Battle of Stalingrad

Soviet soldiers crawling in the rubble of Stalingrad.

The Battle of Stalingrad took place in the winter of 1942-1943 during World War II on the Eastern Front, in the city of Stalingrad, now known as Volgograd, on the Volga River in southern Russia.

Background

Having failed to conquer the Soviet Union in 1941, the Axis armies changed strategy. Hitler directed them to take the oil fields in the Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia. The capture of the oil would deprive the Soviets of this resource, as well as provide the Germans with a much needed supplement to Romanian oil. It would also cut the Russians off from Allied supplies coming through Iran.

Germany lacked the resources to attack in the North, Central, and Southern parts of the Eastern Front as in 1941, and could only mount a major offensive in one region. They also had to rely on auxiliary forces from their Axis allies, such as Romania, Hungary, and Italy.

The Soviets expected an offensive in the Central part of the front, near Moscow, and took some time to shift forces south to meet the threat.

The German offensive was initially successful in that Army Group A broke out to the south and was able to capture an oil field north of the mountain passes (though it had been thoroughly wrecked beforehand). Army Group B, however, ran into trouble as it attempted to take the city of Stalingrad, on the northeastern flank of this movement. Failure to secure Stalingrad meant that the Soviet armies could threaten the supply lines of Army Group A. As the Russian resistance stiffened, Group A was forced to retreat to prevent itself from being cut off in the Caucasus.

Army Group B was commanded by General Paulus, who was relatively inexperienced at commanding large formations.

Hitler would not accept defeat, and the German army ground into Stalingrad, eventually taking 90% of the city and inflicting horrific casualties as the Soviets launched wave after wave of counterattacks. In order to do this, however, the Germans had to weaken their flanks outside of the city, relying in some cases on less reliable troops from Italy and Romania, who were ill-equipped and overstretched. The German mobile armored units which were supposed to back them up were also inadequate, and were hampered by mechanical failures in the cold weather.

Encirclement

Map of the Stalingrad region after Operation Uranus, which trapped 20 German divisions in the Stalingrad pocket, or cauldron, or Kessel.

The Soviets sprang a trap, launching massive armies against these vulnerable flanks from the north and south. The two Soviet armies performed a double pincer, trapping the German 6th army within Stalingrad. General Paulus saw that the situation was hopeless and asked Hitler for permission to withdraw. Hitler ordered him to stand fast, and promised resupply by air, based on information given by Hermann Goering at a staff meeting. Chief of Staff Zeitzler warned that this was impossible. Zeitzler then ate the same rations as Stalingrad and lost 25 lbs. before he was told to cut it out.

The Cauldron

Operation Winter Storm was supposed to relieve Stalingrad. Supporting attacks were made from the north while the main thrust came from the south, where there were fewer Soviets and the terrain was a little better. It was stopped short of Stalingrad, and withdrew due to fears of its own encirclement (Operation Saturn / Little Saturn).

The Luftwaffe was only able to deliver a fraction of the supplies needed. As the Germans ran low on food, the Soviets tightened their grip on the city.

A German relief force composed of elements of Army Group A was unable to break through. It was known as Operation Winter Storm, and led by General Manstein. German mobility inside the pocket decreased as fuel ran out and horses were slaughtered. The airfields were overrun.

As the situation deteriorated, Hitler promoted Paulus to the rank of Field Marshal. This was a message that he was expected to die defending the city or to committ suicide. Prior to Stalingrad, no German field marshal had ever surrendered.

Surrender

The Soviets gradually reduced the pocket, eventually splitting it in two.

In February 1943, the starving German survivors, including General Paulus, surrendered and were marched into Soviet prison camps. Most were sent to Siberia and never heard from again.

Hitler was shaken up for several weeks afterwards, and allowed Manstein greater freedom to maneuver. The remaining German forces outside the pocket were able to withdraw in relatively good order, avoiding another encirclement.

Paulus went on to collaborate with the Soviets.

Analysis

• Logistically, fighting so far into southern Russia was beyond what the Wehrmacht could do. The nearest railhead was 75 miles from Stalingrad and they lacked the trucks to make up the difference.
• Air resupply was not going to happen. The Luftwaffe only had 100 transport planes for the job, and ongoing losses in the North Africa theater were also draining its capacity.
• One of the arguments against a breakout attempt was that the army was in too poor condition to move. This might have been true late in the battle. Around the time of Winter Storm, some of the Germans would have made it through.
• German army doctrine was best at a war of maneuver. A slugfest favored the Soviets.
• Soviets had better submachine guns.