In the spring of 1942, before the Battle of the Atlantic turned against Germany, Adolf Hitler was very confident that he would win the war.
In May 1942, he ordered his army to capture strategic oil fields, factories, and farmlands in southern Russia and Ukraine.
The city of Stalingrad, which controlled the Volga River and was a major railroad junction, was the Key to the attack.
If the German army captured Stalingrad, they would cut off the Soviets from the resources they needed to stay in the war.
When German troops entered Stalingrad in mid-September, Stalin ordered his troops to hold the city at all costs.