The Mission To Defend Pavlov's House, The Only Building Left When The Germans Burned Down Stalingrad

Pavlov's house (Source: WIkimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Today, August 23, 78 last year or in 1942, German troops bombarded Stalingrad, the Soviet Union. The city was like hell, where it is said that when the attack arrived, the temperature reached a thousand degrees Celsius. Stalingrad is flattened to the ground, except for the only building that served as a Soviet defense: the Pavlov House.

At the start of the battle of the Stalingrad War, the Soviets fell to their knees under Nazi Germany's forces. They must swallow the bitter pill for defeat. However, in turn a few months later, the Soviet Red Army managed to reclaim their city.

Germany launched an attack on the City of Stalingrad (now the City of Volgograd) in mid-July 1942. According to Russia Beyond, the city's fall would give Hitler access to Caucasian and Caspian oil and pose a serious threat to the Soviet Union.

The fighting continued for two months after German forces rained bombs on Stalingrad. After that, the Red Army was finally able to counterattack, repelling the fascist forces.

According to a former Soviet soldier from the anti-aircraft artillery regiment, the historical Marina Krasnykh said Stalingrad was completely destroyed within two hours. The bombardment from the air, said Krasnykh, burned almost the entire city.

"Everything was burning, even bricks. We shot enemy planes even with our rifles. It was like hell, hell on Earth," wrote Marina Krasnykh.

Destruction of the City of Stalingrad (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

It was the largest bombing of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) in World War II with 2,000 sorties. Buildings, cultural palaces, schools, institutions, theaters and offices collapsed, said the head of the Stalingrad Communist Party's Organization, Aleksey Chuyanov.

"The city has turned into hell ... Bombs continue to fall from the sky blackened with smoke. The city center is drowning in a blanket of giant flames. Due to the high temperature, there are unusually strong winds, which exacerbate the spark," Chuyanov said.

No one knows exactly how many residents died. It is estimated that the victims reached 40 thousand to 90 thousand people.

Pavlov's house

The attack flattened Stalingrad to the ground, except for one apartment building guarded by several dozen Soviet troops. The building was named Pavlov's House. It takes its name from Sgt. Yakov Pavlov, who commanded the platoon that captured the building and held it for several weeks of fighting.

Quoting the stalingrad.net page, the four-story building located in the center of Stalingrad City was built parallel to the embankment of the Volga river and oversees the large square 9th January Square. When the Germans attacked, a platoon of the Soviet 13th Guards Rifle Division was ordered to capture and defend it.

The troops are led by a Junior Sergeant. Meanwhile, Yakov Pavlov was a low-level non-commissioned officer who served as acting platoon commander because the lieutenants and senior sergeants were all injured or killed.

Under Pavlov the attack on the building was successful, although brutal fighting left only four of the 30 men. After a few days, his troops got 25 men and brought machine guns, anti-tank guns and mortars.

In accordance with Stalin's Order No. 227, they must not take a single step back from the mission. Pavlov was ordered to fortify the building and defend it to the last bullets and soldiers.

One tactic Pavlov adopted was to install machine gun posts in every window facing the square. Meanwhile, to repel enemy tanks, he relies on the PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle.

As soon as the tank approached within 25 meters of the building, it was suddenly attacked by Pavlov's troops. Thanks to this strategy he reportedly managed to destroy dozens of tanks.

In addition to being able to last for weeks, Pavlov built an underground route to supply their needs. Supplies were brought in by trench or by boat across the river, avoiding German air and ground attacks.

Finally, the Soviet troops and civilians living in the basement of Pavlov's House were able to survive the intense fighting until November 25, 1942. They managed to survive after the Soviet troops came to beat the Germans back.

Pavlov's House Monument (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Pavlov's house is now a monument to the Soviet Union's stubborn resistance to the Battle of Stalingrad. This became iconic because the German army had previously been less difficult in conquering cities and many other countries in Europe.

But they were unable to take the one half-destroyed house. The house, which was only defended by dozens of troops, could not be penetrated even though they had tried it for almost two months. The battle was even said to have claimed more German casualties than their conquest operation in Paris.