Battle of Stalingrad and lacking gunsights, were driven directly from the factory floor to the front line. They could only be aimed at point-blank range through the gun barrel. By the end of August, Army Group South (B) had finally reached the Volga, north of Stalingrad. Another advance to the river south of the city followed, while the Soviets abandoned their Rossoshka position for the inner defensive ring west of Stalingrad. The wings of the 6th Army and the 4th Panzer Army met near Jablotchni along the Zaritza on 2 Sept. By 1 September, the Soviets could only reinforce and supply their forces
The Sun Shines over Our Motherland The Sun Shines over Our Motherland The Sun Shines over Our Motherland «Над Родиной нашей солнце сияет» (Op.90) is a Russian-language cantata written in 1952 by Dimitri Shostakovich on a libretto by Yevgeniy Dolmatovsky. Originally titled "Cantata About the Party", it was commissioned to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the October Revolution. In it, the sun is a metaphor for the achievement of the Soviet people under the leadership of the Communist Party. It begins with a lyrical section for boys' chorus and woodwind, followed by a more energetic section for the men's voices. The finale is a triumphant hymn,