The Battle of Stalingrad was a pivotal battle between German and Soviet forces for control of the city of Stalingrad from 1942-1943. Germany launched Operations Blue and Saturn to capture Stalingrad and seize oil fields in the Caucasus, but the Soviet Union trapped the German 6th Army under Operation Uranus. Over 1 million casualties occurred and by February 1943, 250,000 German troops had surrendered, marking a major turning point where Germany shifted from advancing to retreating.