Stalingrad-Hell on Earth

[cyberia]

The sign reads: To Stalingrad!

Early in the battle retreating Soviet troops erected this medical skeleton to greet incoming Germans

Both sides enjoyed the joke, but soon the dead in Stalingrad would far outnumber the living

Stalingrad became a fight among ruins, as with this smashed tower being reclaimed by Soviet soldiers...

...And this shattered street occupied by Heer troops.

Forbidden to evacuate, Stalingrad's citizens bore caves into surrounding hillsides to escape the fighting

[razorboy]

Here's a color picture of Wehrmacht Infantrie in Stalingrad.

"Near the Tractor Factory"

[cyberia]

Wehrmacht assembling in the ruins




Early in the attack on the city, Heer troops trying to flank defenders

[cyberia]

The city as it looked toward the end of the battle



Soviet troops braving a move across open ground




Luftwaffe troops in the city fighting as infantry




Russian troops pushing to tighten an ever shrinking ring

[cyberia]

Mid-way in the battle Heer troops walk through the rubble
The ability to stroll in the open like this would not last

Desperate fighting, as with these Soviet troops, would become the rule for both sides in Stalingrad

[Tom Houlihan]

Buy Jason Mark's books. Read them. Your perception of 'hell on earth' will be sharply enhanced.

[cyberia]

Originally Posted by Tom Houlihan

Buy Jason Mark's books. Read them. Your perception of 'hell on earth' will be sharply enhanced.

Actually, I have a pretty good picture of what it was like. At one time I had a "living" reference.

[cyberia]

Soviet troops moving through the rubble




A Russian gun firing from the behind the protection of a girder

[cyberia]

Early in the battle, German troops move toward Soviet defensive positions





Toward the end of the battle, Russian troops move to close the circle around German positions

[cyberia]

A former Russian tank trap, now German trench line on the outskirts of the city