against hitler's, celebrating the success of the people. the film and in 1943 when the soviets are beginning to reclaim lost territory from the invading german army. ♪

narrator: this is a film about

that scale and grander. -- grandeur. this is about of that which is achieved. this is a film about of people shattered themes not the instability. this is a film about victory and holy -- defeat. a german victory. and german defeat. this is the battle for russia, a battle that has been going on for centuries, a battle that filled the pages of russian

history. 1242. the german order of teutonic knights have invaded northeastern russia and occupied the old city. ♪ narrator: under the leadership , they tryrand master to enslave the whole capital, no novgorad. ♪ in their hour of peril, the russian people turn to their present -- prince, alexander nevsky.

on april the fifth: hundred 42 -- 1242 on lake peipus, the russians met the german army. they weren't as well equipped or is well organized. ♪ but in their hearts was a flaming courage, a flame so fierce that it pierced the german army. ♪ won filled ahey bright page of russian history. 1704, and another conquering

army brought -- marched across russian land. this time it was charles the 12th of sweden. again, the russians fought for their country. led by their emperor peter the great after five long years of war, they defeated the swedes in the historic battle. of poltava. the invading swedish army were crushed and forever driven out of russia. 1812. laideon and his army have their triumphant way across europe and marching toward moscow. the conquering armies entered the city, but they entered a city in flames. even in that day, russians

scorched it when invaded, and they were forced to march back out of russia. 1914, and another german army. this time under kaiser wilhelm set to conquer. ♪ time, the russian people under the regime of the czar were not only fighting german a pressure of corruption in their own country. only the collapse of imperial germany saved russia from losing ukraine and the crimea, which the germans had occupied in 1918. yes, for 700 years, the russian people have had to fight. and defend their land against would-be conquerors. why? why are all these attempts made

to conquer russia? perhaps russia itself can provide the answers. there it is, 16 of the earth surface reaching from east to west nearly halfway around the world and southward to the borders of india. million square9 miles. that is our own country three times over, all of america and a million square miles to build -- boot. the sun never sets on russia. on its western force others -- borders facing europe, it is already dawn on its eastern borders facing the pacific. that is russia, born to be torect, the union of -- or be correct, the union of soviet socialist republics. deep in the mountains are rich veins of silver and gold. there are couple are -- copper,

manganese, nickel, sulfur and magnesium. russia is rich in raw materials. cover millions upon millions of acres. one fourth of the lumber reserves belong to russia. the manned -- demand for fuel, coal, and there is oil. 213 million barrels a year. black gold flowing from the earth that contains 55% of the world's oil. what else? iron? russia has better than 10 million tons. that can make a lot of steel before it is done. yes, russia is rich. her farms cover millions upon millions of acres. the rich black earth giving forth oil and coal also grow everything from sunflowers to lettuce.

the t people right -- tea people drink and the tobacco they smoke . cotton grows here too, 318,000 bales a year and sugar. and on the path, the animals wool forfor food and clothing. on the planes, fields of grain stretch as far as the eye can hops, rise, oats, and don't forget wheat, one third of the world's best. .es, russia is very rich it has a lot of raw materials and the products for oil, it is also peopled. ♪ people.ion ♪ color, andvery race,

creed. people coming from the many different republics who comprise the soviet union. people speaking more than 100 different languages, but all citizens of one country. ♪ whether they are the great russians, the descendents of the first settlers of this vast area and for a thousand years its main population or casodex cossacks, the famous --rtsmen from the valley whether they come from southwest -- he ukraine

