On July 17, 1942, the battle of Stalingrad began. Marked by fierce close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians by air raids, it is often regarded as one of the largest and bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. It heralded total defeat of Nazi troops and full victory over Nazism, after which German forces never regained the initiative in the World War II. TASS remembers the Battle of Stalingrad in this photo gallery.