Breakout from Stalingrad: German radio exchanges during Operation Winter Storm (Narrated by TIK)

the snow fell thick and fast on December 15 1942 a leaden sky hung heavily over the steppe as the bitter wind whipped up the cold outside the shelter's the last vehicle had long since passed by fuel had become as rare as food and a munitions supplies were flown in sporadically every now and then the drone of a younger or Heinkel could be heard from afar before it came in to land picked up a few of the injured and took off again the steppe stretched out endlessly and somewhere over the pale mist stood Stalingrad there - only the melancholic wind howling through grotesque ruins broke the silence there - the deserted streets had not a soul in sight but the city wasn't empty far from it tens of thousands of men were crowding in the basements of fallen buildings and under cover of the metal jungles that now proliferated where giant factories were once proudly standing the infernal din that had wrung out all autumn now only sounded in bursts the VAM art was no longer on the attack it was the Red Army's turn taking back wall by wall floor by floor everything it had to defend so fiercely just months before it was for this ghost city that tens of thousands had fallen it was for her the hundreds of thousands more were standing their ground across hundreds of kilometers that formed the perimeter of their infamous pockets the luckiest of them stationed along the don volga and acts a rivers while the rest found themselves simply outs in the middle of the frozen steppe the German 6th army z' troops have been stewing for nearly a month in the castle the cauldron forged by the junk of the Soviet forces west of Stalingrad their hopes of breaking out at once have been dashed within the first days of encirclement they were told to form a hedgehog they were promised they will be liberated so they waited as their reserves dwindled along with their spirits the days followed a monotonous pattern the front seemed completely still rooted to the spots on this bleached wasteland the officers made reassuring speeches but the soldier's intuition told them that the front lines were moving further and further away beyond the horizon 50 60 100 kilometers away said the more pessimistic the army was increasingly isolated but on this day the bleak landscape had a surprise in store for the contingents located on the southern edge of the pockets the soldiers were jubilant yesterday's moniz were now ridiculed the sound they had been waiting weeks for had finally come the blasts of gunfire the front was finally moving in [Music] winter storm and thunder strike transcript of exchanges between top commanders and army group Don and 6th army [Music] [Music] so dick has kindly agreed to read my strip and to voice out this video which I'm sure we will find very interesting it about the last stage of operation winter storm event ok Peter as a German attempt to rescue six Army trapped at Stalingrad and there is 4th Panzer army advancing towards the courtroom and there is a discussion about whether six army should mount an attack from inside and sacrament to meet with them so what we are about to hear are the actual exchanges transcripts of radio communications between German top leaders at Army Group done led by a man Stein and six army led by Paris so the situation is around the 22 23rd of December 1942 Hoth's Panzer army is has reached the miskova River line and could not advance further so if the six army is to launch an attack itself it's now or never the exchanges that follow are discussing this very decision to attack or not the 6th German army of general Paulus have been fighting in Stalingrad since September of 1942 then in November it was encircled as a result of the Soviet counter-offensive and the procedures became the besieged 300,000 men were trapped between the dawn and Volga rivers everyone was now expecting the relief operation supervised by Field Marshal von Manstein then considered the most capable German commander which would break through the Soviet ring and free them up launched on the 12th of December operation winter storm vintage Avot sir in germán reached its decisive stage on the 18th of december Hoth's 4th Panzer Army had finally broken through Soviet defenses on the ax a river and a clerk Mikulski may have been stuck for almost five days and it's van guards had reached the mission Cova River the last defensive line before reaching 6th army there had been much arguing about whether Paulus should have or could have broken out of encirclement when it became clear that the relief army could not get any closer to his own in these critical days transcripts of radio messages between Paulus Munsch 9 and other key leaders were recorded and stored in archives after the war let's review these extremely interesting documents along with situation maps and see if they can shed light on the respective responsibilities of these leaders let's see how they assess the situation what was possible to do what was suggested and what was eventually decided the exchanges that follow concern the eventualities for operation Thunderstrike donnerschlag the planned attack by 6th army for inside the encirclement to meet with 4th panzer army recording of encrypted radio communication between field marshal von Manstein and Colonel general Paulus at 1730 hours on the 18th of December 1942 Manstein are all the gentlemen here Paulus yes sir Manstein if you please let's have a short review of major Iceman's information Paulus option one break how consecutive