♪ here in the breadbasket of the soviet union is the little russia better known as ukraine, aravia.davia and thes or if they come from the far south, the caspian and the black sea -- ♪ where we find the armenians and people rugged the as the high peaks as their mountains. ♪

whether they are his backs -- kaegis, turkmens, mongols -- ♪ turko-tartars, boriayats, whether people of the ice country, hunters like the zals or settlers like the lap landers , whether they come from a pioneering wilderness of the far north or from the great city like the capital moscow, where the ancient buildings of an ancient civilization stand beside the modern structures of -- were civilization

the old russian drosashka still competes with the modern limousine -- ♪ factoriesey work in or as soldiers, whether they are bricklayers or traffic cops, ,ailors or riveters schoolchildren or farmers, nurses or engineers, window washers or sales girls, housewives or postal clerks, radio announcers were stewardesses, scientists or typists, musicians or ballerinas -- ♪ danube waltz]

regardless of what they do or where they live, they'll have one thing in common, love of their country. ♪ size, thessia, largest country in the world. raw materials, unlimited. million. 193 these are the three reasons why every conqueror in history has wanted russia, and these are the reasons why the modern would-be conqueror wrote -- >> and we think of -- yes, as we have seen, it has stood without a doubt from hit generation to generation, and now hitler's dreamy, the world was -- was world conquest.

such a dream, there could be only one answer, selective security. so with this objective in 1934, the soviet to -- union joined the league of nations. its representatives urged funding agreements to support a collective action any nation submitted to attack. >> the state enters the league with the sole purpose of the maintenance of indivisible piece. eace. but while some members of the league were pleading for the force to stop aggression, the world saw other members, germany, italy, japan withdraw from the league to follow the path of aggression. ethiopia, then hitler's invaded austria, czechoslovakia, and in 1939,

poland. one step from the road to russia, but by france and britain they were stopped, declaring war. the germans were first to turn west, and in 1940 as we have seen, like the last opposition from western europe. tryingle the nazis were to bring britain to her knees, the german generals were already planning to resume the interrupt conquest. the road to russia was now open. and preliminary steps were necessary. south and east of germany are hungary, romania, yugoslavia and greece. hungary had grain, rich yields of it. grain too good for hungarians when soldiers -- german soldiers have such appetites. they have aluminum, which makes

planes. hungary had an army, not the battle trained german army, but good enough to throw against russian guns. romania had not only grain but oil, and hitler needed every last drop to power his war machine. more slaveo had men, labor, more cannon fodder for the attacks on russia. and romania had russian wantedrs, and hitler those in the hands of german generals. bulgaria did not have a russian frontier, but it did have bases, bases on the black sea, bases to pray on german shipping. the reactionary governments of hungary, under the dictatorship of an admiral, of romania, governed by young king michael, who was only a tool in the hands of hitler's puppet, general in

bulgaria, all sold their countries out to hitler's. now threatened by a revolt of their people, they were only too glad to be protected by hitler's army. 1941,march 1930 1 -- german armies were in occupation of hungary, romania, bulgaria. that still left yugoslavia and greece. so long as they remained unoccupied territories, there remained the possible route for allied cooperation. but he tried to bring greece to his stooge, mussolini. the stooge was delighted. here was his chance to prove to the people he too was a conqueror. but he was wrong. perhaps uniforms fooled him. something did, for after the fascist went this far into

greece, the greeks, in a really conducted campaign, drove the italians back and invaded albania. ler waswas -- hit enraged. he sent a final ultimatum to the yugoslavs and greeks to surrender or else. at the yugoslavs and greeks come from a long line of fighting men . not the slavery -- nazi slavery did not appeal to them. crashing] at dawn on april 6, german bonds told yugoslavia's they were at war with germany. the not these and italian -- nazis and italians launched

naval attacks from all of their beaches. the conclusion was inevitable. no more resistance was determined. the yugoslav army was cut up and captured. the war in greece also began april 6. there, in spite of valiant resistance by the greeks, and the british would come to their aid, a german, overwhelmingly superior in numbers and equipment, forced their way through the river, mount olympus, the famous passage, and a swastika flew over the agent -- ancient city of athens. the conquest of the balkans was now complete. might could now be turned on russia. there was no time to wait. time was russia's weapon. their industry so recently built, like our own, designed for the reign of peace but converted for war.

