LiberationTurning point
· Day 591 of 1418
Victory at Stalingrad
Stalingrad
- enemy soldiers and officers surrendered
- 91,000
- enemy soldiers and officers surrendered
- generals among the prisoners, Field Marshal Paulus included
- 24
- generals among the prisoners, Field Marshal Paulus included
On 2 February 1943 the Battle of Stalingrad ended. The encircled army surrendered and Field Marshal Paulus was captured. Germany declared national mourning. It was the radical turning point: now the Red Army was moving forward, to the west.
The encircled army was cut in two. Field Marshal Paulus surrendered on 31 January, and on 2 February the last, northern group laid down its arms. For the first time in months there was silence over the ruins.
Almost nothing was left of the city. Returning residents lived in cellars and dugouts and began rebuilding at once. Today on Mamayev Kurgan, where the fiercest fighting took place, stands the statue “The Motherland Calls!”.
See it on the map