Few other battles were as grueling and brutal as the Battle of Stalingrad.

The Soviets and the Germany had a non-aggression pact through the early years of the war, but in 1941, Hitler invaded Russia. Although they failed to take the entire country, the Germans made substantial territorial gains. The Soviet effort to retake it began in August 1942, and the fighting was ferocious and varied. Tank charges, trench warfare, dogfights, and tight-knit urban guerilla combat all played out, culminating in a Soviet victory in February 1943.

Here are some photos of those six months that proved to be the most pivotal period of World War II.