Stalingrad, 1942

The Battle of Stalingrad was arguably the bloodiest single battle in history (the Somme in World War I is perhaps a close second). Lasting for months (August 1942-February 1943), Stalingrad's casualty count was up to 2 million killed, wounded or captured. It also remains the greatest and most horrible instance of urban warfare ever. This set of photos, all from 1942, capture both sides of the struggle.

 A German heavy mortar crew advance behind an infantry company 

they support during the Battle of Stalingrad. September 1942

  

 A German sniper takes aim with a Karabiner 98k rifle with mounted Soviet 

Mosin Nagant PE scope on the outskirts of of Stalingrad, September 1942

  

 A German Wehrmacht Oberstabsfeldwebel (Sergeant-Major) and a non-commissioned Stabsfeldwebel officer (First Sergeant, or Master Sergeant equivalent) battle enemy Soviet troops outside of Stalingrad, just prior to the Battle of Stalingrad, 10 June 1942

  

 A rare moment of compassion is shown at the Battle of Stalingrad. A German soldier tends to a wounded Russian woman and shelters her infant a German trench. October 1942

  

 A Soviet soldier prepares to launch an RGD-33 stick grenade 

at a German position during the Battle of Stalingrad. November 1942

  

 German Infantrymen pause in the ruins during heavy fighting with 

Soviet forces during the Battle of Stalingrad. September 1942

  

 German soldiers advance through the factory district 

during the protracted Battle of Stalingrad. October 1942

  

 German soldiers moving through the ruins of Stalingrad, October 1942

  

 Portrait of a Soviet soldier with Degtyaryov machine gun in one of the 

thousands of destroyed houses during the Battle of Stalingrad. 10 December 1942

  

 Red Army unit trying to set down a field telephone line in Stalingrad.1942

  

 Soviet Army soldiers fire a 82-BM-37 mortar into German positions 

during the Battle of Stalingrad, 21 October 1942

  

 Soviet Army soldiers of the Stalingrad Front inspect two abandoned German six-barrel 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket launchers during the Battle of Stalingrad, December 1942

  

 Soviet soldiers advance on German positions during 

the first days of the Battle of Stalingrad. August 1942

  

 Soviet machine gunners take up positions against Axis forces in a destroyed factory during the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest and most destructive battles in the history of warfare

  

 Soviet soldiers advancing on German positions at the Battle of Stalingrad, 1942

  

 Soviet soldiers firing at German positions in Stalingrad

  

 Soviet soldiers move through the trenches amongst the 

ruins during the Battle of Stalingrad. October 1942

  

 Soviet troops armed with light machine guns attack German 

positions during the Battle of Stalingrad. 26 November 1942

  

Soviet soldiers take the opportunity to clean their weapons during 

a lull in fighting at the Battle of Stalingrad. December 1942