Location: Peschanka village, Sovetsky district of Volgograd.

On the outskirts of Peschanka, where the heaviest battles took place in 1942–1943, there is a strange structure, which cannot be immediately recognized as a monument. As you get closer, you can see signs of a memorial - a tombstone with a cross, flowers, wreaths... But first of all, a sharp figure made of rusty steel sheets seems to be one of the many shell fragments left here from the war and now rising from the ground and rushing into the sky. Once upon a time, this unusual sign of memory was aptly called a thorn.

Monument to all victims Battle of Stalingrad was established on June 8, 1996 at the expense of Austrian citizens. The public organizations “Austrian Black Cross” and “Committee for 50 Years of Stalingrad” were involved in collecting money in 1992–1993.

In 1992 between governments Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany an agreement was concluded on the care of military graves. As part of the agreement, the German side is allowed to arrange and care for German war graves on Russian territory. In addition, the German government, at its own expense, ensures the preservation and care of Russian war graves in Germany. The agreement covers those killed during the First and Second World Wars.

Initially, in negotiations with Volgograd officials and veterans, the Austrian side insisted on installing a monument in the city center - on Predmostnaya Square (now Reconciliation Square). However, ultimately the monument was erected in Peschanka, and on Predmostnaya Square back in 1993 the Cross of Reconciliation between the peoples of Russia, Austria and Germany appeared.

The monument to all victims of the Battle of Stalingrad was created according to the design of the Austrian architect Johann Boyle. It looks deliberately simple, even rude. The sharp 10-meter edge of the pyramid made of ordinary steel, subject to rust, symbolizes the tools and materials of war in all their ugliness. "Thorn" leans towards a tombstone with a Catholic cross.

On the other side of the monument lies a granite slab. The inscription in German and Russian reads: “This monument is dedicated to all the victims of the Battle of Stalingrad 1942–43. It recalls the suffering of the soldiers and civilians who fell here. For those who fell here and died in captivity from all countries, we pray for eternal peace in the Russian land.”

Despite the exhaustive inscription, the Thorn is sometimes referred to as a monument dedicated to the Austrians who died during the First and Second World Wars. But this is not so, the memorial was created in memory of all victims of the war, regardless of nationality or affiliation with any of the warring parties.

In September 1942, the Germans broke through to Stalingrad from three directions. In the south, in the steppe near Peschanka there were fierce battles. To this day, not far from the monument you can see the remains of the fortifications of those times - trenches, artillery caponiers.

Operational report from September 9, 1942

40th Army. During September 8, two battalions of the 206th Infantry Division fought a firefight in the area 2 kilometers southwest of the village of Peschanka. In the battle on September 7, units of the division in the area southwest of the village of Peschanka destroyed up to 500 soldiers and officers, 4 mortar batteries, 8 machine guns, 3 wagons with ammunition; 1 enemy dugout and 1 observation post were destroyed.
Since the morning of September 8, the 64th Army, with right-flank units, repelled enemy attacks of up to two infantry regiments with 50 tanks, advancing from the direction of Voroponovo station in the direction of the Peschanka area - height 143.5.
By 15:00 on September 8, the 138th Infantry Division was fighting on the western outskirts of the village of Peschanka - an unnamed height south of mark 143.5. As a result of an enemy tank attack, the division's 343rd Infantry Regiment was almost completely destroyed. In the battle of September 8, 18 enemy tanks were knocked out and burned.

On September 11, Peschanka was captured by Nazi troops. There were bloody battles in Stalingrad, and here, in Peschanka, wounded and killed German soldiers were brought en masse to the local hospital and cemetery. According to various sources, from 15 to 27 thousand soldiers and officers of the German side are buried here.

In addition to the unusual “Thorn”, which is considered to a greater extent German, in Peschanka there are three mass graves s of Soviet soldiers.

In August 1942, in the area of ​​​​Peschanka, a Soviet Pe-2 bomber plane was attacked by a German fighter, caught fire and exploded. He was returning to his airfield in the Volga region. The names of the three dead pilots could not be established. Residents of Peschanka buried them in the local cemetery, and an airplane propeller became a monument to the pilots.

A mass grave in the center of Peschanka appeared in 1943 after the liberation of the village from invaders; in 1965, an obelisk by the sculptor Shelkov was installed here. The tombstones bear the names of 117 fallen Soviet soldiers - officers and soldiers, but the true number of those buried here is unknown.

