Answering to numerous requests from our forum readers, we have posted seven German tank models that will appear in Stalingrad to our Art/Image Gallery section. Featured are various models of Pz-III and Pz-IV and Pz-VI Tiger. Complete list of vehicles of Stalingrad will be up on this site really soon.

Also worth checking out is the Photo Archive section, where we have posted a couple of new authentic photos:

1. Pz-IVF2 and german infantry entrenched in the Stalingrad outskirts
2. PzKpfw-VI(H) Tiger assigned to the 503rd heavy tank battalion, January 1943
3. Destroyed Pz-IVF1
4. Changing Pz-IVG engine
5. SP-gun Marder-II, January 1943
6. SP-gun StuG-IIIF near Stalingrad Tractor plant, October 15, 1942

In the first chapter of Stalingrad, Germans try to implement new Hitler plan called Operation "Braunschweig", which presupposed the advance of two German groups against the southern areas of the USSR. Motorized avant-garde of the 6th army commanded by General Paulus made first contact with the advance troops of the Stalingrad front on July 1942, which is traditionally considered to be the beginning of the Stalingrad battle.

Second chapter of Stalingrad is dedicated to first difficulties that Germans have faced in the Stalingrad campaign. Initial plan of the assault on Caucasus region supposed that weak defense of Stalingrad could be crushed by 6th Army under command of Gen. Paulus alone. However, by the end of 1942 Wehrmacht HQ had to reinforce attacking troops with 4th tank army under command of Gen.-Colonel von Goth. City defenses should have been neutralized by two simultaneous strikes from opposite directions.

Both these episodes have player in command of Wehrmacht forces. There’s a historical reference on these events at the "Cronicles of the Battle" section. Our image gallery has also been updated with new pictures, featuring new actual photos from the Stalingrad battlefield.

Our image gallery has been updated with six new screenshots snapped off the latest build of Stalingrad. These show off German bomber He-111, tank battle near Verhne-Buzinovka village, pedestrian cross at the Stalingrad railway station, German tanks and motorized infantry passing through the farm, German experimental anti-tank SP-gun Panzerselbstfahrlafette V "Sturer Emil" and Messerschmitt Bf-109F-4 fighter plane.

Our "Files" section has been updated with Windows desktop wallpaper showing ablazing Department Store located at the Fallen Fighters square and soviet tank T-70. If you feel like immersing into the Stalingrad battle, download these wallpapers at once:

Wallpapers are available in following resolutions: 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x1024

There's been some new screens uploaded to our Gallery today, showing heavy tank KV-1 captured by Germans, He-111 bomber providing support for Wehrmacht land forces, soviet forces attacking encircled 6th Army and Romanian Wehrmacht forces fighting at the Stalingrad outskirts.

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Answering numerous requests from our forum readers, we have uploaded six new tank models to our Gallery/Art section.

From left to right: BM-8-24, T-26, T-34 (by STZ tractor plant), T-34 (by Uralmash plant), T-60, and also repair/evacuation tractor based on ф-34 tank.

We are proud to announce that we have got together a huge (9-part) panoramic screenshot snapped off one of the in-game missions of Stalingrad. It gives a clue on how it would look like in the center of ruined city. Screenshot reveals city architecture, which we carefully reconstructed by archive photos and aerial photography, and also shows key buildings, such as Railway Station, Museum of the Stalingrad defense, the Fountain and Department Store. The screenshot comes with a detailed legend describing key locations Grab the screenshot from our "Download" section (5.4Mb)

We have updated our gallery once again and added a slew of hot new screenshots snapped off the latest build of Stalingrad. Featured today are the battery of Soviet field rocket launchers BM-8-24 backed up by light tanks and group of marines; soviet tank T34 and infantry under artillery fire; Soviet tractor vehicle Komsomolets towing captured Wehrmacht AA-gun Flak-88; Russian bombers pursuing Wehrmacht forces; Small group of Wehrmacht tanks attacking Soviet heavy tank KV-1 and shot-down 'Messerschmitt' Bf-109F-4, the plane of the officer of a staff of Wehrmacht squadron JG-3 'Udet' that has crashed into the ground.

