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Stalingrad 60th Anniversary (1942-1943): General Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (second from left), the Russian general chiefly responsible for the successful resistance to the German armies during the battle for Stalingrad, which raged from 19th August 1942 - 2nd February 1943, pictured in the dug-out command quarters of the 62nd Army. Chuikov was a peasant's son and he looked it. He wore a uniform so rumpled that he was sometimes mistaken for an enlisted man and his unkempt black hair kept falling over his forehead while his smile displayed rows of gold-capped teeth. During the fighting, Chuikov suffered stress-induced eczema, which was so painful, he had to wrap bandages around his hands to cover open sores (which you may see in this picture). Chuikov graduated from the Frunze Military Academy in the 1920s and had been military advisor to Chiang Kai-Shek from 1926-37. In September 1942 Chuikov was made Commander of the 62nd Army isolated in Stalingrad. He used all the reserves to keep the line of defence against general Paulus's 6th Army. His tactics were to place units in isolated parts of the city and have pockets of stiff resistance. This led the Germans to overestimate the numbers engaged in fighting in the city. He also urged his troops to 'hug' the enemy, and stick close to German positions, thus nullifying German aerial superiority since the Germans then risked bombing their own men and issued the edict: "There is no land across the Volga," thereby dismissing any thought of retreat. Chuikov's troops initially lost ground, at one point leaving the Germans in control of nine-tenths of the city, but the 6th Army's reserves of equipment, fuel and men were being exhausted in the attritional house-to-house fighting. During Yeremenko's and Rokossovsky's offensive November offensive to encircle Paulus in Stalingrad Chuikov's armies stood firm and eventually ground out victory. (KEYSTONE/ITAR-TASS/Str) === , ===