In a battle in the Peschanka area on January 22, 1943, the famous sniper Maxim Passar, one of the most effective snipers of the Battle of Stalingrad, who killed more than 200 enemy soldiers and officers, died. Soviet troops attacked enemy positions, but two machine guns firing from cover prevented the attackers from getting closer. Passar was able to get within 100 meters of the machine gunners and destroyed both crews. The attack was successful, but Maxim Passar himself was killed.
On January 25, 1943, in the battle near Peschanka, messenger Maxim Fefilov, who took command of the company after the death of the commander, led the soldiers into the attack. Under heavy enemy fire, Fefilov's riflemen broke through the barrage and were the first to occupy Peschanka. In this battle, more than 100 German soldiers and officers were killed, and more than 200 were captured.

The monument to all victims of the Battle of Stalingrad and three mass graves are looked after to the best of their ability local residents- students and teachers of school No. 114 and local TOS. The Austrian delegation, which comes to Peschanka every year, also contributes to the maintenance of the international memorial.

"Austrian Black Cross" - international public organization in Austria, founded in 1919 to organize soldier burials and care for the graves of soldiers of all nationalities. In addition, he deals with the burials of those killed during the bombings, victims of political repression and refugees. It exists through donations. The headquarters is located in Vienna.

There was one "outstanding political figure", one of "builders of democratic Russia" - Anatoly Alexandrovich Sobchak. Now the glory of the father has been eclipsed by the glory of the daughter, but maybe someone else remembers the father. So he, already the mayor of St. Petersburg, promoted the idea of ​​​​installing a memorial to the German soldiers who died near Leningrad. According to the plan, the memorial was supposed to stand in the city of Pushkin.

And he was not alone. Several years ago in Volgograd they wanted to erect a monument to the Germans who died in Stalingrad. Germany allocated money, the authorities gave consent... and only threats to blow up this monument emanating from ordinary people, forced me to abandon its installation...

The list is, of course, incomplete, but the picture is general outline clear, right? Which monuments now need to be erected and which ones need to be demolished.
A little more time will pass and the world will quite reasonably say that the Germans did not commit atrocities in the USSR during World War II: "You see how they are still respected - they erect monuments to them and take care of them. How can this happen if we are talking about villains?..."

Upd. :
I am not at all annoyed by the monument to the fallen French on the Borodino field. And a monument to the dead Germans in World War I would not irritate. I don't know, maybe there is one somewhere.
I am not a historian and I know history at school level, as well as according to the stories of its direct participants and therefore I believe that the situation with World War II is fundamentally different: firstly, in previous wars the aggressors had no plans to exterminate people simply because they were born of the “wrong nationality” and secondly, there were no attempts to implement these plans. And I consider it blasphemous to erect monuments to the dead for the sake of realizing this idea.

Awards

Medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad"

On the front side of the medal is a group of fighters with rifles at the ready. Above a group of fighters, with right side medals, a banner flutters, and on the left side you can see the outlines of tanks and planes flying one after another. At the top of the medal, above the group of fighters, there is a five-pointed star and the inscription along the edge of the medal “FOR THE DEFENSE OF STALINGRAD.”

On the reverse side of the medal is the inscription “FOR OUR SOVIET MOTHERLAND.” Above the inscription are a hammer and sickle.

The medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad” was awarded to all participants in the defense of Stalingrad - servicemen of the Red Army, Navy and NKVD troops, as well as civilians who took a direct part in the defense. The period of defense of Stalingrad is considered to be July 12 - November 19, 1942.

As of January 1, 1995, the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" was awarded to approximately 759 561 Human.

In Volgograd, on the headquarters building of military unit No. 22220, there was a huge wall panel depicting a medal.

