November 1942 on the banks of the River Volga. The German Army advance into the Caucasus Mountains in search of the Russian oilfields has halted for the winter as the bitter fighting in Stalingrad takes center stage.

The German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, has virtually driven the Red Air Force from the skies.

The Germans, confident in taking the city that holds Stalin's namesake, strip their flanks of troops to bolster their forces fighting inside the city. For just one last push to decide the battle and the outcome of the war.

To the south of Stalingrad, on a thinly held front line stretching hundreds of miles, small groups of German troops are dispersed across positions held by their allies of the Fourth Romanian Army.

As winter approaches and temperatures drop, the soldiers bed down in their positions, consoled by the thought that they will not have to fight through another Russian Winter in the bitter sub-zero temperatures. Temperatures that the Russian Army is more than accustomed to.

Press releases advise the front line troops of the impending collapse of the Russian Army and state. The drive to the banks of the Volga had produced few prisoners and seen most Red Army units retreat before the mighty and victorious German Sixth Army.