Stalingrad has changed names. It's now called Volgograd and is still one of the largest cities in Russia. But we can't ignore the fact that for a significant time in history, it was called Stalingrad, named after the tyrant and leader of the Soviet Union in the Second World War, Joseph Stalin. Let's explore the history of this city during the Second World War, and why the battles fought there were so horrendous and pivotal in history.

At the time of the Battle of Stalingrad in Southern Russia, Germany and its allies combated the Soviet Union for control of Stalingrad (now Volgograd). It is just one of the bloodiest engagements in the history of warfare, with an approximated two million general losses. It's marked by intense, close-quarters battle and direct attacks on people in an air campaign. The German High Command was pushed to eliminate substantial army forces from other theaters of war after their defeat at Stalingrad.

The Stalingrad battle has been represented in the movies Stalingrad and Enemy at the Gates. It has become a level in video games like the Call of Duty series. Its casualties were many. Its circumstances were brutal and took a very long time. Let’s take a look at what took place, why it was such a heroic turning point for the Russians against Hitler’s Nazi armies, and what happened after the Germans were pushed back.