It was founded in 1708 as a
Cossacksloboda and was originally called Kalach (Калач).[3]
In World War II, the town lent its name to an
armored clash between the
German 6th Army and the Soviet
64th and
1st Tank Armies from July 25 to August 11, 1942.[13] About three months later, during
Operation Uranus, several Soviet tank corps encircled the besieging German 6th Army in
Stalingrad by capturing Kalach, thus cutting off German supply routes.
It was granted town status on April 18, 1951.[4] At the same time, its name was changed to Kalach-na-Donu, to distinguish it from an
eponymous town in
Voronezh Oblast.[3]
By Construction of
Volga–Don Canal in 1952, The city become the end point of the canal.
Волгоградская областная Дума. Закон №994-ОД от 20 января 2005 г. «Об установлении границ и наделении статусом Калачевского района и муниципальных образований в его составе», в ред. Закона №1453-ОД от 28 апреля 2007 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Волгоградской области от 20 января 2005 г. №994-ОД "Об установлении границ и наделении статусом Калачевского района и муниципальных образований в его составе"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Волгоградская правда", №13, 26 января 2005 г. (Volgograd Oblast Duma. Law #994-OD of January 20, 2005 On Establishing the Borders and Granting the Status to Kalachevsky District and the Municipal Formations Comprising It, as amended by the Law #1453-OD of April 28, 2007 On Amending the Law of Volgograd Oblast #994-OD of January 20, 2005 "On Establishing the Borders and Granting the Status to Kalachevsky District and the Municipal Formations Comprising It". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).