The victory of the Soviet Union against the Germans in World War II was made possible by an unimaginable toll of blood. The Battle of Stalingrad, on the banks of the Volga River, a pivotal event of the war, stands as a landmark of the sacrifices required for victory, as over two million civilians and fighters were killed, wounded, or captured during the brutal fighting from September 1942 to February 1943.

In this struggle for survival, the attention of Soviet war correspondents was drawn to the battle for a strategically important building in the heart of the city, the "Pavlov's House," which had the codename "The Lighthouse." The resistance of a small group of Russian soldiers from the 13th Guards Rifle Division against the Germans of the 6th Army, who had reached the center of Stalingrad, took on legendary proportions. A report about the battle in a local Red Army newspaper would soon be enriched and reproduced on Moscow radio and in countless national newspapers. By the end of the war, the legend would swell even further and inspire Russians to rebuild their shattered cities.

This story, a pillar of the broader legend of Stalingrad, can now be told with accuracy. Iain MacGregor researched both German and Russian archives to uncover previously unknown accounts from soldiers on both sides of the conflict. His gripping narrative answers questions such as the identity of the true heroes of this epic battle and their contribution to the ultimate outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad. It also sheds light, with all due respect to the lives lost, on another aspect, that of propaganda, which may identify, project, or even invent the heroes needed at any given time.