Soviet Victory

The Germans inside the pocket retreated from the suburbs of Stalingrad to the city itself. The loss of the two airfields at Pitomnik and Gumrak meant an end to air supplies and to the evacuation of the wounded. The Germans were now literally starving, and running out of ammunition. Nevertheless they continued to resist stubbornly, partly because they believed the Soviets would execute those who surrendered. In particular, the so-called "HiWi" troops, ex-Soviets fighting for the Germans, had no illusions about their fate if captured. The Soviets, in turn, were initially surprised by the large number of German forces they had trapped, and had to reinforce their encircling forces. Bloody urban warfare began again in Stalingrad, but this time it was the Germans who were pushed back to the banks of the Volga.

Hitler promoted Paulus to Generalfeldmarschall on January 30, 1943. Since no German field marshal had ever been taken prisoner, Hitler assumed that Paulus would fight on or take his own life. Nevertheless, when Soviet forces closed in on Paulus' headquarters in the ruined GUM department store, Paulus surrendered. The remnants of the German forces in Stalingrad surrendered on February 2, 1943; 91,000 tired, ill and starving Germans were taken captive. To the delight of the Soviet forces and the dismay of the Reich, the prisoners included 22 generals. Hitler was angry at the Field Marshall's surrender and confided that "Paulus stood at the doorstep of eternal glory but made an about-face".

1. Why did the Germans continue to resist after the loss of the airfields?

2. Why was Paulus promoted to Generalfeldmarschall in January, 1943?

3. When did the German troops surrender?

4. How many Germans were taken captive? How many generals did the prisoners include?

By any measure the battle of Stalingrad was arguably the largest single battle in human history. It raged for 199 days. Numbers of casualties are difficult to compile owing to the vast scope of the battle. In its initial phases, the Germans inflicted heavy casualties on Soviet formations, however, the Soviet counter strike cut off and annihilated the entire 6th Army (which was exceptionally strong) and parts of the 4th Panzer Army. Various scholars have estimated the Axis suffered 850,000 casualties of all types among all branches of the German armed forces and its allies: 400,000 Germans, 200,000 Romanians, 130,000 Italians, 120,000 Hungarians were killed, wounded or missing. An unusually high proportion of total German casualties were killed and captured (96,000 of whom were prisoners). In addition, and as many as 50,000 turncoat Soviets were killed or captured by the Red Army. Soviet military losses are disputed. According to archival figures, the Red Army suffered 478,741 men killed and 650,878 wounded (for a total of 1,129,619). These numbers, however, include a wide scope of operations. More than 40,000 Soviet civilians died in Stalingrad and its suburbs during a single week of aerial bombing as the 6th and 4th armies approached the city; the total number of civilians killed in the regions outside the city is unknown. In all, a total of anywhere from 1.7 million to 2 million Axis and Allied casualties resulted from the battle, making it by far the largest in human history.

For the heroism of the Soviet defenders of Stalingrad, the city was awarded the title Hero City in 1945. After the war, in the 1960s, a colossal monument of "Mother Russia" was erected on Mamayev Kurgan, the hill overlooking the city. The statue forms part of a memorial complex which includes ruined walls deliberately left the way they were after the battle. The Grain Elevator, as well as Pavlov's House, the apartment building whose defenders eventually held out for two months until they were relieved, can still be visited. One may, even today, find bones and rusty metal splinters on Mamayev Kurgan, symbol of both the human suffering during the battle and the successful yet costly resistance against the German invasion.

1. Why is the battle of Stalingrad considered the largest single battle in human history?

2. Why is it difficult to compile numbers of casualties?

3. When was the city awarded the title Hero City?

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