The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in the Great Patriotic War and throughout the Second World War. The battle is divided into two periods: the first, defensive, which lasted from July 17 to November 18, 1942; the second, offensive, from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943.

Defensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad

After the defeat near Moscow, Hitler and his command decided that during the new summer campaign of 1942 it was necessary to strike not along the entire length of the Soviet-German front, but only on the southern flank. The Germans did not have enough strength for more. It was important for Hitler to seize Soviet oil, the fields of Maykop, Baku, get the bread of Stavropol and Kuban, take Stalingrad, which divided the USSR into central and southern parts. Then it would have been possible to cut the main lines of communication that supplied our troops, and to obtain the necessary resources for waging an arbitrarily long war. Already on April 5, 1942, Hitler's fundamental directive No. 41 was issued - the order to conduct Operation Blau. The German group was to advance in the direction of the Don, Volga and Caucasus. After capturing the main strongholds, the German Army Group South was to be divided into Army Group A (advancing on the Caucasus) and Army Group B (advancing on Stalingrad), the main force of which was the 6th Army of General Paulus.

Already before the start of the main attack in the south of the USSR, the Germans were able to achieve serious success. Our spring offensive operations near Kerch and Kharkov ended in major setbacks. Their failure and the heavy losses of the units of the Red Army, which were surrounded, helped the Germans to achieve rapid success in their general offensive. Wehrmacht formations began to move forward when our units were demoralized and began to withdraw in eastern Ukraine. True, now, taught by bitter experience, the Soviet troops tried to avoid encirclement. Even when they were behind enemy lines, they infiltrated German positions before the enemy front became dense.

Soon heavy fighting began on the outskirts of Voronezh and in the bend of the Don. The command of the Red Army tried to strengthen the front, bring up new reserves from the depths, and give the troops more tanks and aircraft. But in oncoming battles, as a rule, these reserves were quickly exhausted, and the retreat continued. Meanwhile, Paulus' army was moving forward. Its southern flank was to be covered by the 4th Panzer Army under the command of Hoth. The Germans attacked Voronezh - they broke into the city, but they could not completely capture it. They managed to be detained on the banks of the Don, where the front remained until January 1942.

Meanwhile, the elite 6th German Army, which numbered more than 200 thousand people, was inexorably advancing in the bend of the Don towards Stalingrad. On August 23, the Germans carried out a fierce air raid on the city, which involved hundreds of aircraft. And although more than 20 vehicles were shot down by Soviet anti-aircraft gunners and air defense aircraft, the city center, the railway station and the most important enterprises were actually destroyed. It was not possible to evacuate civilians from Stalingrad in time. The evacuation was spontaneous: primarily industrial equipment, agricultural implements, and cattle were transported across the Volga. And only after August 23, the civilian population rushed east across the river. Of the almost half a million population of the city, after the fighting, only 32 thousand people remained on the spot. Moreover, to the 500,000 pre-war population, it is necessary to add tens of thousands more refugees from Ukraine, from the Rostov region, and even from besieged Leningrad, who, by the will of fate, found themselves in Stalingrad.

Simultaneously with the fierce bombing on August 23, 1942, the German 14th Panzer Corps managed to make a many-kilometer march and break through to the banks of the Volga north of Stalingrad. Fighting unfolded at the Stalingrad Tractor Plant. From the south, German columns of the 4th Panzer Army, transferred from the Caucasus, were advancing towards the city. In addition, Hitler sent an Italian and two Romanian armies to this direction. Two Hungarian armies occupied positions near Voronezh, covering the attack in the main direction. Stalingrad from a secondary goal of the campaign in the summer of 1942 became the main task for the German army.

A. Jodl, chief of staff of the operational leadership of the Wehrmacht, noted that the fate of the Caucasus is now being decided near Stalingrad. It seemed to Paulus that it was necessary to throw one more additional regiment or battalion into the gap and he would decide the outcome of the battle in favor of the German army. But the battalions and regiments went into battle one after another and did not return. The Stalingrad meat grinder was grinding the human resources of Germany. Our losses were also very heavy - the Moloch of War was ruthless.

In September, protracted battles began in the quarters (or rather, in the ruins) of Stalingrad. The city could fall at any moment. The Germans had already reached the Volga in several places within the city limits. From the Soviet front, in fact, only small islands of resistance remained. From the front line to the river bank was often no more than 150-200 meters. But the Soviet soldiers held on. For several weeks, the Germans stormed individual buildings in Stalingrad. For 58 days, the soldiers under the command of Sergeant Pavlov resisted enemy fire and did not give up their positions. The L-shaped house, which they defended to the last, was called "Pavlov's House".

An active sniper war began in Stalingrad. To win it, the Germans brought from Germany not just aces in their field, but even leaders of sniper schools. But even in the Red Army, remarkable cadres of well-aimed shooters grew up. Every day they gain experience. On the Soviet side, the fighter Vasily Zaitsev distinguished himself, who is now known to the whole world from the Hollywood film Enemy at the Gates. He destroyed more than 200 German soldiers and officers in the ruins of Stalingrad.

Nevertheless, in the fall of 1942, the position of the defenders of Stalingrad remained critical. The Germans would certainly have been able to completely take the city if not for our reserves. More and more units of the Red Army were thrown across the Volga to the west. One day, the 13th Guards Rifle Division of General A.I. Rodimtsev was also transferred. Despite the losses suffered, she immediately entered the battle and recaptured Mamaev Kurgan from the enemy. This height dominated the entire city. The Germans also sought to seize it at all costs. The fighting for Mamaev Kurgan continued until January 1943.

In the most difficult battles of September - early November 1942, the soldiers of the 62nd Army of General Chuikov and the 64th Army of General Shumilov managed to defend the ruins remaining behind them, withstand countless attacks and tie up the German troops. Paulus carried out the last assault on Stalingrad on November 11, 1942, but it also ended in failure.

The commander of the 6th German Army was in a gloomy mood. Meanwhile, our command more and more often began to think about how to radically turn the tide of the battle for Stalingrad. We needed a new, original solution that would affect the entire course of the campaign. .

The offensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad lasted from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943.

Back in mid-September, when the Germans sought to destroy the Soviet troops in Stalingrad as soon as possible, G.K. Zhukov, who became the first deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief, instructed some senior officials in the General Staff of the Red Army to develop a plan for an offensive operation. Returning from the front, he, together with the Chief of the General Staff A.M. Vasilevsky, reported to I. Stalin about the plan of the operation, which was supposed to tip the scales of a grandiose confrontation in favor of the Soviet troops. Soon the first calculations were made. G. K. Zhukov and A. M. Vasilevsky proposed bilateral coverage of the Stalingrad grouping of the enemy and its subsequent destruction. After listening carefully to them, I. Stalin noted that it was necessary first of all to keep the city itself. In addition, such an operation requires the involvement of additional powerful reserves, which will play a decisive role in the battle.

Reserves from the Urals, the Far East and Siberia arrived in increasing numbers. They were not introduced immediately into battle, but accumulated until the time "H". During this period, a lot of work was carried out at the headquarters of the Soviet fronts. The newly formed Southwestern Front of N.F. Vatutin, the Don Front of K.K. Rokossovsky, and the Stalingrad Front of A.I. Eremenko were preparing for the offensive.

And now the moment has come for the decisive throw.

November 19, 1942, despite the fog, thousands of guns of the Soviet fronts opened fire on the enemy. Operation Uranus has begun. Rifle and tank units went on the attack. Aviation was waiting for more favorable weather, but as soon as the fog cleared, it took an active part in the offensive.

The German group was still very strong. The Soviet command believed that in the Stalingrad area they were opposed by about 200 thousand people. In fact, there were over 300,000 of them. In addition, on the flanks, where the main blows of the Soviet troops were carried out, were Romanian and Italian formations. Already by November 21, 1942, the success of the Soviet offensive was indicated, which exceeded all expectations. Moscow radio reported on the advance of the Red Army for more than 70 km and the capture of 15,000 enemy soldiers. This was the first time such a major breakthrough had been announced since the Battle of Moscow. But these were only the first successes.

November 23, our troops took Kotelnikovo. The cauldron behind the enemy troops slammed shut. Its internal and external fronts were created. More than 20 divisions were surrounded. At the same time, our troops continued to develop the offensive in the direction of Rostov-on-Don. At the beginning of January 1943, the forces of our Transcaucasian Front also began to move. The Germans, unable to withstand the onslaught and fearing to find themselves in a new giant cauldron, began to hastily retreat from the foothills of the Caucasus. They finally abandoned the idea of ​​taking possession of the Grozny and Baku oil.

In the meantime, the idea of ​​a whole cascade of powerful operations that were supposed to crush the entire German defense on the Soviet-German front was actively developed at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. In addition to Operation Uranus (encircling the Germans near Stalingrad), Operation Saturn was planned - the encirclement of the German armies in the North Caucasus. In the central direction, Operation Mars was being prepared - the destruction of the 9th German Army, and then Operation Jupiter - the encirclement of the entire Army Group Center. Unfortunately, only Operation Uranus was successful. The fact is that Hitler, having learned about the encirclement of his troops near Stalingrad, ordered Paulus to hold on at all costs, and ordered Manstein to prepare a deblocking strike.

