Russian troops liberating a village near Ordhonikidze, Caucasus, 1942. The German offensive to secure the oilfields of Azerbaijan was halted by the Red Army in the Caucasus in the autumn of 1942. From January 1943 a series of Russian counter-offensives, coupled with the impending disaster at Stalingrad, forced the Germans to retreat north and westwards. Credit: Art Media / HIP / TopFoto