Anti-Tank Dogs at Stalingrad

 "10th NKVD Internal Troops Rifle Division
October 1st, 1942
#1/81

To the commander of the 62nd Army, Lieutenant General comrade Chuikov

The 28th Independent Dog Tank Destroyer Group was composed of 202 men and 202 dogs. It was operationally subordinate to the 10th Rifle Division as of August 24th, 1942 and took a direct part in combat actions in defenses of Stalingrad alongside the division's forces.

Homegrown

"Order of the People's Commissar of Defense #0580

On direction of tanks built by the Stalingrad Tractor Factory to the Stalingrad and North Caucasus Fronts

July 30th, 1942

1. Mandate that the GABTU send all tanks produced by STZ to the Stalingrad and North Caucasus Fronts.
2. Form homogeneous independent battalions and independent brigades out of STZ produced tanks: only T-34 tanks without small tanks.
3. Stalingrad type independent tank battalions will contain 21 T-34 tanks, independent tank brigades will have two battalions plus two tanks for the brigade's commander and chief of staff, for a total of 44 T-34 tanks.

People's Commissar of Defense

I. Stalin"

RGVA 4-11-71 p.502

World of Tanks History Section: Weathering the Winter Storm

In the winter of 1942, a noose tightened around over 200,000 men in the German 6th Army at Stalingrad. Hermann Goering, the commander of the Luftwaffe, beat his chest promising that aircraft could provide everything the encircled soldiers needed. However, German generals were not as optimistic. Too many men needed food, ammunition, and other necessities. Many kilometers of snowy steppe separated the airstrip at Morozovsk and Tatsinskiya from Stalingrad proper.

The only chance of survival for Paulus' army was a breakthrough. Sooner, rather than later, while the army could still fight.

World of Tanks History Section: 5th Tank Army in Operation Uranus

By November of 1942, the 5th Tank Army walked a long and not so successful road. It began in the summer, when the newly formed army was sent to attack the flank and rear of the German forces rushing towards Voronezh. Due to poor reconnaissance and incorrect evaluation of the enemy's goals, our tankers were instead forces to engage the enemy tanks head on and took heavy losses.

After an unsuccessful counterattack, the army was disbanded and only reformed in September of 1942. General Prokofiy Romanenko was appointed as the commander. The army received new units: two tank corps (1st and 26th), six rifle divisions, and one cavalry corps. The Stavka intended the 5th Tank Army to play one of the two key roles in the encirclement of Paulus' 6th Army at Stalingrad. That is why Romanenko was given so much infantry: the rifle divisions were going to fight in the first echelon of the offensive and prepare a clean breakthrough for the mobile units. The cavalry corps was supposed to act as ersatz motorized infantry.

World of Tanks History Section: Thunder Over Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad was coming to an end. Heavy fighting continued inside the city, the Germans nearly reached the Volga. The Soviets sent meagre reinforcements into the city, while at the same time saving up strength for a counteroffensive, scheduled for November 19th, 1942.

The weather was poor, with fog and rain, and snowfall began on the day of the offensive. In these conditions, aircraft could do little to help the attackers. It was up to tank and artillery to make a path for infantry.

A Fuse for Uranus

Three Soviet Fronts, Don, South-West, and Stalingrad, expected to put up 20,000 guns and mortars. This meant that for every kilometer in the breakthrough region there were 70 or more barrels aiming at the Germans. An artillery barrage of this caliber was unheard of on the Soviet-German front. In order for it to be successful, an enormous amount of preparations must be completed.

A countless number of guns and mortars were towed through the few roads and through the steppe. There weren't enough horses or tractors, and the latter broke down. There were cases where on the way to the front, up to half of the already miserly tank park went out of commission. Most artillery regiments had to ferry their cannons in two or three trips.

The positions were prepared in advance, especially for reinforcement units. The Red Army had a dire shortage of vehicles, fuel for trucks, and food for horses, and logistics suffered as a result, especially for attacking units. Nevertheless, every battery had to have a day worth of rations (aside from the emergency reserve), and a reserve of fuel.

