On 9 November 1942 German forces of the 6th Army under General Friedrich Paulus reached the Volga in Stalingrad, held about 90% of the ruined city and split the remaining Soviet troops into two narrow pockets. It looked like a German triumph, but the fight had turned into brutal close-quarters combat among the ruins, and the city's defenders held on. Days later, the Red Army launched a huge counter-offensive on the flanks held by weaker Axis allied troops, and encircled the 6th Army. The surviving German troops surrendered in early 1943. The battle is considered the largest and deadliest urban battle in military history and a turning point of the war on the Eastern Front.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.