The 'Commissar's House' was a very solid two-storey building which had resisted all attacks by the German, with the determined defenders inflicting heavy losses.
The Germans decided to mount another attack, but with more firepower support.
Soldiers of the 650th Rifle Regiment had fortified the building, with it's 60-70 man garrison including a six-man NKVD squad and about twelve militia men.
On the morning of 13th November, a German assault force of Sturmkompanie 44 and a company from Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon 50 were assembled to assault the 'Commissars House.' In addition, Stumgesschütz-Abteilung 245 was assigned to support the attack with three Sturm 33B self-propelled guns and one long barreled StuG III.
After bombarding the building all morning with artillery and mortars the assault guns moved in to blast the building at close range, setting the building ablaze and forcing the surviving defenders into the basement.
In this painting of the assault on the building, grenadiers from Sturmkompanie 44 and Pioniere race from behind cover through gunfire and falling debris to the main entrance where they blasted the doors open with satchel charges. In the foreground a knocked out Sturm 33B burns while an MG 34 provides covering fire from a shell crater, while a few remaining defenders fire onto the Germans with small arms.
Once inside the building it took more than three hours for the Germans to clear the structure. Only ten defenders escaped the building, and although the capture of the 'Commissar's House was a tactical success it, it cost the Germans about 100 casualties.

FROM: Osprey Publishing's: Stalingrad 1942-43 (2)

PRICE:£670.00 (unframed)
IMAGE SIZE: Approx. H 34cm x W 50cm ( H 13.25 inches x W 19.75 inches)
MEDIUM: Watercolour and gouache