Guns and mortars need ammunition, lots of ammunition. At the beginning of Operation Uranus, artillery units received 1.5 to 3 ammunition loads. The numbers for the whole operation are even more impressive: 122 mm guns and 152 mm howitzers of the Don Front had over 9 ammunition loads.

In order for the ammunition that was delivered through such hard labour to not go to waste, Soviet units performed recce in force two days before the offensive to discover the true location of enemy units. The chief of artillery of the Don Front, Vasiliy Ivanovich Kazakov, wrote: "Without proper reconnaissance and correctly processed information, the only thing you can do is make a pretty looking plan and, having fired off thousands of shells, still not reached your goal."

This "orchestra" of many thousands needed careful direction. Five minutes before the barrage, a command was given on all channels: "Operation!", meaning that all communication must cease. Soon after, the Soviet god of war began its careful destructive work. Every minute on the Don Front alone, five or six thousand shots were fired.

The Soviet offensive began on November 19th, and after only four days the forces of the Stalingrad and South-West Fronts joined up at Kalach-on-the-Don. The Germans at Stalingrad were surrounded, and they would not break out.

Soviet artillery was learning the difficult science of war, and Kazakov, carefully summarizing combat experience, taught his artillery how to fight.

God of War's Hammer

During preparations, fire was only planned for discovered targets. Ammunition would not be wasted on unknown regions. The most attention was directed to pillboxes, which were a thorn in the side in many past battles. Every pillbox and dugout had a card associated with it that detailed when it was discovered, its design, how many firing ports it has, and where they are aimed. All targets were marked on a panoramic photo.

Commanders paid great attention to cooperation between artillery, tanks, and infantry, as well as direct fire. Each company commander received cooperation tables. Each battery commander was shown lines and targets at which he would be shooting. For additional reliability, all communication cables had a backup, and were buried in the snow.

The first barrage was spread out over the whole depth of the German defense. The fuses of the shells were set for fragmentation, for maximum damage against the unsuspecting German infantry. After that, the artillery spent half an hour methodically destroying the German defenses. Each battery was working on one specific target.

After that came the suppression period. At this time, the barrage is aimed at the front lines, then shifts in depth for ten minutes, then moves back to the front line for five minutes. During this barrage, the fuses are set for explosive action, in order to reliably destroy fortifications.

Now, Soviet tanks and infantry could start attacking. The artillery kept up their work, supporting the attacking units with their wave of fire. A special group of guns and mortars was used for this task.

The first target was located 200-280 meters away from the front line, after which the barrage moved up in increments of 100 meters. Main lines were designated every 200-300 meters, and the artillery would focus on them for 2-3 minutes. On average, for every 100 meters of target line, 9 76 mm shells, half as many 122 mm shells, and one third as many 152 mm shells fell every minute. If infantry moved too fast, a signal was sent, and the barrage would move along. If the infantry stalled, then the volume of artillery fire at their targets would double. Intermediate targets were fired on for two minutes, and then the barrage would move without a signal from infantry. For this stage, the fuses were set for fragmentation.

While infantry and tanks moved after the barrage, the main group continued its work on the enemy's main defenses.

Mortars were first used in the barrage, then moved up after the infantry. Katyusha launchers aimed their first strike at the front line. During the second round, they fired in depth, up to 400 meters from the front lines. Their third burst was timed to coincide with the last barrage. After that, the Katyusha rockets were aimed at ravines and reverse slopes in depth of the German defenses.

Vasiliy Ivanovich Kazakov will make it through the entire war. His artillerymen, gathering up experience, will crush the German tanks on the north side of the Kursk salient, cover the crossings over the Dnieper, crush enemy fortifications in Belarus and Poland, from Vitebsk to Poznan. After the war, Kazakov will become the commander of artillery of the Soviet Occupational Force in Germany, Marshal of Artillery, and the first Chief of Land AA Artillery, showing himself a true master of the art of war. But his first step towards glory was here, at Stalingrad.

Original article available here.

World of Tanks History Section: Operation Uranus

The fall of 1942 was coming to an end. Paulus' 6th Army was gnawing through Soviet defenses on its way to Stalingrad, Berlin was demanding that all remaining resistance be wiped out. Could any of Paulus' soldiers or officers known that in a few hours, only a few hundred kilometers away, their fate and the fate of the city on the Volga would be decided? Doubtful, but nevertheless, the strike groups of the South-West and Stalingrad Fronts were ready to strike.

