When Rodimtsev's division was visited by reporter Vasily Grossman, he talked for a long time with Chekhov, a modest and thoughtful guy, who at the age of 19 became an excellent killing machine. Army Group South was selected for a sprint forward through the southern Russian steppes into the Caucasus to capture the vital Soviet oil fields there. Bloody urban warfare began again in Stalingrad, but this time it was the Germans who were pushed back to the banks of the Volga. Alexandrov, N.Ya. From a bunker on the slope came the raps of the "Maxim" - in response the embrasure was shot by a stream of flamethrower. The heavily wounded were transported at night to the other shore, where there was a battalion medical battalion under the leadership of Colonel II. The Germans organized attacks several times a day. The location and circumstances of the photograph have not yet been determined. On September 26, the first assault on Stalingrad ended, during which the Germans destroyed the last centers of resistance of the left flank of the 62nd Army. In the foreground is Maria Ulyanova (Labychenkova), full-time nurse of the Pavlovs House garrison. Out of the ruins, the Germans tossed TNT, grenades and bottles with a combustible mixture at the squatted guardsmen with. The Soviets also had large amounts of artillery support from the opposite side of the Volga. [78] By the following evening, the 13th Guards Rifle Division had ceased to exist. The exhausted opponents dug themselves deeper into the ground. Out of the nearly 91,000 German prisoners captured in Stalingrad, only about 5,000 returned. The Soviets responded by fixing fish hooks to the grenades so they stuck to the nets when thrown. In early November, the 13th Guards Rifle Divisions front was crossed by Moscow journalists DF. Having slowly advanced over 10 days against strong Soviet resistance, the 51st Army Corps was finally in front of the three giant factories of Stalingrad: the Red October Steel Factory, the Barrikady Arms Factory and Stalingrad Tractor Factory. Buildings had to be cleared room by room through the bombed-out debris of residential areas, office blocks, basements and apartment high-rises. Taking this advice to heart, Pavlov ordered the building to be surrounded with four layers of barbed wire and minefields, and set up machine-gun posts in every available window facing the square. Hitler believed that Paulus would either fight to the last man or commit suicide. Zhukov. The German air arm found itself spread thinly across Europe, struggling to maintain its strength in the other southern sectors of the Soviet-German front. The Gerhardt Mill ruins in Volgograd, Russia. It fought as part of the 100th Jger Division. Window openings were laid brick and embrasures made their way through the walls. Having avoided the military security, the German infantry came close to the positions of the 34th Guards Rifle Regiment. The first was not completed before the war except for the foundation and the northern wing. The story told by the political instructor about the capture at the end of September of a four-story building on the January 9 Square was a real find for the GlavPU RKKA. [35], The Soviets realised their critical situation, ordering everyone who could hold a rifle into the fight. Between 25 and 31 July, 32 Soviet ships were sunk, with another nine crippled.[54]. In the post-war memories of Zhukov everything looks somewhat different. A hundred meters from the State Bank were the ruins of the brewery, where the soldiers of the 39th Guards Regiment occupied positions. This house was considered one of the most prestigious in Stalingrad, next to it were elite residential buildings: the House of Signalers, the House of the NKVD workers, the House of Railwaymen and others. On 23 December, the Soviet 24th Tank Corps, commanded by Major-General Vasily Mikhaylovich Badanov, reached nearby Skassirskaya and in the early morning of 24 December, the tanks reached Tatsinskaya. [132] Manstein was tasked to conduct a relief operation, named Operation Winter Storm (Unternehmen Wintergewitter) against Stalingrad, which he thought was feasible if the 6th Army was temporarily supplied through the air. The man was probably already dying. In deciding to promote Paulus, Hitler noted that there was no record of a German or Prussian field marshal having ever surrendered. [5], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}484256N 443158E / 48.7155N 44.5329E / 48.7155; 44.5329, introducing citations to additional sources, "The Gerhardt Mill: Ruins that Remember the Battle", ": 1911 .pdf", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gerhardt%27s_Mill&oldid=1125778857, This page was last edited on 5 December 2022, at 20:14. Rokossovsky's letter also stressed that Paulus' men were in an untenable situation. The German 16th Panzer Division reportedly had to fight the 1077th's gunners "shot for shot" until all 37 anti-aircraft guns were destroyed or overrun. A unique video: the State Bank after the August bombing. The Soviets built up a large number of artillery batteries on the east bank of the Volga. There is an attached memorial constructed from bricks picked up after the battle on the East side facing the Volga. [Note 3]. While the employees of GlavPU RKKA worked on the ideological front, Rodimtsev's division went on as usual. Several attempts to re-establish a defensive line failed when German units outflanked them. The first article about "Pavlov's House" appeared on 31 October 1942. Sniper Anatoly Chekhov at work, with