Stalingrad: Hitler's Last Attempt To Take Russia | Battlezone | War Stories

[Music] foreign vulgar grad 1972 in winter as in summer russian sculpture run mount guard in front of the eternal flame burning in the memorial to the dead to the great battle of the vulcan [Music] thirty years previously vulgar grad was called stalingrad years ago other children german children wish their fuhrer a happy birthday adolf hitler was 53 years old his triumphant armies occupied the whole of europe during the summer of 1941 they had invaded russia and stood at the gates of moscow until now the german generals who perfected the blitzkrieg had experienced nothing but success they are ready to begin the conquest of africa asia and even the whole world at the beginning of 1942 hitler mobilizes all his forces from the far corners of europe so that he can finish off russia five million four hundred thousand german soldiers he makes his allies provide 800 000 men either willingly or by coercion the italian eighth army of his friend mussolini the second hungarian army of admiral hoti the third and fourth romanian armies of antonescu's fascist regime in the spring of 1942 this immense striking force the biggest concentration of strength yet seen consists of 3 200 tanks 3 400 airplanes 57 000 guns more than 6 million men 10 times more than napoleon's grand army are ready to march eastwood the german general staff wishes to take moscow which had been the objective of the first lightning attack by the germans the previous summer moscow which should have been taken in three weeks but held out all winter stalin expects the new blow to fall on moscow hitler is more imaginative now that america has entered the war he decides that he must prepare for a long struggle his objectives are based on economic goals and above everything else he needs the oil and fuel resources of the middle east in africa rommel is on the march towards cairo hitler decides to attack in russia by a drive to the sun in the direction of the caucasus and its oil he wants to close the german fences around the oil reserves of the middle east the key to this vast strategic plan is stunning drugs [Music] on the 28th of june 1942 general von box with 89 divisions of which nine are armored attacks along the front of 250 miles from positions around coast and the german armies go forward rolling up the desperate but inadequate russian defenses within a few days the germans advanced nearly a hundred miles and take thousands of russian prisoners the soviet high command who had feared that moscow was the objective now has to rapidly change its plan and stalin orders reinforcements to be sent south to varanesh the nearest town in the line of the german advance arriving in haste the russian general golikov attempts to stem the advance with his tank [Music] [Music] bravery and determination are not enough to stop the german advance either and the german dive bombers break up the russian positions [Music] the german armored columns press on covering great distances without meeting any serious opposition ahead lies rostock the only remaining bastion barring the approach to the don river crossing the last obstacle to sterling drought will the main russian force be waiting at rostov [Music] as it turned out the city was defended only by its garrison which fought a bitter rearguard action other russian forces retreated to the east in a desperate flight to avoid being caught in a huge battle of encirclement [Music] [Music] the germans took a week to win the battle and a major victory rostock fell on the 28th of july for the germans the plan of campaign seemed to be working well for the russians the summer is dark indeed a summer of huge defeats of kharkov at sevastopol at rostov a continuing series of military disasters in one month the german vermont has penetrated over 200 miles into the heart of russia the road ahead seems open however when the armies of unbox arrive on the banks of the dawn the high command is uneasy where are the bulk of the soviet forces on the far side of the river long columns of refugees flee towards the east obeying an ancient instinct the russian people make a wasteland of the country into which the german forces will advance [Music] the civilian population abandons farms villages and towns all that is precious to the people is destroyed or burned before they follow the retreating columns of the russian army wearily trudging eastwood [Music] hitler always impatient arrives in vinitsa in the ukraine to personally direct the military operations if the rank and file greet him with enthusiasm it's not the case with the generals of the high command who resent his intervention he dismisses von brock and takes command himself cancelling all the operational plans of the general staff [Music] the original plan was to take stalingrad with the entire german force before advancing on the caucasus hitler now decides to do both simultaneously and on july the 23rd 1942 he splits his forces sending half his army towards stunning drugs and the other half into the caucasus the decision is bitterly opposed by his general style [Music] the german army is set out in an irresistible flood towards the caucasus across the vast dawn plane and into the rivers of the kuban and the tele as the german formations advance deep into the hot and sandy wastes of the calming steps the proud armored columns soon look more like a horde of migrating tartars water holes become more important than achieving military victories while harvey's attacking force is wandering about the caucasus hitler launches the sixth army under general paulus on the main objective stalingrad and the vulgar stalingrad which extends some 30 miles along the western banks of the vulgar the biggest river in europe once named zaritsin the local museum recalls that in 1919 it had been defended against the white armies by young georgian revolutionary joseph stani whose factories were like industrial cathedrals dedicated to the revolution and whose names recalled