The Defenders of Stalingrad was formed June 7, 2003. The clan was originally known as the Defenders Division, which Major John Keel started after becoming third in command of Cronum clan. The demise of Cronum clan was a long and drawn out experience and it occurred after the 2nd in Command of Cronum decided to leave. Major John Keel ended up leading over half of the clan because of a lack in leadership. After a discussion with the Cronum Clan leader the Defenders Division moved onto a new path. From that point on, the clan was named and known as the Defenders of Stalingrad. After the demise of Cronum, many of the members joined up with the Defenders of Stalingrad. Only a few members of the Cronum clan still remain today. Many have moved off to other games and are only remembered on the old Cronum website.

ECW League:

Shortly after being formed, the Defenders of Stalingrad joined a league called GT Gamers, which was later renamed to Elite Clan Warfare. This was done after DCA took over the league. The clan managed to make it to the ECW semi-finals on three separate occasions while playing Medal of Honor: Spearhead. During this time the Defenders managed to defeat many clans outside of ECW. Two of the most memorable fights were against OBC clan and 3rdSS clan.

The Continuing Struggle:

After joining the GT Gamers/ECW League the clan increased in size. There were more members in the Defenders of Stalingrad than there ever were in Cronum, and they were dedicated, or so it was thought. The darkest days were upon the clan. A total of 3 members were caught working together to collapse and take over the Defenders of Stalingrad. Surprisingly, |DOS|Dragon, 2nd in Command at the time, turned out to be one of the 3 members. They eventually defected from the clan in the middle of an ECW Match, betraying their fellow members. At the same time several members also left and went to the 3rd Infantry Division.

The only people that remain today and became successful were those who stuck with the Defenders of Stalingrad. Those who left the clan and joined the 21st eventually broke up after being kicked out of ECW for playing fake matches against a team that was artificially created. The Spearhead community now shames the entire clan and their clan leader. As for the 3rd Infantry Division it has ceased playing Spearhead and has collapsed, despite attempts to be reformed.

Soon afterward, the Defenders of Stalingrad moved on to Call of Duty United Offensive where they were quite successful. During the time fighting in United Offensive, the Defenders managed to make it onto the Leaderboards in four of the Team Warfare ladders. We also made it to the Elite Clan Warfare semi-finals, but did not attend due to the release of Call of Duty 2. Call of Duty 2 was not the best experience for our clan as it was plagued with cheating. It also became quite boring because of the small lackluster maps. Call of Duty 2 was only supported by the clan for 8 months.

Since then the Defenders of Stalingrad has continued moving foward. In 2009 our focus has moved on to the Forgotten Hope 2 mod and Call of Duty 5 for competitive play. Despite these advances foward the |DOS| clan was faced with actions by many former members that threatened to tear the clan apart for good. This is not the first nor will be be the last problem we face in our continuing struggle.

The Reformation:

In November 2009, a reformed |DOS| clan was taking shape. The clan began to focus on Call of Duty: World at War even more after the lack of dedicated servers for Modern Warfare 2 was announced. New officers were placed in charge after many older members had left the clan. From this point on, recruitment was based on two additional games, Killing Floor and Forgotten Hope 2. Killing Floor was the most popular of these and continues to be played today.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 trailers were released in January 2010 fueling excitement for the game. After the drop of support for COD:WAW, Bad Company 2 was the obvious choice for a new direction.The |DOS| clan began official support for the game on upon release in March 2010. BFBC2 had a promising future in |DOS|, while it did help lead to a massive increase in clan membership, incoherent patches led to near outright hatred for many members. By September 2010, clan support began to dwindle and additional focus was given to Forgotten Hope 2. The next competitive game has not been decided, but many are looking forward to Red Orchestra: Heroes of Stalingrad and Homefront.

Historic Events:

In an event that will be remembered through Defenders of Stalingrad history to the end, on September 19, 2005, the clan held a meeting wherein the first rules page was written, approved, and voted into action by the clan as a whole. We overcame recent trying times to improve the clan and to move onward and upward. This was the turning point that signified our change from totalitarianism to democracy.

On November 8, 2005, the members of the Defenders of Stalingrad became sick and tired of the lack of Punkbuster support for Call of Duty 2, and clan decided to take action. In a massive clan effort, over 20 separate forums were posted upon with links to the Punkbuster petition. This was one of the biggest influences that the clan has had on the online gaming community. As the amount of signiatures rose drastically each day, the clan members knew that they had made a serious impact in the goal of gaining Punkbuster support.

On March 26, 2006, the Defenders of Stalingrad clan took one of their largest steps against cheating by signing up to be part of the Cheat Police. Several days after signing up the clan was Cheat Police certified for holding a staunch stand against cheating. With this honor, the clan has further improved its image and will continue to do so in order to become even better known and respected.

