Despite some hefty losses, Germany stopped a major Soviet offensive in Central and Southern Russia, keeping most of their gains. The Germans went on to defeat the Russians at Kerch Peninsula, Kharkiv, and then seized the Volga River and occupied the Kuban steppe, all while maintaining positions on the northern and central areas of the front. Germany split their Army Group South into two groups: Army Group A which struck lower Don River while Army Group B struck south-east to the Caucasus, towards Volga River. The Soviets decided to make a stand at Stalingrad, blocking the path of the German armies.
The Germans almost took Stalingrad in simple but bitter street fighting but the Soviets began a counter-attack, starting with encircling the Germans at Stalingrad and an attack on the Rzhev Salient near Moscow which failed spectacularly. The Germans were taken huge losses, and were forced to surrender, having their front-line pushed back beyond what they had before. The Soviet push stopped, and the Germans launched another attack on Kharkiv, creating a salient in their front line around Kursk.
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