The city was practically totally destroyed. Without infrastructure wouldn’t it have just been some pile of rocks on the Volga? Why did the axis not just set up shop a few miles down the river after destroying the city?
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Battles take two participants to fight, at a minimum. So if you want to fight your enemy you either go to them or make them come to you. Bypassing them works in some situations, but now you have an armed force behind you that can attack your supply lines and cut you off from allies/reinforcement/resupply.
Fighting over a city thats smashed to rubble makes sense when the enemy is already there, you have a front established, and disengaging will cost you time, soldiers, and resources. And potentially move you to a less advantageous location.
There is also a lot of propaganda value to taking the city of X, rather than taking the riverside 10 miles away from the city of X.
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