On 28th June 1943 German troops launched Case Blue. They dashed towards Voronezh, Stalingrad, Rostov-on-Don. The insufficiently embattled south sector of the Soviet-German front was breached.
The retreat of the Soviet troops eastwards was going on when a famous order later called “Not a Step Back!” was issued. Special anti-retreat detachments were supposed to stop fleeing military units.
German 6th Army commanded by Friedrich Paulus reached Stalingrad but it unexpectedly met with a strong repulse that brought their advance to a halt. Reserve army commanded by marshals Vasilevsky and Zhukov were moved closer up to the encircled city by the Soviet Command. The bombardments of the city went on and on with every building being fought for; nevertheless the city held up. The Soviet troops started Operation Uranus and encircled the German grouping.

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