In mid-December 1942, the Germans made a desperate attempt to rescue Paulus's army from encirclement. According to Hitler's plan, Paulus was never to leave Stalingrad. He was forbidden to strike towards Manstein. The Fuhrer believed that since the Germans had entered the banks of the Volga, they should not leave from there. The Soviet command now had two options at its disposal: either continue the attempt to cover the entire German grouping in the North Caucasus with huge pincers (Operation Saturn), or transfer part of the forces against Manstein and eliminate the threat of a German breakthrough (Operation Small Saturn). We must pay tribute to the Soviet Headquarters - it quite soberly assessed the situation and its capabilities. It was decided to be content with a titmouse in the hands, and not look for a crane in the sky. A devastating blow to the advancing units of Manstein was dealt just in time. At this time, the army of Paulus and the Manstein grouping were separated by only a few tens of kilometers. But the Germans were driven back, and it was time to liquidate the boiler.

On January 8, 1943, the Soviet command offered Paulus an ultimatum, which was rejected. And two days later, Operation Ring began. The efforts made by the armies of the Don Front of K.K. Rokossovsky led to the fact that the encirclement began to shrink rapidly. Historians today express the opinion that then not everything was done perfectly: it was necessary to advance from the north and from the south in order to first cut the ring in these directions. But the main blow came from west to east, and we had to overcome the long-term fortifications of the German defense, which relied, among other things, on positions built by the Soviet troops on the eve of the Battle of Stalingrad. The fighting was fierce and lasted for several weeks. The air bridge to the encircled failed. Hundreds of German planes were shot down. The diet of the German military fell to a meager mark. All the horses were eaten. There have been cases of cannibalism. Soon the Germans also lost their last airfields.

Paulus at that time was in the basement of the city's main department store and, despite requests to Hitler for surrender, never received such permission. Moreover, on the eve of the complete collapse, Hitler awarded Paulus the rank of field marshal. It was a clear hint: not a single German field marshal had yet surrendered. But on January 31, Paulus chose to surrender and save his life. On February 2, the last northern German grouping in Stalingrad also stopped resistance.

91 thousand soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht were captured. In the city blocks of Stalingrad themselves, 140 thousand corpses of German soldiers were subsequently buried. On our side, the losses were also great - 150 thousand people. But the entire southern flank of the German troops was now exposed. The Nazis began to hastily leave the territory of the North Caucasus, Stavropol, Kuban. Only a new counter strike by Manstein in the Belgorod region stopped the advance of our units. At the same time, the so-called Kursk ledge was formed, the events on which would take place already in the summer of 1943.

US President Roosevelt called the Battle of Stalingrad an epic victory. And King George VI of Great Britain ordered to forge a special sword for the inhabitants of Stalingrad with an engraving: "To the citizens of Stalingrad, strong as steel." Stalingrad became the password for Victory. It was truly the turning point of the war. The Germans were shocked, and three days of mourning were declared in Germany. The victory at Stalingrad was also a signal to the countries - allies of Germany, such as Hungary, Romania, Finland, that it is necessary to look for the fastest ways out of the war.

After this battle, the defeat of Germany was only a matter of time.

M. Yu. Myagkov, Dr. i. n.,
Scientific Director of the Russian Military Historical Society

The Battle of Stalingrad is one of the largest battles of World War II and the Great Patriotic War, which marked the beginning of a radical turning point in the course of the war. The battle was the first large-scale defeat of the Wehrmacht, accompanied by the surrender of a large military group.

After the counter-offensive of the Soviet troops near Moscow in the winter of 1941/42. front has stabilized. When developing a plan for a new campaign, A. Hitler decided to abandon a new offensive near Moscow, as insisted on by the General Staff, and concentrate his main efforts on the southern direction. The Wehrmacht was tasked with defeating the Soviet troops in the Donbass and on the Don, breaking through to the North Caucasus and capturing the oil fields of the North Caucasus and Azerbaijan. Hitler insisted that, having lost a source of oil, the Red Army would not be able to conduct an active struggle due to lack of fuel, and for its part, the Wehrmacht needed additional fuel for a successful offensive in the center, which Hitler expected to receive from the Caucasus.

However, after an unsuccessful offensive for the Red Army near Kharkov and, as a result, an improvement in the strategic situation for the Wehrmacht, Hitler in July 1942 ordered the Army Group South to be divided into two parts, setting each of them an independent task. Army Group A of Field Marshal Wilhelm List (1st Panzer, 11th and 17th Armies) continued to develop the offensive in the North Caucasus, and Army Group B of Colonel General Baron Maximilian von Weichs (2nd, The 6th Army, later the 4th Panzer Army, as well as the 2nd Hungarian and 8th Italian armies) received an order to break through to the Volga, take Stalingrad and cut the lines of communication between the southern flank of the Soviet front and the center, thereby isolating it from the main grouping (if successful, Army Group "B" was supposed to strike along the Volga to Astrakhan). As a result, from that moment on, Army Groups "A" and "B" advanced in divergent directions, and the gap between them constantly increased.

The task of directly capturing Stalingrad was entrusted to the 6th Army, which was considered the best in the Wehrmacht (commanded by Lieutenant General F. Paulus), whose operations were supported from the air by the 4th Air Fleet. Initially, she was opposed by the troops of the 62nd (commanders: Major General V.Ya. Kolpakchi, from August 3 - Lieutenant General A.I. Lopatin, from September 9 - Lieutenant General V.I. Chuikov) and 64th ( commanders: Lieutenant General V.I. Chuikov, since July 23 - Major General M.S. Shumilov) of the armies, which, together with the 63rd, 21st, 28th, 38th, 57th and 8th On July 12, 1942, the th air armies formed a new Stalingrad Front (commander: Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko, from July 23 - Lieutenant General V.N. Gordov, from August 10 - Colonel General A.I. Eremenko ).

July 17 is considered the first day of the Battle of Stalingrad, when those advanced to the line of the river. Chir, the forward detachments of the Soviet troops came into contact with the German units, which, however, did not show much activity, since these days the preparations for the offensive were just being completed. (The first combat contact took place on July 16 - at the positions of the 147th Infantry Division of the 62nd Army.) On July 18-19, units of the 62nd and 64th armies entered the front lines. For five days there were battles of local significance, in which the German troops went directly to the main line of defense of the Stalingrad Front.

At the same time, the Soviet command used the lull at the front to speed up the preparation of Stalingrad for defense: the local population was mobilized, sent to build field fortifications (four defensive lines were equipped), and formations of militia units were deployed.

On July 23, the German offensive began: parts of the northern flank attacked first, two days later the southern flank joined them. The defense of the 62nd Army was broken through, several divisions were surrounded, the army and the entire Stalingrad Front found themselves in an extremely difficult situation. Under these conditions, on July 28, the order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 227 was issued - "Not a step back!", Forbidding the withdrawal of troops without an order. In accordance with this order, the formation of penal companies and battalions, as well as barrage detachments, began at the front. At the same time, the Soviet command strengthened the Stalingrad grouping by all possible means: in a week of fighting, 11 rifle divisions, 4 tank corps, 8 separate tank brigades were sent here, and on July 31, the 51st Army, Major General T.K. Kolomiets. On the same day, the German command also strengthened its grouping by deploying the 4th Panzer Army of Colonel General G. Goth, which was advancing to the south, on Stalingrad. From that moment on, the German command declared the task of capturing Stalingrad a priority and decisive for the success of the entire offensive on the southern sector of the Soviet-German front.

Although success was generally on the side of the Wehrmacht and the Soviet troops, suffering heavy losses, were forced to retreat, nevertheless, thanks to the resistance, the plan to break through to the city on the move through Kalach-on-Don was thwarted, as well as the plan to encircle the Soviet group in the bend Don. The pace of the offensive - by August 10, the Germans advanced only 60-80 km - did not suit Hitler, who on August 17 stopped the offensive, ordering to begin preparations for a new operation. The most combat-ready German units, primarily tank and motorized formations, were concentrated on the main strike directions, the flanks were weakened by the transfer of them by the Allied troops.

On August 19, the German troops again went on the offensive, they resumed the offensive. On the 22nd, they crossed the Don, gaining a foothold on the 45-km bridgehead. For the next XIV Panzer Corps, Gen. G. von Wittersheim to the Volga at the Latoshinka-Rynok section, being only 3 km from the Stalingrad Tractor Plant, and cut off parts of the 62nd Army from the main ones of the Red Army. At the same time, at 16:18, a massive air strike was launched on the city itself, the bombing continued on August 24, 25, 26. The city was almost completely destroyed.

The German attempts to take the city from the north on the following days were stopped due to the stubborn resistance of the Soviet troops, who, despite the superiority of the enemy in manpower and equipment, managed to launch a number of counterattacks and on August 28 stop the offensive. After that, the next day the German command attacked the city from the southwest. Here the offensive developed successfully: the German troops broke through the defensive line and began to enter the rear of the Soviet grouping. To avoid the inevitable encirclement, on September 2, Eremenko withdrew troops to the internal line of defense. On September 12, the defense of Stalingrad was officially entrusted to the 62nd (operating in the northern and central parts of the city) and 64th (in the southern part of Stalingrad) armies. Now the battles were already directly behind Stalingrad.

