"The German Sixth Army and Fourth Panzer Army attacked Stalingrad on August 23, 1942, but met stiff Soviet resistance. The Germans did not reach the outskirts of Stalingrad until mid-September. By mid-November, despite heavy losses, the Germans had captured the city, which they had virtually destroyed by bombing and shelling. The Soviets, however, mounted a powerful and sustained counterattack, and the Germans soon had no avenue of escape. In mid-December, Soviet attacks halted a German relief operation 30 miles short of the city. More than 200,000 German soldiers died of starvation and from enemy action as the Soviets placed the city under seige before capturing it, following a horrendous battle that involved house-to-house fighting. Stalingrad is considered the turning point of the war on the Eastern Front."
taken from - The Eisenhower Center for American Studies, The World War II Desk Reference. (New York, NY, Harper Collins, 2004), 213-214.