Before the offensive

That night, the Soviet staff were much more nervous. This was the first attempt at an encirclement of this magnitude since the start of the war. Additionally, so far all attempts to attack have been unsuccessful. For instance, summer battles wore down the 4th Tank Army to the point that it was the subject of a morbid joke: "Fourth tank army? More like four tank army."

This time, everything that could be used in an offensive was gathered. Sadly, in the late fall of this difficult year, this wasn't much. Even the corps of the 5th Tank Army, the ace up the sleeve of the South-West Front, bore little resemblance to optimal strength. For instance, the 119th Tank Brigade had 39 tanks out of 63.

There were also doubt (later confirmed) about the amount and condition of trucks that were going to "feed" the attacking tanks.

On the other side of the mechanized pincer, the Stalingrad Front, there was also no shortage of problems. "Readiness of tank units for battle, with the exception of 90th and 235rd Tank Brigades, was low. Tank drivers had little experience, and most of them have never seen combat before. Gunners had little practice. Motorized infantry was poorly trained to perform offensives, and there was little cohesion within units due to their hurried assembly."

The only hope was that the Germans weren't the same as they were in the summer. Also, the first strike wasn't aimed at the Germans.

The pincers close

At dawn on November 19th, artillery shells and Katyusha rockets rained on the positions of the 3rd Romanian Army. When infantry hit after the barrage, the Romanian front slowly started to fall apart. Tank units didn't enter battle until the afternoon. Quickly penetrating the remains of the Romanian defenses, they marched on.

Soviet losses were relatively low that day, but a battalion of the 159th Tank Brigade "excelled" that day. An order received at noon that changed the direction of attack deviated from the explored route and went straight into a minefield. By itself, this was not a problem, as the tanks carried two platoons of sappers with metal detectors, but when the first two T-34s blew up on mines, the battalion commander falsely assumed that he was under attack and ordered tanks to rush forward. As a result, ten T-34s were immobilized within minutes. These losses were disappointing, but were insignificant compared to the overall success of the day. The most important thing was the the 5th Tank Army was able to successfully move forward for nearly the entire day.

Serious resistance was only encountered late in the day, at the Ust-Medvinskiy farm. According to the reports of the brigade, the farm was occupied by a "German infantry battalion, serving as a blocking squad for the Romanians, as well as remnants of Romanian forces". In reality, this was the German 22nd Tank Division, moving up from behind the Romanians.

If this was a fully formed division, this counterattack could have been a serious hazard to teh Soviet plan. Fortunately, the defenders of Stalingrad "shaved off" some of its numbers, and it had about thirty tanks remaining. By noon of November 20th, two Soviet tank brigades knocked the Germans out of Ust-Medvinskiy, capturing "many cars, motorcycles, 2 supplies warehouses, and a spare parts warehouse". The Germans retreated south of the farm and fortified there. Attempts to knock them out from the front cost one destroyed tank and two knocked out. After this, the commanders of the 5th Tank Army sent units around the main German defensive lines.

On November 20th, the Stalingrad Front moved into an attack. It didn't have its own tank army. The 4th and 13th Mechanized Corps had to encircle the enemy. They had a relatively easy time punching through the Romanian defenses. The 4th Corps managed to make a clean break, but the number of the other one proved unlucky. First, a reserve German motorized division was sent to greet them. Second, their vehicles once again ended up on an enemy minefield by accident, taking significant losses.

Nevertheless, most Soviet tanks were driving deeper and deeper into the German rear.

In a Blitzkrieg fashion

This was the riskiest moment in the operation. The tanks rushed forward, the infantry was finishing the last of the Romanians, and lagged behind. Supplies were lagging too. There was a distinct shortage of trucks. The tanks were akin to snails that carry everything they own on their backs. For instance, the 117th Tank Brigade had 150 shells per tank, 100 of which were inside, and the rest were in boxes on its sides. Some tanks also carried 200 L fuel drums.