On July 9, 2009, the clan rules were reviewed by |DOS|Maj. John Keel and |DOS|Cpt. Krispy. It had been nearly four years since they had been revised and edited. Many of the rules were shortened and simplified, thus making them clearer. These rule changes should help to move our clan forward in a positive manner. Since then, clan rules have been examined every 6 months to keep up with current trends.

On May 15, 2011, a clan meeting was held which changed the offically held clan anniversary date from May 1, 2003 to June 7, 2003. Information gathered by |DOS|Maj. Keel and |DOS|Lt. Slygathor, showed the clan to be slightly younger than previously thought. This was determined by comparing dates of the first clan match, held on June 21, 2003, with rough guesses in regards to the join dates of former (CRONUM) members. In addition, this date change allows the clan anniversary to be held roughly one month later. It it hoped that this decision will allow more members to attend the clan anniversary because it occurs after classes have ended for most college and high school students.

The 2nd in Commands:

The Defenders of Stalingrad has had seven members in 2nd Command over the last six years. Every one of them had their good and bad qualities. Only the original members of the clan will remember them all.

-The first person to be 2nd in Command was |DOS|Joker. He assisted the Defenders Division in leaving Cronum Clan and formation of |DOS| Clan. Unfortunately, due to irresponsibility, he was unable to hold this rank or remain in the clan for a long amount of time. Fellow members often considered him lazy and irrational.

-The next person to be 2nd in Command was |DOS|Dragon. Dragon was 2nd in Command of the clan for one of the longest periods of time. He was known to host servers for the clan on his high-speed connection and do skinning for Medal of Honor. Dragon soon left the clan in a swift and sudden move, which left many members quite bitter. This, combined with his attempt to collapse the clan at one point, caused massive internal strife and his eventual drop in rank.

-The third person to be 2nd in Command, |DOS|CLB, was one of the best the clan has ever had. He remained in 2nd Command of the clan for one of the longer amounts of time, eight months. He was a believer in strong military strategy and tactics, and held many high ranks in the clan. He was the only member to have successfully held every rank available to him. He was held in quite a high regard among the clan members. He proudly resigned his commission after his computer failed on him.

-The fourth person to be 2nd in Command, |DOS|Powell, was probably one of the most idealistic 2nd in Commands the clan has had. What he lacked in tactical knowledge he made up with guts. While he didn’t maintain the highest level of maturity or leadership, he was another good choice for 2nd in Command.

-The fifth person to be 2nd in Command was |DOS|Enders. He moved up from 3rd in Command after |DOS|Powell resigned his position as 2nd in Command due to his schedule and at the request of the clan leader. Enders is remembered as one of the most unique individuals to ever have been 2nd in Command of the clan. He is a skilled player who enjoyed using tactics and planning to win clan matches. At nearly 3 years, he was the longest running 2nd in Command the clan has ever had.

-The sixth person to be 2nd in Command was |DOS|Krispy. He is primarily known for his good leadership during the Call of Duty 2 campaign. He took command where |DOS|Enders left off, hoping to bring a new change to |DOS| clan leadership. He was successful in making changes to |DOS|, Krispy helped to rewrite many of the clan rules and even improved the ranking structure. After several years of service Krispy decided to retire and passed the flame on to his successor. His final decision in |DOS| was to begin the tracking of retired |DOS| members.

-The seventh person 2nd in Command is |DOS|Crabb. Crabb, while in the clan “in spirit”, he officially joined |DOS| during The Reconstruction period. During this time he assisted with recruitment in Call of Duty 5, was a server administrator, and led many clan matches. After the switch to BFBC2, he continued many of these roles, and with his help the clan grew to the largest number of active members since the support of Call of Duty: UO. He is honored for his service to |DOS|, and for providing support when no one else could.

The Lone Sniper:

The one person in this clan that must be paid tribute to is |DOS|Rusty. He has been as loyal, if not more loyal, than anyone who has ever been in the Defenders of Stalingrad. He is an excellent sniper and an overall great person to know. He may not have fought beside Major John Keel the longest but his impact is still felt today. It may be a bit much to say but he has always been there and he is part of the clan history. Unfortunately, Rusty has moved on and left the world of online gaming. We will honor his skills and wish him the best with everything he tries to accomplish.

Historic Links:

{CRONUM} Clan Site – The starting clan of several |DOS| Members

|DOS| Clan Website 2008 – The old |DOS| Website for those interested

|DOS| Clan Website 2005 – The old |DOS| Website for those interested

|DOS| Clan Website 2005 – The old |DOS| Website for those interested

Old |DOS| Forum – The Old |DOS| Forum for those interested