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(2 - 4) Stalingrad Aftermath

At 3:18 pm on 23 August 1942 began the initial bombing and the beginning of the battle for Stalingrad. The advance of the Axis troops was well known, but Stalin resisted the evacuation of civilians, in part due to the importance of the city's factories to the war effort. The virtually unopposed German bombers began bombing the city. The Heinkel 111 aircraft each carrying approximately 4400 lbs (2000 kg) of bombs attacked. The extensive bombing caused numerous fires. In the first few hours of bombing, the headquarters of the city's air defences were bombed. City was bombed block-by-block for five days. This caused that Stalingrad became living ruins.