I Will Stage A Coup D’état

As the Korean army rushed to dispatch troops to Africa, the German army was struggling in a hellish urban warfare.

“How many times have we captured and lost Mamayev Hill!”¹

The German High Command pressured Colonel General Paulus² several times a day with telegrams about the situation in Stalingrad.

Paulus also did his best, but he couldn’t overcome the fierce resistance of the Soviet troops who were stubbornly resisting, entrenched in the city that had been reduced to ruins by shelling and bombing.

The siege was also meaningless, as the Volga River³was frozen and Soviet troops were constantly coming and going from across the river on sleds and such.

At this rate, it was impossible to end the battle in a short time.

“It’s frustrating.”

Paulus felt extreme fatigue, to the point of facial paralysis, from the double hardship of battle and pressure from his superiors.

It would be nice to have someone to share his concerns with, but there was no one who could do that anywhere.

The fate of the 250,000-strong 6th Army rested solely on his shoulders.

“Your Excellency. Here is the report on officer sniping incidents that occurred in the past 24 hours. 23 cases have been reported.”

“Alright, I got it for now.”

There were so many officers and non-commissioned officers being killed by snipers that there was no one left to promote and fill the positions.

There was also a severe shortage of soldiers.

From November 22nd, when they arrived in Stalingrad, to January 3rd, 1943, a period of just over a month and a half, the 6th Army suffered about 80,000 casualties.

It was truly an unbelievable amount of damage.

The Soviet army, their opponent, suffered an incomparable number of losses, but the enemy had an inexhaustible reserve to replenish such losses.

As proof, the enemy’s resistance had hardly diminished compared to the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad.

It was truly a terrible situation.

Paulus roughly warmed his eyes, which wouldn’t close well, with a towel brought by his adjutant, and looked at the map again.

Still, as a result of pushing through with sheer force, they had pacified 60% of Stalingrad.

It seemed like it would take another two months for the remaining 40%, but it didn’t seem like they would lose in the urban warfare.

The problem was not in Stalingrad.

The Soviet army is creating a bridgehead on our flank.

The Soviet army had attacked the areas guarded by the weak Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies in the south and north, solidifying bridgeheads.

These bridgeheads greatly irritated Paulus’ nerves.

Paulus thought that putting aside the attrition in Stalingrad, he needed a reinforcement of troops to blockade these bridgeheads.

He repeatedly requested troop reinforcements and demanded that this issue be resolved.

There were voices of concern about Stalingrad at the Army High Command as well.

“If by any chance the Soviet army attempts a double envelopment, our army is finished. We need to redeploy reserves, even if it’s just to respond to that.”

However, the voices of concern did not reach Hitler’s ears.

Hitler only believed the reports from the Army’s Eastern Intelligence Bureau and ignored the voices from the field.

“The Soviet army’s strategic reserves will never move from Moscow. So the army should focus solely on the fall of Stalingrad. Once Stalingrad is dealt with, won’t we be able to secure as many spare troops as we want to turn to the flanks?”

Hitler thought that it would only take a little more time to capture the small city, so he decided there was no need to reinforce the troops.

With the supreme commander, Hitler, making this judgment, the Army High Command couldn’t even dare to object.

The Army High Command conveyed this message to Paulus.

“Let’s hope that the judgment of His Excellency the Führer is correct.”

Paulus intensified the offensive on Stalingrad.

Meanwhile, the Soviet army was moving large-scale strategic reserves to both flanks of the German army.

The number was a staggering 900,000.

Considering that the Soviet army had gathered an army of 1.5 million targeting the Rzhev Salient around the same time, it was not unreasonable for the German army to misjudge.

How can they launch simultaneous offensives on the scale of a million from both directions? It’s absolutely impossible.

But the Soviets were the Soviets.

The Soviet army succeeded in concealing their intentions while amassing a large army on the flanks of the German army.

In fact, there were constant signs that the Soviet army was preparing for an offensive, but it was more like the German command failed to properly recognize it.

At 4:00 a.m. on January 10, 1943, just as the German army launched its 10th major offensive and was taking a break, Soviet cannons simultaneously spewed fire.

And a disastrous wave of the Red Army swept over the Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies, the Hungarian 2nd Army, and parts of the German 4th Panzer Army.