Monuments to the Battle of Stalingrad

• · Mamayev Kurgan - “the main height of Russia.” During the Battle of Stalingrad, some of the fiercest battles took place here. Today, a monument-ensemble “To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” has been erected on Mamayev Kurgan. The central figure of the composition is the sculpture “The Motherland is Calling!” It is one of the seven wonders of Russia.
• · Panorama “Destruction” Nazi troops near Stalingrad" - painting on the theme of the Battle of Stalingrad, located on the Central Embankment of the city. Opened in 1982.
• · “Lyudnikov Island” - an area of ​​700 meters along the Volga bank and 400 meters in depth (from the river bank to the territory of the Barricades plant), the defense area of ​​the 138th Red Banner Rifle Division under the command of Colonel I.I. Lyudnikova.
• · The destroyed mill is a building that has not been restored since the war, an exhibit of the “Battle of Stalingrad” museum.
• · “Rodimtsev’s Wall” - a quay wall that serves as shelter from massive bombings by German aviation for soldiers of the rifle division of Major General A.I. Rodimtseva.
• · The "House of Soldier's Glory", also known as the "Pavlov's House" - a brick building that occupied a dominant position over the surrounding area.
• · Avenue of Heroes - a wide street connects the embankment to them. 62nd Army near the Volga River and the Square of Fallen Fighters.
• · On September 8, 1985, a memorial monument dedicated to the Heroes was opened here Soviet Union and full holders of the Order of Glory, natives Volgograd region and the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad. Artwork executed by the Volgograd branch of the RSFSR Art Fund under the direction of the city’s chief artist M.Ya. Pyshty. The team of authors included the chief architect of the project A.N. Klyuchishchev, architect A.S. Belousov, designer L. Podoprigora, artist E.V. Gerasimov. On the monument are the names (surnames and initials) of 127 Heroes of the Soviet Union, who received this title for heroism in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943, 192 Heroes of the Soviet Union - natives of the Volgograd region, of whom three are twice Heroes of the Soviet Union, and 28 holders of the Order of Glory of three degrees.
• · Poplar on the Alley of Heroes is a historical and natural monument of Volgograd, located on the Alley of Heroes. The poplar survived the Battle of Stalingrad and has numerous evidence of military action on its trunk.

In the world

Stalingrad Avenue in Brussels

Named in honor of the Battle of Stalingrad:

• · Stalingrad Square (Paris) - a square in Paris.
• · Stalingrad Avenue (Brussels) - in Brussels.

In many countries, including France, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy and a number of other countries, streets, gardens, and squares were named after the battle. Only in Paris is the name “Stalingrad” given to a square, a boulevard and one of the metro stations. In Lyon there is the so-called “Stalingrad” bracant, where the third largest antique market in Europe is located.

Also named after Stalingrad central Street city ​​of Bologna.

On October 15, 1967, the historical memorial Complex"To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd.

During the Great Patriotic War During the days of the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943), there were stubborn battles on Mamayev Kurgan, located in the central part of Volgograd (from 1925 to 1961 - Stalingrad), especially in September 1942 - January 1943.

On front-line maps the mound was designated as “height 102.0”. It was of exceptional military importance, since it occupied a dominant position over the central part of the city; crossings across the Volga were clearly visible from above; industrial facilities and a railway station were within sight. The one who owned the mound owned the city: maintaining this height was a matter of life or death - the mound passed “from hand to hand” of the warring parties several times a day. But the Nazis were never able to completely capture the mound. The eastern slopes steadfastly and heroically defended the troops of the Red Army, repelling the furious attacks of the enemy.

For 140 days and nights, the troops of the 62nd Army under the command of Vasily Chuikov stood to the death on the slopes of Mamayev Kurgan. On January 26, 1943, on the northwestern slopes of the mound, units of the 21st Army united with the advancing 62nd Army. As a result of this connection, the Nazi group was divided into two parts and liquidated.

The fighting on Mamayev Kurgan was so fierce that even its outline changed. Immediately after the battle, from 500 to 1250 shell fragments were found on every square meter of his land. In the spring of 1943, not even the grass was green on it.

After the end of the battle, the dead from all over the city were buried on Mamayev Kurgan. According to approximate data, about 34.5 thousand people are buried there.

The idea to erect majestic monument in memory of the Battle of Stalingrad arose immediately after the end of hostilities. In 1945-1955, a competition was held in the country for his project, and as a result, he became the author and leader of the team of builders. folk artist USSR sculptor Evgeniy Vuchetich, chief architect - Yakov Belopolsky. Construction of the monument began in May 1959, and the opening took place on October 15, 1967.

