Battle of Stalingrad German 6th Army's flanks. The Axis forces on the flanks were overrun and the 6th Army was cut off and surrounded in the Stalingrad area. Adolf Hitler ordered that the army stay in Stalingrad and make no attempt to break out; instead, attempts were made to supply the army by air and to break the encirclement from the outside. Heavy fighting continued for another two months. By the beginning of February 1943, the Axis forces in Stalingrad had exhausted their ammunition and food. The remaining units of the 6th Army surrendered. The battle lasted five months, one week and three
Stopped at Stalingrad the Luftwaffe during this battle ultimately led to the German loss at the Battle of Stalingrad, the turning point against the Germans in World War II. "Stopped at Stalingrad" was published by University Press of Kansas in 1998. "... an original and formidably researched study ... Stopped at Stalingrad is an absolutely indispensable work not only for its revelations about Stalingrad, but equally for a more complete understanding of the nature of Soviet-German operations in a critical year." — Professor John Erickson, RUSI Journal, June 1998, p. 80. Charles Messenger, ed., Readers Guide to Military History (Chicago, Il: Fitzroy Dearborn,