Soviet forces under Marshal Georgy Zhukov won a fierce battle for the city of Stalingrad -- now Volgograd.

VOA: special.2011.06.09

Russians have been celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad.

BBC: Russia marks 70 years since Battle of Stalingrad

He had been an anti-aircraft gunner during the Battle of Stalingrad and went missing in action.

BBC: Remembering the horrors of Stalingrad

Mourka the courier cat reportedly carried messages to Soviet troops during the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942.

FORBES: Rocket-Propelled Cats and Other Feline Weapons of War