.
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