steel for guns, and shells. they could never produce enough for the titanic struggle, but what they could produce, they would. ♪ at the same time, the army began to grow. more and more men were called up to be trained, hardened, grilled , prepared to defend their land. ♪ it was the conquest of the balkans, the nazis had a solid front from the black sea to the front, but the russians would try to take steam out of the punch the matter where it landed, but where would it land? it came from five different directions. from the north. that was the big day.

broke nearly 200 axis divisions. more than 2 billion events, 200 miles long reaching from the white sea to the black. their aim, the annihilation of the red army and the sites of battle on the frontier. [explosions] the offensive started along the whole length of the front that was concentrated on three main objectives, leningrad, moscow, and kiev, the capital of the ukraine. finns under mannerheim, supported by the germans, drove from the north to encircle the city. army plunged, the 400 80 miles into soviet territory. the russian city -- one russian

city after another was overcome by the invaders. ♪ on july 17, they captured the first main objective, smolensk, regarded as the key to moscow. simultaneously in the south, more forces cut deep into the ukraine. this was blitzkrieg at its best. the world gave russia another six weeks, and the germans issued a communique. east hassue in the already been settled. narrator: but then, a strange thing happened. since the first time the mighty german army started its career of blitz, smashing one european country after another, that same german army came up against the submit.that did not

despite the fact that hitler's army swept deeper and deeper into the soviet union, and by october 15 still packed within the shadows of the kremlin, despite the fact the soviet and all foreign emissions worst forced to move to 700 miles to the east, triumphantler's pronouncement, i can say this enemy is already broken and will not rise again, by december 5000 square miles of russian territory, and area equal to the middle you this was stolen to the -- u.s. was stolen to the invaders, despite this loss of industrial plants, millions of her people, thousands of her tanks and her planes, despite everything, those six weeks had lengthened into nearly six months, and the dread nazi blitz that

spluttered, stumbled and finally died. what had happened here? let's try to analyze it. this titanic struggle, not only to armies or to finding twoods -- two armies or fighting methods were two strategies came to play. one was to go deep into the enemy territory, to hook up with another spearhead to meet it. victim would be pocketed for annihilation. the german plan in every campaign was to sink decisive battle at the moment of invasion. narrator: remember the campaigns you have already seen in these films. poland, the polls concentrated on their borders, the blitz broke through. 18 days finished poland.

and france, the allied strength on the borders, the breakthrough france wase issue of settled. the balkans, the yugoslavia's rushed to the border, the breakthrough came, and in 12 days, yugoslavia was gone. the germans tried the same blitz against the russians, but the russians had developed their own strategy, one to take full advantage of the vast of their l. this was line after line, far back into the interior. when the nazi wedge struck, the then line with it -- would read it until it became part of the second. again the wedge would strike, the segment would be lost, but the line would bend until it became part of the third. so the deeper the germans plowed into russian soil, the stronger their opposition until finally

they faced an uncharitable wall -- on shatter all -- unshatte rable wall. the result, the germans conquered land but lost the campaign. the russian tactics to the main bulk of their armies intact and made the long war inevitable is that of that quick decision the germans thought. the russians had other tactics that through the germans for a loss. germany had developed mechanized warfare, armies on wheels, juggernauts to crush everything before them. but the russians found a way to drag them out of their traveling fortresses. they used their cities as strongholds and made the blitz come to them down alleys. the more a city was bombed, the more impassable it became for

the german panzers. they named these cities familiar to us, towns like the next kiev, smolensk , city after city standing in .he path of the nasty blitz they found a way to make cities strategic importance. odessa, the scene of the heroic siege of more than two months that held up the whole nazi quest into the crimea. they resisted every attempt of the germans to breakthrough. -- break through. here in these months, the russians fought for the town. inch by inch, barring the germans from the great black sea naval base located there. finally, when the germans entered the town, each district was decided -- defended street

by street. each street, house by house. each house, room by room. russians knew their cities would be demolished but their objective was not to save cities s'-- a highroy german price to pay for the price of mein kampf. died in the hand-to-hand combat -- combat they of they had abolished. they overlooked people. generals may win campaigns but