spotter Orlyankin. The two German army groups were too far apart to support one another. The prisoners included 22 generals. The preparations for the attack could be heard by the Romanians, who continued to push for reinforcements, only to be refused again. Manstein, however, who knew that Sixth Army could not survive the winter there, instructed his headquarters to draw up a further plan in the event of Hitler's seeing sense. [28]:522 In the east, the Germans had stabilised a front running from Leningrad south to Rostov, with a number of minor salients. But it also describes the many instances of sacrifice, heroism, and suffering the men defending Stalingrad experienced. Nevertheless, the German forces were determined to continue their advance and heavy fighting continued for another two months. Despite being called a "mill", it served as a food processing complex, where in addition to the mill, there was also a smokery for fish, butter production facilities, a bakery, and warehouses for finished products. [108] The VVS remained qualitatively inferior, but by the time of the Soviet counter-offensive, the VVS had reached numerical superiority. "[91] Infantryman Lev Lvovich's explanation, for example, is typical for these interviews; as he recalls, "[i]t was a necessary and important step. He studied 11,237 letters sent by soldiers inside of Stalingrad between 20 December 1942 and 16 January 1943 to their families in Germany. The public mood was sullen, depressed, fearful, and war-weary. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Zhukov states, "Compared with the Germans, the troops of the satellites were not so well armed, less experienced and less efficient, even in defence. The Austrian divisional commander, General Erhard Raus, was summoned to Manstein's royal carriage in Kharkov station on 24 November, where the field marshal briefed him. Between 23 and 26 August, Soviet reports indicate 955 people were killed and another 1,181 wounded as a result of the bombing. Finally they managed to get in touch with the artillerymen on the other side of the Volga - the area of the Krutoy ravine, along which the Germans collected reinforcements, was enveloped in dust from bursts of large-caliber projectiles. Below to the right is the destroyed building of a butter-milling plant. According to Zhukov, "German operational blunders were aggravated by poor intelligence: they failed to spot preparations for the major counter-offensive near Stalingrad where there were 10 field, 1 tank and 4 air armies. They were not relieved, and not significantly reinforced, for two months. Starting 23 October 1942, Romanian pilots flew a total of 4,000 sorties, during which they destroyed 61 Soviet aircraft. Like pliers, Rodimtsev's division was clamped on both sides by German strongholds located in strong and tall buildings. General Richthofen informed Manstein on 27 November of the small transport capacity of the Luftwaffe and the impossibility of supplying 300 tons a day by air. As a result of shelling from the small arms from the north and the unresolved foci of resistance in the rear, it was necessary to withdraw to the initial positions. But memories of the fighting, 75 years ago this year, are strong . Hundreds of cubic meters of very high-quality brickwork and reinforced concrete were blown out of the building. [14][180] 955 Soviet civilians died in Stalingrad and its suburbs from aerial bombing by Luftflotte 4 as the German 4th Panzer and 6th Armies approached the city. Sgt. But in its defensive position on the Volga, the 6th Army continued to tie down a significant number of Soviet Armies. From the OP actions of the small group were observed by battalion commander Zhukov, who earlier received orders from the regiment to seize the house in the square.Their group supported the whole regiment with machine-gun and mortar fire, then their neighbors on the right and left joined. The diagram also notes the 685th Infantry Regiment attached to Rodimtsev. The burden of the initial defence of the city fell on the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment,[58] a unit made up mainly of young female volunteers who had no training for engaging ground targets. [199] Soviet propaganda spared no effort and wasted no time in capitalising on the triumph, impressing a global audience. [97] Women were also snipers at Stalingrad. According to Marshall Chuikov, during this time Pavlov's group killed more Germans than they lost during the capture of Paris, and General Rodimtsev wrote that this ordinary Stalingrad four-story was labeled on the personal map of Paulus as a fortress. horses' skeletons, and to the right, there was an enormous horrible cesspool fortunately, frozen solid. The siege lasted from 27 September to 25 November 1942 and eventually the Red Army managed to relieve it from the siege. Writing in his diary on 1 January 1943, British General Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, reflected on the change in the position from a year before: I felt Russia could never hold, Caucasus was bound to be penetrated, and Abadan (our Achilles heel) would be captured with the consequent collapse of Middle East, India, etc. [88] On the other hand, Beevor noted the often extraordinary bravery of the Soviet soldiers in a battle that was only comparable to Verdun, and argued that terror alone cannot explain such self-sacrifice. [123] A similar plan had been used a year earlier at the Demyansk Pocket, albeit on a much smaller scale: a corps at Demyansk rather than an entire