From The Fire Of Stalingrad

Battle of Stalingrad

Under his command were the 20 German and 2 Romanian divisions encircled at Stalingrad, Adam's battle groups formed along the Chir River and on the Don bridgehead, plus the remains of the Romanian 3rd Army. The Red Army units immediately formed two defensive fronts: Field Marshal Erich von Manstein advised Hitler not to order the 6th Army to break out, stating that he could break through the Soviet lines and relieve the besieged 6th Army.

Adolf Hitler had declared in a public speech in the Berlin Sportpalast on 30 September that the German army would never leave the city. The director of Luftflotte 4, Wolfram von Richthofen , tried to get this decision overturned. The forces under the 6th Army were almost twice as large as a regular German army unit, plus there was also a corps of the 4th Panzer Army trapped in the pocket.

General Richthofen informed Manstein on 27 November of the small transport capacity of the Luftwaffe and the impossibility of supplying tons a day by air. Manstein now saw the enormous technical difficulties of a supply by air of these dimensions. The next day he made a six-page situation report to the general staff. Based on the information of the expert Richthofen, he declared that contrary to the example of the pocket of Demyansk the permanent supply by air would be impossible. If only a narrow link could be established to Sixth Army, he proposed that this should be used to pull it out from the encirclement, and said that the Luftwaffe should instead of supplies deliver only enough ammunition and fuel for a breakout attempt.

He acknowledged the heavy moral sacrifice that giving up Stalingrad would mean, but this would be made easier to bear by conserving the combat power of the Sixth Army and regaining the initiative.

The fires of hell at Stalingrad by those who were there

Hitler reiterated that the Sixth Army would stay at Stalingrad and that the air bridge would supply it until the encirclement was broken by a new German offensive. Supplying the , men trapped in the "cauldron" required tons of supplies a day. That would mean Ju 52 flights a day into Pitomnik. At a minimum, tons were required. However, according to Adam, "On not one single day have the minimal essential number of tons of supplies been flown in. The outcome of the airlift was the Luftwaffe's failure to provide its transport units with the tools they needed to maintain an adequate count of operational aircraft — tools that included airfield facilities, supplies, manpower, and even aircraft suited to the prevailing conditions.

These factors, taken together, prevented the Luftwaffe from effectively employing the full potential of its transport forces, ensuring that they were unable to deliver the quantity of supplies needed to sustain the 6th Army. In the early parts of the operation, fuel was shipped at a higher priority than food and ammunition because of a belief that there would be a breakout from the city.

Sources differ on the number flown out: Initially, supply flights came in from the field at Tatsinskaya , [31]: Without any soldiers to defend the airfield, it was abandoned under heavy fire; in a little under an hour, Ju 52s and 16 Ju 86s took off for Novocherkassk — leaving 72 Ju 52s and many other aircraft burning on the ground. Salsk was abandoned in turn by mid-January for a rough facility at Zverevo , near Shakhty. The field at Zverevo was attacked repeatedly on 18 January and a further 50 Ju 52s were destroyed. Winter weather conditions, technical failures, heavy Soviet anti-aircraft fire and fighter interceptions eventually led to the loss of German aircraft.

In spite of the failure of the German offensive to reach the 6th Army, the air supply operation continued under ever more difficult circumstances. The 6th Army slowly starved. General Zeitzler , moved by their plight, began to limit himself to their slim rations at meal times. After a few weeks on such a diet, he had "visibly lost weight", according to Albert Speer , and Hitler "commanded Zeitler to resume at once taking sufficient nourishment.

The toll on the Transportgruppen was heavy. Some Junkers Ju 52s were destroyed; one-third of the fleet's strength on the Eastern Front. The He gruppen lost aircraft in transport operations. The Luftwaffe also lost close to 1, highly experienced bomber crew personnel. Soviet forces consolidated their positions around Stalingrad, and fierce fighting to shrink the pocket began.