On September 13, the German 6th Army struck again - now the troops were tasked with breaking through to the central part of the city. By the evening of the 14th, the Germans captured the ruins of the railway station and, at the junction of the 62nd and 64th armies in the Kuporosny area, fell through to the Volga. By September 26, German troops entrenched in the occupied bridgeheads completely shot through the Volga, which remained the only way to deliver reinforcements and ammunition to the defending units of the 62nd and 64th armies in the city.

The fighting in the city entered a protracted phase. A fierce struggle went on for Mamaev Kurgan, the Krasny Oktyabr plant, the tractor plant, the Barrikady artillery plant, individual houses and buildings. The ruins changed hands several times, in such conditions the use of small arms was limited, and soldiers often engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The advance of the German troops, who had to overcome the heroic resistance of the Soviet soldiers, developed extremely slowly: from September 27 to October 8, despite all the efforts of the German shock group, they managed to advance only 400-600 m. In order to turn the tide, Gen. Paulus pulled additional forces to this sector, bringing the number of his troops in the main direction to 90 thousand people, whose actions were supported by up to 2.3 thousand guns and mortars, about 300 tanks and about a thousand aircraft. The Germans outnumbered the troops of the 62nd Army in personnel and artillery 1:1.65, in tanks - 1:3.75, and aviation - 1:5.2.

German troops launched a decisive offensive on the morning of October 14. The German 6th Army launched a decisive offensive against the Soviet bridgeheads near the Volga. On October 15, the Germans captured the tractor factory and broke through to the Volga, cutting off the grouping of the 62nd Army, which was fighting north of the factory. However, the Soviet fighters did not lay down their arms, but continued to resist, creating another hotbed of fighting. The position of the defenders of the city was complicated by the lack of food and ammunition: with the onset of cold weather, transportation across the Volga under constant enemy fire became even more complicated

The last decisive attempt to take control of the right-bank part of Stalingrad was made by Paulus on 11 November. The Germans managed to capture the southern part of the Barrikady plant and take a 500-meter section of the Volga coast. After that, the German troops finally ran out of steam and the battles moved into the positional stage. By this time, Chuikov's 62nd Army held three bridgeheads: in the area of ​​​​the village of Rynok; the eastern part of the Krasny Oktyabr plant (700 by 400 m), which was held by the 138th Infantry Division of Colonel I.I. Lyudnikova; 8 km along the Volga bank from the Krasny Oktyabr plant to the 9th of January Square, incl. northern and eastern slopes of Mamaev Kurgan. (The southern part of the city continued to be controlled by units of the 64th Army.)

Stalingrad strategic offensive operation (November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943)

The encirclement plan for the Stalingrad enemy grouping - Operation Uranus - was approved by I.V. Stalin on November 13, 1942. It provided for strikes from bridgeheads north (on the Don) and south (Sarpinsky Lakes region) of Stalingrad, where Germany's allies made up a significant part of the defending forces, to break through the defenses and envelop the enemy in converging directions on Kalach-on-Don - Soviet. The 2nd stage of the operation provided for the sequential compression of the ring and the destruction of the encircled group. The operation was to be carried out by the forces of three fronts: Southwestern (General N.F. Vatutin), Don (General K.K. Rokossovsky) and Stalingrad (General A.I. Eremenko) - 9 field, 1 tank and 4 air armies. Fresh reinforcements were poured into the front-line units, as well as divisions transferred from the reserve of the Supreme High Command, large stocks of weapons and ammunition were created (even to the detriment of supplying the group defending in Stalingrad), regrouping and the formation of strike groups in the directions of the main attack was carried out secretly from the enemy.

On November 19, as was envisaged by the plan, after a powerful artillery preparation, the troops of the Southwestern and Don Fronts went on the offensive, on November 20 - the troops of the Stalingrad Front. The battle developed rapidly: the Romanian troops, who occupied the areas that turned out to be in the direction of the main attacks, could not stand it and fled. The Soviet command, having introduced pre-prepared mobile groups into the gap, developed the offensive. On the morning of November 23, the troops of the Stalingrad Front took Kalach-on-Don, on the same day, units of the 4th Tank Corps of the South-Western Front and the 4th Mechanized Corps of the Stalingrad Front met in the Soviet farm area. The encirclement was closed. Then, the inner front of the encirclement was formed from the rifle units, and the tank and motorized rifle units began to push the few German units on the flanks, forming the outer front. The German group turned out to be surrounded - parts of the 6th and 4th tank armies - under the command of General F. Paulus: 7 corps, 22 divisions, 284 thousand people.

On November 24, the Soviet Headquarters ordered the Southwestern, Don and Stalingrad fronts to destroy the Stalingrad group of Germans. On the same day, Paulus turned to Hitler with a proposal to start a breakthrough from Stalingrad in a southeasterly direction. However, Hitler categorically forbade the breakthrough, saying that fighting in the encirclement, the 6th Army pulls large enemy forces onto itself, and ordered the defense to continue, waiting for the encircled group to be released. Then all the German troops in the area (both inside and outside the ring) were united into a new army group "Don", headed by Field Marshal E. von Manstein.

The attempt of the Soviet troops to quickly eliminate the encircled grouping, squeezing it from all sides, failed, in connection with which hostilities were suspended and the General Staff began the systematic development of a new operation, code-named "Ring".

For its part, the German command forced the conduct of Operation Winter Thunder (Wintergewitter) to deblockade the 6th Army. To do this, Manstein formed a strong grouping under the command of General G. Goth in the area of ​​​​the village of Kotelnikovsky, the main striking force of which was the LVII Panzer Corps of General of Panzer Troops F. Kirchner. The breakthrough must be carried out in the sector occupied by the 51st Army, whose troops were exhausted by battles and had a large shortage. Going on the offensive on December 12, the Gotha grouping failed the Soviet defense and on the 13th crossed the river. Aksai, however, then got stuck in battles near the village of Verkhne-Kumsky. Only on December 19, the Germans, having brought up reinforcements, managed to push the Soviet troops back to the river. Myshkov. In connection with the emerging threatening situation, the Soviet command transferred part of the forces from the reserve, weakening other sectors of the front, and was forced to revise the plans for Operation Saturn from the side of their limitation. However, by this time the Gotha group, which had lost more than half of its armored vehicles, had run out of steam. Hitler refused to give the order for a counter breakthrough of the Stalingrad grouping, which was 35-40 km away, continuing to demand that Stalingrad be held to the last soldier.

On December 16, Soviet troops launched Operation Little Saturn with the forces of the Southwestern and Voronezh fronts. The enemy defense was broken through and mobile units were introduced into the breakthrough. Manstein was forced to urgently begin the transfer of troops to the Middle Don, weakening incl. and the G. Goth group, which was finally stopped on December 22. Following this, the troops of the Southwestern Front expanded the breakthrough zone and pushed the enemy back 150-200 km and reached the Novaya Kalitva - Millerovo - Morozovsk line. As a result of the operation, the danger of deblockade of the encircled Stalingrad grouping of the enemy was completely eliminated.

The implementation of the plan of operation "Ring" was entrusted to the troops of the Don Front. On January 8, 1943, the commander of the 6th Army, General Paulus, was presented with an ultimatum: if the German troops did not lay down their arms by 10 o'clock on January 9, then all those surrounded would be destroyed. Paulus ignored the ultimatum. On January 10, after a powerful artillery preparation of the Don Front, he went on the offensive, the main blow was delivered by the 65th Army of Lieutenant General P.I. Batov. However, the Soviet command underestimated the possibility of resistance of the encircled group: the Germans, relying on defense in depth, put up desperate resistance. Due to new circumstances, on January 17, the Soviet offensive was suspended and a regrouping of troops and preparations for a new strike began, which followed on January 22. On this day, the last last airfield was taken, through which the communication of the 6th Army with the outside world was carried out. After that, the situation with the supply of the Stalingrad group, which, on the orders of Hitler, was carried out by air by the forces of the Luftwaffe, became even more complicated: if earlier it was also completely insufficient, now the situation has become critical. On January 26, in the area of ​​​​Mamaev Kurgan, the troops of the 62nd and 65th armies advancing towards each other united. The Stalingrad group of Germans was divided into two parts, which, in accordance with the plan of the operation, were to be destroyed in parts. On January 31, the southern group capitulated, along with which Paulus, who was promoted to field marshal on January 30, surrendered. On February 2, the northern group, commanded by General K. Strecker, laid down its arms. This ended the Battle of Stalingrad. 24 generals, 2500 officers, more than 91 thousand soldiers were taken prisoner, more than 7 thousand guns and mortars, 744 aircraft, 166 tanks, 261 armored vehicles, more than 80 thousand cars, etc. were captured.

Results

As a result of the victory of the Red Army in the Battle of Stalingrad, it managed to seize the strategic initiative from the enemy, which created the prerequisites for preparing a new large-scale offensive and, in the long term, the complete defeat of the aggressor. The battle became the beginning of a radical turning point in the war, and also contributed to the strengthening of the international prestige of the USSR. In addition, such a serious defeat undermined the authority of Germany and its armed forces and contributed to increased resistance from the enslaved peoples of Europe.

