There is no land for us behind the Volga.

Red Army slogan at Stalingrad.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century.

Music The

The Episode 377 for done on the Volga.

We're picking up today where we left off two episodes ago,

September 14, 1942.

That was the date that ground units of the German 6th Army first moved into Stalingrad.

They had expected, or hoped, they could take the city in one day.

They could not. The Red Army's 62nd Army was assigned the defense of the city. To call it an army makes it sound like a huge unit, but this particular army was down to a mere 20,000

soldiers, equivalent to about two divisions, tasked with holding off about eight German divisions.

Per Stalin's orders, on the night of September 14th, the 13th Guards Division crossed the river to aid in the defense of the city.

Actually, the division commander ordered the crossing to begin before the sun had fully set,

as he understood the urgency of getting reinforcements into Stalingrad as quickly as possible.

The soldiers crossed the Volga in everything from gunboats to rowboats.

As their motley assembly of vessels slipped across the river,

soldiers on board could already hear the echoes of gunfire and artillery from the city ahead.

As they approached, German artillery began to target them. Shells exploded in the

river, throwing water into the air and drenching the soldiers. Dead and stunned fish began to float to the

surface. As they drew closer, they could see buildings were on fire across the city.

Occasionally, they could make out the silhouette of a German soldier, passing in front of the flames.

The riverbank was cluttered with burned, wrecked boats.

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