people win wars. 22, when the june russian people first learned of the invasion of their country, their grim faces told of their determination to fight and to die but never to surrender. not anew this was question of who occupied what piece of land. this was a question of life or death. >> this war is not an ordinary word. it is a war of the entire russian people. not only to eliminate the danger hanging over our heads but to aid all people groaning under the yoke of fascism. alarm was -- so the spread from every russian town and village. men answered the call. from now on, one thing mattered and one thing only -- victory. total war meant total

mobilization. not just war for soldiers but were for everyone. young or old. young -- male or female. it made no difference. age had nothing to do with it. if you were only 12 years old, there were was work for 12 years old -- there was work for 12-year-olds to do it. youou could turn a lathe were a soldier. if you could harvest the fields, you were a soldier. if you could pilot a locomotive or pilot a shift -- a ship, you were still a soldier. everything you did was part of the total war. nothing the enemy could use was left behind. not a yard of wire or a pound of iron. not an acre of wheat or a head of cattle. and the old men stood watch over the fields. ready to get the word to burn at first sight of the enemy.

what cannot be withdrawn must be destroyed. that meant the factories. the plants. the oil depots. the planes. the giant dam. which had been poured us steel and concrete but also five long years of russian toil and sweat yielding the miracle of electricity to the people of ukraine. rather than let the power generator fall to the enemy, they destroy it. scorched earth. the land they had lived on, work -- their fields, their farms they surrendered them to the flames but not to the invaders. that was the scorched earth. action behind the german lines, a new army was formed.

an army without uniforms whose home was the forest. a guerrilla army. and a maximumlory of determination. there are achievements were seldom recorded. look well at these faces. you will never see them again in the ranks of war prisoners. names over euros graves. ahead of them lay nothing but the road. they stayed beyond -- behind and kept on fighting. their only goal was merciless distraction. destruction of communication lines, supply lines, and the invaders themselves. their weapons were dynamite. and the terror of surprise. they asked for no mercy and they gave not. -- and they gave none.

this is the guerrilla army. this was scorched earth. this is the red army. leaders.s these are the reasons why, although the germans conquered land, 500,000 square miles of it, it was just land, air and land, scorched land. after coming within sight of their goal, the germans were stopped at the very gates of moscow. these are the reasons why, thatugh heller had sworn the swastika would fly from the kremlin towers, december had come but it was not the swastika that flew over the russian capital. conquerorsnot the that marched through the streets of the ancient city. but the fresh reserves of the

red army. ♪ ♪

>> in part one of battle of russia, you saw the russian people historic defense of their land against centuries of unsuccessful invaders. you also saw how after five and a half years, the russians stopped taylor at the gates of moscow. and how in spite of hitler's prediction that by december, the swastika would fly from the kremlin towers, december had come but it was not the swastika desk but freshhe

reserves of the red army on their way to reinforce and relieve the front lines. while russians -- they knew what it meant. in their past history, the time always came and they could turn and strike back. time had come. their old allies, the russian winter had carpeted the russian land. and while in the churches of russia, men of god prayed for victory against the invaders, ♪

on the front lines, the men of the red army listened to the long-awaited order of the day. the whole world is looking to you to destroy the army -- the german lords. the war you're fighting is a war of liberation, a just war. death to the german invaders. fighter command ready. bomber command ready. paris shooters ready. artillery in position. tanks manned. cavalry in position. infantry ready. beyond those hills are the

enemy. ♪

>> now, it was the germans turn to fight for their lives. now, for the first time, it was the german army that retreated. now, it was for the germans to --.n the terrorists of

ofto learn the terrorists strafing. ♪ >> village after village, town after town, on the red army swept through the country which for days and weeks had been under the invaders' yoke. ♪

>> out of the cellars and the only know what hiding places, come the men, the women, and the children that had once called these towns homes. soldiers find wives and mothers. friends are reunited. there is thanksgiving in their streets and in their hearts. there is also something else. something they will never forget. there were wind homes. they oncered homes had known as thriving and prosperous communities. we stand together now. ghostly relics of what they once had been. nothing has been spared.

