Ok, here we go. I have read in a very authoritative source, (Antony Beevor, Stalingrad) that the supply situation for the Russians in Stalingrad itself was so severe that soldiers did, in fact, have to pick up rifles from dead comrades as they were not given one at the beginning of the attack. Later on, as it became clear that the German axis of attack was directly at Stalingrad and that the Russians could hold the ribverbank, the supply situation was somehat improved. However, General Batyuk's 62nd Army, which was responsible for holding the west bank of the Volga, was never given a high priority for supplies and weapons. They got only as much as could be given to ensure that the Germans would not take the ferry landings.
As for Konigs, well, I hate to tell all of the movie fans out there this, but he never existed. There are no records of any German sniper being sent to Stalingrad specifically to duel with Russian snipers, and there is no reference that this ever occured at anytime during the war. According to the book and movie, Konigs was sent from Berlin, but in reality, Berlin never sent any snipers anywhere for this type of mission. There is a rifle scope in a military museum in either Moscow or Volgograd (memory short circuit) that is supposed to have belonged to Konigs, however, there is absolutely no evidence to back that up. Both William Craig and Antony Beevore agree that the story was the creation of a Russian propagandist.
Dean.