Summary
The Battle of Stalingrad was the deadliest battle of the Second World War, seeing 1.2 million killed, and thousands more wounded. One of the most brutal clashes in history, the battle raged between the forces of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia for five months from August 1942 to February 1943. A key turning point of World War Two, Stalingrad played host to some the fiercest urban warfare ever seen throughout history, and left a devastating legacy.
In this episode, 80 years on from the siege ending, James is joined by historian Iain MacGregor, to reveal the hidden truths at the heart of the Battle. Looking at the historical context and the significance it still holds today, what can we learn from the Battle of Stalingrad 80 years on?
Iain's book The Lighthouse of Stalingrad is available here.
Senior Producer: Elena Guthrie. Assistant Producer: Annie Coloe. Edited and mixed by Aidan Lonergan.
For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare newsletter here.
If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - enter promo code WARFARE for a free trial, plus 50% off your first three months' subscription.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The Battle of Stalingrad has gone down in history as the deadliest battle of the Second World War, |
| 0:07.0 | and one of the most brutal of all time. |
| 0:09.0 | And yesterday, February 2nd, 2023, marked 80 years since this ferocious siege came to an end. |
| 0:17.0 | I'm your host James Rogers and to mark this pivotal moment in history, I've invited author and historian Ian McGregor onto the warfare |
| 0:24.3 | podcast. Eam is the author of a new book, The Lighthouse of Stalingrad, The Hidden |
| 0:29.4 | Truth at the Heart of the Greatest Battle of World War II. This includes the story of the 13th Guards |
| 0:35.6 | Rifle Division who held out against the German 6th Army in a building known as the Lighthouse |
| 0:42.1 | in the center of Stalingrad, a story that you're going to hear all about today. |
| 0:48.0 | Enjoy. Hi Ian, welcome to the Warfare Podcast, good to see you again. How have you been? |
| 1:01.6 | I'm very well, thank you, yes, not too bad, thanks. Good to hear. have you been. I'm very well, thank you. |
| 1:03.0 | Not too bad, thanks. |
| 1:04.0 | Good to hear. |
| 1:05.0 | Now the last time I saw you, we were debating the famous Yolter conference of 1945 and deciding who got the best |
| 1:12.0 | deal, Churchill, Stalin or Roosevelt. |
| 1:15.7 | Today, however, we're going to go a little further back in history |
| 1:19.3 | to the Battle of Stalingrad, a siege that raged between 1942 and 1943. |
| 1:26.2 | In fact, it is this month, February, 2023, |
| 1:29.8 | that marks 80 years since the end of that battle. |
| 1:33.6 | So it's great to have you here to mark the anniversary. |
| 1:36.8 | But before we go into the details of the battle itself, |
| 1:40.2 | I want to hear a bit more about the history of the city. What is it, Ian, that makes Stalingrad or |
| 1:47.1 | Volga Grad as it's known today so strategically important? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.