The generals of the Battle of Stalingrad were German Friedrich von Paulus and Soviet Vasily Chuikov. Since Germany and Russia are so close there were soldiers fighting for every block and room-to-room. When the battle started Joseph Stalin did not evacuate the city. He moved ahead of Germany and had the citizens dig trenches to defend themselves. Then, German General Friedrich von Paulus decided to drop bombs on Stalingrad. Tensions were high, and the Soviets were waiting for the Germans to run out of supplies. In November of 1942 the Soviets surrounded the Germans. Then later in late January of 1943 the Germans surrendered.