to junction with army Hoth when breaking through to Buzzi nava establishing a connection with half will only be possible using tank forces since there is not enough infantry and all of it will be occupied hold Stalingrad and the new front along the flanks of the breakthrough in this case all the reserves of the fortress will be directed to the breakout site option to break through without establishing the connection with half as a last resort only it will imply the loss of a large quantity of material it will also be necessary to fly in fuel and food for the fighting effectiveness of men it will be better to establish the junction with Hoth and get supply convoys the infantry is now less and less mobile every day as horses had to be written on provisions option 3 further defense in the occupied area this requires sufficient supplies to be flown in until now these were completely inadequate as a consequence it is no longer possible to consider this option Manstein how long is needed to prepare the actions under option 2 Paulus three to four days Manstein how much fuel and food is needed to reach the miskova Paulus calculation of fuel is carried out by the chief quartermaster of Army Group dawn reduced food rations for two hundred and seventy thousand men over ten days Manstein according to the previous order next discussion at 2300 hours many thanks are there any other questions Paulus can liqueur be allowed to think about preparing option two second question what is going on with group Hoth Manstein one let's discuss tonight two group HOF continues to advance at the nakum ski covering the bridgehead accrue Glock off to the south there are strong enemy troops Paulus no more questions many thanks you radio communication between Colonel general Paulus and Field Marshal von Manstein's liaison officer at zerozero 40 hours on the 19th of December 1942 Paulus Colonel general Paulus speaking man Stein's liaison officer the Field Marshal asks the following questions how do you assess the opportunities for a breakout in the western direction to collage the enemy is strengthening on the southern fronts and this must be considered large enemy forces continue to remain influence of the 57th Panzer Corps the field marshal is wondering how weak are the enemy forces facing the west and fronts of the army in the direction of collage if not possible to answer immediately let's reschedule the conversation after having assessed to the situation Paulus facing which southern front does the enemy strengthen all 6th army or half army man Stein's liaison officer facing 6th army southern fronts where there are reports on fortifications building up Paulus the answer will be given later are there any other questions the connection is broken radio communication between field marshal von Manstein and Colonel general Paulus at 18 15 hours on the 19th of December 1942 Manstein good afternoon Paulus kerchner is making good progress today he reached the miskova he received the order to develop the offensive I draw your attention to the fact that there is only one chance for implementing Clause 3 operation Thunder strike and it must begin on special order major iseman described the general situation to me and I fully understood the complexity regarding the orders given we'll talk again tonight that's all I wanted to say Paulus I want to briefly describe the current situation today that was fighting with mixed success on the Western and southwestern front the enemy attacked with a force of 70 to 80 tanks and strong aircraft supports there were several breakthroughs in the depth of the defense in several sectors especially critical as a situation and marién of kur where the enemy reached the western outskirts of the village and the river the tanks and assault units prepared for the breakthrough had to be used in today's fighting instead supplies arrived today in sufficient quantities 128 aircraft with 220 tons of cargo Manstein sincere congratulations for the success of the defense good look Paulus thank you will there be an order Manstein there will be warn immediately radio exchanges between generals Schmidt and Schulz Chiefs of Staff had 6th army and Army Group Don respectively at 2040 hours on the 19th of December Schultz speaking Schultz here good evening Schmidt Schmidt speaking today the bulk of the tanks and part of the infantry forces intended for the breakthrough as well as lots of fuel and ammunition were commandeered for defensive battles the Russians are expected to continue their attacks on the 20th of December it will only be possible to use the forces intended for the breakthrough if they are not committed in defense which is improbable until the indicated time to prepare for a breakthrough approximately twenty hours are needed after the release of these strike forces because of this situation the earliest possible date for a breakthrough is only the 22nd of December up to this point ammunition and fuel are needed the attack should take place in morning Twilight in case of assigning infantry forces to the offensive through the Dawn's or it sir there is no way to hold the front of the fortress therefore need to consider a swift tank strike through the dawn skya Bazaar it sir with fire support from the fortress it follows from this that a breakthrough should be achieved only when kerchner approaches Buzzi naka provided that Stalingrad is held it will be necessary to assess once again the situation in the evening of the 20th of December this is our common opinion there are no other questions apart from those regarding