These supplies could not have lasted the entire operation. The Germans helped out or rather, their warehouses did. Captured supplies, especially gasoline, allowed trucks to be loaded with the most important thing: ammunition. Several trucks from the motorized infantry battalions were transferred to carrying supplies, and the riflemen were moved to tank riders.

Who knows what could have happened if the Germans were able to throw a fresh tank division in to battle. However, the 6th Tank Division that was sent into the crisis zone from France was still far away.

At dawn on November 22nd, advance units of the 26th Tank Corps reached a bridge across the Don near the city of Kalach. The capture resembled something from 1941. When Soviet tank silhouettes appeared in the pre-dawn twilight, the bridge guards simply could not believe that the enemy was here, in the deep rear. The Germans did not have enough time to blow up the bridge or put up a meaningful fight. This valuable crossing fell into Soviet hands without a fight.

Kalach itself was taken the next day. By that time, the 26th Tank Corps only had 35 tanks left out of 160, barely half a brigade! Nevertheless, the tankers fulfilled their mission.

That day, the 4th Mechanized Corps of the Stalingrad Front captured the city Sovetskiy. The trophies consisted of German warehouses and supplies, but most importantly, the railroad that was supplying the German 6th Army was cut.

On November 23rd, at 16:00, tanks of the 4th Mechanized Corps met up with the 26th Tank Corps. The pincers closed, trapping Paulus' army. The two month long agony of the German forces trapped at the Volga began.

Andrei Ulanov is an historian and an author of books and articles on the Great Patriotic War. His most prominent works are "Order in Tank Forces" and "First T-34s" (co-authored with Dmitriy Shein). Currently, he is working on books on AT measures of Soviet infantry and combat use of T-34 tanks in 1942.

Sources:

• CAMD RF, specifically fond 3398 (1st Tank Corps), opis 1 (operations)
• A. Isayev, Neivzestniy Stalingrad
• V. Adam, Katastrofa na Volge
• F.V. Mellentin, Tankoviye srazheniya 1939-145 gg Boyevoye primeneniye tankov vo Vtoroy mirovoy voyne

Original article available here. 

World of Tanks: Today in History: Battle of Stalingrad

In July of 1942, plans for the German summer offensive have been altered. The German command split up Army Group South: one was sent to the Caucasus as planned (Army Group A), the other (Army Group B) was sent to the Volga to cut off Soviet supply lines and take Stalingrad.

Army Group B counted 270,000 soldiers and officers, 500 tanks, and over 2000 guns and mortars. The 4th Air Fleet of Wolfram von Richtofen supported it from the air. The Soviet South-West Front (renamed to Stalingrad Front on July 12th, 1942) could only offer 160,000 soldiers, 400 tanks, and 2200 guns in opposition. Several divisions were severely lacking in manpower.

On July 17th, the German army went on the offensive. This is the day that is considered the start of the Battle of Stalingrad. By July 22nd, the Germans pushed Soviet forces back nearly 70 kilometers, to the outskirts of Stalingrad. On July 28th, another event occurred that cannot go unmentioned. This was the day that the famous Order of the People's Commissar of Defense #227 was passed, more commonly known as "Not one step back". This document, in all its harshness, was positively received in the army, and improved the situation with breaches in discipline.

In late July, Soviet forces were pushed out beyond the Don and fortified for a defense in the outer fortification rim of the city. On August 23rd, the Germans, supported by aircraft, penetrated the defensive lines of the 62nd and 4th Tank Armies and reached the Volga. On that day, German aircraft made 2000 sorties. Many districts of the city lay in ruins, the fuel warehouses burned, nearly 40,000 civilians were killed. The enemy reached the Rynok-Orlovka-Gumrak-Peschanka line. Fighting raged on at Stalingrad's walls.

Battles in the city began on September 13th, and continued until November 19th, when the Red Army began a counterattack. At the beginning of the offensive, Stalingrad still contained Paulus' 6th Army, von Salmuth's 2nd Army, Hoth's 4th Tank Army, and the Italian, Romanian, and Hungarian armies.