Dates: 17.07.1942 - 2.02.1943

Place: USSR, Stalingrad region

Results: USSR victory

Enemies: USSR, Germany and its allies

Commanders: A.M. Vasilevsky, N.F. Vatutin, A.I. Eremenko, K.K. Rokossovsky, V.I. Chuikov, E. von Manstein, M. von Weichs, F. Paulus, G. Goth.

Red Army: 187 thousand people, 2.2 thousand guns and mortars, 230 tanks, 454 aircraft

Germany and allies: 270 thousand people, approx. 3,000 guns and mortars, 250 tanks and self-propelled guns, 1,200 aircraft

Side forces(to the beginning of the counteroffensive):

Red Army: 1,103,000 men, 15,501 guns and mortars, 1,463 tanks, 1,350 aircraft

Germany and her allies: c. 1,012,000 people (including approx. 400 thousand Germans, 143 thousand Romanians, 220 Italians, 200 Hungarians, 52 thousand Khivs), 10,290 guns and mortars, 675 tanks, 1216 aircraft

Losses:

USSR: 1,129,619 people (including 478,741 irrevocable people, 650,878 - sanitary)), 15,728 guns and mortars, 4,341 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2,769 aircraft

Germany and its allies: 1,078,775 (including 841 thousand people - irrevocable and sanitary, 237,775 people - prisoners)

The Battle of Stalingrad, the fighting between Soviet and German troops in the bend of the Don and the Volga, as well as in Stalingrad on July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943. Includes two strategic Stalingrad operations - offensive and defensive. The Stalingrad defensive operation (July 17 - November 18, 1942) began with the offensive of Army Group B under the command of General M. Weichs against the troops of the Stalingrad Front under the command of General V.N. Gordova. In the area of ​​​​the 6th German Army (General F. Paulus), which delivered the main blow, the balance of forces was as follows.

Source: History of the Second World War: In 12 vols. M., 1973-1979. V. 5. S. 158.

The fighting in the bend of the Don and the Volga continued for a whole month. They demonstrated the increased combat prowess of the Red Army. Unlike the summer of 1941, the Soviet troops were not defeated. They retained combat readiness, conducted a mobile defense and did not get into the environment. The staunch resistance of the Red Army in the Stalingrad direction forced Hitler to transfer here from the Caucasus (July 31) the 4th Panzer Army (General G. Goth). After that, the Germans intensified the onslaught and, having made the last throw to the Volga, at the end of August broke through to the city.

The battle for Stalingrad began on August 23, 1942, with the withdrawal of units of the 6th German Army (General F. Paulus) to the Volga near the northern outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, the 4th Panzer Army broke through to it from the south. The city was taken in pincers. Now communication with him could be carried out only through the river. In order to immediately suppress the will of the city's defenders to resist, on August 23 the German command threw all the aircraft of the 4th Air Fleet on the city, which dropped over 2 thousand bombs on the city in one day. After this strike from the sky, Stalingrad, even before the start of the fighting, overnight turned into piles of ruins.

In September, to capture Stalingrad, the Germans created a 170,000-strong group (primarily from the forces of the 6th Army). The city was defended by the 62nd (General V.I. Chuikov) and 64th (General M.S. Shumilov) armies. In the ranks of the 62nd Army, which received the main blow, there were at that moment 50 thousand people. Having captured Stalingrad, the Germans could cut the line of the Volga, which made it very difficult to connect the center of the country with the Caucasus region. By the way, this Volga city became the only point in the entire war to which the German army reached in accordance with the final frontier of its advance to the east according to the Barbarossa plan.

On September 13, the assault on Stalingrad began. If earlier Soviet troops left cities, as a rule, without street fighting, now a fierce struggle has flared up for houses and floors. The Germans pushed the 64th Army to the southern outskirts of the city, and the main burden of the Stalingrad defense fell on the shoulders of Chuikov's fighters, with whom contact was maintained only through the Volga. Until September 27, the main struggle was for the Central Station, which changed hands 13 times. Other strongholds of defense were Mamaev Kurgan, Pavlov's House, the Krasny Oktyabr, Barrikada, STZ factories. The battles on the 20-kilometer strip along the Volga did not stop day or night, moving from skirmishes to hand-to-hand fights.

According to eyewitnesses, the city turned into a sea of ​​fire, smoke, dust and ruins. The German offensive in the city split into many separate attacks, which reduced the power of the blow. The war, which was previously maneuverable, turned into positional warfare, resulting in a brutal form of close combat. If earlier the advance of the Germans was measured in hundreds of kilometers, then at the easternmost point of the Soviet-German confrontation - in Stalingrad, the score had already gone by meters. So, from September 27 to October 8, 1942, German troops advanced only 400-600 meters.

On October 14, the Germans launched a general assault on Stalingrad. “It was the day of the most bloody and fierce battles of the entire battle. That morning it was impossible to hear individual shots or explosions - everything merged into a continuous deafening roar, ”recalled General Chuikov. The assault lasted three weeks. The attackers managed to capture the Stalingrad Tractor Plant and reach the Volga in the northern sector of defense of the 62nd Army. But the defenders of Stalingrad, pressed against the river, continued to repel the onslaught of the assault detachments with extraordinary stamina.

On November 14, the German command made a third attempt to completely capture the city. After a desperate struggle, the Germans took the southern part of the Barricades plant and broke through in this area to the Volga. This was their last success. During the street fighting, the fighters of Chuikov and Shumilov repelled up to 700 attacks. From July to November, the Germans lost 700 thousand people in the Battle of Stalingrad. Soviet troops - about 644 thousand people.

Stalingrad became a giant funnel into which the main forces of Army Group B were drawn. On its flanks were the less combat-ready armies of Germany's allies - Romania and Italy, which did not have a prepared defense line. Based on this situation, the Soviet command concentrated strike groups with a total strength of up to 1 million people against the flanks of Army Group B. A preponderance of forces was created here (although in general, Army Group B also included up to 1 million people). The balance of forces at the beginning of the counteroffensive is given in the table.

Source: History of the Second World War: In 12 vols. M., 1973-1979. T. 6. P. 35.

The plan of the Stalingrad offensive operation (November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943) envisaged the encirclement and liquidation of German troops near Stalingrad, as well as a general attack on Rostov to block the entire Caucasian group of Germans from the north.

On November 19, 1942, the Red Army went on the offensive. The Don (General K. K. Rokossovsky) and South-Western (General N.F. Vatutin) fronts advanced from the Don. From the south, they were attacked by the Stalingrad Front (General A.I. Eremenko). The blow was skillfully timed. It fell on the period when the first frosts had already bound the soil, stopping the autumn thaw, and at the same time, heavy snowfalls had not yet had time to cover the ground with deep snow. All this ensured a high speed of advance of the troops and allowed them to maneuver.

The attackers quickly broke through the front of the helpless enemy troops who did not have prepared defensive positions. On November 23, the advancing units met at Kalach, surrounding 330 thousand people near Stalingrad. (mainly parts of the 6th army). Paulus suggested starting a breakthrough to the west as soon as possible. But the German leadership, relying on past successes, ordered the 6th Army to wait for outside help. Breaking through the snow-covered steppes, with a shortage of warm clothing and fuel, was a great risk. However, an attack from outside the tank group of General Hoth to help the encircled failed (see Myshkov).

In turn, the attempt of the Soviet troops to immediately destroy the encircled grouping failed. This was largely due to a clear underestimation of the number of compounds that fell into the boiler. It was assumed that there were about 80-90 thousand people. In fact, more than 300 thousand were surrounded (about a third of the forces of Army Group B, and the most combat-ready). The Germans took up all-round defense and steadfastly repulsed the external onslaught.

The rate preferred the option that reliably guarantees against any surprises. It was the desire not to let the Germans out of the ring in any case that led to the fact that seven Soviet armies (over 210 thousand people) were concentrated around the encircled troops. Having attracted such a large number of forces to itself, Paulus' army, by stubborn defense, significantly helped the successful withdrawal of German troops from the Caucasus. This largely prevented the defeat of the entire southern wing of the German front and did not allow the Soviet command to carry out the maximum program of its offensive (see Rostov operation).

On January 10, 1943, the liquidation of the encircled group began. Heavy fighting continued for three weeks. In the second half of January, the 21st Army (General I.M. Chistyakov) broke into Stalingrad from the west, and the 62nd Army intensified the onslaught from the east. On January 26, both armies united, dividing the German troops in the city into two parts. On January 31, the Southern group led by Paulus (the day before he received the rank of field marshal) capitulated. On February 2, Severnaya also surrendered. 91 thousand people were taken prisoner. In general, during the Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad, the Germans and their allies lost over 800 thousand people, up to 2 thousand tanks and 3 thousand combat and transport aircraft. Of particular note are the significant losses of German aviation (in aircraft and personnel), after which it ceased to dominate the air.

In total, in the Battle of Stalingrad, the Germans and their allies lost 1.5 million killed, wounded and captured (that is, a quarter of all the forces of Germany and its allies, then operating on the Soviet-German front). Here, off the banks of the Volga, the glory of German weapons was buried, gained by the brilliant victories of 1939-1941. The losses of the Red Army in the Battle of Stalingrad amounted to over 1.1 million people, 4341 tanks, 2769 aircraft.