the delivery of supplies in the requested volumes today 100 tons of fuel ammunition and food have been delivered according to the instructions of the chief quartermaster are there any questions Shultz I have no other desires than to ensure salvation and victory to do this general Schmitz must submit as soon as possible his proposals to the army group regarding when to give the order Schmidt major iseman is here until 2200 hours on the 22nd of December Schulz no more questions by radio communication of Army Group dawn to 6th army at 14:00 45 hours on the 20th of December for tatical reasons radio communications between fourth Panzer Army and sixth army should be carried out only in the most extreme cases communicates only through the Army Group radio exchanges between generals Schmidt and Schulz at 1800 hours on the 20th of December Schulz general Schulz here Schmidt general Schmidt here good afternoon Schulz due to the losses in the recent days the situation with personnel on the Western Front and in Stalingrad has become extremely complicated enemy attacks are warded off only with the commitment of force is intended for assisting winter storm one or two major breakthroughs may deprive the army of reserves especially armored ones if we must continue to hold the Front's of the fortress all the tanks of the army are sent every two to three days to support the defense of the Western Front it follows as reported yesterday and that withdrawal of large army forces from the fortress would weaken its defense on the other hand you need to understand the Russians are nervous in anticipation of our breakthrough and they continue their attacks the enemy is pulling up his forces to the southern front and we expect that there will be a strong group on the western flank of the breakthrough in the area near Zoar it sinski strong enemy units were detected including numerous styling organs and anti-tank weapons we need to move the breakthrough area east between cop Africa and rocket owner and then in south we need to understand how close Hoth can get from the south it would be suitable to defeat the enemy forces between Zarate's insky and marinovka with their concentrated strike from the south and southeast we think the beginning of the offensive is dependent on how close Hoth will arrive on the previous day it will be necessary to immediately establish contact with him once again we asked permission to initiate a breakthrough when Hoth and his most able units reachable zin off curve ensuring Hoth's understanding of this is especially important another important question is whether to carry out operation Thunder strike immediately after winter storm reaches its utmost advance in this case it will be necessary to allow local enemy incursions in other sectors of the front that will not threaten the withdrawal of the entire army we will be able to transfer significant forces to the south and local reserves from other sectors to participate in the breakthrough for the army it is of great importance to know whether thunder strike will be carried out or not implementing thunder strike requires a to evacuate by aircraft part of the 8,000 wounded of whom 500 to 600 arrive daily and about 1,000 are flown out taking out 500 per day of these 8,000 can reduce the total number by half the remaining should be taken out by truck or by plane be to provide fuel in the amount of 800 cubic meters for the vehicles and tractors inside the cauldron it will take approximately five to six days to ensure the delivery of this quantity provided that the number of aircraft remains at the level of 150 units as yesterday and today for we believe that Thunder strikes should immediately follow winter storm as long as there is a time margin of five to six days after this delay nothing move and the army will be in danger of destruction Schultz dear Schmidt today 57th Panzer Corps was engaged again in heavy battles on the bridgehead over the mask over the enemy is trying by all means to prevent the further advance of Hoth and is drawing in new forces all that it's possible is being done today aerial reconnaissance has detected enemy columns moving from the north it is assumed that part of these forces can be transferred from sixth army's perimeter the Field Marshal believes that sixth army should join winter storm as soon as possible no need to wait until Hoth reaches buzzing off curb it is absolutely clear that your forces for winter storm are very limited because of this the field marshal considers it necessary to direct Thunder strike instead the decision of the okh despite all our efforts has not yet been made independently of this decision the field marshal believes that winter storm should begin as early as possible regarding the transfer of the breakthrough site to the east I will present your proposal to the field marshal regarding the supply situation the okh confirmed the number of aircraft employed for it will be increased in a short time regarding the delivery of fuel ammunition and necessary materials I inform you that 3,000 tons of transport convoys and artillery tractors stand ready to go on the road immediately after the junction 30 bosses were prepared for the evacuation of the wounded a significant part of the wounded will be taken out in trucks the Field Marshal has received your report on the real fighting strength of 25,000 out of 270,000 in total he asks to double-check this figure I listened to your further questions Schmidt the reported inventory strength has been cross-checked it contains a large number of soldiers from