On November 19th, the Red Army began a massive offensive operation, codenamed Uranus. It began with fire from about 3500 guns and mortars for a two hour barrage. Because of this, November 19th is known as the day of artillery.

On November 23rd, the ring closed around Paulus' and Hoth's armies. On November 24th, 30,000 Italians surrendered near Raspopinskaya station. By then, the Germans controlled a scrap of land 40 kilometers east to west and 80 north to south. Paulus demanded a breakthrough, but Hitler expressly forbade it. He still hoped that it was possible to reach Paulus' forces. This mission was given to Manstein. Army Group Don, under his command, was supposed to deliver a strike from Kotelnikovskoye and Tormosino and free Paulus' army in December of 1942.

On December 19th, Manstein's forces came across Rodion Malinovskiy's 2nd Guards Army. On December 25th, the German offensive stalled in the snowy Don steppe. The Germans rolled back to initial positions with heavy losses.

Paulus was doomed. On January 10th, 1943, the final operation to destroy surrounded German forces in Stalingrad began, codenamed "Ring". The Germans fought as they could. The Soviet offensive even halted from January 17th to January 22nd. After regrouping, the Red Army moved to attack once more, and by January 26th, the German forces were split into two parts, one near the Barricade factory, and the other, with Paulus in it, near the city center.

On January 30th, 1943, Hitler awarded Paulus the rank of Feldmarschall. At noon on January 31st, Paulus surrendered. In another two days, Stalingrad was cleared of Germans. On February 2nd, it was over. The Battle of Stalingrad ended.

90,000 German soldiers and officers were captured. The Germans lost 800,000 men. 160 tank and around 200 aircraft were captured.

Original article available here.

World of Tanks: Today in History: Operation Uranus

In the summer of 1942, Soviet forces suffered a defeat at Kharkov. Taking advantage of the weakened defenses of the South and South-Western fronts, the Germans began a strategic push to the Volga and the Caucasus. In the beginning of August, the 6th army approached Stalingrad.

The battle for the city is known as one of the largest land battles in WWII. The Germans continued their advance until the fall, pushing the Red Army to the Volga. In September, battles were fought in Stalingrad itself, with previously unseen ferocity, not just for blocks or streets, but commonly, for floors, and even rooms.

After unsuccessful counterattacks in August-September, understanding its grim position, Soviet high command prepared for a strategic counteroffensive. Its goal was the encirclement and destruction of German forces at Stalingrad. The victory was necessary not only from a military point of view, but from a morale one: the people of the USSR were tired of retreating. A message needed to be sent that the Wehrmacht could be, and must be, defeated.

The counterattack was to be performed with the forces of three fronts: Don, South-Western, and Stalingrad. 14 armies were gathered for this operation, codenamed "Uranus".

On November 19th, 1942, early in the morning, three and a half thousand guns and mortars opened fire on German positions. The barrage lasted over an hour, followed by tanks and infantry. General Romanenko's 5th tank army penetrated the defenses of the 2nd Corps. Through the whole day, with bad visibility and in poor terrain, columns of Soviet vehicles plunged forward, deepening the breakthrough. On that day, the Red Army advanced 20 kilometers. The Germans could not stop the offensive.

By November 23rd, 1942, the ring around the 6th Army was closed. Fighting in Stalingrad would continue, but only three months remained until the surrender of the Germans at Stalingrad.

Rocket and Artillery Day is celebrated on November 19th, in honour of the artillery barrage that signaled the beginning of the Soviet offensive at Stalingrad.

Original article available here.

World of Tanks History Section: Battle of Stalingrad

1. Introduction

The Battle of Moscow ended on April 20th, 1942. The German Army, whose advance seemed unstoppable, was thrown back from the capital of the USSR by 150-300 km. The Germans took heavy losses. While the Wehrmacht was still strong, it no longer had the ability to advance on all sections of the front simultaneously.

During spring mud, the Germans developed a plan for a summer offensive in 1942, codenamed Fall Blau (Case Blue). Initially, the target of the offensive were the oil wells of Grozniy and Baku, with possible further advance into Persia. Before the offensive, the Germans were going to "cut off" the Barvenkov Salient, a large foothold captured by the Red Army on the western shore of the Severskiy Donets river.

