Romanenko Cross Chir River, tributary OF Don, and drove deep into German lines.
But before two German units could link up, Soviet Fifth Tank Army under Command OF Gen. Erich von Manstein, commander OF Army Group Don, planned to break SIEGE with dagger thrust to Volga River from southwest by Fourth Panzer Army, supported by XLVIII Panzer Corps to its immediate north, attacking across Don River. December 1942 WAS time of crisis for the German Army in Russia. In December 1942, Hermann BALCK wiped out force ten times his size in the most brilliantly fought divisional battle in modern Military History. * Please keep in mind that all text is machine-generated, we do not bear any responsibility, and you should always get advice from professionals before taking any actions * Please keep in mind that all text is machine-generated, we do not bear any responsibility, and you should always get advice from professionals before taking any actions. The Russians had half-finished tanks, which they dug into the ground to fire at us. We had heavy losses in men and equipment. The Russians that defended City were brave, dog and tough. Paul Bottcher, member of 24 Panzer Division, describes his feelings during that fall: We were victors and, as we headed towards Stalingrad, we thought that we would capture the City in a few days. The Soviets, however, always manage to ferry enough troops across Volga to prevent a total takeover of the City. Engineers suffer heavy casualties, but they gradually help German Infantry take control of most of Stalingrad. Special engineer formations had to be called in to help eliminate pockets of enemy resistance within the city. By mid-September, however, battle for City proper had begin, and German armored and Mechanized units proved to be totally unfit for street fighting that follow. Paulus had two Panzer Divisions, two motorize Divisions and 17 Infantry Divisions under his command as he approached City in August 1942. Once the Sixth Army reached Stalingrad, battle had developed into small-unit actions that pit professionalism of Germans against the tenacity of the Soviets. The Germans, he decide, would stop and defeat at City that bore his name. Stalin also saw battle for the City as a matter of honor.
All operational plans so carefully made for the German offensive in southern Russia in 1942 had been drastically altered by Fuhrer's obsession. Hitler, who had originally planned a vast breakthrough into the oil-rich Caucasus, had become fascinated with the possibility of capturing the City that bore the Stalin name. They were dying to fuel the egos of two men-Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. As Winter approach, many Germans-and Soviets as well-must have been asking themselves why they were fighting and dying for such a worthless piece of real estate.
Still, Germans had orders to take City, while Russians had strict orders to prevent its capture. There was little left standing to fight for, and those buildings still intact were under constant fire. Tens of thousands have already died in Stalingrad.
PANZER CORPS STALINGRAD FULL
By early November, great city was like twisted, stinking corpse, full of smoldering ruins and unburied dead. Once-powerful Divisions of Sixth Army had been severely mauled during savage house-to-house combat within the City. Grim hand-to-hand fighting had erupted in Stalingrad in September, and no relief was in sight. As summer dwindled into fall, however, their air of confidence was replaced by a growing sense of uncertainty and futility. During the heady days of that summer, men of General der Panzertruppe Friedrich von Paulus vaunt Sixth Army had sensed nothing but victory in the air. Stalingrad-Stalins City-industrial Center on the Volga River, attracted German and Soviet Divisions in the latter part of 1942 like magnet draws metal shavings.
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