The author of this book - a Wehrmacht soldier and a participant in the battles on the Eastern Front - recalls the dramatic events of the summer and winter of 1942. He is trying to find an answer to the question why the Wehrmacht, which marched victoriously through Europe to the banks of the Volga, could not victoriously end the war in Russia? After reading the book, the reader himself will be able to decide how objective and correct conclusions were made by the author from the lessons that the Red Army taught the enemy in 1942.