Hey all! This series of posts was originally posted by me on Reddit, and if you aren’t a redditor I thought some of you guys might be interested to take a look too.
Despite the Stalingrad campaign receiving mixed reviews with some contraversial decisions, I would really like to give credit to the artists who recreated the city of Stalingrad itself in Enlisted, as I go on a bit of a virtual tour around the city:
As a tourist, you arrive at the Railway Station and in front of it you can see the Dancing Children fountain ‘Barmaley’, which would later be featured in games like CoD WaW and movies like Enemy at the Gates (bad):
We are currently at Point 10 of the map and we now move south towards the Volga:
Right opposite the Railway Station across the square at Point G you can see the Repnikova House. Before the Russian revolution, the house belonged to Yulia Repnikova, at that time it was mainly used for receiving distinguished guests who came to the city:
In 1937 the building was turned into the Museum of Defense of Tsaritsyn named after Stalin and was dedicated mainly to the history of the Civil War of 1917-1920 in the area of Tsaritsyn (former name of Stalingrad). A statue of Stalin was also erected in front of the house. The house stands to this day.
Then, as we go down Gogol street you can see Points 8 and 9, which are the House of Communal Workers and the Nail Factory (behind the Repnikova House), respectively.
The statue of Stalin can be seen ingame, too:
The House of Communal Workers (8) was one of the landmarks of pre-war Stalingrad, constructed in the 1930s as part of the Soviet program of prodiving (free) modern housing to the working class:
It did not survive the war:
As we continue our journey down Gogol street, we arrive at the Square of the Fallen Fighters (Point Г), named after the fallen of the Russian revolution. It also inspired the “Red Square” you charge across unarmed in CoD 2 just like in Enemy at the Gates (bad)
Fun fact: the Square of the Fallen Fighters used to be called Alexander Square before the Revolution and its centerpiece was the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (destroyed by the Bolsheviks in the 1930s):
You might have fought over its artistic recreation under the name of Cathedral of Light right on the Alexander Square in Tsaritsyn if you’ve played Battlefield 1:
Now then, take a look at the triangular building (11), another gem of pre-war Soviet architecture, the Univermag (Universalniy Magazin or General Store):
This is the place where the German headquarters were located. This is also the place where Field Marshal General Friedrich Paulus surrendered and was captured by the Red Army.
We’ve reached the Square of the Fallen Fighters (Г) and saw the Univermag (11):
Now we turn right and reach the crossroads with another two sights of interest, Gorky Theater (7) and Executive Committee building (K):
Gorky Theater was originally built as House of Science and Art and funded by the Repnikov family (remember Repnikova house?):
House of Science and Art (1920s)
Gorky Theater (Enlisted)
Gorky Theater (1942)
North of Gorky Theater you’ll find Komsomol Garden (Point B), a park full of vegetation, perfect for hot Stalingrad days:
Right opposite Gorky Theater, you can see the Executive Committee building, another fine example of Stalingrad’s trademark ‘rounded’ architecture:
Looking at the map, you can see how close the fighting was to the Volga, which was a crucial strategic point for both sides. The Soviet defenders were supplied and reinforced across the Volga, and losing it would mean losing the city and routes to the Caucasus oil field as well as allied lend-lease convoys through Iran.
Contrary to the images popularized by questionable media like Enemy at the Gates (bad) and CoD 2, the crossings did not happen in broad daylight and in disregard of Stuka dive bombers, but rather mostly in the dark and in organized manner. Hopefully we’ll see Volga crossings done right in Enlisted one day!
Now then, if you look at the aerial view of the city in the game, you’ll notise Tsaritsa river (it gave the city its previous name, Tsaritsyn) flowing into the Volga and two bridges crossing it (the Railway viaduct (Point 1) itself seems to not have been recreated in Enlisted).
Now here comes another Battlefield 1 reference (I really love that game). If you’ve ever played the Volga River map, you’d notice that the fighting takes place on the other bank of the Tsaritsa, and you can see the bridges over the Tsaritsa, the Volga river itself and the ship berthed on it, as well as the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral smoldering in the distance:
Here you can see two bridges over the Tsaritsa going into the city, the cathedral and the ship on the Volga
The bridge potentially inspired by the Tsaritsyn Viaduct (Point 1)
Here is Tsaritsyn Viaduct in real life, when it was built it became one of the largest structures of its kind both in the Russia Empire and in Europe in general.
1898
1942-43. Surprisingly, it survived the Battle of Stalingrad.
Did you know that the loud speaker propaganda you hear is actually historically accurate?
The Russian announcer says in German: Alle sieben Sekunden stirbt ein deutscher Soldat. Stalingrad - Massengrab (Every seven seconds, a German soldier dies. Stalingrad - mass grave). Source
In reality, this phrase was followed by 7 ticks of a metronome, signifying another German dead and futility of their invasion. Veterans of the battle said this had immense consequences for the morale. YouTube example.
By the way you can destroy the propaganda speakers too, if you’ve had enough of the Germans offering you hot meals and “freedom from socialist slavery”.
Now then, let’s talk about cars. The cars in Stalingrad, including the wrecks, are not random or placeholder, but rather actual 1930s Soviet cars:
GAZ-M-1
GAZ-AA
GAZ-03-30
Several German Opel Blitz trucks can also be found around the city:
Let’s also take a look at some smaller details, many of you will probably recognize this homage to Order 227 seen on some buildings, reading “Not one step back! Fierce fighting has been going on over the city of Stalingrad for a whole month …” which may or may not mean it’s September 1942 ingame:
We shall not let a single fascist alive out of Stalingrad! & Glory to our valiant Red Army!
We shall revive you, beloved city of Stalin!
How many fascists have you killed?
Meanwhile, the city still remains some signs of its peace time past, again with details very accurately recreated by the devs:
Street ads for Recitals of Russian poet Alexander Blok, Football match at Dynamo stadium, Concert of David Oistrakh - all actual realities of the 1940s Stalingrad
Intrigue and Love stage play by Schiller, The Queen of Spades by Pushkin
Scattered around the Univermag and residential houses you’ll find actual books, food and toys from the 1940s USSR:
Who’s Faster? - 1926
Soviet Porcelain - 1927
Soviet toys
To finish today’s tour I would like to present to you another map (HQ) showcasing the area of the city we’ve already visited (left) and some potential iconic places that will hopefully arrive with future updates:
- 1 - Railway Station;
- 2 - Gorky Theater;
- 3 - Square of the Fallen Fighters;
- 4 - Univermag;
- 5 - Central crossing No. 2;
- 6 - Tsaritsa crossing;
- 7 - Specialist Houses, to the south - Central crossing No. 1;
- 8 - State Bank;
- 9 - Brewery;
- 10 - NKVD buildings;
- 11 - Grudinin’s mill;
- 12 - January 9th Square, Zabolotny House, Pavlov’s House;
- 13 - House of Railwaymen, L-shaped house;
- 14 - ‘Milky’ House;
- 15 - Voentorg;
- 16 - Rodimtsev’s Wall.
Lastly, Stalingrad map from Hell Let Loose for comparison:
Hopefully these tours help you get immersed deeper and enjoy Stalingrad even more.
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