In Stalingrad, the German onslaught to the East was finally stopped. From here, from the banks of the Volga, the expulsion of the invaders from the territory of the USSR began. The time for German victories is over. A turning point came in the Great Patriotic War. The strategic initiative passed to the Red Army. The moral side of this victory was very important. It caused a surge of energy and an uplift of spirit among the people. After Stalingrad, Soviet soldiers gained sufficient confidence in their abilities.

The defeat at Stalingrad sharply weakened Germany's foreign policy positions. Neutral countries retreated from Hitler, and the illusions of his allies about victory in the war dissipated. This convincing victory of the Red Army had a sobering effect on Japan and Turkey, forcing them to exercise caution and restraint. For the participants of this battle, a medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" was issued.

Used materials of the book: Nikolai Shefov. Russian battles. Military History Library. M., 2002.

Battle of Stalingrad- unfolded on an area of ​​​​100 thousand square meters. km; with a front length of 400 to 850 km and lasted 200 days and nights. At different times, the troops of the Stalingrad, South-Eastern, South-Western, Don, left wing of the Voronezh fronts, the Volga military flotilla and the Stalingrad air defense corps area participated in it at different times (Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945. Encyclopedia. M., 1985. C 682.)

At certain stages, the forces on both opposing sides amounted to over 2 million people, up to 26 thousand guns and mortars, approximately 2.1 thousand tanks and assault guns, and about 2.6 thousand combat aircraft.

In the spring of 1942, the situation on the Soviet-German front worsened. The Soviet high command underestimated the strength of the enemy and did not make a clear choice between defensive and offensive actions. This led to two major defeats for the Red Army in May: on the Kerch Peninsula and near Kharkov. The heavy losses suffered by the Soviet troops led to a serious weakening of the Red Army, especially in the southern sector of the front, where the enemy was preparing to go on the offensive.

After the losses suffered in the first year of the war, the German command was no longer able to repeat the offensive in three directions. However, taking advantage of the absence of a second front in Europe, it could concentrate the maximum military resources on the Soviet-German front.

By May 1942, Germany and its allies had 6.2 million people here, 3,230 tanks and assault guns, 43,000 guns and mortars, and about 3,400 aircraft. (50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR. M., 1968. P. 313.) The plan of the 1942 campaign was most fully set out in Directive No. 41 of the Design Bureau (Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht) dated April 5, 1942. It said that the purpose of the offensive was to finally destroy the forces still at the disposal of the Soviets and to deprive them, as far as possible, of the most important military and economic centers. (Samsonov A.M. The Second World War. M., 1985. S. 202-203.) The offensive was to focus mainly on the southern direction. At the same time, simultaneous attacks on Stalingrad and the Caucasus were planned. German troops were supposed to go to the Caucasus and the lower reaches of the Volga in order to deprive the Soviet Union of its main economic resources: coal and industrial enterprises of the Donbass, bread from the Kuban and the Volga region, oil from Baku. The establishment of control over the Volga was supposed to deprive the Soviet Union of the main water artery connecting the central and southern regions of the country.

The Design Bureau divided Army Group South into Army Group B (under the command of Field Marshal F. Bock) and Army Group A (under the command of Field Marshal V. List), the grouping of which was deployed on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front. It consisted of 97 divisions, including 10 armored and 8 motorized. They numbered 900 thousand people, 1.2 thousand tanks and assault guns, more than 17 thousand guns and mortars, supported by 1640 combat aircraft. (History of the Second World War, 1939-1945. V.5. M., 1975. S. 145-146.)

On June 28, the Wehrmacht launched a general offensive in the East. Large enemy forces struck against the troops of the left wing of the Bryansk Front, and on June 30 the 6th Army broke through the defenses of the troops of the right wing of the Southwestern Front. The success of the enemy was obvious. German troops reached the Don, crossed it to the west of Voronezh and captured a significant part of the city. They continued offensive operations, trying to encircle and destroy the troops of the Southwestern and Southern fronts. The troops of the Southwestern Front with heavy fighting retreated beyond the Don, to Stalingrad, and the troops of the Southern Front - to the lower reaches of the Don.

The German command clearly overestimated their successes. It considered that conditions had been created for a simultaneous attack on Stalingrad and the Caucasus. To capture Stalingrad, the 6th army of Colonel General F. Paulus was allocated. On July 17, when units of the 62nd Soviet Army came into contact in the bend of the Don with the advanced units of the 6th Army, the Battle of Stalingrad began. By July 17, the 6th Army included 13 divisions (about 270 thousand people, 3 thousand guns and mortars and about 500 tanks). Its actions were supported by aviation of the 4th Air Fleet (up to 1200 combat aircraft).

On July 12, the Stalingrad Front was created (commander Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, and from July 23 - Lieutenant General V. N. Gordov). It included the reserve 63rd, 62nd and 64th Armies, the 21st Army and the 8th Air Army of the Southwestern Front. The 28th, 38th and 57th armies of the former Southwestern Front retreated to the Stalingrad Front and included in its composition, and from July 30, the 51st Army of the North Caucasian Front. Of these, the 57th army, as well as the 38th and 28th armies, on the basis of which the 1st and 4th tank armies were formed, were in reserve. On July 25, the Volga military flotilla was included in the Stalingrad Front.

The Stalingrad Front was supposed to defend itself in a strip 520 km wide and stop the further advance of the German troops. th | the air army had 454 aircraft. In addition, 150-200 long-range bombers and 60 fighters of the 102nd air defense division operated here. (The Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945. Encyclopedia. S. 682.) Thus, the German 6th Army had an overwhelming superiority over the Soviet troops: in people by 1.7 times, in artillery and tanks by 1.3 times, in aircraft by more than 2 times. The formations and units of the reserve armies, advanced from the depths, took up defensive positions on insufficiently prepared lines, often being attacked by enemy aircraft and ground forces while still on the march.

On July 14, 1942, Stalingrad was declared under martial law. Four defensive bypasses were built on the outskirts of the city: outer, middle, inner and city.

Parts of the 62nd and 64th Army offered fierce resistance to the formations of the 6th Army of Paulus at the turn of the Chir and Tsimla rivers. On July 23-29, the 6th Army made an attempt to break into Stalingrad on the move. As a result of the stubborn defense of the 62nd and 64th armies and the counterattack of the formations of the 1st and 4th tank armies, the enemy's plan was thwarted. The strength of the Soviet resistance convinced Paulus that the 6th Army could not cross the Don alone, and in the first week of August there was a temporary lull.

As early as July 31, the German command was forced to turn the 4th Panzer Army of Colonel-General G. Goth from the Caucasus to the Stalingrad direction. Its advanced units reached Kotelnikovsky, creating the threat of a breakthrough to the city from the southwest. Fighting began on the southwestern approaches to Stalingrad.

To facilitate command and control of troops stretched in a strip of 500 km, in early August, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command divided the Stalingrad Front into two fronts: Stalingrad and South-Eastern, the command of which was entrusted to Colonel General A. I. Eremenko. The main efforts of the Stalingrad Front were directed to the fight against the German 6th Army, which was advancing on Stalingrad from the west and northwest, and the South-East - to defend the south-western direction. On August 9-10, the troops of the South-Eastern Front launched a counterattack on the 4th Panzer Army and forced it to go on the defensive.

The breakthrough of the 6th and 4th tank armies to the outer contour and the transition of the troops of the Stalingrad front to a tough defense ended the defensive battles on the distant approaches to Stalingrad.

The German command regrouped forces within both armies. The troops of the Italian 8th Army, which arrived in Army Group B in early August, replaced the 29th Corps of the 6th Army, which was defending a wide section of the Don. The 11th Army Corps, received from the reserve of the Supreme Command of the Ground Forces, was transferred to reinforce the 6th Army.

On August 19, two enemy strike groups went on the offensive, simultaneously delivering strikes from the west and south-west in order to capture Stalingrad. At first, the German offensive developed slowly. As a result, from August 21 to September 3, there were fierce battles on the middle bypass. By the evening of August 23, the 14th Panzer Corps managed to reach the Volga northwest of the city. Dozens of German tanks broke through to the area of ​​the tractor factory. Behind them moved motorized and infantry units. The enemy wanted to break into the city on the move through its northern outskirts. However, this blow of the German troops was repelled. On the same day, German aviation carried out the first massive raid on Stalingrad, in which all the air corps of Field Marshal W. von Richthofen's 4th Air Fleet took part, along with the available squadrons of three-engine Yu-52s and long-range bombers from the airfields in Kerch and Orel, which made about 2 thousand sorties. Stalingrad was engulfed in flames. It was an act of terror undertaken to demoralize the city's defenders.

The enemy's breakthrough to the Volga further complicated and worsened the position of the units defending the city. The Soviet command took measures to destroy the enemy grouping that had broken through to the Volga. Counterattacks by the troops of the Stalingrad Front from the northwest along the left flank of the 6th German Army stopped the enemy offensive on the northwestern approaches to Stalingrad. Since the 62nd Army was cut off from the rest of the troops of the Stalingrad Front, it was transferred to the South-Eastern Front.

