The German offensive for Stalingrad and the nearby Caucasus oil fields began on August 19, 1942. On February 2, 1943, the Soviet Army announced that more than 90,000 German soldiers and officers had surrendered. Their lines had been broken by the inhumane weather that sometimes equaled minus 30º F temperatures, starvation, and tactical errors that had left them encircled by the Soviets. The Allied victory proved to be a turning point in breaking Hitler’s military supremacy.