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Trap at Stalingrad

© Ralph Zuljan

Red Army morale was probably at an all time low when General Chuikov assumed command of the Soviet 62nd Army -- in Stalingrad -- on September 12th. German forces were pushing forward and the hope of holding the city seemed slim indeed. Chuikov, however, took on the task of holding Stalingrad with a determination that few commanders could match. He introduced an aggressive forward defense tactic based on small units holding positions extremely close to the German front line. This provided relative safety from German artillery barrages and air strikes while Soviet artillery, located on the east bank of the Volga, was unrestricted in its ability to fire on German positions and assembly areas. These tactics confounded German combined arms operations in the city of Stalingrad throughout the remainder of the battle of Stalingrad. While in August German advances were measured in kilometers, in September progress was measured in meters. Casualties on both sides were enormous.

By the middle of October the German summer offensive had effectively been reduced to attacks in and around Stalingrad. On October 14th Hitler issued an order formally limiting further operations to the Stalingrad area and along the Terek River in the Caucasus. The military focus of the entire campaign from now on was to be on the capture of Stalingrad. German force concentrations reflected this fact.

German panzer and motorized divisions allocated to the 6th and 4th Panzer Armies were employed in the Stalingrad battle. Armored units were not suitable for street fighting within Stalingrad and panzer troop losses were heavy. The employment of panzer and motorized units within Stalingrad is generally regarded as a serious error since the active engagement of these mobile forces in close quarter combat made them unavailable for use as a mobile reserve in the event of a Soviet counterattack.

The lengthy northern flank of Army Group B -- the corridor to Stalingrad -- was defended primarily by German allied armies. The Hungarian 2nd Army, Italian 8th Army and Rumanian 4th Army protected the northwest corridor to Stalingrad where the German 6th Army and 4th Panzer Army were concentrated, while the Rumanian 3rd Army held the southwestern flank. Compared to their German counterparts, these were weak forces without significant anti-tank defenses or armored reserves.

Soviet flank attacks to the north and south of Stalingrad had been ongoing for some time. In August and September, these attempts to break through the Axis line had proven ineffectual and they served as the basis of the German command's disregard for the danger of such offensives. Rumanian troops, which bore the brunt of these early attacks, chronically warned Army Group B of renewed Soviet attacks. These constant warnings of a pending offensive, which would reach a fevered pitch in November, proved to have a negative impact on the Army Group's willingness to take such reports seriously.