However, the German command continued to build up forces, concentrating the main ones to fight directly for the city. By the end of September, Army Group B, advancing on Stalingrad, had over 80 divisions. (The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Encyclopedia. S. 683.) The enemy tried to capture Stalingrad as soon as possible.

From September 12, the further defense of Stalingrad was entrusted to the 62nd Army, commanded by General V.I. Chuikov and the troops of the 64th Army, General M.S. Shumilov. On September 13, the enemy launched an attack on the central part of the city and went to the Volga. The flanks of both armies were separated. In mid-September, the position of the defenders of Stalingrad deteriorated sharply, the fighting took on an exceptionally fierce character.

For two nights, September 15 and 16, the 13th Guards Rifle Division of General A.I. Rodimtsev crossed to the right bank of the Volga, arriving to replenish the bloodless 62nd Army. The guard units pushed back the German troops from the area of ​​the central crossing across the Volga, cleared many streets and quarters of them, knocked out the Stalingrad-1 station. (Samsonov A. M. UK op. P. 217.) Fierce battles in Stalingrad were fought throughout September. During this period, the defenders of the city were greatly assisted by the counterattacks of the 1st Guards, 24th and 66th armies north of the city, which almost never stopped during September. Significant German forces fettered the troops of the 57th and 51st armies, who undertook a private offensive operation south of Stalingrad. The struggle to repel the first enemy assault lasted from September 13 to September 26.

Since September 27, factory settlements and the Orlovka area have become the center of the fighting. The main forces of the Stalingrad Front were cut off by the enemy from the city. Given this and taking into account the tense nature of the fighting in Stalingrad, the Stavka liquidated the unified command of the Stalingrad and South-Eastern fronts. On September 28, the Stalingrad Front was renamed the Don Front (commanded by Lieutenant General K. K. Rokossovsky), and the South-Eastern Front, whose troops fought for the city, was renamed Stalingrad (commanded by Colonel General A. I. Eremenko). Later (October 25), on the right wing of the Don Front, a new, Southwestern Front (commanded by Lieutenant General A.F. Vatutin) was created.

On October 14, German troops, after powerful aviation and artillery preparation, launched another assault on the city. Several divisions advanced on a sector of about 5 km. This offensive of the enemy, which lasted almost three weeks, led to the most fierce battle in the city. On October 15, German units managed to capture the Stalingrad Tractor Plant and reach the Volga in a narrow area. The position of the 62nd Army became extremely complicated. Heavy street fighting unfolded for every house, inside every house for every floor, every apartment, every basement. Both sides suffered heavy losses.

On November 14, the German command made the last attempt to capture the city. The Germans managed to occupy the southern part of the Barricades plant and to the south of it, in a narrow area, to break through to the Volga. But this was the last success of the enemy. The defensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad is over. In the course of it, German troops lost about 700 thousand killed and wounded, over 2 thousand guns and mortars, more than one thousand tanks and assault guns and over 1.4 thousand combat and transport aircraft. (The Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945. Encyclopedia. S. 683.) The losses of the Soviet troops were also great - 643,842 soldiers and officers, of which irretrievable losses amounted to about 324 thousand people. (The secrecy stamp was removed. M., 1993. S. 179.) But the German troops failed to completely capture the city. Their offensive capabilities were exhausted. Stalingrad was held by the Soviet troops, conditions were created for them to go on a decisive counteroffensive.

The strategic offensive operation of the Soviet troops to encircle and defeat the enemy troops near Stalingrad lasted from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943. The counteroffensive plan ("Uranus") was developed during the defensive operation. An important role in its development and implementation was played by representatives of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, General of the Army G.K. Zhukov and Colonel-General A.M. Vasilevsky. The plan of the counteroffensive was to strike from the bridgeheads on the Don in the Serafimovichi and Kletskaya regions and from the Sarpinsky Lakes region, south of Stalingrad, to defeat the troops covering the flanks of the enemy strike force, and, developing the offensive on Kalach, Sovetsky, to surround and destroy its main forces, operating directly near Stalingrad. (The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Encyclopedia. S. 683.) Direct preparations for the counteroffensive began in the first half of October 1942. By the beginning of the counteroffensive in the Stalingrad direction, the troops of the Southwestern, Don and Stalingrad fronts were deployed, numbering a total of 1106.1 thousand people, 15501 guns and mortars, 1463 tanks and self-propelled artillery guns, 1350 combat aircraft. They were opposed by the Italian 8th, Romanian 3rd Army, German 6th Field and 4th Panzer and Romanian 4th Armies of Army Group B (Colonel General M. Weichs), numbering 10,290 guns and mortars, 675 tanks and assault guns, 1216 combat aircraft. Thus, the balance of forces was: in terms of personnel 1.1:1, in terms of guns and mortars 1.5:1, in tanks and assault guns 2.2:1 and in combat aircraft 1.1:1 in favor of the Soviet troops.

On October 19, 1942, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive near Stalingrad. The troops of the Southwestern and right wing of the Don Front (65th Army) broke through the defenses of the 3rd Romanian Army in several sectors. By the end of the day, the troops of the Southwestern Front advanced 25-35 km. Formations of the 65th Army with heavy fighting advanced 3-5 km, but could not completely break through the enemy's first line of defense.

On November 20, the Stalingrad Front went on the offensive. Its strike groups broke through the defenses of the 4th German Panzer Army, the 4th Romanian Army and ensured the entry of mobile formations of the 13th and 4th mechanized and 4th cavalry corps into the breakthrough. The tank and mechanized corps of the two fronts advanced rapidly towards each other. At the same time, the encirclement of a large grouping of Romanian troops in the Raspopin area was completed, and the cavalry corps and rifle formations of the 1st Army, the 5th Tank Army and the 51st Army, developing an offensive in the south, western and southern directions, created an external front to encircle the entire Stalingrad grouping of German troops (ibid., p. 683).

On November 23, on the fifth day after the start of the offensive, the mobile units of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts closed the encirclement around the 6th and part of the forces of the 4th Panzer German armies. 22 divisions and over 160 separate units numbering about 330 thousand people were surrounded. By the end of November 23, Raspopin's enemy group capitulated. The troops of the 5th Panzer and 21st armies captured 27 thousand soldiers and officers of the 5th and 4th Romanian corps.

On November 22, Paulus, in a radiogram to Hitler, asked for freedom of action in case he could not organize all-round defense, and raised the question of withdrawing from his positions. In response, an order came from Hitler's headquarters, in which the idea of ​​leaving the encirclement was categorically rejected.

With the approach of Soviet infantry formations, a continuous internal front was created to encircle the German group. On November 30, Soviet troops more than halved the territory occupied by German troops, but they could not cut and destroy their grouping on the move. At the same time, a more than 500-kilometer outer front of the encirclement was formed (ibid., p. 683).

The high command of the Wehrmacht made an attempt to save the encircled troops. This operation was entrusted to the newly created Army Group "Don" under the command of Field Marshal E. Manstein, who was tasked with breaking the Soviet encirclement and connecting with Paulus. The Don group included up to 30 divisions. In front of the troops of the Southwestern Front there were 17 divisions from the Don Army Group, and 13 divisions under the command of Colonel-General Goth (Army Group Goth) opposed the troops of the 5th shock and 51st armies of the Stalingrad Front.

On the morning of December 12, the German troops of the Goth group went on the offensive from the Kotelnikovskoye area, broke through the Soviet defenses, developing the offensive, crossed the river. Aksai and began to move towards the river. Myshkov and reached it. About 40 km remained to the encircled grouping of Paulus. Fierce and bloody battles unfolded in the Verkhne-Kumsky region. At the cost of incredible efforts and sacrifices, the Soviet troops won the six days needed for the approach of the reserves. The decisive battles took place on the river. Myshkov, where the 2nd Guards Army of General R. Ya. Malinovsky deployed on its northern bank. On the morning of December 24, the 2nd Guards and 51st armies went on the offensive and, successfully advancing, on December 29 they cleared the city and the Kotelnikovskoye railway station from German troops.

In creating a crisis situation for Army Group Don, the successful offensive of the Soviet troops in the region of the Middle Don was of decisive importance. On December 16, the troops of the Southwestern Front and part of the forces of the Voronezh Front launched Operation Small Saturn with the aim of developing a counteroffensive. The fighting unfolded northwest of Stalingrad, in the region of the Middle Don. As a result of tense fighting, Soviet troops advanced 150-200 km, defeated the main forces of the 8th Italian Army, the German operational group Hollidt and the remnants of the forces of the 3rd Romanian Army, went to the rear of the Don Army Group.

By December 31, the troops of the Stalingrad Front, operating in the Kotelnikovsky direction, finally defeated the 4th Romanian army, and the 4th German tank army inflicted a heavy defeat and pushed it back 200-250 km from Stalingrad.

As a result of the successful conduct of operations on the Middle Don in the Kotelnikovskaya area, the attempt of the German troops to release the encircled grouping was finally thwarted, and favorable conditions were created for its complete liquidation.

By the beginning of January 1943, the German group encircled near Stalingrad had been reduced to 250,000 men, with up to 300 tanks, 4,130 guns and mortars, and 100 combat aircraft remaining. After the failure of Manstein's offensive, all hopes for outside help disappeared. An attempt to supply the encircled troops with the help of aviation did not give the expected results. During this time, up to 700 German aircraft were destroyed.