The only hope to stop the Soviet army was the Luftwaffe, but it failed to secure a sufficient number of sorties in the bitter cold weather.

The Soviet army tore through the weak Axis front and advanced more than 100 km.

On the third day of the attack.

The Soviet army completed a large-scale encirclement of the German army by capturing the Kalach Bridge, which was a crucial point.

With this shocking result, Paulus was immediately in a predicament.

“We’ll hold out with the hedgehog tactic. There will be some measures taken by the homeland.”

The 6th Army hastily built a circular defensive line and reorganized their ranks by accepting the Axis soldiers who had fled from the collapsed front.

The number of Axis soldiers trapped in the encirclement amounted to about 380,000.

It was a slightly larger number than the original force.

The first problem was how to feed this enormous number of soldiers.

There were cases of supplying surrounded armies by air and keeping them alive during the 1941-42 winter season, but that was at most on the scale of just over 100,000.

Feeding an army of nearly 400,000 was something the German army had never experienced before.

The German High Command had to make a decision.

Either break through the encirclement and withdraw, or try to hold out while supplying by air.

Hitler chose to hold out.

“If we retreat here, how can we finish off the Soviet Union in a short time?”

To deal with the Soviet Union before the Americans arrived, they couldn’t take a single step back.

Even Franz Halder⁴, the Chief of the Army General Staff who had been hoping for Hitler’s failure, couldn’t help but speak up when things got to this point.

The annihilation of the 6th Army and Army Group B was a critical matter that could lead to the collapse of the entire Eastern Front.

Halder strongly confronted Hitler’s judgment.

“Your Excellency. Holding the current position is absolutely unacceptable. We must prepare to withdraw.”

Hitler did not let Halder’s insubordination slide.

Halder was already someone who didn’t see eye to eye with him.

Right then and there, Hitler dismissed Halder and promoted Major Kurt Zeitzler⁵ to Chief of the General Staff.

In front of Hitler, who even replaced the Chief of the General Staff for objecting to his orders, the Army had no choice but to shut their mouths.

At this moment, Reich Marshal Hermann Göring⁶ stepped forward.

“Your Excellency the Führer. Our Luftwaffe can supply the Army in Stalingrad. I promise you.”

“Yes. I knew the Reich Marshal would say that.”

Hitler believed Göring’s promise.

Had the Luftwaffe ever broken a promise before?

If Göring says it’s possible, then it’s possible.

With a highly encouraged face, Hitler boasted Göring’s promise to the Army generals as if to show off.

As they were leaving the meeting, the new Army Chief of Staff Kurt Zeitzler asked Hermann Göring.

“Your Excellency Marshal, do you know how many planes are needed daily to supply the army in Stalingrad?”

“I personally do not know.”

In fact, this was where the disaster was foretold.

On January 14, 1943, the Luftwaffe began a supply operation for the Army in Stalingrad.

The Army required at least 650 tons of supplies per day, but the Luftwaffe dropped only 100 tons on the first day.

“Well, they can’t do well from the start.”

Of course, the German Luftwaffe’s air supply steadily increased.

On good days, they even dropped up to 300 tons per day.

However, due to the lack of airfields and supply lines, Soviet interference, and harsh weather, the efficiency of the German air supply always fell short of the required amount.

If the German Army did not step up, the Axis forces trapped in the encirclement had no choice but to starve to death.

“Your Excellency the Führer, it has been revealed that Marshal Göring’s assurance was just a bluff. The 6th Army cannot be saved with air supply alone.”

The two weeks it took for the Army to speak up again were very precious time for the 6th Army.

During that time, the 6th Army’s supplies were nearly exhausted.

Only then did Hitler begin to listen to the Army’s voice.

“If retreat is not possible, we must break through and deliver supplies.”

The Army persuaded Hitler with that logic.

Of course, after breaking through, they intended to take the 6th Army troops and retreat.

“Field Marshal Manstein. The fate of our soldiers rests on your shoulders.”

“Do not worry. I will definitely save them.”

The mastermind who made Germany’s revenge possible by devising Operation Sickle Cut, Erich von Manstein⁷, stepped up as the savior of the German army in crisis.