The memorial complex "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" is a unique structure, the total length from the foot to the top is 820 meters. Total area of ​​the complex 177,758 square meters. It represents a series of architectural and spatial links, as if strung on a single axis. As you ascend the mound, more and more new elements and compositions of the memorial open up before your eyes.
The entrance to the memorial complex begins with an introductory composition located on V.I. Avenue. Lenin at the foot of Mamayev Kurgan and called “Memory of Generations”. It is a large high relief (sculpture in stone) depicting people of different generations (11 figures) who, in mournful silence, move along a dilapidated stone wall towards the stairs leading to the mound to honor the memory of the dead.

Behind the introductory composition on the square, 12 pedestals were later installed with the soil of the hero cities and Brest Fortress. From them a wide staircase leads to the Alley of Pyramid Poplars, which is laid along the crest of an artificial earthen embankment rising 10 meters above the entrance square - Avenue named after. IN AND. Lenin. The length of the alley is 223 meters, width is 10 meters. Its upper level is 20 meters higher than the lower one.

Heroes Square ends with a retaining wall, the area of ​​which is about one thousand square meters. On it, in the form of separate paintings-episodes in a relief image, the story about the offensive of Soviet troops near Stalingrad, the joy of victory, the capture of the Nazis, and the rally of the winners is reproduced.

The retaining wall contains the entrance to the Hall of Military Glory. In the transition to the hall there is a model of the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad”; inside on the ceiling there are 18 models of orders and medals of the USSR. In the center of the hall is an image of the hand of a deceased hero with a torch. Eternal Flame, a guard of honor was installed. On the walls are 34 mosaic mourning banners with 7,200 names, symbolizing all the fallen defenders of Stalingrad. At the top there is an inscription on the pictured ribbon from the medal: “Yes, we were mere mortals, and few of us survived, but we all fulfilled our patriotic duty to the sacred motherland.”

The exit from the hall is located at the level of the next terrace - the Square of Sorrow.

On the square in the pool there is a sculpture “Mother’s Sorrow”: in boundless grief and sadness, the mother bent over the body of her murdered son. There are two graves on the Square of Sorrow. One is a single grave of twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union, former commander of the 62nd Army Vasily Chuikov.

The second is a mass grave, where 34,505 (+ 4) soldiers (from the areas of Stalingrad) were reburied during the construction of the memorial. Later, urns with the ashes of the Hero of the Soviet Union, former commander of the 64th Army Mikhail Shumilov, chairman of the City Defense Committee (during the war) Alexei Chuyanov were buried, twice Hero of the Soviet Union pilot Vasily Efremov was buried, and the famous sniper Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Zaitsev was reburied. Along the grave there are 37 memorial slabs with the names of particularly distinguished defenders during the Battle of Stalingrad, including the slab to the Unknown Soldier.

The compositional center of the ensemble is the Motherland sculpture. The monument depicts a woman holding a sword in her hand and standing in a pose calling for fight. The figure of the Motherland dominates not only Mamaev Kurgan, but also the city; it is visible for tens of kilometers. The height of the monument is 85 meters with a sword, 52 meters without a sword. The length of the sword is 33 meters, the weight of the sword is 14 tons. The entire monument weighs 8 thousand tons. At the base, the sculpture is not secured by anything; it stands under its own weight. The inside is hollow, there is a staircase in sculpture and sword. It is made of reinforced concrete, the sword is steel.

To climb from the foot of the mound to its top, you need to walk 200 granite steps - the number of days of the Battle of Stalingrad.

Since the opening of the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex, it has changed noticeably. In 1985, a military memorial cemetery was opened. In 2005, the memorial complex received its own church - All Saints. By 2013 (the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad) there were engraved the names of 17 thousand defenders of Stalingrad.

The memorial complex "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" by order of the Government of the Russian Federation was classified as an object cultural heritage federal significance, and the sculpture "Motherland" - to especially valuable objects of cultural heritage of Russia in 2016.

In 2008, according to the results of a popular vote, the monument-ensemble “To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” and the sculpture “The Motherland Calls!” were included in the "Seven Wonders of Russia". In 2013, according to the results of a nationwide vote, the Mamayev Kurgan and the sculpture “The Motherland Calls!” entered the top ten winners of the multimedia project-competition "Russia-10".

In 2014, the memorial complex "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd from the Russian Federation.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Monument to the Glory of Generations

The Monument to the Glory of Generations was installed on central square Volgograd - the Square of Fallen Fighters, with which heroic pages of history are connected.