this was a museum. the former home. a man who wrote music for russia. -- the heart of his people. concerto. ♪ the fifth symphony. ♪ the sixth symphony. ♪ his worth -- his work was always and will be inspiration to countless millions but it brought only one inspiration to the mass is.

vandalism. this is the home of leo tolstoy, the author of the immortal ovel, "war and peace." his home also was a museum until the germans game. and this is tolstoy's grave. buried nearby had read his book, they would have learned of his fate for man. that there were other dead that the nazis did not bury, russian debt. they were not soldiers and they were not killed in battle.

no, these are not dolls. these are children. mass murdered by orders of the high command. and there were other children, perhaps more fortunate, perhaps less. young girls, not young now. the attentions of the nazi soldiers aged them very quickly. and whoever resisted the invaders were met with this -- these are the things the

russians can never forget. things thehe russians will never forget. these are the reasons why every russian pledged his life to uphold their sacred oh. oath.red

>> blood for blood. death for a death. that was the reason why the russians smashed on, deeper and deeper, along the front. could the tide of russian pressure be stopped. by the spring of 1942, this area was delivered on the germans. this was not the important results. that this town or that village was retaken but the legend of nazi invincibility had been shattered. german armies could be asked would retreat -- german armies would retreat also.

german armies could be captured. but the besides this crushing there was another factor. that factor which will live forever in the history of this war was written by the people of this city. a city now called leningrad after the leader of the russian revolution, lenin and which before that was called petrograd in honor of its founder, peter the great. a city which today with the exception of moscow is the most important center in the soviet union. because some of russia's largest industries are centered here. and also because it is russia's principal port on the baltic sea and the base for its baltic fleet. here, on june 22, word came of the attack.

only ae, the city was few miles from german lines. and while the men of the red army and the baltic fleet moved out to meet the enemy, the hide them, another army was formed. an army whose weapons word shovels instead of rifles. an army of men, an army of women, an army of children. feverishly, they dug the trenches. through up barricades. tilt defenses. prepared themselves for the worse. they knew that they also were on the front lines. they were not wrong. > [sirens]

>> leningrad's baptism of fire did not stop with the darkness.

finally, the morning calm spirit and the people of leningrad dig themselves out from the ruins.

they seem very similar here to the people of london, of rotterdam, of warsaw. as in those cities, there were ruined homes, museums, and other important village carry objectives like the zoo. there was one important difference, bombing from the air was only one mall part that the people of leningrad had to face. in -- they were surrounded. german commanders sent the city and ultimatum demanding it surrender. it is still waiting for an answer. thus, began the siege of leningrad. ach that was to last nearly -- a siege that was the last nearly

70 months. the winter came early that year. the hardest in years. but here unlike elsewhere in russia, the winter was not an ally but an enemy. , 20, 30 below zero temperatures could only mean more suffering and hardship. in the trenches outside of the city, trenches of snow and ice, the defenders stuck firm to their oats. necessary but not to go backward one more step. the enemy, despite its efforts was stopped at the gate of the city. the city that now faced the siege, famine, destitution. necessary but not to gothere was no oil for fuel. no power or the electric lines. the people defied the elements and trudged the necessary miles andlays -- to lathe

workbench. the pipes froze and water was shut off. so they dug holes in the streets to get to the water. there was no food. the whole city went on starvation rations. a factory worker at eight ounces of bread a day. everyone else, child and adult alike got only four. to keep the red army of the siege from stocking their city, an army of women worked with on thosend picks streets every day, clearing away , the sources rats of contamination. bombs from the air could not force the people of leningrad to surrender. winter could not do it. hunger could not do it. so the germans decided to shelve

them into surrender. shell them into surrender. four days, long-range guns after 10 of -- ton after ton of explosives into the city. the more the people of leningrad were shelled, the harder they worked.

drenched in a rain of high explosives, cut off entirely from the rest of russia with only their own hands to depend on, their determination never faltered. every day, more people died from the cold, disease, hunger. its was leningrad in darkest hour. and then, a miracle happened. is thewest of leningrad baltic sea and to the east and north is lake lot of our. 7000 square miles of inland water. the fins and the germans occupied one quarter of the lake and in the south, the germans controlled the lake to hear.

