German troops entering Stalingrad, Russia, September 1942. An elderly Russian woman emerges from a cellar in the shattered ruins of the city. Fought between August 1942 and February 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest in history. 750,000 Russian soldiers were killed, wounded or captured and over 40,000 civilians lost their lives. On the Axis side, 740,000 were killed or wounded and 110,000 taken prisoner. The defeat at Stalingrad was a reverse from which Nazi Germany was ultimately unable to recover. Credit: Art Media / HIP / TopFoto