Soviet command was also gathering for a summer offensive in the Bryansk, South, and South-West fronts. Regrettably, despite the Red Army's initial successes that pushed the Germans back to Kharkov, the Germans managed to turn the situation around and deliver a crushing blow to Soviet forces. The South and South-Western fronts were weakened, and, on June 28th, Hermann Hoth's 4th tank army broke through between Kursk and Kharkov. The Germans were at the Don river.

At this point, Hitler made a personal change to Case Blue that cost the Germans dearly. He split Army Group South into two parts. Army Group A was to continue to the Caucasus. Army Group B was to march to the Volga, cut off strategic communications between the USSR and Central Asia, and capture the city of Stalingrad. Hitler wanted to take the city not only for practical reasons (the city was a large industrial center), but for ideological ones. Taking the city named after the Third Reich's greatest enemy would be a great victory for German propaganda.

2. Positions of forces and the first stage of the battle

Army Group B, advancing on Stalingrad, included Paulus' 6th Army. It consisted of 270 000 soldiers and officers, 2200 artillery units and mortars, about 500 tanks. The 6th army was supported from the air by the 4th air fleet of General Wolfram von Richthofen, consisting of about 1200 aircraft. Later, closer to the end of July, Hoth's 4th tank army was added to Army Group B, including the 5th, 7th, 9th army and 46th motorized corps. The latter included the Das Reich SS tank division.

The South-Western Front, renamed to the Stalingrad Front on July 12th 1942, had 160 000 soldiers, 2200 artillery and mortars, about 400 tanks. From 38 divisions that made up the front, only 18 were fully staffed. The rest had between 300 and 4000 people. The 8th air army assigned to the front also had a numeric disadvantage compared to Richthofen's. With these forces, the Front had to cover a defensive line more than 500 kilometers wide. The Soviet forces were further disadvantaged by the flat steppe terrain, on which enemy tanks could act unimpeded. Combined with the small amounts of anti-tank weapons, this made the tank menace critical.

The German advance started on July 17th, 1942. The advance guard of the 6th Army engaged elements of the 62nd Army on the river Chir, in the region of the Pronin settlement. By July 22nd, the Germans pushed the Soviets back 70 kilometers, to the main Stalingrad defensive line. The German high command, expecting to take the city swiftly, decided to encircle the Soviet forces at the Kletskaya and Suvorovskaya railroad stations, capture crossings across the Don river, and continue on to Stalingrad. Two strike groups have been created for this purpose, advancing from the north and the south. The north group was formed from elements of the 6th army. The south, from elements of the 4th tank army.

The north group delivered a strike on July 23rd, penetrated the front of the 62nd army, and encircled two of its infantry divisions and a tank brigade. By July 26th, forward German divisions made it to the Don. The Stalingrad Front command organized a counterattack using the front's mobile reserves, as well as the 1st and 4th tank armies, which were still incomplete. The tank army was a newly organized unit in the Red Army. It is unknown who first came up with this structure, but the first documented record of this unit type is credited to the head of GAU, Y. N. Fedorenko, in a report to Stalin. The state in which these tank armies were first envisioned did not last long, and they were seriously restructured. However, the tank armies at Stalingrad were of this specific type. The 1st tank army delivered an attack form the Kapach region on July 25th, and the 4th from the Trehostrovskaya and Kachalinskaya railroad stations on July 27th.

Fierce battles were fought on this section of the front until August 7-8th. The encircled units were freed, but a decisive victory over the German forces was not achieved. Forces of the Stalingrad Front were poorly trained, and several mistakes were made by commanding officers.

The southern offensive was stopped at the settlements of Surovkino and Rychovskiy. Nevertheless, the defensive lines of the 64th army were penetrated. Stavka ordered that the 64th army, reinforced with two infantry divisions and a tank corps, must destroy the enemy in the region of the Nizhne-Chirskaya station no later than the 30th.

Despite the fact that the units' combat ability was hampered due to being sent into battle before properly deploying, the Germans were pushed backwards, and a were in danger of being surrounded. The Germans brought fresh reinforcements into battle, and the fighting became even more fierce.