Since it was Manstein, the master of reversal who had created miracles several times, the military also had expectations for him.

“We launch Operation Winter Storm.”⁸

As soon as he reorganized the meager forces, Manstein swiftly launched a counterattack operation.

The German forces were insignificant, but Manstein’s reputation could not be ignored.

“Manstein is coming. The Manstein of reversal is coming to save us!”

The German troops trapped in Stalingrad had high hopes for Manstein’s attack, which would slice through the thick encirclement like splitting bamboo.

For a moment, there seemed to be hope.

However, the Soviet forces were not small enough to be overcome by mere tactical capabilities.

“We destroyed a hundred tanks a day, but another tank unit is pushing towards us?”

“We are also under attack from the flanks.”

When Manstein heard that his own flanks on the Chir Riverfront were being pounded, he lost his enthusiasm for the offensive.

Just 50 km more to reach Stalingrad, but he couldn’t cross that distance.

Before retreating his vehicle, the German tank commander who had set out as a relief force sent a final radio message towards Stalingrad.

“I wish you luck.”

At that moment, the 6th Army in Stalingrad was sentenced to death.

The Soviet troops mocked the German troops who had become like rats in a trap.

On the propaganda broadcast,

“In Stalingrad, one German soldier dies every 7 seconds. 1 second, 2 seconds…, 7 seconds, another one is dead.”

The disaster did not stop at Stalingrad.

The Soviet forces were extending their offensive with the momentum to annihilate the entire Army Groups A and B that had advanced into the Caucasus.

Manstein somehow protected the flank of Army Group A and covered their withdrawal.

Fortunately for Germany, Army Group A had not advanced deep into the Caucasus, so they could hastily escape.

A significant portion of the troops were left on the Kuban Peninsula west of the Caucasus, but a considerable number of troops retreated through Rostov to Ukraine.

In the midst of this chaos, Hitler gave Paulus a field marshal’s baton and rank insignia.

It was an unspoken order.

I heard that a Prussian field marshal does not surrender. So, don’t surrender in disgrace and die with dignity.

Paulus, who had been leading the hellish battle in compliance with the Führer’s orders, was also outraged at this moment.

“Do you think a German field marshal would die for a Bohemian private or something!”

On March 5, 1943, Paulus, who had tenaciously held out, raised a white flag and surrendered to the Soviet troops.

With this surrender, 150,000 Axis troops, including the German army, became prisoners of the Soviet forces.

The political repercussions of this defeat were enormous.

Even people who had acknowledged the Führer’s judgment began to doubt Hitler’s capabilities.

Hitler was not unaware of this.

That’s why the Führer had no choice but to be even more stubborn.

He had no choice but to shout not to give up an inch of land.

It was the beginning of a vicious cycle leading to defeat.

Footnotes

1. 1. Mamayev Kurgan is a dominant height overlooking the city of Volgograd in Southern Russia. The name in Russian means "tumulus of Mamai". The formation is dominated by a memorial complex commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad.
2. 2. Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (1890-1957) was a German field marshal and general who commanded the 6th Army during World War II, heled the 6th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad, but was surrounded and cut off by the Soviet counter-offensive. Hitler ordered Paulus to "stand and fight", even though the German defense was being worn down. Paulus surrendered on January 31, 1943, becoming the only German field marshal to be captured during World War II.
3. 3. The Volga is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of 3,531 km, and a catchment area of 1,360,000 km².
4. 4. Franz Halder was a German general and the chief of staff of the Army High Command in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September 1942. During World War II, he directed the planning and implementation of Operation Barbarossa, the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union.
5. 5. Kurt Zeitzler (9 June 1895 – 25 September 1963) was a Chief of the Army General Staff in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Zeitzler was almost exclusively a staff officer, serving as chief of staff in a corps, army, and army group.
6. 6. Hermann Wilhelm Göring; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which governed Germany from 1933 to 1945.
7. 7. Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein was a German Generalfeldmarschall in the Heer of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was subsequently convicted of war crimes and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.
8. 8. Operation Winter Storm (German: Unternehmen Wintergewitter), a German offensive in December 1942 during World War II, involved the German 4th Panzer Army failing to break the Soviet encirclement of the German 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad.

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