Operation Winter Storm Operation Wintergewitter , the German attempt led by Erich von Manstein to relieve the trapped army from the south, was initially successful. However the predictable nature of the relief operation brought significant risk for all German forces in the area. The starving encircled forces at Stalingrad made no attempt to break out or link up with Manstein's advance.

Some German officers requested that Paulus defy Hitler's orders to stand fast and instead attempt to break out of the Stalingrad pocket. The Germans set up a "mobile defense" of small units that were to hold towns until supporting armor arrived. From the Soviet bridgehead at Mamon, 15 divisions — supported by at least tanks — attacked the Italian Cosseria and Ravenna Divisions, and although outnumbered 9 to 1, the Italians initially fought well, with the Germans praising the quality of the Italian defenders, [90] but on 19 December, with the Italian lines disintegrating, ARMIR headquarters ordered the battered divisions to withdraw to new lines.

The fighting forced a total revaluation of the German situation. Sensing that this was the last chance for a breakout, Mainstein pleaded with Hitler on Dec 18th, but Hitler refused. Paulus himself also doubted the feasibility of such a breakout. The attempt to break through to Stalingrad was abandoned and Army Group A was ordered to pull back from the Caucasus.

The 6th Army now was beyond all hope of German relief. While a motorised breakout might have been possible in the first few weeks, the 6th Army now had insufficient fuel and the German soldiers would have faced great difficulty breaking through the Soviet lines on foot in harsh winter conditions. But in its defensive position on the Volga, the 6th Army continued to tie down a significant number of Soviet Armies. On 23 December, the attempt to relieve Stalingrad was abandoned and Manstein's forces switched over to the defensive to deal with new Soviet offensives.

The aim was to win as much time as possible to withdraw forces from the Caucasus Army Group A and to rush troops from other Fronts to form a new front that would be able in some measure to check our counter-offensive. The Red Army High Command sent three envoys while simultaneously aircraft and loudspeakers announced terms of capitulation on 7 January The Germans inside the pocket retreated from the suburbs of Stalingrad to the city itself.

The Germans were now not only starving, but running out of ammunition. Nevertheless, they continued to resist, in part because they believed the Soviets would execute any who surrendered. In particular, the so-called HiWis , Soviet citizens fighting for the Germans, had no illusions about their fate if captured. The Soviets were initially surprised by the number of Germans they had trapped, and had to reinforce their encircling troops. Bloody urban warfare began again in Stalingrad, but this time it was the Germans who were pushed back to the banks of the Volga.

The Germans adopted a simple defense of fixing wire nets over all windows to protect themselves from grenades. The Soviets responded by fixing fish hooks to the grenades so they stuck to the nets when thrown. The Germans had no usable tanks in the city, and those that still functioned could, at best, be used as makeshift pillboxes. The Soviets did not bother employing tanks in areas where the urban destruction restricted their mobility. On 22 January, Paulus requested that he be granted permission to surrender. Hitler rejected it on a point of honour. He telegraphed the 6th Army later that day, claiming that it had made a historic contribution to the greatest struggle in German history and that it should stand fast "to the last soldier and the last bullet.

On 26 January , the German forces inside Stalingrad were split into two pockets north and south of Mamai-Kurgan. Now "each part of the cauldron came personally under Hitler. The sick and wounded reached 40, to 50, On 30 January , the 10th anniversary of Hitler's coming to power, Goebbels read out a proclamation that included the sentence: No German field marshal had ever surrendered, and the implication was clear: Hitler believed that Paulus would either fight to the last man or commit suicide.

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On the next day, the southern pocket in Stalingrad collapsed. Soviet forces reached the entrance to the German headquarters in the ruined GUM department store. General Schmidt negotiated a surrender of the headquarters while Paulus was unaware in another room. He said that he had been taken by surprise.

He denied that he was the commander of the remaining northern pocket in Stalingrad and refused to issue an order in his name for them to surrender. Four Soviet armies were deployed against the remaining northern pocket. At four in the morning on 2 February, General Strecker was informed that one of his own officers had gone to the Soviets to negotiate surrender terms.