On July 28th, 1942, an event happened that cannot be left out. The famous order #227 of the People's Commissar of Defense was issued, more commonly known as "Not One Step Back". It severely increased the punishment for leaving the field of battle, introduced penal units for guilty soldiers and commanders, as well as special blocking squads: units that were tasked with detaining deserters and returning them into battle. This document, despite its cruelty, was received very positively, and improved discipline in the army.

By the end of July, the 64th army was forced to retreat past the Don. The Germans captured a series of footholds on the left shore of the river. Serious forces were concentrated in the region of the Tsymlyanskaya village: two infantry, two motorized, and one tank division. Stavka ordered the Stalingrad front to knock the Germans past the Don and restore the Don line of defense. On July 30th, the Germans attacked at Tsymlyanskaya, and by August 3rd progressed significantly, taking the Remontnaya railroad station, city of Kotelnikovo, and settlement of Zhutovo. The 6th Romanian Corps also made it to the Don at this point. The Soviets were forced to move to the left shore. On August 15th, the 4th Soviet tank army was forced to do the same, as the Germans were threatening to penetrate the front in its center and cut it in half.

By August 16th, the forces at Stalingrad retreated past the Don, and took up defensive positions in the city's fortifications. On August 17th, the Germans renewed their push, and managed to capture crossings by August 20th, as well as a foothold in the region of the Vertyachiy settlement. Efforts to throw back the Germans were unsuccessful. On August 23rd, a German force supported by aircraft broke through the defensive lines of the 62nd army and 4th tank army and reached the Volga. 2000 sorties were flown by German aircraft that day. Many areas of the city were destroyed, oil stores were burning. 40 000 civilians were dead. The enemy reached Rynok, Orlovka, Gumrak, Peschanka line. The battle migrated to Stalingrad's walls.

3. Battles in the city

When the Soviet forces retreated to the outskirts of Stalingrad, 6 German and one Romanian infantry divisions, two tank divisions, and one motorized division opposed the 62nd army. The Germans had 500 tanks, supported by at least 1000 aircraft. Stalingrad was in danger of falling into enemy hands. Stavka sent in two armies (10 infantry divisions, 2 tank brigades), re-equipped the 1st Guards Army (6 infantry divisions, 2 guards infantry divisions, 2 tank brigades), and assigned the 16th air army to the Stalingrad Front.

On September 5th and 18th, forces of the Stalingrad Front (Don Front after September 30th) weakened the Germans with two massive offensive operations, drawing away 8 infantry, two tank, and two motorized divisions. It was not possible to destroy the Germans completely. Fierce battles for the inner defensive line raged on.

Battles in the city started on September 13th, 1942, and continued until November 19th, when the Red Army began an offensive as a part of "Operation Uranus". From September 12th, the 62nd army was tasked with defending Stalingrad, under the command of Lieutenant-General V.I. Chuikov. This man, considered too inexperienced to lead before the battle, created a real hell for the enemy in the city.

On September 13th, 6 German infantry, three tank, and two motorized divisions were near the city. Until September 18th, fierce battles were fought in the central and southern parts of the city. The enemy was held back south of the train station, but the battle in the center was not as fortunate. The Germans pushed the Soviets back to the Krutoy ravine.

Especially fierce fighting for the train station took place on September 17th. In one day, it changed hands 4 times. The Germans left 4 tanks and 100 dead there. On September 19th, the left flank of the Stalingrad Front attempted to launch an offensive to take the train station, with subsequent attacks on Gumrak and Gorodishe. It was not possible to move up, but a large enemy force was held up in the fighting, which eased the job of forces in the center of the city. The defense here was solid enough that the enemy never made it to the Volga.

Understanding that the center of the city was impenetrable, the Germans sent their forces south, for an eastward strike in the direction of Mamayev Hill and the Krasniy Oktyabr settlement. On September 27th, the Soviets launched a preemptive attack with small infantry teams, armed with light machine guns, incendiary bottles, and anti-tank rifles. Fighting continued from September 27th to October 4th. These were the very same street battles in Stalingrad that freeze the blood in the veins of even the most hardened men. The two sides fought not for streets or neighbourhoods, not even for houses, but for separate floors and rooms. Hand to hand combat was as common as in the middle ages, when edged weapons ruled the battlefield. After a week, the Germans moved forward 400 meters. Everyone joined the fight: construction workers, engineers. The Germans slowly petered out. Similarly desperate struggles took place at the Barricade factory, Orlovka settlement, at the Silikat factory.