between those two points, was a stretch of lakefront still in russian hands. there were nearly 100 miles between the shore and the beleaguered city. 100 miles of what had been open water and was now snow-covered ice. across this frozen surface went , carving aledges road across the lake. and soon, across this highway, from the far side of the lake, .oured a stream of trucks bringing in food. oil. grain. fuel. truckload ofter fresh life for the people of the

city. germans discovered that they had left one avenue of rescue open. their planes want the road but the trucks kept rolling, by day, and by night. the lake highway remained open and soon more than trucks would reach the city. the russians were now laying a path across the ice. to the heroes of leningrad is the inscription on this

locomotive. from the far shore of the lake it brings food, medicine, supplies of all kinds. across the lake and into leningrad this train was but the first of many. inins not only brought supplies, but it took out the wounded, the sick women, and a half frozen children. all of those that needed that are care. -- better care. all winter long, the trust -- the lake traffic continued. and all through that terrible winter, the men of the red army outside of the city found the strength not only to defend, but to attack. they hurledime, themselves against the invader, driving them inch by inch outside of the cities outskirts. -- the city's outskirts. and then spring came.

spring. ♪ leningrad the snows began to thaw and german bodies are washed from their icebox graves. new evidence of german tenacity. the warm breath of spring is also found on the frozen surface of lake ladoga but trucks continued to roll even though the ice was melting beneath. the spring is -- as it invariably does, comes to the city too. than a newis more season for the people of leningrad. it is a new life. the city begins to breathe again. for the first time in months, the trolleys ran.

that first day it seemed that every man, woman, and child had to go for a ride. this was life again. life for the leningrad children that were not killed by nazi alms or by the horrible winter. life for the women of the red army. sailors of the artistshemselves, the of the famous ballet theater had come to entertain.

♪ >> spring is here. summer is coming. .eningrad is still free although some germans did finally succeed in getting in. but under different circumstances than they had anticipated. yes, here also the legend of not see invincibility was shattered against the iron well and courage of a determined people. the citizens of leningrad had moved that generals may win campaigns, but the people win wars. by summer of 1942, new posters

were appearing in the streets of moscow. posters that created and welcomed their allies. was already help arriving in russian ports. sents whose friendliness drugs, food, and warm clothing to help sustain them in their darkest hours. despite all of this, the staff of the red army knew they faced the most powerful enemy in history and that enemy would attack again. came, the whole of german strength was going to be often traded on one objective, the caucuses and the oil. the caucuses mountains represented one of the most powerful -- in the world. with one practical highway traversing them. and the biggest oilfield is on the other side. to reach baku the only feasible military route was along the coast of the caspian sea but the

map shows what a dangerous extended pipeline this would entail. for the operation to be as excess for the germans, the first they had to control was the rail hub. stalingrad. named for russia's present leader. this generation of russians. inwas their city, built their time. with the capture of stalingrad, the germans would have a base. in thee masterstroke, north, russian factories, russian firms, and russian army would be practically cut off from caucuses oil and also from american and british supplies which were shipped to russia through iran and iraq. german control of the entrance -- the entrance

to the boulder river -- volga river. early in may, the german offensive began along the front extending to the crimea. seesn two weeks, the knot had steamrolled. giving the nazis complete control of the crimea. and the southern route to the caucasian oilfields. they decided to push further north and drove through to their river. and then spread south and east until they occupied the whole area from the don river south to lost up. by the end of august, they had captured the oilfields of make on. they reached the northern caucuses.

fewgermans were only a miles from their goal, the oilfields from baku. but the russian mountains and determination stood between them. the people of the caucus joined with the army to prove and an shudder of all wall against the full onslaught of the attack. unshatterable wall against the full onslaught of the attack. stalingrad became the focal point of the whole campaign. regardless of the cost, stalingrad must be captured. those were the german orders. guns, german bombs shattered the city into pieces.