Seeing no point in continuing, he sent a radio message saying that his command had done its duty and fought to the last man. Around 91, exhausted, ill, wounded, and starving prisoners were taken, including 3, Romanians the survivors of the 20th Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division and "Col. Hitler was furious and confided that Paulus "could have freed himself from all sorrow and ascended into eternity and national immortality, but he prefers to go to Moscow. The German public was not officially told of the impending disaster until the end of January , though positive media reports had stopped in the weeks before the announcement.

On 31 January, regular programmes on German state radio were replaced by a broadcast of the somber Adagio movement from Anton Bruckner 's Seventh Symphony , followed by the announcement of the defeat at Stalingrad. Based on Soviet records, over 10, German soldiers continued to resist in isolated groups within the city for the next month. He studied 11, letters sent by soldiers inside of Stalingrad between 20 December and 16 January to their families in Germany. Almost every letter expressed belief in Germany's ultimate victory and their willingness to fight and die at Stalingrad to achieve that victory.

The remaining forces continued to resist, hiding in cellars and sewers but by early March , the last small and isolated pockets of resistance had surrendered. According to Soviet intelligence documents shown in the documentary, a remarkable NKVD report from March is available showing the tenacity of some of these German groups:. The mopping-up of counter-revolutionary elements in the city of Stalingrad proceeded.

The German soldiers — who had hidden themselves in huts and trenches — offered armed resistance after combat actions had already ended. This armed resistance continued until 15 February and in a few areas until 20 February. Most of the armed groups were liquidated by March During this period of armed conflict with the Germans, the brigade's units killed 2, soldiers and officers and captured 8, soldiers and officers, escorting them to POW camps and handing them over. The 64th Army was putting itself in order, being in previously occupied regions. Location of army's units is as it was previously.

In the region of location of the 38 Motorized Rifle Brigade in a basement 18 armed SS-men sic were found, who refused to surrender, the Germans found were destroyed. The condition of the troops that surrendered was pitiful. British war correspondent Alexander Werth described the following scene in his Russia at War book, based on a first-hand account of his visit to Stalingrad from 3—5 February ,. In the porch lay the skeleton of a horse, with only a few scraps of meat still clinging to its ribs. Then we came into the yard.

Here lay more more [ sic? And then, suddenly, at the far end of the yard I caught sight of a human figure. He had been crouching over another cesspool, and now, noticing us, he was hastily pulling up his pants, and then he slunk away into the door of the basement. But as he passed, I caught a glimpse of the wretch's face — with its mixture of suffering and idiot-like incomprehension. For a moment, I wished that the whole of Germany were there to see it. The man was probably already dying. In that basement [ We did not go into the basement itself — what was the use?

There was nothing we could do for them. Out of the nearly 91, German prisoners captured in Stalingrad, only about 5, returned. Some 35, were eventually sent on transports, of which 17, did not survive. Most died of wounds, disease particularly typhus , cold, overwork, mistreatment and malnutrition. Some were kept in the city to help rebuild.

A handful of senior officers were taken to Moscow and used for propaganda purposes, and some of them joined the National Committee for a Free Germany. Some, including Paulus, signed anti-Hitler statements that were broadcast to German troops. Paulus testified for the prosecution during the Nuremberg Trials and assured families in Germany that those soldiers taken prisoner at Stalingrad were safe.

It was not until that the last of the 5,—6, survivors were repatriated to West Germany after a plea to the Politburo by Konrad Adenauer. Stalingrad has been described as the biggest defeat in the history of the German Army. A year of German gains during Case Blue had been wiped out. Germany's Sixth Army had ceased to exist, and the forces of Germany's European allies, except Finland, had been shattered.

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I felt Russia could never hold, Caucasus was bound to be penetrated, and Abadan our Achilles heel would be captured with the consequent collapse of Middle East , India , etc. After Russia's defeat how were we to handle the German land and air forces liberated? England would be again bombarded, threat of invasion revived We start under conditions I would never have dared to hope. Russia has held, Egypt for the present is safe. There is a hope of clearing North Africa of Germans in the near future Russia is scoring wonderful successes in Southern Russia.