army. Stalingradskaya bitva, IPA: [stlnratskj bitv]; 23 August 1942 - 2 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control . (60 days)[8], "One of the most famous episodes of the Stalingrad battle was the defence of 'Pavlov's house', which lasted for fifty-eight days. "As quick as lightning, the Panzergrenadiers jumped from their wagons. The capture of Stalingrad would make the delivery of Lend-Lease supplies via the Persian Corridor much more difficult. This artillery was able to bombard the German positions or at least provide counter-battery fire. Hrvatska pukovnija 369. na Istonom bojitu 19411943. Rodimtsev's 13th Guards Rifle Division had been hurried up to cross the river and join the defenders inside the city. All enemy concentration, field kitchens and water sources became the objects of close attention for well-aimed marksmen from both sides. Army Group South (B), including Friedrich Paulus's 6th Army and Hermann Hoth's 4th Panzer Army, was to move east towards the Volga and Stalingrad. Choppy overview of the battle with detail on a few specific figures. The film is the second German movie to portray the Battle of Stalingrad. But already the enemy was attacking the station with their battle-cries of 'Urrah! The Germans lost 900 aircraft (including 274 transports and 165 bombers used as transports), 500 tanks and 6,000 artillery pieces. For two days the 13th Guards Rifle Division was putting itself in order - the soldiers remembered and buried their dead comrades. The Stalingrad Tractor Factory continued to turn out T-34 tanks up until German troops burst into the plant. The units of the 295th Infantry Division which broke through to the Volga fell into a trap on the shore, and began to retreat along the ravine back to the tramway bridge. Nevertheless, food and especially water was in short supply. Okhlobystin. By 12 September, at the time of their retreat into the city, the Soviet 62nd Army had been reduced to 90 tanks, 700 mortars and just 20,000 personnel. It was not until 1955 that the last of the 5,0006,000 survivors were repatriated (to West Germany) after a plea to the Politburo by Konrad Adenauer. After the fire in the State Bank, the Germans began to cover the windows of the upper floors with bed nets - the probability of burning at night from a flying bottle of copolymers or a thermite ball was very large. In the early parts of the operation, fuel was shipped at a higher priority than food and ammunition because of a belief that there would be a breakout from the city. Army Group Don was formed under Field Marshal von Manstein. The start of Case Blue had been planned for late May 1942. [71] During the battle the 62nd Army had the most arrests and executions: 203 in all, of which 49 were executed, while 139 were sent to penal companies and battalions. The battle for Stalingrad devolved into a desperate street-by . These losses amounted to about 50 percent of the aircraft committed and the Luftwaffe training program was stopped and sorties in other theatres of war were significantly reduced to save fuel for use at Stalingrad. The battle was marked by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, with the battle epitomizing urban warfare. [48] Beyond the Volga River on the eastern boundary of Stalingrad, additional Soviet units were formed into the 62nd Army under Lieutenant General Vasiliy Chuikov on 11 September 1942. "[118], During the siege, the German and allied Italian, Hungarian, and Romanian armies protecting Army Group B's north and south flanks had pressed their headquarters for support. [203][204] Since then, military parades have always commemorated the victory in the city. [45], On 25 July the Germans faced stiff resistance with a Soviet bridgehead west of Kalach. [3], The house was a four-story building in the center of Stalingrad, built perpendicular to the embankment of the river Volga and overseeing the "9th January Square", a large square named for Bloody Sunday. The history of the mill began in 1899, when the Gerhardt family of entrepreneurs received permission to build a flour-grinding complex in what is now central Volgograd, overlooking the River Volga. On the left is Zabolotny House, on the right is Pavlov's House. One more push in the factory area would see the end of . He and the German shot simultaneously; both missed, but ricochet from the enemy bullet still reached its target. The sick and wounded reached 40,000 to 50,000. Shooting the Red Army men caught unawares, the Germans seized one trench after another, moving quickly forward. It uncovers the fact that much of the details of Pavlov's House written in the official histories are made up. If Stalingrad is one of the most significant symbols of the Great Patriotic War, then Pavlov's House is the cornerstone of thatsymbol. Army Group B was commanded by General Maximilian von Weichs.