by september 20, the germans after 30 days of ruling and ceaseless fighting, battled their way into the city's outskirts. by the end of the month, their drive had carried them through the whole northwest section of this city and into occupation of part of the center. including the railroad station. on the last day of september, hibbler announced that the fall of the city was a matter of only a few days. once more, the world was afraid a rushing campaign was lost. but once more, the germans were to stand on the threshold of victory and still fail. now, there was -- they met a fight of fury such that they had never known.

the battles raged in the streets of odessa, and others. preludes of what had happened at stalingrad. every inch of the city was a strategic point to be defended.

by the end of october, snow covered stalingrad. triedhe air, the germans to force surrender of the russian held part of the city. at the same time, the battle of the streets continued.

as november dawns, the russians were no longer defending their city inch by inch. inch i inch, they were regaining -- inch by inch, they were regaining.

and now, as the whole world spoke in admiration of the city of steel, the tickertape brought us breathtaking news. american and british troops had landed and occupied north africa. further east, the british bombing was driving westward. and in the northeast, the red army had launched its smash counter defense. the germans were learning the real meaning of the words -- combined operations. russians are along the entire front. in the far north, the germans felt the first impact of the russians recaptured listen burke.

germans-- bypassing the defense and plunging down. still another russian blow fell. when the far south, the germans were moving away. instead of toward it. stalingrad, the germans were about to meet new opponents. fresh reserves were arriving from far siberia. they had been stationed there in case of trouble from the japanese. now, these troops had been transported to relieve the embattled defenders of stalingrad. as the reserves enter the city,

at headquarters, the commanders of the free russian armies were meeting. the germans had fought for south -- stalingrad as a prize. the russians were determined to make it a trap. two simultaneous attacks were launched. one from the north and one from the south. now threatened with encirclement. the two prongs finally met. these battle hardened soldiers weree northern army emotional as children as they greeted each other. they knew this meeting meant the salvation of stalingrad. and of their country. and on this christmas of 1942, the people of the soviet union could celebrate with happy hearts. they had received a most precious gift from the men of their army. the assurance of ultimate victory.

in our hometowns, it was that celebrated a happier christmas this year. there are no german bombers overhead. the russians, like ourselves, celebrated on new year's eve. are just as busy as any other night. the moment comes. it is the new year. and at the front, the greeting is the same. up to a point.

outside stalingrad, the icy winter becomes a fiery hell. here are concentrated the latest in russian equipment. flamethrowers. ice gliders. to capturey shotguns airfields in advance of the main army. rocket guns.

every last resource of the red army was thrown into a crushing offense devoted to destruction. the knot sees were getting -- -- the nazis were getting -- instead of the russians. 162 days of the heaviest

fighting in the history of warfare, the last shot was fired. pease came to stalingrad. -- peace came to stalingrad. in the shattered streets, and blasted ruins, the ghastly evidence of their ordeal. but the defenders of the city greeted the don. dawn. stalingrad was free. nazis had capitulated. the german generals who had been ordered to take stalingrad andrdless of the cost, obediently promised that the city would be hit. these generals, 24 of them, who

had covered themselves with such glory on the fields of france and norway had only the past glory. commander-in-chief of the german armies of stalingrad. this is the man who told his soldiers that if they surrender, he would see to it that their families died in reprisal. when he faced his captors, his face resembled -- reflected the anxiety that hibbler might take the same revenge on his family. he knew when he surrendered, hibbler lost not only a field marshal, but an entire army, 22 divisions and 330,000 men. these are the men who had been promised that as conquerors they would winter in stalingrad. well, it was winter. and this was stalingrad. and here were the conquerors.

and when another spring broke over the russian countryside, the results of the winter were clear. the invader had been driven back far beyond the lines it had occupied a year earlier. when hundred 85,000 square miles of russian land had been read and in this winter campaign of lost the axis powers had guns, planes, over 20,000

30,705 machine guns, more than 500,000 rifles, 17 million ,hells, 128 million cartridges vast stores of other materials over oneillion -- million men of home 800,000 were dead. that is the story to date of the german attempts to conquer russia. tried for moscow and failed. in 1942, they tried for the -- and failed. in 1943, for as many more years as necessary, they would not only be resisted wherever they're failing powers strike, but they will be attacked, attacked and a attacked by these united peoples of these united nations.