However, there were only about 50, German soldiers at El Alamein in Egypt, while at Stalingrad , Germans had been lost. Regardless of the strategic implications, there is little doubt about Stalingrad's symbolism. Germany's defeat shattered its reputation for invincibility and dealt a devastating blow to German morale.

On 30 January , the tenth anniversary of his coming to power, Hitler chose not to speak. Joseph Goebbels read the text of his speech for him on the radio. The speech contained an oblique reference to the battle, which suggested that Germany was now in a defensive war. The public mood was sullen, depressed, fearful, and war-weary.

Germany was looking in the face of defeat. The reverse was the case on the Soviet side. There was an overwhelming surge in confidence and belief in victory. A common saying was: The news of the battle echoed round the world, with many people now believing that Hitler's defeat was inevitable.

After being put on public display in Britain, this was presented to Stalin by Winston Churchill at the Tehran Conference later in The prestige of Stalin, the Soviet Union, and the worldwide Communist movement was immense, and their political position greatly enhanced.

In recognition of the determination of its defenders, Stalingrad was awarded the title Hero City in A colossal monument called The Motherland Calls was erected in on Mamayev Kurgan , the hill overlooking the city where bones and rusty metal splinters can still be found. On 2 February Volgograd hosted a military parade and other events to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the final victory.

During the defence of Stalingrad, the Red Army deployed five armies 28th , 51st , 57th , 62nd and 64th Armies in and around the city and an additional nine armies in the encirclement counter offensive. The calculation of casualties depends on what scope is given to the Battle of Stalingrad. The scope can vary from the fighting in the city and suburbs to the inclusion of almost all fighting on the southern wing of the Soviet—German front from the spring of to the end of the fighting in the city in the winter of Scholars have produced different estimates depending on their definition of the scope of the battle.

The difference is comparing the city against the region. The Axis suffered , — , total casualties killed, wounded or captured among all branches of the German armed forces and its allies:. Totally, , German and allied troops from all units, including Manstein's illfated relief force, were captured during the battle.

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The Germans lost aircraft including transports and bombers used as transports , tanks and 6, artillery pieces. The situation of the Romanian tanks is known, however. All of the 19 German tanks were lost, as well as 81 of the R-2 light tanks. Only 27 of the latter were lost in combat, however, the remaining 54 being abandoned after breaking down or running out of fuel. Ultimately, however, Romanian armored warfare proved to be a tactical success, as the Romanians destroyed Soviet tanks for the cost of their lost units.

Romanian forces destroyed 62 Soviet tanks on 20 November for the cost of 25 tanks of their own, followed by 65 more Soviet tanks on 22 November, for the cost of 10 tanks of their own. The battle for the German-Romanian airfield at Karpova lasted two days, with Romanian gunners destroying numerous Soviet tanks. The USSR, according to archival figures, suffered 1,, total casualties; , personnel killed or missing, and , wounded or sick. The USSR lost 4, tanks destroyed or damaged, 15, artillery pieces and 2, combat aircraft.

The losses of transport planes were especially serious, as they destroyed the capacity for supply of the trapped 6th Army. The destruction of 72 aircraft when the airfield at Tatsinskaya was overrun meant the loss of about 10 percent of the Luftwaffe transport fleet. These losses amounted to about 50 percent of the aircraft committed and the Luftwaffe training program was stopped and sorties in other theaters of war were significantly reduced to save fuel for use at Stalingrad.

The events of the Battle for Stalingrad have been covered in numerous media works of British, American, German, and Russian [] origin, for its significance as a turning point in the Second World War and for the loss of life associated with the battle. The term Stalingrad has become almost synonymous with large-scale urban battles with high casualties on both sides. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For the Russian film, see The Battle of Stalingrad film. Georgy Zhukov Nikolay Voronov A. Rokossovsky Nikolai Vatutin Vasily Chuikov. Case Blue to 3rd Kharkov. Romanian military actions in World War II. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. January Learn how and when to remove this template message.

