This book about one of the decisive battles of the Great Patriotic War is not a scientific study or a work of art, not literary essays. It is a collection of living documents - memoirs of direct participants in the battle and hard work to help the defenders of the city - from soldier to general, from machine operator to secretary of the regional party committee. These memoirs were written after their authors went through the difficult military path of liberating the Motherland from fascist invaders - from the Volga to the Elbe - and the significance of the battle for the Volga loomed. Many of the memoirs were written in recent years, i.e. after their authors have repeatedly gone through the memory of every detail from the events of that time and could choose the most significant. The more valuable these memories are.