   
   

Gameguru Mania has published interview with Stalingrad's game designer Peter Prohorenko. Four new screenshots from the Stalingrad inside. Read the full version here.

We have updated our gallery with a bunch of new screenshots showing Stalingrad's airplanes. Thumbnails below present german bombers He-111 of the 27th bomber squadron, and their opponents - soviet planes DB-3F. Note that these are shown off both in summer and winter camouflage.

We've updated the "Download" section with flicks showing death animations of tanks in Stalingrad. The first to die is Soviet tank T-34/76 (Uralmash factory). Trailers are available for downloading in Bink Video (1.84 Mb) and DivX 3.11 (1.38 Mb) versions.

Also up for downloading today are fragments of a documentary movie showing captured Wehrmaht field-marshal Paulus with his generals. It was shot by Soviet journalists just days after capturing 6th Wehrmacht Army HQ staff.. We also have those fragments in DivX 3.11 (0.9 Mb) and Bink Video (2 Mb) formats.

There's been two publications on Stalingrad posted recently at Australian and Portugal sites, GameBiz and PTGamers, respectively. Gamebiz has arranged an second interview with Petr Prohorenko, which has interesting tidbits on his day-to-day duties as a Salingrad designerm. PTGamers scored a lengthy material devoted to the team behind Stalingrad, that is Petr Prohorenko and DTF Games director Alexander Fedorov. First interview comes in English flavor, while the second one is available in Portugal only. Those of you who can't read this language may check out new screenshots posted along with interviews.

Our image gallery has been updated with eight new screenshots snapped off the latest build of Stalingrad. These show off: 'guard mortas attack german forces'; 'tank battle at a khutor'; 'German and Soviet t-34s encounter'; 'Read Army tank forces breach Romanian defenses'; 'Gromki settlement re-taken by Soviet forces'; 'Soviet Katiusha missile launchers fire upon german positions at the Mamaev Hill'; 'tanks commanded by Gen. Kravchenko force their way to the crossings on river Don. Soon, main supply line for the 6th Army will be disrupted soon'.

   
   

We've updated the "Download" section once more with flicks showing death animations of tanks in Stalingrad. There are four new videos in "Downloads" section today. They are PzKpfw III Ausf M and T-34/76 MEAV (Maintenance and Evacuation Armored Vehicle) "Red Sormovo" Plant. Videos are available for downloading in Bink Video and DivX 3.11 versions. To watch Bink movies you don't need any codecs.

PzKpfw III Ausf M Bink Video(1.7Mb) + PzKpfw III Ausf M DivX 3.11 (0.7Mb)


T-34/76 MEAV Bink Video(1.15Mb) + T-34/76 MEAV DivX 3.11 (0.55Mb)

Achtung all Stalingrad fans! We're finally ready to announce pan-European deal for Stalingrad! The game will be published by Black Bean Games in Europe, and release date is set to March 2005. The official press-release can be found below. Stay tuned for more info!

And of course, Stalingrad team wishes you and your families Merry Christmas!!!

Varese, 15th December, 2004. Black Bean is proud to announce the signing of a pan-European publishing deal for "Stalingrad" on the PC format. The deal was signed with the Moscow based publisher 1C Company. "Stalingrad" is being developed by DTF Games and uses a modified version of the game engine used in the successful game "Blitzkrieg", which was noted for the realism of its combat scenes. The battle for Stalingrad was fought out during the harsh Russian winter between 19th August 1942 and 2nd February 1943, and is generally considered to be one of the turning points of World War II.

"The developers have gained access to a wealth of historical documents and have made great use of these to ensure an accurate reconstruction of the city and the events of the battle", said Davide Bordegoni, Product Manager. "The player can choose between two detailed campaigns, taking command of the Wehrmacht as they launch repeated attacks in order to conquer the city, or lead the Red Army in their desperate, but ultimately successful, defence".

