Encircled in a ring of Soviet troops, 284,000 soldiers of the German Sixth Army were ill and exhausted, under constant attack from the Russians. After a request to surrender was denied, the Sixth Army continued to disentegrate. On January 31, the Germans surrendered to the Soviets. The Red Army had taken a total of 91,000 prisoners since January 10th. For the Red Army, Stalingrad was their first stop on their road to Berlin.