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Πέμπτη 11 Αυγούστου 2016

For 59 Days 30 Russian Soldiers Were Under Siege In This House, They Never Surrendered


 Nikola Budanovic
 
Left: Pavlov's House. By Unknown - Russian State Military Archive, Public Domain. Right: Yakov Pavlov, By Soviet military photographer - Public Domain
 


The Battle of Stalingrad might be one of the best-known battles of WWII. The siege of the city that lasted from 23rd of August, 1942 to the 2nd of February, 1943 saw several power shifts between confronted sides. The Soviets declared it their definitive mission to withstand the Axis push at Stalingrad ― the city that bore the name of their leader, Joseph Stalin. Hitler saw the symbolic potential too and insisted on capturing the city, no matter the cost. Street fights raged for months while snipers scanned the devastated landscape in search of any sign of life. Every house was a battleground. Apartment buildings were taken and lost by storm, in a matter of hours, even minutes. Life lost all value on the streets of Stalingrad as the Soviets believed in their superior numbers and pushed forward, losing hundreds of thousands of soldiers. On the strategic chessboard, those were the days when it was all or nothing.