During World War II, the Battle of Stalingrad was one of the most brutal and bloody battles. The Germans were initially overwhelmed, but then retreated, and Commander Paulus held his ground for months, unfazed by the many lucrative surrender conditions offered by the Soviets.
Eventually, however, Paulus changed his attitude completely, leading his men to surrender and hating the decision-makers in Berlin. What is the story behind this bloody and brutal battle?
Paulus. It is the proud soldiers who will be defeated.
The city was suffering from the bitter cold winds of November 1942, and the snow in Stalingrad was getting thicker.
Paulus had a solemn countenance, and the Sixth Army, led by the German commander earlier, attacked Stalingrad with almost invincibility and achieved many brilliant achievements. However, on the battlefield of Stalingrad, Paulus encountered great resistance, he could not take it for a long time, and his troops continued to suffer losses.
Behind Moscow, the Soviet Red Army bravely and fearlessly carried out a zero-part operation in Stalingrad, forcibly engaged in a tragic street battle with the German army, and the two sides fought hard for several months.
Sixth Army. In this harsh winter, both the German and Soviet armies were faced with the dilemma of insufficient supplies, and the stalemate in the war situation would only lead to the death of more innocent soldiers. Paulus knew this, and in order to save the lives of his 200,000 soldiers, he did not hesitate to risk being scolded by the Führer by telegram requesting support.
Paulus's answer was very embarrassing to Paulus, as if to say that they were exaggerating: the Sixth Army was the main force of our army and did not need much reinforcement.
Paulus smiled wryly when he received the reply, and could only hold his ground. Paulus, who did not wait for reinforcements, soon heard another piece of bad news: Soviet reinforcements had arrived. More than a million Soviet Red Army was approaching Stalingrad, gradually forming an encirclement, and intended to annihilate all the recalcitrant German troops on their own soil.
The German leader.
Paulus was so anxious that he again sent a request to Berlin in the hope of breaking through. But Berlin's answer was still simple and cold: hold on to Stalingrad.
Victories in Kiev and elsewhere had completely blinded the German commanders, who believed that the Soviets had suffered heavy losses on the border and in the interior, and that they were too weak to resist, so that Stalingrad had long since become an easy commodity for the Germans.
As the old Chinese saying goes: a proud soldier will be defeated. Berlin's mistaken decisions left Paulus and the other generals in doubt, and Paulus could only do everything he could to calm the people's emotions.
The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the most tragic battles of World War II and a key turning point between the Soviet Union and Germany.
Second, expectations are disappointed.
Another reason for Berlin's confidence was that Luftwaffe Commander Goering promised to use air power to send supplies to the Sixth Army. The Führer believed that, with supplies, Paulus's army should be able to hold out for some time.
However, Paulus's hopes were dashed again, and Goering did not live up to his promises, and the supplies that could be brought in were very limited. The hungry Germans had to slaughter war horses to fill their stomachs, and Stalingrad became a hellish scene for a time.
How did Führer Hitler respond to these questions?On the one hand, he demanded that Paulus continue to hold on to Berlin, and on the other hand, he agreed to his plan to break out, and his heart was full of contradictions.
Discuss strategy. It should be understood that in the German army trapped in Stalingrad, in addition to Paulus, there were many top German officers, who judged the battle situation very accurately.
Berlin was aware of the doomed situation of the German army, which was very evident in the telegram requesting the evacuation of the breakout. However, despite this, Hitler still insisted on not giving the order to retreat, just to save his face.
On the contrary, the Soviets were more straightforward and pointed out a "clear path" to Paulus - surrender, which contrasted sharply with the Führer's hesitation.
Stalin. In that situation, surrender is clearly the best option. This would prevent both sides from continuing to make senseless sacrifices by the soldiers, and war weariness was already pervasive in the army. As long as the Germans were willing to surrender, they could not only ensure the safety of their lives, but also have the opportunity to return home, and the conditions were quite relaxed.
Imagine what the war brought to these soldiersThese experienced officers should not have died in vain either. Paulus couldn't figure it out here.
However, despite his dissatisfaction with the Berlin decision, he was still driven by the patriotic fervor in his heart, and at this moment he chose to hold on, suppressing the willingness of other generals to surrender.
There was a disagreement.
3. The whole army disarmed and surrendered.
Paulus's choice changed everyone's fate. In this tragic war, thousands of German soldiers died heroically, and the Soviet army also suffered heavy losses. The Germans fought valiantly, but they were still unable to turn the tide of the war and change their fate.
Paulus despaired when he saw this tragedy. He sent a telegram to Berlin requesting a final breakout, saying that if it was not evacuated, the entire Sixth Army would be destroyed.
At Paulus's pleading, the Führer finally ruthlessly rejected him and agreed to transfer the wounded, including Paulus's son, by plane. This incident also became an allusion to Paulus's post-war accusations of being greedy for life and afraid of death.
Fighting in the city.
In order to motivate Paulus to "die heroically", Hitler promoted him to the military rank. At that time, Paulus was promoted to field marshal, a move that angered him and his generals even more. Did these people die in vain just in exchange for the title awarded by Hitler?
Paulus's psychological defenses were completely crushed by disappointment after disappointment. At the critical moment when the Soviets approached the city, Paulus led the remnants of his men to surrender to the Soviets.
He claimed that he would never fight to the death for that stupid Austrian again. Other German commanders and soldiers also hated Hitler, and on many occasions, Hitler always chose to die rather than save him, disregarding the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers.
These surrendered Germans stood firmly in the ranks of the anti-Hitler and constantly wrote letters to other German troops to persuade them to surrender. There were also some angry veterans who threatened to take Berlin back, so that Hitler could also taste the despair of being encircled.
Soldiers who are not afraid to die in battle.
Fourth, being wronged.
The Soviet Union gave preferential treatment to Field Marshal Paulus, who, however, in the eyes of the Germans, undoubtedly became a puppet of the Soviet Union and was regarded as a traitor to the nation.
When Berlin offered Stalin's son in exchange for Paulus, Stalin refused, so Paulus survived and was not executed by Germany as a traitor.
However, upon his return, Paulus still suffered numerous scorns and ridicules, each of which was enough to put his reputation in ruin for his poor command or treason.
After realizing Hitler's true colors, Paulus decided to expose Hitler's crimes, but this did not restore his reputation in Germany and led to the suicide of his son.
However, when we think back to that cold winter, Paulus still clearly emerges in front of his eyes an unbreakable dilemma, which is a tragic choice of "the king and the minister must die". The war itself was a dead end, no one could ever be a real victor, and Paulus was just a victim of the war. Turn the page in 2023