The liquidation of the group (Operation "Ring") was assigned to the 1st troops of the Don Front. On the direction of the main attack of the Soviet*, the command created a decisive superiority of forces and means: in infantry - 3 times, in tanks - 1.2 times, in artillery - more than 10 times. (Samsonov A. M. Decree, soch., p. 231.) The actions of the advancing troops were supposed to be supported by the 16th air army.

After the enemy rejected the offer of surrender, on January 10, the troops of the front went on the offensive. The enemy group was divided into two parts. The position of the German troops was hopeless. Hitler, trying to somehow mitigate the impending disaster, ordered the promotion of a whole group of senior officers of the 6th Army in the ranks and, most importantly, awarded Paulus the rank of Field Marshal. On January 31, the southern group of troops of the 6th Army, led by Field Marshal Paulus, ceased resistance. On February 2, the northern group of Germans laid down their arms. During the offensive from January to February 2, the troops of the Don Front captured over 91 thousand soldiers and officers, including 2500 officers and 241 generals, about 140 thousand were killed during the liquidation of the group. The battle of Stalingrad is over.

The historical significance of this battle is enormous. During the fighting, Soviet troops surrounded and destroyed the main forces of the 4th tank and 6th field German armies, defeated the 3rd and 4th Romanian and 8th Italian armies. Enemy losses at Stalingrad from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943 were enormous. The Wehrmacht lost 32 divisions and 3 brigades, and 16 of its divisions suffered heavy losses. (The Great Patriotic War: A Brief Popular Science Essay. M., 1973. S. 161.) In total, during the Battle of Stalingrad, the enemy lost about 1.5 million of his soldier officers, that is, more than a quarter of all the forces that the Wehrmacht had at that time and Germany's allies on the Soviet-German front (the losses of the Soviet troops during this time amounted to about 1030 thousand people, including irretrievable - about 479 thousand people, over 3 thousand tanks and assault guns, more than 12 thousand guns and mortars, over 3 thousand (Samsonov A. M. Battle of Stalingrad. 3rd ed. M., 1982. P. 593.) It was such a crushing blow that shook the entire German military machine to its foundations. The strategic initiative passed to the Soviet The morale of the soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht was broken.This victory of the Red Army made a decisive contribution to the development of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War and the entire Second World War.

Of course, 1 German soldier can kill 10 Soviet ones. But when the 11th comes, what will he do?

Franz Halder

Stalingrad was the main goal of the German summer offensive campaign. However, on the way to the city it was necessary to overcome the Crimean defenses. And here the Soviet command unwittingly, of course, but made life easier for the enemy. In May 1942, a massive Soviet offensive began in the Kharkov region. The problem is that this offensive was unprepared and turned into a terrible disaster. More than 200 thousand people were killed, 775 tanks and 5000 guns were lost. As a result, the complete strategic advantage in the southern sector of hostilities was in the hands of Germany. The 6th and 4th German tank armies crossed the Don and began to move inland. The Soviet army retreated, not having time to cling to the advantageous lines of defense. Surprisingly, for the second year in a row, the German offensive turned out to be completely unexpected for the Soviet command. The only advantage of the 42nd year was only that now the Soviet units did not allow themselves to be easily surrounded.

Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad

On July 17, 1942, the troops of the 62nd and 64th Soviet armies entered the battle on the Chir River. In the future, it is this battle that historians will call the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad. For a correct understanding of further events, it should be noted that the successes of the German army in the offensive campaign for 42 years were so amazing that Hitler decided, simultaneously with the offensive in the South, to intensify the offensive in the North, capturing Leningrad. This is not just a historical retreat, because as a result of this decision, the 11th German army under the command of Manstein was transferred from Sevastopol to Leningrad. Manstein himself and also Halder opposed this decision, arguing that the German army might not have enough reserves on the southern front. But this was very important, since Germany was simultaneously solving several problems in the south:

• The capture of Stalingrad as a symbol of the fall of the leaders of the Soviet people.
• The capture of the southern regions with oil. It was a more important and more mundane task.

July 23 Hitler signs directive number 45, which indicates the main goal of the German offensive: Leningrad, Stalingrad, the Caucasus.

On July 24, Wehrmacht troops captured Rostov-on-Don and Novocherkassk. Now the gates to the Caucasus were completely open, and for the first time there was a threat of losing the entire Soviet South. The 6th German Army continued its movement towards Stalingrad. Panic was noticeable in the Soviet troops. In some sectors of the front, the troops of the 51st, 62nd, 64th armies withdrew and retreated even when enemy reconnaissance groups approached. And these are only those cases that are documented. This forced Stalin to start shuffling the generals in this sector of the front and to engage in a general change in structure. Instead of the Bryansk Front, the Voronezh and Bryansk Fronts were formed. Vatutin and Rokossovsky were appointed commanders, respectively. But even these decisions could not stop the panic and retreat of the Red Army. The Germans were advancing towards the Volga. As a result, on July 28, 1942, Stalin issued Order No. 227, which was called "not one step back."

At the end of July, General Jodl announced that the key to the Caucasus was in Stalingrad. This was enough for Hitler to make the most important decision of the entire offensive summer campaign on July 31, 1942. According to this decision, the 4th Panzer Army was transferred to Stalingrad.

Map of the Battle of Stalingrad

Order "Not a step back!"

The peculiarity of the order was to combat alarmism. Anyone who retreated without an order was to be shot on the spot. In fact, it was an element of regression, but this repression justified itself in terms of the fact that it was able to inspire fear and make Soviet soldiers fight even more courageously. The only problem was that Order 227 did not analyze the reasons for the defeat of the Red Army during the summer of 1942, but simply carried out repressions against ordinary soldiers. This order emphasizes the hopelessness of the situation that prevailed at that time. The command itself emphasizes:

• Despair. The Soviet command now realized that the failure of the summer of 1942 threatened the existence of the entire USSR. Literally a few jerks and Germany will win.
• Contradiction. This order simply shifted all responsibility from the Soviet generals to ordinary officers and soldiers. However, the reasons for the failures of the summer of 1942 lie precisely in the miscalculations of the command, which could not foresee the direction of the enemy's main attack and made significant mistakes.
• Cruelty. According to this order, everyone was shot, indiscriminately. Now any retreat of the army was punishable by execution. And no one understood why the soldier slept - they shot everyone.

Today, many historians say that Stalin's order No. 227 became the basis for the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad. In fact, it is impossible to answer this question unambiguously. History, as you know, does not tolerate the subjunctive mood, but it is important to understand that by that time Germany was at war with almost the whole world, and its advance to Stalingrad was extremely difficult, during which the Wehrmacht troops lost about half of their headcount. To this it must be added that the Soviet soldier knew how to die, which is repeatedly emphasized in the memoirs of Wehrmacht generals.

The course of the battle

In August 1942, it became absolutely clear that the main target of the German attack was Stalingrad. The city began to prepare for defense.

In the second half of August, reinforced troops of the 6th German Army under the command of Friedrich Paulus (then still just a general) and troops of the 4th Panzer Army under the command of Hermann Gott moved to Stalingrad. On the part of the Soviet Union, armies took part in the defense of Stalingrad: the 62nd under the command of Anton Lopatin and the 64th army under the command of Mikhail Shumilov. In the south of Stalingrad was the 51st Army of General Kolomiets and the 57th Army of General Tolbukhin.

August 23, 1942 was the most terrible day of the first part of the defense of Stalingrad. On this day, the German Luftwaffe launched a powerful air strike on the city. Historical documents indicate that more than 2,000 sorties were made on this day alone. The next day, the evacuation of the civilian population across the Volga began. It should be noted that as early as August 23, German troops in a number of sectors of the front managed to reach the Volga. It was a narrow strip of land north of Stalingrad, but Hitler was delighted with the success. These successes were achieved by the 14th Panzer Corps of the Wehrmacht.

Despite this, the commander of the 14th Panzer Corps, von Wittersgjen, turned to General Paulus with a report in which he said that it was better for the German troops to leave this city, since it was impossible to succeed with such enemy resistance. So strongly von Wittershyen was struck by the courage of the defenders of Stalingrad. For this, the general was removed from command immediately and was put on trial.

On August 25, 1942, fighting began in the vicinity of Stalingrad. In fact, the Battle of Stalingrad, which we briefly consider today, began on this very day. Fights were fought not only for every house, but literally for every floor. Often there was a situation when "puff pies" were formed: German troops were on one floor of the house, and Soviet troops were on the other floor. Thus began the urban battle, where the German tanks no longer have their decisive advantage.

On September 14, the troops of the 71st Infantry Division of Germany, commanded by General Hartmann, managed to reach the Volga in a narrow corridor. If we recall what Hitler said about the reasons for the offensive campaign of 1942, then the main goal was achieved - navigation along the Volga was stopped. However, the Fuhrer, under the influence of successes during the offensive campaign, demanded that the Battle of Stalingrad be completed with the complete defeat of the Soviet troops. As a result, a situation developed when the Soviet troops could not retreat because of Stalin's order 227, and the German troops were forced to advance because Hitler maniacally wanted this.

