Answer: "After a successful German advance in summer <u>1942</u>, the battle for the city of Stalingrad in late <u>1942</u> proved a <u>turning point</u>. ... After this defeat, German troops were forced on the defensive, beginning the long retreat westward that was to end with Nazi Germany's <u>surrender</u> in May <u>1945</u>, some <u>three years later</u>."