This film is based on actual letters German soldiers sent home from the siege of Leningrad during World War II. The litany of trouble these poor grunts endured is lamentable. One complains of returning home an invalid. An SS man has bad dreams about the Russian tank-driver he killed. Another complains when he sits down to hear a piano recital and one of the musicians has frozen fingers. Another soldier swears he will never forgive his father for injuries he suffered in the invasion of Leningrad. Stock footage of wars from World War II to Vietnam are inserted and give an ironic tinge to the feature.

今天的历史书上公正地记载了朱可夫将军在斯大林格勒战役中关键性的领导作用。不过在这部长达近五个小时的上下部史诗巨片中，根本未提到朱可夫的名字。因为战后朱可夫功高盖主，所以被斯大林调任至边区，而这部突出领袖统帅才能的影片，对朱可夫只字未提。