"We are delighted with the quality and commercial potential of "Stalingrad", added Marco Minoli, Marketing Manager of Black Bean, "and we are looking forward to a strong partnership with 1C Company moving forward".

"Stalingrad" will be released on PC CD.Rom in March 2005, in English, German, French, Spanish & Italian and will feature extra content both on the CD and in the accompanying booklet.
For further information about the game and Press Materials, please visit http://www.blackbeangames.com/ or http://www.stalingrad-game.com/.

"We are very delighted that not only Russian gamers, but people all across Europe will have a chance to play Stalingrad. 1C is really satsified of this deal with Black Bean. We are very happy to work with such an enthusiastic and professional partner", said Nikolay Baryshnikov, International Sales Director at 1C Company. "Stalingrad is the game that provides authentic historical experience and intense gameplay. I'm pretty sure it will appeal to all WW II game fans", Baryshnikov adds.

Black Bean is the games label of Lago Srl, which is part of the Leader Group. Leader SpA has been the leading independent distributor in Italy since it started business in 1984. Leader is based in Gazzada (Varese) which is situated 30 miles north of Milan in northern Italy.

Black Bean philosophy is to focus on a wide range of games genre leveraging on an friendly gameplay, additional contents and fully localised products in order to give the player an immersive and addictive gaming experience.

About 1C Company
1C Company specializes in distribution, publishing and development of interactive entertainment products and business software. Founded in 1991 1C has become the leading Russian company publishing and distributing computer games in the former USSR. 1C Company is widely acknowledged as a game developer and has several internal studios. Internal developments of 1C include Konung Legends of the North, IL-2 Sturmovik, IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles, Aces Expansion Pack and Wartime Command. 1C Company works as a publisher and producer with over 20 leading Russian independent development studios and has produced over 50 projects for PC, Xbox and PS2. More information about the company is available at http://int.games.1c.ru/.

About DTF Games
DTF Games is a subsidiary of the DTF company, which was established in 1999. The first enterprise pulled off by the company was an online magazine called "The Daily Telefrag" that was originally dedicated to computer games. Three years later, The Daily Telefrag changed its strategy and became an ultimate web resource on Russian gaming industry as a business. As such, DTF organized the first Russian Game Developers Conference (also known as KRI) which took place in Moscow in 2003, and since then held annually. Running the only serious resource on gaming industry, DTF company became extremely proficient in game marketing and inner mechanisms of the industry, which led the staff to a decision that they were ready to try developing a game themselves. So DTF started gaming subsidiary DTF Games, aimed at developing high-quality computer games. The first project successfully completed by DTF Games is historical real-time strategy game "Stalingrad".

Black Bean and DTF Games are proud to announce that Great Battles of World War II: Stalingrad has gone gold!

The game will be released in Europe in March 2005 in a special edition box containing a 64 page full color manual and an interactive war encyclopedia dedicated to Stalingrad battle.

"Great Battles of World War II: Stalingrad " is a historical military realtime strategy game. It is based upon one of the pitched battles of World War II, the Battle of Stalingrad. The plot of the game unfolds during the period of July 1942 - January 1943 and tells the story of one of the most dramatic episodes of World War II. Featuring two detailed campaigns, the game will let the player take command over Wehrmacht and lead the German forces into the city, then switch to the Red Army and liberate the Soviet stronghold from the occupants and obliterate the 6th Army under the command of Gen. Paulus. In contrast to many other RTS games out there, each mission in "Great Battles of World War II: Stalingrad" is created with historical authenticity in mind and with reference to the actual place and time to real events that took place during the war. Besides, the missions are created in such a way that campaigns give an authentic picture of events at the theatre of war operations.

The Battle of Stalingrad provokes interest even today, and it is still a matter of heated debates. The city of Stalingrad will remain in the memory of humankind as the symbol of bitterness and suffering, and also as the place of great courage.