It became obvious that the Battle of Stalingrad would be the place where one of the army was completely killed. The general balance of power was clearly not in favor of the German side, since the army of General Paulus had 7 divisions, the number of which was declining every day. At the same time, the Soviet command transferred 6 fresh divisions here in full force. By the end of September 1942, in the Stalingrad area, 7 divisions of General Paulus were opposed by about 15 Soviet divisions. And these are only the official army units, which do not take into account the militias, of which there were a lot in the city.

On September 13, 1942, the battle for the center of Stalingrad began. Fights were fought for every street, for every house, for every floor. In the city there were no more not destroyed buildings. To demonstrate the events of those days, it is necessary to mention the summary for September 14:

• 7 hours 30 minutes. German troops came to the Academic street.
• 7 hours 40 minutes. The first battalion of the mechanized forces is completely cut off from the main forces.
• 7 hours 50 minutes. Fierce fighting is going on in the area of ​​Mamaev Kurgan and the station.
• 8 ocloc'k. The station was taken by German troops.
• 8 hours 40 minutes. We managed to recapture the station.
• 9 hours 40 minutes. The station is again captured by the Germans.
• 10 hours 40 minutes. The enemy is half a kilometer from the command post.
• 13 hours 20 minutes. The station is ours again.

And this is only half of one typical day in the battles for Stalingrad. It was a city war, for all the horrors that Paulus' troops were not ready for. In total, from September to November, it was reflected in more than 700 attacks by German troops!

On the night of September 15, the 13th Guards Rifle Division, commanded by General Rodimtsev, was transferred to Stalingrad. Only on the first day of the fighting of this division, she lost more than 500 people. The Germans, at that time, managed to significantly advance towards the city center, and also to capture the height of "102" or easier - Mamaev Kurgan. The 62nd Army, which fought the main defensive battles, these days had a command post, which was located at a distance of only 120 meters from the enemy.

During the second half of September 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad continued with the same ferocity. At that time, many German generals were already wondering why they were fighting for this city and for every street in it. At the same time, Halder repeatedly emphasized by this time that the German army was in an extreme degree of overwork. In particular, the general spoke of an inevitable crisis, including due to the weakness of the flanks, where the Italians fought very reluctantly. Halder openly addressed Hitler, saying that the German army did not have the reserves and resources for a simultaneous offensive campaign in Stalingrad and the northern Caucasus. On September 24, Franz Halder was removed from his post as Chief of the General Staff of the German Army. He was replaced by Kurt Zeisler.

During September and October, there was no significant change in the state of affairs at the front. Similarly, the Battle of Stalingrad was one huge cauldron in which Soviet and German troops destroyed each other. The confrontation reached its climax, when the troops were a few meters apart, and the battles went literally to the bayonet. Many historians note the irrationality of the conduct of hostilities during the Battle of Stalingrad. In fact, this was the moment when it was not military art that came to the fore, but human qualities, the desire to survive and the desire to win.

For the entire period of the defensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, the troops of the 62nd and 64th armies almost completely changed their composition. From what did not change, there were only the name of the army, as well as the composition of the headquarters. As for ordinary soldiers, it was later calculated that the lifetime of one soldier during the Battle of Stalingrad was 7.5 hours.

Start of offensive operations

In early November 1942, the Soviet command already understood that the German offensive against Stalingrad had exhausted itself. The Wehrmacht troops no longer had that power, and were pretty battered in battle. Therefore, more and more reserves began to flow to the city in order to conduct a counter-offensive operation. These reserves began to secretly accumulate in the northern and southern outskirts of the city.

On November 11, 1942, the Wehrmacht troops, consisting of 5 divisions, commanded by General Paulus, made the last attempt at a decisive assault on Stalingrad. It is important to note that this offensive was very close to victory. In almost all sectors of the front, the Germans managed to advance to such a stage that no more than 100 meters remained to the Volga. But the Soviet troops managed to hold back the offensive, and in the middle of November 12 it became clear that the offensive had exhausted itself.

Preparations for the counteroffensive of the Red Army were carried out in the strictest secrecy. This is quite understandable, and it can be clearly demonstrated with the help of one very simple example. Until now, it is absolutely unknown who is the author of the contour of the offensive operation near Stalingrad, but it is known for certain that the map of the transition of Soviet troops to the offensive existed in a single copy. Also noteworthy is the fact that literally 2 weeks before the start of the offensive of the Soviet troops, the postal communication between families and fighters was completely suspended.

On November 19, 1942, at 6:30 am, artillery preparation began. After that, the Soviet troops went on the offensive. Thus began the famous operation Uranus. And here it is important to note that this development of events was completely unexpected for the Germans. At this point, the disposition was as follows:

• 90% of the territory of Stalingrad was under the control of Paulus' troops.
• Soviet troops controlled only 10% of the cities located near the Volga itself.

General Paulus later stated that on the morning of November 19, the German headquarters was convinced that the Russian offensive was purely tactical. And only by the evening of that day, the general realized that his entire army was under the threat of encirclement. The response was lightning fast. An order was given to the 48th Panzer Corps, which was in the German reserve, to immediately advance into battle. And here, Soviet historians say that the late entry of the 48th Army into battle was due to the fact that the field mice gnawed through the electronics in the tanks, and precious time was lost for the period of its repair.

On November 20, a massive offensive began in the south of the Stalingrad Front. The leading edge of the German defense was almost completely destroyed thanks to a powerful artillery strike, but in the depths of the defense, the troops of General Eremenko met with terrible resistance.

On November 23, in the area of ​​​​the city of Kalach, a German group of troops with a total strength of about 320 people was surrounded. Later, within a few days, it was possible to completely surround the entire German grouping located in the Stalingrad region. Initially, it was assumed that about 90,000 Germans were surrounded, but it soon became clear that this number was disproportionately higher. The total encirclement was about 300 thousand people, 2000 guns, 100 tanks, 9000 trucks.

Hitler had an important task ahead of him. It was necessary to determine what to do with the army: leave it surrounded or make attempts to get out of it. At this time, Albert Speer assured Hitler that he could easily provide the troops that were in the Stalingrad encirclement with everything they needed through aviation. Hitler only waited for such a message, because he still believed that the Battle of Stalingrad could be won. As a result, the 6th army of General Paulus was forced to take up a circular defense. In fact, this strangled the outcome of the battle. After all, the main trump cards of the German army were on the offensive, not on the defensive. However, the German grouping, which went on the defensive, was very strong. But at that time it turned out that Albert Speer's promise to equip the 6th Army with everything necessary was unrealistic.

Capturing the positions of the 6th German army, which was on the defensive, turned out to be impossible. The Soviet command realized that a long and difficult assault was ahead. At the beginning of December, it became obvious that a huge number of troops, which had enormous strength, had fallen into the encirclement. In such a situation, it was possible to win only by attracting no less force. Moreover, very good planning was needed to succeed against the organized German army.

At this moment, in early December 1942, the German command created the Don Army Group. The command of this army was taken over by Erich von Manstein. The task of the army was simple - to break through to the troops who were surrounded in order to help them get out of it. 13 panzer divisions moved to the troops of Paulus to help. The operation, called "Winter Thunderstorm", began on December 12, 1942. Additional tasks of the troops that moved in the direction of the 6th Army were: the defense of Rostov-on-Don. After all, the fall of this city would speak of a complete and decisive failure on the entire southern front. The first 4 days this offensive of the German troops was successful.

Stalin, after the successful implementation of Operation Uranus, demanded that his generals develop a new plan to encircle the entire German group, located in the Rostov-on-Don region. As a result, on December 16, a new offensive of the Soviet army began, during which the 8th Italian army was defeated in the first days. However, the troops failed to reach Rostov, since the movement of German tanks towards Stalingrad forced the Soviet command to change its plans. At this time, the 2nd Infantry Army of General Malinovsky was withdrawn from its positions and was concentrated in the area of ​​​​the Meshkova River, where one of the decisive events of December 1942 took place. It was here that Malinovsky's troops managed to stop the German tank units. By December 23, the thinned tank corps could no longer move forward, and it became obvious that they would not get to Paulus's troops.

Surrender of German troops

On January 10, 1943, a decisive operation began to destroy the German troops that were surrounded. One of the most important events of these days refers to January 14, when the only German airfield was captured, which at that time was still functioning. After that, it became obvious that the army of General Paulus did not even have a theoretical chance of getting out of the encirclement. After that, it became absolutely obvious to everyone that the Battle of Stalingrad was won by the Soviet Union. These days, Hitler, speaking on German radio, announced that Germany needed a general mobilization.

On January 24, Paulus sent a telegram to the German headquarters, where he said that the catastrophe near Stalingrad was inevitable. He literally demanded permission to surrender in order to save those German soldiers who were still alive. Hitler forbade surrender.

On February 2, 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad was completed. Over 91,000 German soldiers surrendered. 147,000 dead Germans lay on the battlefield. Stalingrad was completely destroyed. As a result, in early February, the Soviet command was forced to create a special Stalingrad group of troops, which was engaged in cleaning the city of corpses, as well as mine clearance.

We briefly reviewed the Battle of Stalingrad, which introduced a radical change in the course of the Second World War. The Germans had not only suffered a crushing defeat, but they were now required to make incredible efforts in order to keep the strategic initiative on their side. But this has not happened.