[38]. "[153], The Germans inside the pocket retreated from the suburbs of Stalingrad to the city itself. If only a narrow link could be established to Sixth Army, he proposed that this should be used to pull it out from the encirclement, and said that the Luftwaffe should instead of supplies deliver only enough ammunition and fuel for a breakout attempt. Now "each part of the cauldron came personally under Hitler". Soviet forces offered little resistance in the vast empty steppes and started streaming eastward. On 18 September, the Soviet 1st Guards and 24th Army launched an offensive against VIII Army Corps at Kotluban. These belonged mostly to the other two divisions of the 6th Army between the Italian and Romanian armies: the 62nd and 298th Infantry Divisions. This film highlights the conflict between the German Sixth Army and the Soviet 62nd Army in Southern Stalingrad during September 1942. To the south, Army Group A was pushing far into the Caucasus, but their advance slowed as supply lines grew overextended. [115], After three months of slow advance, the Germans finally reached the river banks, capturing 90% of the ruined city and splitting the remaining Soviet forces into two narrow pockets. Whilst the building was originally captured by Pavlov, the commander of the position was Lieutenant Afanasev. Every time when soldiers or tanks tried to get close to the house, IF Afanasyev and his comrades met them with heavy fire from the basement, windows and roof; they were supported by fire from the main positions of the regiment. : 109,000 Romanians casualties (from November 1942 to December 1942), included 70,000 captured or missing. However, the participants themselves - fighters and commanders of the 13th Guards Rifle Division - attached much more importance to these events than the notorious legend. The house, held by the garrison of Senior Lieutenant IF Afanasyev, is considered the first restored building in Stalingrad. On 5 September, the Soviet 24th and 66th Armies organized a massive attack against XIV Panzer Corps. The situation was so critical that on the night of September 22-23, the commander-in-chief Major-General A.I. Of his questions to Army Group Don, Paulus was told, "Wait, implement Operation 'Thunderclap' only on explicit orders!" [56] The exact number of civilians killed is unknown but was most likely very high. Both huge structures were heavily fortified and looked more like impregnable fortresses. Pavlov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his actions. [160], On 30 January 1943, the 10th anniversary of Hitler's coming to power, Goebbels read out a proclamation that included the sentence: "The heroic struggle of our soldiers on the Volga should be a warning for everybody to do the utmost for the struggle for Germany's freedom and the future of our people, and thus in a wider sense for the maintenance of our entire continent. This is the steam mill that were built in Stalingrad by german engineers in 1904. According to Soviet intelligence documents shown in the documentary, a remarkable NKVD report from March 1943 is available showing the tenacity of some of these German groups: The mopping-up of counter-revolutionary elements in the city of Stalingrad proceeded. [103], The German onslaught crushed the 37th Guards Rifle Division of Major General Viktor Zholudev and in the afternoon the forward assault group reached the tractor factory before arriving at the Volga River, splitting the 62nd Army into two. In the center of the front of the 13th Guards Rifle Division was a huge complex of departmental and residential buildings of the NKVD, which occupied a whole block. Without any soldiers to defend the airfield, it was abandoned under heavy fire; in a little under an hour, 108 Ju 52s and 16 Ju 86s took off for Novocherkassk leaving 72 Ju 52s and many other aircraft burning on the ground. In 1985 a memorial was erected, listing the names of the garrison. The Boy from Stalingrad (Russian: ; Kyrgyz: ) is the first novel by Soviet writer Fedor Samokhin, published in 1954 by the Stalingrad Book Publishing House.It tells about the meeting in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan of the evacuated population from the western regions of the country during the Eastern Front of World War . "[90] After conducting hundreds of interviews with Soviet veterans on the subject of terror on the Eastern Front and specifically about Order No. It is well known that for 58 days the multiethnic garrison held the building in the city center, repulsing numerous attacks by the Germans. Anatoly Nikolaevich Kuryshov, who defended the legendary Pavlov House at the age of 11, is the only living hero out of 25 who took part in this event now living in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The Luftwaffe helped repel the offensive by heavily attacking Soviet artillery positions and defensive lines. It is well known that for 58 days the multiethnic garrison held the building in the city center, repulsing numerous attacks by the Germans. "[161] Paulus notified Hitler that his men would likely collapse before the day was out. The Romanian forces, made up primarily of infantry, were overrun by large numbers of tanks. Most notably, he promoted Paulus to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall. During the defence of Stalingrad, the Red Army deployed five armies in and around the city (28th, 51st, 57th, 62nd and 64th Armies); and an additional nine armies in the encirclement counteroffensive[51] (24th, 65th, 66th Armies and 16th Air Army from the north as part of the Don Front offensive, and 1st Guards Army, 5th Tank, 21st Army, 2nd Air Army and 17th Air Army from the south as part of the Southwestern Front). During the Battle of Stalingrad, Gerhardt's Mill became the final frontier, with the Soviet Red Army deterring the army of German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus on the approaches to the Volga. The Luftwaffe also lost close to 1,000 highly experienced bomber crew personnel. Both sides began to attach propaganda value to the city, which bore the name of the Soviet leader meaning that the capture of the city would have been a great ideological victory for the Reich.