The Execution Of Stalin's 1 Million Captured German Soldiers In the context of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, when Soviet armies made contact in Kalach in November 1942, the German soldiers who had been fighting to capture the city of Stalingrad found themselves without the ability to respond: their already precarious logistical situation worsened exponentially. Little by little, the new defenders began losing territories, suffering defeats in local skirmishes, and running out of food