the 71st Infantry Division on September 12, 1942 Before the offensive on the city of Stalingrad, the 71st Infantry Division had its starting position west of the "Red October" steel factory and the Tsaritza River, opposite it the 6th Tank Brigade, the 42nd Rifle Brigade and a rifle regiment of the 244th RD. The 295th ID and 71st ID received orders from the hospital to advance directly to downtown Stalingrad. Colonel Friedrich Roske issued the order to his unit that a quick capture of the Volga and a victorious conclusion of the fight against the Red Army would also mean an early termination of the Eastern campaign:“We stand in this phase of the struggle, which is of exceptional importance for the war and especially for the Eastern campaign. The whole world looks at the troops from Stalingrad and besides, the quick and victorious conclusion of the battle with the reaching of the Volga also means a conclusion for the regiment. The troops are to be advised of this. I expect the whole regiment to be extremely strained, which will be worthy of the achievements of the IR 194 so far." – Colonel Friedrich Roske, Regiment Commander 194th Infantry Regiment.A similar order of the day was issued for the soldiers of the 191st Infantry Regiment:“Soldiers of the 71st Division! We are approaching the climax of the Battle for Stalingrad. Forward to the Volga! Everything for Germany! Then we will take Stalingrad!" – Captain Fricke, battalion commander 2nd Battalion/191st Infantry Regiment. Deployment in the city center of Stalingrad September 1942 The 71st Infantry Division, together with the 295th Infantry Division, was one of the first large formations to reach their destination on the Volga. Due to the concentric waves of attack on the city center, the wedges of the 71st Infantry Division were greatly thinned out and thus predestined targets for Soviet snipers. The first target was reached by reaching the ridge around the "brickworks" and the starting position was created for a rapid advance into the city center. In the city of Stalingrad itself, the division quickly became involved in the heavy house-to-house fighting in the city center and had to learn local combat under difficult combat conditions, which led to heavy losses. The 71st Infantry Division pressed the Soviet defending units against the hills of the city and south towards the Tsaritza. At nightfall, IR 194 took Aviagorodok, approached 2km