In days great battle on the Volga the area became the scene of fierce battles. On January 31, 1943, the Nazis threw a white flag of surrender over it, and Field Marshal Paulus, who had surrendered, emerged from the basement of a dilapidated department store - his last headquarters.

The Square of Fallen Fighters witnessed a solemn meeting dedicated to the defeat of the fascist hordes at Stalingrad. There, next to the mass grave of the workers, the defenders of the city who died in the battles of 1942 - 1943 were buried.

In 1957, a single granite monument was built on the mass graves - an obelisk and a tombstone.

On Mamayev Kurgan

Mamayev Kurgan is the dominant height over the city. During the Battle of Stalingrad it was the site of the most fierce fighting, key position city ​​defense.

The defenders of Stalingrad well understood the meaning of the mound and figuratively called it main height Russia. There they took an oath: “Not a step back!”, “There is no land for us beyond the Volga!”, “Fight to the death!” For almost 140 days and nights, lead showers raged over Mamayev Kurgan; the Nazis frantically rushed to this height, but were never able to capture it completely. The mound turned black, as if charred, from the cruel fire; during the fighting, the earth on it was thickly mixed with iron fragments and blood. The top of the mound changed hands many times, and its northeastern slopes were firmly held by Soviet soldiers throughout the entire period of hostilities.

Residents of the city brought Mamayev Kurgan back to life. They took mines, unexploded shells and bombs out of its wounded land, laid out squares and parks on it, and covered it with a green carpet of grass. A grandiose sculptural ensemble was built on Mamayev Kurgan, immortalizing the feat of the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad.

In front of the stairs to the mound is the introductory composition “Memory of Generations”. It depicts people different ages carrying a wreath to the grave of fallen heroes. An alley of pyramidal poplars leads to the first square of the ensemble. In the center of the square, a 12-meter figure of a Russian warrior-hero, surrounded by a swimming pool, seems to grow out of a rock. At the foot of the sculpture there are inscriptions: “Not a step back!”, “Fight to the death!”

The ruined walls adjacent to the square give the impression of the streets of a destroyed city. On the walls appear figures and faces of the city’s defenders, relief scenes telling about front-line life and the exploits of soldiers. The walls are painted with excerpts from military orders, protocols of party and Komsomol meetings, and oaths of soldiers.

The next terrace of the ensemble is Heroes Square. In its center is a huge water parterre. The calm surface of the water reflects six sculptural compositions telling about the exploits of warriors and episodes of the battle.

The other side of the water parterre is bordered by a 112-meter wall, made in the form of an unfolded and greatly elongated banner. On the wall are the words: “The iron wind hit them in the face, and they all walked forward, and again a feeling of superstitious fear gripped the enemy: were people going to attack, were they mortal?!”

Granite steps lead from Heroes Square to the hall Military glory. The entrance, decorated with gray concrete slabs, resembles a dugout. The round building of the hall with a light suspended ceiling is made in the style of the ancient Greek pantheon. 34 symbolic red banners hang along the high walls lined with gold smalt. The names of 7201 fallen in the Battle of Stalingrad are inscribed on them. Above the banners is a wide ribbon with the inscription: “Yes, we were mere mortals, and few of us survived, but we all fulfilled our patriotic duty to the sacred Mother Motherland.”

In the center of the hall there is a marble hand with a flaming torch of the sacred Eternal Flame.

A spiral ramp leads from the Hall of Military Glory to the Square of Sorrow, the main sculptural composition which is the figure of a woman-mother. In deep sorrow she bent over the fallen warrior. Mother's boundless grief intensifies weeping willows, growing over a pond in front of the sculpture.

A mound rises from the Square of Sorrow. During the construction of the monument, the remains of dead soldiers were transferred there from mass graves located on the territory of the city.

On 34 granite symbolic slabs located along the serpentine path along the slope of the mound, the names of the most distinguished participants in the great battle, who died defending the city and died after the war, are carved.

The monument-ensemble is crowned by a 52-meter sculpture of the Mother Motherland, who in anger raised a punishing sword. Mother Motherland calls her sons to fight the enemies.

A talented team of sculptors, architects, and engineers worked on the ensemble under the leadership of Hero of Socialist Labor E. Vuchetich.