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time of year to announce our 2017 studentcam documentary competition. help us spread the word. this year's theme, your message to washington, d.c. like tell us what is the most urgent issue for the new, -- the new president and congress to address in 2017. the competition is open to grades six through 12. students can work alone or in a to three. to produce a documentary on the issue selected. they can also oppose -- they can also explore opposing opinions. cash prizes will be shared. and the grand prize, i thousand dollars, will go to the student or team with the best overall entry. this year's deadline is january 20, 2017.

mark your calendars and help us spread the word to student filmmakers. for more information, go to our website. >> next weekend, here on american history tv, we will be live at 8:00 a.m. eastern with the opening ceremony for the national museum of african american his rate and culture. as final preparations continue on the national mall, we speak with african-american members of congress about the smithsonian's newest museum. us what the new african-american museum means to the country? >> i am really excited about the opening of the museum. i was a history major at georgetown. i am really excited about this, having been here so many years and washington. i am looking to see the complete story of america. i feel that you cannot tell the story of america without telling the story of the african

experience here as well. the african the aspera. and how much of this country was built on the premise of slavery and a full race of people that have been forgotten until recently. i think this is really an awakening and an opportunity not just for those of us that are here, but for our children and our children's children to get a complete history of america, where it came from, how it was created, and where it is going to go. what you think about the placement of the museum on the national mall? would it go and where else would you tell this important part of our history but on the mall? it has been used for so many years as an instrument of education and an instrument of the glory of america. the glory of america is that while it was built on slavery, it redeemed itself recognized what it had done wrong, and

decided to change. we are in the process of changing. that is the greatness of america. the ability to when it is going left, go right. >> do you think the museum itself is part of the african-american story? when you consider that 50 years ago, the passage of the civil rights act and the first african-american president just served two terms? >> timing is everything and there are no coincidence is. -- coincidences. i am so honored to be a member of congress here and when our african-american president is going to be here for the opening of this museum. since 2008, until now, we have faced enormous questions about race. we have brought to the forefront what is happening in america and

this museum is part of that healing. part of that understanding of what we are and what we believe is americans with regard to equality for all people. >> is there a role for the museum in the national conversation we're having about race? >> i had the opportunity to sit down with director bunce and talk to him about what the museum can do. i represent the u.s. virgin islands witness year will have 100 years as part of the u.s. story of slavery and exclusion from the american story itself. hamilton to denmark messy being part of the slave movement. hopeful that our story as well, all excluded people can be told at this museum. the museum is really providing a vehicle for that from slave art too inventions to

the intellect that have built this country. >> can you tell us what the museum means to you personally? >> i was a history major. to me, all things revolve around history. if you don't know your history, you cannot move forward. as a mother of five children, this is something i have told all of my children, that we will take a day as a family and we will immerse ourselves in the museum. we have been to all of the smithsonian museums but this one is our museum. it is important to be able to see yourself in all aspects of american life. that there is going to be a place for not just myself but my sons and my daughter to be able to see themselves and feel like they are part of the american story. >> thank you very much. the smithsonian's national

museum of african american history and culture opens its doors to the public for the next saturday, september 24. american history tv will be live from the national mall starting 8:00 a.m. eastern with sights and sounds leading to the 10:00 a.m. opening ceremony. we will be live with the dedication which will include remarks from president obama and the founding museum director. this is american history tv, only on c-span3. the smithsonian national museum african american history and culture opens its doors to the public for the first time that saturday, september 24. american history tv will be live in the national mall starting at 8:00 a.m. eastern with lights and sounds leading up to the 10:00 a.m. opening ceremony. in 2011, before the museum's groundbreaking, lonnie bunch, the museum's founding director of american history tv a tour