Stalingrad 2001
                    Photos by Stefan
                    and text by Patrik.

     Click on thumbnail for larger picture!

Air-photo taken some miles from Stalingrad showing
the terrain.

    Close to Gumrak airfield, soon we landing at
    this indeed very historic place!

I walking at the railway tracks. The building to
the left is belonging to the "Red October" factory.
Huge plants here in the Northern part of Stalingrad.

Here we are at an interesting point. So close was the
german troops to Volga in the Red October area, but
the Soviet soldiers hold the shores. Just imagine what
a terrible fight this must have been.

  A T-34 turret of many in a line that shows the Stalin-
  grads defence line on November 19^th ,1942.

This ravine or "balki" was the way the germans came
at the assault against the northern factory area.

               A post saved from the battle.

The shores of the river Don in a great evening light near
village Vertyachiy, 30-40 kilometres west from Stalin-
grad. The axis shiped over their troops at this location
in their advance at Stalingrad in August 1942.
We was camping here with our russian friends.
It was a fine evening with good food and some Vodka.

                      

                           Morning sun.

     A fishing trip early in the morning......for Stefan
     as i was sleeping in the tent....ZZzzzzz...zzzzz.

                 Stefan taking a bath in Don.

A b/w picture showing german soldiers shooting at the
shores where Stefan some years later taking a bath.....
              ( thank's for the picture Peter!)

Vertyachiy area and the Soviet defence lines. Don is
some hundred metres to the right.

Pitomnik airfield, today just vegetation and some
rusty iron and a lot of foxholes, so it's needed to
be carefull when walking here.

Area west from Stalingrad with ravines or "balki".

    Some rusty and bullet marked war-debris.

Also in the balki, human bones. It is very sad but much
bones is still not collected and is fully visible under the
sky as this examples.

                      

Rossoshka cemetery. We sitting where the memorial for
the dead Soviet soldiers is placed. On the other side of the
road the german have their memorial.

     Some of the Soviet graves is with names.

            The german part of the cemetery.

In City close to the river Volga this preserved building
called city mill or "Grudinin mill" is located. In front of
this building there was "No mans land" during the war
with a minefield. To the right of this ruin - "the Battle of
Stalingrad Museum".

           The well known Soviet tank "T-34".

A rocket launcher known as "the Stalin organ".
To the left is a restored building, known as the "Pavlov-
house".

In this museum among thousands of items you can
find this rifle that the famous sniper Zaytsev used.

Part of an enourmus panorama canvas painting showing
the battle with Mamayev hill as the centre.

                               Trophys

                              "Problem"

The main monument at Mamayev hill; "the motherland".
52 metres high and made of 5,500 tons of concret and
2,400 tons of metall. This memorial was opened in 1967.

Here a photo taken in daylight at Mamayev hill.
Photo taken North from the hill, Volga to the left.

             The maingate of the memorial.

The green building in the horizon is the famous
"grain elevator". It was indeed a terrible fight here.

                      

Here at close range; a marine is standing in front of
the grain elevator.

Tsaritsa balki. During the battle this slopes was filled
with tunnels and rooms.

In the back of the huge memorial is the Mamayev original height.
It still today serving the town as a water reservoir.

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