the rear services and other troops it should be noted that immediately behind the frontline positions there are units of heavy infantry weapons anti-tank defense Artillery armored assault guns etc the fighting strength was calculated according to the ok age formula and is approximately 60 to 70 percent higher in our conditions than on the normal conditions that's for sure and I confirm it are there any other questions Schultz we will let you know when we can begin end of communication radio communication between general Schmidt and Schulz at 1600 hours on the 21st of December Schmidt here is general Schmidt Schulz here is Schulz I want to clarify the situation again but first some important questions are the okh asks one what are the current volumes of total reserves of gasoline and diesel fuel - for how many kilometers will there be enough fuel for a breakthrough to the south and for holding all the positions three how many forces will be concerned with such fuel reserves for how much fuel will need to be delivered daily to the caldron after breaking the blockade can you answer me these four questions Schmidt first current gasoline reserves are 130 cubic meters diesel fuel 10 cubic meters including what was brought today and scheduled for delivery tomorrow second this amount is enough for a 20 kilometer offensive including Pryor regrouping third there will be enough force is to hold 20 kilometers of the corridor without the possibility of returning the troops back to the fortress especially tanks on the other hand if we want to continue to hold the fortress we need to pull in new forces there as soon as possible each internal regrouping poses a threat to the long-term defense of the fortress fourth the daily need for fuel is 30 cubic meters Shultz the okh does not give the green light to Thunderstrike according to available information the loss waffle will allocate 150 yonkers to the supply and another 100 will soon be transferred as reinforcements now an update on 4th Panzer Army's situation the enemy concentrated strong infantry and artillery forces north of the bush Cova and prevents the further advance of 57th Panzer Corps 17th Panzer Division failed to expand the bridgehead and I am scheme nor was it possible to transfer this division east of the village 6th panzerdivision successfully repelled strong enemy attacks on the bridgehead vasilev ker 23rd Panzer divisions slightly advanced northeast of Kruger Yakov Hoth concentrates his forces at Vasa lefke for a breakthrough to the north the question arises whether the enemy will transfer his forces from 6th army's cauldron in the eventualities of this strike north it will then be necessary to begin your part of winter storm as soon as possible when can you do so Schmitt provided that we continue holding the fortress the offensive may begin at the earliest on the 24th of December prior to this we hope to get the necessary fuel and regroup our forces the colonel general believes that it won't be possible to keep the fortress because the breakthrough will be accompanied by large losses in men and tanks if there is no certainty of a quick deep locking then as much supplies and ammunition as possible will need to be flown in to restore the fighting potential we are confident that we can hold out for a long time without any deblocking Shultz I will immediately convey your opinion to the field marshal and further to the okh do you have any more questions about the general situation Schmitt the losses of the last days are very great because of this one battalion of forces intended for the breakthrough was actually deployed on the Western Front and another battalion will be sent to Stalingrad in the coming days to strengthen the weak defenses there against new enemy forces deploying from the frozen Volga the Russians are very active in Stalingrad because of this we and they suffer heavy losses the colonel general believes that in the events of a breakthrough if it is not possible to establish an immediate connection with the debarking troops men should be removed from the fortress only in the last resort we think that if after a breakthrough operation winter storm immediately follows Thunder strike this will expose other sections of the front in general we insist that thunder strike will be a disaster and is not necessary mainly due to the physical condition of our men schultz directing large new vers or offensives is extremely demanding in addition Hoth has not enough data on the situation his position this morning is very different from what was recorded in the military journal last morning we asked once again to clarify all the details so that you can prepare for a breakthrough as soon as possible Schmidt in the current situation a breakthrough will be allegedly made from the ragged cheek region to the south covering up from powerful enemy forces north of serene Sinskey and in the south that's all I wanted to say Schulz it is not advisable to establish a direct radio link between you and half since the enemy can listen I will directly update you on the situation Schmidt I have one more request we have a large shortage of officers can you send officer replenishment Schultz numerous officers from the Fuhrer reserve as well as those returning from leave and those from the rear services are committed to this share front I have nothing more Smit this is clear but we ask only the most necessary our companies are commanded by noncommissioned officers battalion and regimental adjutant are not enough to replace them we hope from the standing in this matter