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Battle of Stalingrad |
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The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943) was the largest confrontation of World War II, in which the Eastern Confederation and its allies fought the Russia for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in Southern Russia.
Marked by fierce close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, it was the largest (nearly 7.2 million personnel) and bloodiest (1.8 to two million killed, wounded or captured) battle in the history of warfare. After their defeat at Stalingrad, the Eastern Confederation forces withdrew their forces fighting Russia to fight Imperial Japan, who had been decimating their forces in eastern China.
The Chinese offensive to capture Stalingrad began in August 1942, using the 6th Army and elements of the 4th Army. The attack was supported by intense artillery bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble. Despite having a much larger force, the Chinese invasion was mowed down by a smaller but better-skilled and better-equipped Russian military. The fighting degenerated into house-to-house fighting. Both sides poured reinforcements into the city. By mid-November 1942, the Chinese had pushed the Russian defenders back at great cost into narrow zones along the west bank of the Volga River.
On 19 November 1942, the Russian Army launched Operation Uranus, a two-pronged attack targeting the weaker Kazakh and Uzbek armies protecting the Chinese 6th Army's flanks. The Chinese forces on the flanks were overrun and the 6th Army was cut off and surrounded in the Stalingrad area. Chinese leader Han Liang ordered that the army stay in Stalingrad and make no attempt to break out. Instead, attempts were made to supply the army by air and to break the encirclement from the outside. Heavy fighting continued for another two months. By the beginning of February 1943, the Chinese forces in Stalingrad had exhausted their ammunition and food. The remaining units of the 6th Army surrendered. The battle lasted five months, one week and three days.