Approaching this place, [Stalingrad], soldiers used to say: German front, 19 November. German front, 12 December. German front, 24 December. Soviet advance, 19—28 November. Red Army order of battle at the Battle of Stalingrad. Axis order of battle at the Battle of Stalingrad. Battle of Stalingrad in popular culture.

The battle started with the South Western Front. It was later renamed Stalingrad Front, then had the Don Front split off from it.

The fires of hell at Stalingrad by those who were there - Russia Beyond

Hayward , p. Soviet Reports on the effects of air raids between 23—26 August The Infernal Cauldron, p. The City that Defeated the Third Reich p. Urban Warfare from Stalingrad to Iraq. Field Marshal von Manstein: The Janushead - A Portrait. Retrieved 4 December By the end of August, Friedrich Paulus , with , of the German Army 's finest troops On 23 August a German spearhead penetrated the city's northern suburbs, and the Luftwaffe rained incendiary bombs that destroyed most of the city's wooden housing.

Retrieved 16 February Marshal of Victory, Volume II. Pen and Sword Books Ltd. Stalingrad — The Infernal Cauldron. With Paulus at Stalingrad. Translated by Tony Le Tissier. New York Times 28 October Retrieved 27 April New York Times 10 November New York Times 26 August New York Times 12 December The Italians, especially the officers of the 'Cosseria', had confidence in what they thought were well built defensive positions.

The Axis and the Holocaust —43, Jonathan Steinberg, p. The Ravenna Division was the first to be overrun. A gap emerged that was hard to close, and there was no holding back the Red Army when it deployed the mass of its tank forces the following day. German reinforcements came too late in the breakthrough battle.

Secrets of The Dead: Eastern Front , , p. Eastern Front , , pp. Archived from the original on 26 May Retrieved 31 January Archived from the original on 9 March Retrieved 19 February Russia's War New York: Ivan's War New York: Tucker, World War II: Choice Reviews Online, 27 05 , pp. Archived from the original on 31 May Retrieved 17 December Retrieved 5 December Beevor states that one quarter of the Sixth Army's frontline strength were Hiwi.

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Battle of Stalingrad ends Television documentary. Archived from the original Adobe Flash on 7 April Retrieved 16 July Nigel Jones reviews After the Reich: The Telegraph , 18 Apr The Downfall , Penguin Books, London, , p. Official web site Archived 26 September at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved 17 July Retrieved 7 September USA Today 2 February Archived from the original on 25 May The Third Reich at War: Tarnstrom, Balkan Battles , Trogen Books, , pp.

Archived from the original on 28 June Retrieved 12 November Adam, Wilhelm and Otto Ruhle Baird, Jay W Bartov, Omer Hitler's Army: In Erikson, Ljubica; Erikson, Mark. Soviet Russia in the Second World War. Die Schlacht um Stalingrad im deutschsprachigen Roman nach German Life and Civilization Journal No 23 ,: Black Cross Red Star: Air War Over the Eastern Front: Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad New York: The Road to Stalingrad: Every day we had to resist several ferocious attacks.

One of the commanding generals of the Soviet forces in Stalingrad, Vasily Chuikov, later pointed out in his memoirs that the Germans lost more men trying to take Pavlov's House than they did taking Paris. Firing from machine-guns and automatic rifles did not stop for a minute. We lacked ammunition, food, water. I only drank coffee.

I am absolutely desperate. God, how long will this last? The wounded soldiers are with us. We cannot get them away. We boil the meat of dead horses. There is no salt. Many people contracted dysentery. How awful life is! What bad things did I do in my life to get punished this way? Here, in this cellar, 30 people are crowding each other. The night is long.

Will the day ever come? Most probably, the author of the journal did not survive. His notes were found by Soviet soldiers either in late December or early January. German troops did not expect the Soviet counteroffensive that started on November, More than 90, German soldiers were taken prisoner. Overall Germany and its satellites lost up to a million soldiers.

The Battle of Stalingrad became a turning point in the war against Nazi Germany. If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material. This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more.