we have not had officer a punishment for eight weeks I have nothing further shots good luck end of communication radio communication between generals Schmidt and Schultz at 1700 hours on the 22nd of December Schultz here's general Schultz good afternoon Schmidt I bring you the situation today all day long 6th and 7th Panzer divisions falls off powerful enemy forces vasilev qey attacking from the south east east and north so the planned breakthrough of both Panzer divisions to the north did not take place it is supposed to carry out this attack as soon as the Russian offensive forces are exhausted in this sector perhaps this will happen tomorrow if the situation eases there are no special events in the cheer fronts due to the worsening weather in the last 24 hours icing and fog supply aircraft do not fly outs it is also impossible to lead aerial reconnaissance we hope that the weather will improve soon 175 yonkers are ready to strengthen you with supplies regarding your own position the field marshal asked for clarification on a number of issues regarding the supplier of the army according to the commanders of 6th army there are now 40,000 horses in the cauldron this contradicts the data of major iseman that there are only 800 horses per division can you give an explanation as to the number of horses if necessary it may be better to use the horses to feed the personnel Schmidt we will return to the number of horses at the end of the conversation strong enemy attacks were repelled in Stalingrad today the enemy suffered heavy losses ours are also significant on the rest of the fronts intensive artillery and mortar attacks stronger than yesterday large enemy motorized and horse-drawn columns were detected moving through pesky hrvatska and planned tarter to the south we are worried that several battalions on the western fronts are completely depleted and must be replaced in the coming days otherwise the first attack in this area will not be repelled in those conditions where there is no adequate supply and reinforcements and we have no other plan but to wait for Hoth to break through and so the inventory is completely exhausted such measures are necessary Shultz we have several thousand men as potential punishment some of them have no weapons and are waiting for them or the battalions are sent to the Shira fronts where there are strong enemy attacks if the weather improves immediate measures must be taken to improve the situation in the caldron with food fuel and ammunition then with durable good weather it will be possible to transfer reinforcements to you which you need to armed with weapons Schmidt the latter goes without saying in addition to these weapons we use large quantities of Russian machine guns rifles and mortars regarding the number of horses I can answer that iseman meant horse is used for traction in the divisions whereas the quartermaster gave the total number tonight will be given the exact figure of the horses used in the horse-drawn columns and separately since the end of November horses have been systematically used for meat which reduces their number that is all I wanted to say shuts all clear I will convey your assessment of the situation to the field marshal and then we are going together to the okh the forum previous tasks that's all I wanted to say good luck end of communication radio communication between Field Marshal von Manstein and Colonel general Paulus has 17 40 hours on the 23rd of December 1942 man Stein good evening Paulus you reported yesterday to the okh now you have available fuel for 20 kilometers cites law confirms this on this occasion I can say the following the enemy is throwing new forces against fangore so he is forced to go on the defensive in addition the position on the left flank of the army group forces us to weaken fango even more you can draw the conclusions yourself I asked you only in the event that there will be no other possibilities to plan a thunder strike for the coming days we will try to transfer your fuel and food if you cannot answer now let's continue the conversation at 2100 hours I can also inform you that supplying the army with sufficient volumes for a long time five hundred fifty tons daily is a very difficult task and will depend on the developments of the situation on the left flank of the Army Group answer please Paulus the breakthrough will be complicated in the fact that the enemy face in the southern front is strongly entrenched and as six tank brigades in reserve in the rear preparations for this operation will take six days provided that the necessary fuel is gathered and dispatched if a breakthrough is necessary and it is better now than later if the army is not properly supplied there is no other choice based on the experience of consumption during the fighting it will be necessary to deliver one thousand cubic meters of fuel and five hundred tons of food in addition it is clear that directing Thunder strike is extremely complicated by the fact that Hoth cannot bring his strong units closer the authorization for the breakthrough operation has not yet been received from the Army Group do I have the authority based on our conversation to initiate Thunder strike and sir please Manstein I cannot give you such powers maybe the decision will come tomorrow further not clear how much fuel and food will the army need for the bare minimum possible to achieve Thunder strike based on the daily consumption data palace one thousand cubic meters of fuel and 500 tons of food this will allow the use of the bulk of the vehicles our position