First of all, this is a fiction book based on real events. Having finished writing, I caught myself thinking that many readers who read the story to the end would not believe in the existence of those events and facts given in the story. However, with a little effort, you can find both the memories of the participants and documentary sources - both ours and German - and be convinced of the veracity of the events retold. Why am I sure that there are many who do not believe in the reality of the events described? Even in books of the “alternative history” genre, where the main characters perform hundreds of incredible feats, it is rare to find something like what happened at the end of 1942 at Stalingrad. And I, as the author, will be glad if, after reading, there are those who decide to double-check the events of the story, because then they will open another page in the history of the Great Patriotic War, with its hardships and exploits that go beyond any imagination.