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Both sides placed great strategic importance on Stalingrad, for it was the largest industrial centre of the Soviet Union and an important transport hub on the Volga River: [43] controlling Stalingrad meant gaining access to the oil fields of the Caucasus and having supreme authority over the Volga River. [44]
In 1925, the name of the city was even changed to "Stalingrad". [8] A little over two decades later the city would once again be a battlefield, this time for the decisive battle of the Eastern Front of World War II: the Battle of Stalingrad. In 1961, the city was renamed Volgograd by Nikita Khrushchev during his de-Stalinization campaign.
During World War II, the city on the big bend of the Volga, currently known as Volgograd, witnessed the Battle of Stalingrad, possibly the bloodiest battle in human history, in which the Soviet Union and the German forces were deadlocked in a stalemate battle for access to the river. The Volga was (and still is) a vital transport route between ...
On the same day, the Soviet 13th Guards Rifle Division commanded by Alexander Rodimtsev arrived in the city from the east side of the river Volga under heavy German artillery fire. The division's 10,000 men immediately rushed into the battle. On 16 September they recaptured Mamayev Kurgan [4] and kept fighting for the railway station, taking ...
Volgograd, [a] formerly Tsaritsyn [b] (1589–1925) and Stalingrad [c] (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia.The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of 859.4 square kilometres (331.8 square miles), with a population of slightly over one million residents. [11]
Stalingrad Oblast (Сталинградская область) was established on December 5, 1936 on the territory of former Stalingrad Krai. [11] It was the scene of the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II in 1942–1943. The oblast was given its present name on November 10, 1961. [11]
Gerhardt's Mill (Russian: Мельница Гергардта) is a building of historical significance in the Battle of Stalingrad. [1] [2] Gerhardt's Mill is situated directly across from Pavlov's House in central modern-day Volgograd. It is preserved in its bombed-out state and is one of the main landmarks of the Battle of Stalingrad.
The idea of commemorating the Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad originated in the final years of the war. Soviet politicians and artists had considered designs for monuments to the battle prior to the war's end, and the first Soviet museum commemorating World War II was established as early as March 1943. [4]