Initially marching upon the city of Stalingrad as conquerors, Nazi troops met an inglorious end there with thousands perishing at the hands of Soviet soldiers, while the rest simply surrendered along with their commander, Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus.
The Soviet victory at Stalingrad became a pivotal moment in World War II, with the Red Army seizing the strategic initiative while a number of Hitler’s allies, such as Hungary and Romania, started seeking a way to sue for peace with the USSR.