is such that tomorrow we expect enemy attacks on the Western and southwestern front Manstein that is all I wanted to say good luck radio communications between generals Schmidt and Shultz at 1700 hours on the 24th of December Shultz dear Schmidt the field marshal and we all express our special thanks today to the entire 6th army I have nothing particularly new for you fanger continues to lead defensive battles the enemy is pulling new forces here the okay hates has no solutions for you Field Marshal believes that you should decide on Thunder strike we are waiting for good weather to transfer all the necessary fuel and food what do you have on your side Schmidt is it possible to transfer aircraft from tat since kya if the threat persists in this sector Schulz the transfer will be provided an alternate airfield is being prepared Schmidt will fangore hold his positions on the miskova Schulz we very much hope that he will have the opportunity to maintain at least one bridgehead Schmidt is it true that Feingold transferred one a Panzer Division to the west bank of the dawn Schulz 1 Panzer Division was deployed west of the dawn to cover more Azov skya tomorrow the SS Viking fully motorized begins to arrive in the Sask region by rail it will be marched south we will receive all the necessary reinforcements from the composition of Army Group a the okh decision on this issue has already been made Schmidt that is all I wanted to say the commander and I wish you a Merry Christmas draft of six army order to troops for breaking out of encirclement the assistance promised by the Fuhrer approached after many days of fighting the deblocking army overcame the opposing Russians now it is on the threshold of our fortress we are required to break through the encirclement and keep the Bolsheviks at bay in the area between the Volga and the dawn for a sufficient amount of time the offensive order is given every army soldiers should know about this decision those who advance most achieve their goals those who defend must restrain all enemy attacks now we need to make this last effort long live Germany this order was intended to be published when 4th Panzer Army is close enough for a junction with 6th army as events developed this order was never issued Operation winter storm has failed the main front quickly recedes now six army rely on the loss Wafaa whereas the trapped Sixth Army soldiers dreamed only of getting out of the cauldron new ones were actually flown in from outside at the request of Paulus and Schmidt at least until the final Soviet ffensive in January 1943 and the requested figure is staggering at least 250 able men per day as shown in the following documents this theoretical objective wasn't reached otherwise that could have been about five thousand sent into the hopeless Inferno of the last days at Stalingrad radio communication from Colonel general Paulus to Army Group Don a tow 850 hours on the 26th of December 1942 since 1400 hours on the 23rd of December until the morning of the 25th of December there were no supplies due to fog on December 25th the weather improved but aircraft did not arrive only a group of Heinkel provided support on the battlefield during the night of the 25th to 26th only 34 transports arrived with 30 tons of cargo the resistance of the army will be broken if supplies are not received quickly long-term preservation of the situation requires food fuel ammunition and approximately 250 able men as daily reinforcements signed Paulus radio communication from sixth army to the commander of 4th air fleets Colonel General von Richtofen at 1100 hours on the 26th of December if in the near future the delivery of supplies is not accelerated the situation will become difficult we ask you to provide friendly assistance signed Paulus radio communication from 4th fleet to 6th army at 1700 hours on the 26th of December 4th our fleet does all that is possible do not think of anything else we regret our weakness and are ready to strengthen our actions as soon as the weather improves signed Rick Dothan [Music] radio communication from six army to army group Don at oh eight forty-five hours to the okay H forward this communication to the chief of general staff to commander Army Group Don on the night of the 16th to 17th of January less than ten tons of supplies were dropped no aircraft landings at all this puts the army supply under unprecedented threat according to the pilots of the aircraft 4th fleet forbids any landing since the morning of 16th of January yet this decision of the fleet is based on unconfirmed reports from its officers about the allegedly poor condition of the gorak airfield please undertake action signed Paulus context on 23rd of January 1943 the last transport flight left a cauldron Paulus was denied by Hitler his request to surrender since further resistance is pointless radio communication from Colonel general powers to Army Group dawn for further forwarding to Zeisler and the Fuhrer my Fuhrer your order will be executed long live Germany signed Paulus and that is the end of the exchanges [Music] thanks a lot chick for voicing on my script see you later on your channel and installed data [Music]

Channel: Armageddon

Views: 335,633

Keywords: Stalingrad, Eastern Front, WW2, WWII, 6th Army, Paulus, 1942, Red Army, Winter Storm, Wintergewitter, 1943, TIK, TIK History, TIK Battlestorm, Stalingrad Cauldron, Manstein, 4th Panzer Army, Stalingrad document, Stalingrad campaign

Id: OmiNtVTF1Z4

Length: 43min 36sec (2616 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 19 2020