The Battle of Stalingrad is widely regarded as the bloodiest battle in human history and the ultimate turning point of WWII in Europe. The city, bearing Stalin's name, became a site of fanatical symbolic importance for both Hitler and Stalin. Fought in the ruins of the city, the conflict devolved into 'Rattenkrieg' (Rat War)—brutal house-to-house and even room-to-room combat. In November 1942, the Soviets launched Operation Uranus, encircling the German 6th Army. Despite Hitler’s order to never surrender, Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus eventually yielded in February 1943. The Axis suffered over 800,000 casualties. This defeat shattered the myth of German invincibility and forced the Wehrmacht into a permanent retreat toward Berlin, marking the beginning of the end for the Third Reich.