Bombing of Stalingrad

The bombing of Stalingrad occurred during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II, when the Soviet city and industrial centre on the river Volga was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe. German land forces comprising the 6th Army had advanced to the suburbs of Stalingrad by August 1942. The city was firebombed with 1,000 tons of high explosives and incendiaries in 1,600 sorties on 23 August. The aerial assault on Stalingrad was the most concentrated on the Ostfront, according to Beevor, and was the single most intense aerial bombardment on the Eastern Front at that point. At least 90% of the housing stock was obliterated during the first week of the bombing, with estimations of some 40,000 killed, possibly as many as 70,000 killed, though these may be exaggerations. It is also estimated that 150,000 people were wounded. Further fire-attacks were mounted against the ruined city for the following two days, enveloping it in dense black smoke.

Soviet forces hiding in the rubble were subjected to repeated German airstrikes until the Soviet counteroffensive in late November 1942. Luftflotte 4 flew nearly 1,000 sorties per day on average from 23 August to 22 November, the bulk of which were directed at Stalingrad.