By the beginning of October, the area of Stalingrad controlled by the Red Army dwindled to the point that it could be completely covered by artillery and machine gun fire. The forces fighting in the city were supplied from across the Volga by anything that could float: boats, yachts, steamboats. German aircraft relentlessly bombed the crossings, making delivering supplies even more difficult.

While the 62nd army held and wore down the enemy, Stavka was preparing a massive offensive, aimed at destroying the German forces at Stalingrad.

4. "Uranus" and Paulus' surrender

At the start of the Soviet counteroffensive, aside from Paulus' 6th army, Stalingrad was also home to von Salmuth's 2nd army, Hoth's 4th tank army, as well as Italian, Romanian, and Hungarian forces.

On November 19th, the Red Army began a massive offensive operation on three fronts, codenamed "Uranus". Its start was signaled by 3500 guns and mortars. The barrage lasted 2 hours. In honour of this specific artillery barrage, November 19th was named "Artillery Day".

On November 23rd, the 6th army and Hoth's 4th tank army were encircled. On November 24th, 30 000 Italians surrendered at the village of Raspopinskaya. By that point, the territory occupied by the Germans was 40 km west-to-east and 80 km north-to-south. Subsequent compression of this territory proceeded slowly, as the Germans held on to every scrap of land. Paulus demanded a breakthrough, but Hitler forbade it. He did not lose hope that it was possible to penetrate the ring externally.

Erich von Manstein was tasked with the rescue mission. Army Group Don was tasked with freeing Paulus' army in December of 1942 with a strike from Kotelnikovo and Tormosina. On December 12th, operation "Winter Storm" began. The Germans did not advance with all forces. Only one tank division and one Romanian infantry division attacked on time. Two other incomplete tank divisions and some amount of infantry joined in later. On December 19th, Manstein's forces engaged Rodion Malinovkiy's 2nd Guards Army. By December 25th, "Winter Storm" was extinguished in the snowy Don steppes. The Germans returned to the initial positions, with heavy losses.

Paulus' forces were doomed. Hitler was the only person that disagreed. He was against retreat when it was still possible, and would not hear of surrender when the mouse trap finally and irreversibly clamped shut. Even when the Red Army captured the last airfield the Luftwaffe could supply Paulus' army with (as poor and unreliable as it was), he still demanded that Paulus and his men fight.

On January 10, 1943, the start of the operation to liquidate the German force began. It was named "Operation Ring". On January 9th, a day before it began, the Soviet army delivered an ultimatum to Paulus. By coincidence, the commander of the 14 tank corps, General Hube, arrived in the encirclement on the same day. He passed on the message that Hitler demands that Paulus continue fighting and that attempts to break open the encirclement will continue. Paulus followed his orders, and rejected the ultimatum.

The Germans resisted as the could. The offensive even briefly stopped between January 17th and 22nd. Soviet forces regrouped and resumed their attack. On January 26th, the German forces were cut in half. The north group was located in the region of the "Barricade" factory. The southern group, with Paulus, was located in the center of the city. Paulus' command center was located in the basement of the central general store.

On January 30th, Hitler awarded Paulus the title of Feldmarschal. By unwritten tradition, feldmarschals never surrendered. This was a suggestion from the Fuhrer that Paulus ought to end his military career. Paulus decided that it was wise to ignore some suggestions. On January 31st, at noon, Paulus surrendered. Another two days were spent on clearing out the rest of the city. On February 2nd, it was over. The Battle of Stalingrad was won.

90 000 soldiers and officers were captured. The Germans lost 800 000 soldiers and officers. 160 tanks and 200 airplanes were captured.

Original article available here.

Additionally, here is a map of Stalingrad stitched together from German aerial reconnaissance photos, provided by Rossmum. Watch out, it's 40 MB in size.