The entire monument-ensemble is made of concrete. Its construction took place from January 1961 to May 1967. The monument was unveiled on October 15, 1967.

M. Aleshchenko, V. Matrosov, L. Maystrenko, A. Melnik, V. Morunov, A. Novikov,

A. Tyurenkov; head of the engineering group N. Nikitin; military consultant Marshal of the Soviet Union

V. Chuikov.

Panorama Museum

On the steep bank of the Volga, on the site of the fierce battles for Stalingrad, a memorial ensemble was created - the museum-panorama “Battle of Stalingrad”. The panoramic part of the complex “The defeat of the Nazi troops at Stalingrad” was opened on July 8, 1982. This is a monumental piece of art about the Great Patriotic War.

The museum complex includes 7 exhibition halls, 4 dioramas and a triumphal hall. The canvases depict the most striking pages in the history of the great battle on the Volga. The entrance hall of the panorama leads to the artistic canvas, the ceiling of which is decorated with heraldry - signs of the branches of the troops that participated in the battle. They are made of smalt and placed along the curly ribbon of the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad”. In the center of the hall is the Order of Victory.

The culmination of the events depicted in the panorama is the breakthrough of the enemy defense by the troops of the 21st Army of General I. Chistyakov from the west and the forces of the 62nd Army of General V. Chuikov from the east with the aim of dismembering the enemy group. The panorama conveys the grand scale of the Battle of Stalingrad. The canvas depicts the military actions of the troops that took part in the encirclement and defeat of the Nazi formations. The artists managed to create a generalized image of the battle and reflect the most striking and characteristic episodes of the heroic battle. Events are shown both on the battlefield and in the immediate rear of the units: reserves are being pulled together, shells are being transported, and assistance is being provided to the wounded.

The canvas reproduces not only individual episodes of the battle and heroic deeds of soldiers, but also the strategic plan for the final blow of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad. Dimensions of the panorama, one of the largest in the world artistic practice, allowed to be placed freely without distorting historical truth, all big picture battle spread over a large area.

The observation deck of the panorama is conventionally located at the top of Mamayev Kurgan. main topic panoramas - the greatness of the feat Soviet people. All artistic means are subordinated to the embodiment of this idea.

P. Zhigimont, P. Maltsev,

G. Marchenko, M. Samsonov, F. Usypenko.

Project unique complex developed by a group of architects and engineers under the leadership of architect V. Maslyaev.

"Connecting Fronts"

During fierce defensive battles on the approaches to Stalingrad, Soviet troops stopped the enemy on a front stretching more than 800 km. The main forces of the Nazi troops were drawn into heavy, bloody battles between the Don and Volga rivers.

The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command developed a plan for encircling the Stalingrad enemy group under the code name “Uranus”. The troops of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts were supposed to unite in the Kalach-Sovetsky area and surround units and formations of the enemy’s 6th field and 4th tank armies.

On November 19 and 20, 1942, the troops of the Southwestern, Don and Stalingrad fronts, after powerful artillery preparation, launched a decisive offensive. As a result of bold actions, the 26th Tank Corps of General A. Rodin crossed the Don and on November 23 fought Kalach.

On the same day, units of the 4th Tank Corps of General A. Kravchenko of the Southwestern Front and the 4th Mechanized Corps of General V. Volsky of the Stalingrad Front united in the Sovetsky area. 22 enemy divisions and more than 160 separate units were surrounded.

To commemorate this event, the “Union of Fronts” monument was erected in 1953 in the Kalachevsky district at lock No. 13 of the Volga-Don Shipping Canal. The multi-figure 16-meter composition depicts a meeting of soldiers from two fronts. On the pedestal there are two memorial plaques with texts:

“On November 23, 1942, in the Kalach area, Soviet troops of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts, in cooperation with troops of the Don Front, completed the operational encirclement of the enemy, which led to the subsequent defeat of the 330,000-strong group of fascist German troops that broke through to the Volga.”

“Our descendants will never forget the greatness of spirit and the fabulous fortress of Russian soldiers along the banks of the Don and Volga. In the battles to encircle Nazi troops, the 19th, 45th, 69th, 157th, 102nd tank, 14th motorized rifle and 36th mechanized brigades distinguished themselves.”