The Battle of Stalingrad (August 23, 1942 – February 2, 1943)[7][8][9] was the major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the southwestern Soviet Union. Marked by constant close quarters combat and disregard for military and civilian casualties by both sides, it is among the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. The heavy losses inflicted on the Wehrmacht make it arguably the most strategically decisive battle of the whole war.[10] It was a turning point in the European theatre of World War II--the German forces never regaining the initiative in the East and withdrawing vast military force from the West to reinforce their losses.[11]