Finally we have prepared an English demo version of the Stalingrad, our first foray into the RTS genre. Packed in a 330-Mb demo are missions from both Red Army and Axis campaigns, giving you the taste of this authentic historically authentic game.

Check our publisher's site for mirrors and links to the demo.

The whole DTF Games team has just returned from Russia's Game Developers Conference 2005 with a trophy. Our first project Stalingrad has been nominated for Best Sound and Best Debut awards, and we managed to get the latter. The mood was tense at the ceremony, and competition was tough, but now the shiny award is ours and the team is very proud of it. Thanks everyone! We think we deserved it.

The inscription in Russian says "Best debut of 2005".

We have a massive site update today with two articles in the "Behind the Scenes" section. Check out Documentary Stalingrad, part I, a compilation of excerpts from archive materials: reports, orders, letters by Red Army and Wehrmacht soldiers. This is a kind of bitter look "behind the scenes" of the great battle on river Volga, which focuses on thoughts and feelings of the people who fought at Stalingrad. Also up today is an interesting article NKVD Officer on Gen. Paulus: excerpts from the diary, a rare historical document that describes several days from the life of captured German general.

Another Victory Day draws near. This day has become a kind of landmark for our project. On May 9th last year, we congratulated our visitors with this holiday, while the game was still in development. Today we would like to congratulate all of you once again, all of you who's not indifferent to the history of our country, to its greatest battles and bitterest defeats. We've done what we wanted, showing people - by means of our game Stalingrad - what the war was like, how intense the struggle was and what it took to win. We understand that for many of the westerners, our game became an eye-opener, a new look at the Battle of Stalingrad.

We would like to commemorate the Great Victory and pray for all the people who gave their lives for it. It's Victory Day.

One of the first reviews for Stalingrad just appeared at British site Blitzkrieg-Portal. It gives our beloved game a whopping 9/10 rating, which is very gratifying. Reviewer points out that the amount of work needed to create the game:

"The amount of work that has gone into Stalingrad to make it as historically accurate as possible is impressive. Combined with 36 challenging maps, the number of new units and buildings and the changes to the interface and gameplay, Stalingrad compares well with Blitzkrieg and its expansions such as Burning Horizon, Rolling Thunder and Mission: Barbarossa".

This article was initially written for gaming site DailyTeleFrag, where it appeared in its first edition. The updated version posted here reveals the story of creation and tactical employment of German heavy tank Tiger. Some related details, such as Tiger deployment under Stalingrad and its part in Battle of Stalingrad, are also being discussed.

This is a compilation material made up from quotations of actual archive materials: reports, orders, letters by Red Army and Wehrmacht soldiers. This is a kind of a look "behind the scenes" of the great battle on river Volga, which not only illustrates the global changes at fronts, but also thoughts and feelings of the people who fought at Stalingrad.

These are the excerpts from a historical document, diary of NKVD special-service officer, senior lieutenant Tarabrin, who spent several days with captured German generals and wrote down their dialogues.

Forces of the 51st army managed to inflict heavy damages to the enemy, stop it at the river Myshkovka and prevent it from linking up with encircled forces near Stalingrad. At the same time, Soviet HQ commenced massive attack against 8th Italian Army to the North-West of Stalingrad. Since all German and Italian forces at the middle stream of Don were defeated, all arriving German forces were assigned to the Group of Armies B, while 11th Tank Army, moving in the direction of settlement Kotelnikovo, returned to positions near river Chir...

To de-block encircled divisions of the 6th Army under command of Gen. Paulus, German HQ formed new Group of Armies Hoth, right between Group of Armies A and B. Defeated and retreating 3rd Romanian Army was ordered to stop at river Chir. Germans managed to organize formidable defense by means of "battle groups" (formed by combat service support soldiers, later replaced by 17th Army Corps.), who stopped between the estuary of river Chir and settlement Veshenskaya