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November 1942 - Stalingrad, USSR: Winter comes early to the Soviet Union with a harshness unknown anywhere else. The cold Siberian winter had halted Napoleon's great army in 1812 with enormous loss of life. In 1942, history began to repeat itself at Stalingrad. The German army had maintained superiority over the Soviets for months, taking most of the city and reducing the Soviet army to less than a fourth of its original strength. However, they were ill prepared for the harsh winter. The temperatures dropped rapidly and blizzard-like conditions took hold. Huddled around small fires in light coats and blankets, German losses began mounting.

While the German army was suffering, the Soviets were massing troops on the east side of the Volga River. Soviet General Georgy Zhukov concentrated large forces both north and south of the city to take advantage of the weakening German flanks. With Hitler's maniacal focus on taking the city, he refused all requests to strengthen the flank guards. While holding the Germans' attention in the city with a brief offensive, the northern and southern armies attacked the flanks, shattering them with little resistance. The pincer movement was successful, with the two Soviet armies meeting behind German lines two days later.

The success of Operation Uranus left almost 300,000 German soldiers trapped in Stalingrad. Still determined to take the city, Hitler demanded that General Friedrich Paulus continue fighting, promoting him to Field Marshal because no German field marshal had ever surrendered. The German High Command planned an air lift to supply the trapped Sixth Army while a new army was prepared. Despite their best attempts, the Luftwaffe failed to keep the Sixth supplied, losing nearly 500 planes to anti-aircraft fire.

The German army starved, losing over 2000 men each day. Trapped in a desolate city that had been bombed to rubble without adequate shelter, food, or supplies weakened the Germans' spirits and constitutions. Daily counterattacks by Soviet troops still in the city weakened their resolve to fight even further. As the new year approached, even the German commanders were losing their will to follow Hitler's orders. Time was running out for the German Sixth Army as the Soviet force surrounding them grew stronger every day.

Chris Stanwick, Editor