the past barricades red october giant factories have been built which supplied most of the agricultural tractors used in russia and now built tanks for the armored divisions of the red army [Music] this was the place that stalin chose to stop hitler's might on the 30th of july he issues an order of the day not one step back he nominates two men to the defense committee of stalingrad one a soldier general jeremenko the other a political commissioner nikita khrushchev chris chaff immediately makes known the wishes of stalin soviet soldiers must show an iron discipline with nerves of steel those are the conditions of victory and the slogan of the russian spirit each man must be prepared to die like a hero [Music] general yaramenko is 39 years old and stalin's favorite fighting man he is given four days to gather the retreating russian forces and to organize the defense of the southwestern front fortifications must be created at once here was the large russian force which the german high command had been seeking they had retreated in order to stand at stunning grad hitler had been mistaken the russians were not completely defeated the germans draw ever closer general paris and his sixth army have crossed the dawn and pressed forward towards stunning ground the german advance runs into the first russian lines of defense around canaan and a bitter battle rages as the russians desperately resist the armored and infantry assaults of the sixth german army hitler's chosen [Music] force [Music] [Music] after heavy and savage fighting between the dawn and volga rivers the germans take a latch and cut the railway line running between moscow and stunning grass in a final push the 16th panzer division breaks through to the north of stalingrad and reaches the western bank of the vulgar on a 5 mile front churchill rushes to moscow to give stalin his assurance of support he's accompanied by president roosevelt's representative avril harriman will the russians be able to hold the americans and british asked themselves when will they open their second front foreign minister monitor himself churchill who also had to fight alone in 1940 understands better than most the agony of the russian situation unfortunately all that he can bring with him at the moment are words fortunately he understands the use of words we will continue hand in hand like comrades and brothers until every vestige of the nazi regime has been bitten into the ground the russians had hoped for more when they see him on the newsreels giving the visa victory sign they believe that the two fingers indicate a second front the americans and the british promise to send large shipments of material planes trucks and jeeps but stalin knows now that it's stunning blood the russian army will be all alone to carry the full weight of the german war machine the germans have now reached the suburbs of stalingrad hitler has ordered that the city must be taken before the 25th of august the troops will have to hurry up at first it all seems straightforward but soon things will begin to go wrong [Music] the day of the blitzkrieg is over stalingrad is practically encircled but stalingrad fights on hitler decides that stalingrad must be destroyed on the 23rd of august 1942 600 bombers of the fourth athlete commanded by general von richthofen are ordered to wipe out the city [Music] flying in renais the heinkels and junckers return to reload at their airfields and manage to carry out two thousand sorties over sailing ground thousands of tons of bombs fall all over the city they leave 30 miles of ruins and 40 000 victims the civilians who survived the bombing are evacuated while general yaraminko orders the 62nd and 64th soviet armies to transform the city into a fortress stalingrad pride of the soviet union lies in ruins but each ruin will now become a barricade [Music] in some parts of the city the chimneys are all that are left of the wooden houses that were destroyed by fire during the bombings at the beginning of september general palace curls the german sixth army into the final attack on the city german general staff believes that stalingrad which has been pulverized by bombing will fall as easily as a ripe fruit the expected victory harvest is delayed however on the 12th of september general is appointed to command the 62nd army he is 42 years old and promises to save stalingrad or die with his men his first priority is to bring reinforcements into the city from across the river [Music] under german artillery fire the russian naval units of the volga managed to keep a lifeline open and are sometimes able to land men and material to reinforce the depleted garrison troops [Music] [Music] just when the battered 62nd army is on the point of collapse the naval forces managed to bring in an elite guards division commanded by general rodinson it's the 14th of september one week later the redemptive division is still fighting in the centre of the city and entrenched around the railway station but its strength is down to 80 men only the tremendous russian artillery barrage firing support from the east bank of the volga manages to hold the germans back [Music] one after another the best russian regiments are being consumed and it's a matter of concern as to how long the 62nd russian army can last the highest point in the city is the mamayaf hill 300 feet high it looks out over the valley of the vulgar and dominates the city general chuikov has set up his command phase here the mamaya kill is the scene of some of the heaviest fighting of a two months battle and changes hands several times at the end of september the germans hold the hill and from there can overlook the entire city the industrial zone the center and the railway station they now know that they will have to take starring grad street by street in the event it takes two divisions and five days of fighting with cold steel to capture the railway station which had been defended by the last survivors of a guards unit and the parachute troops of colonel [Music] [Music] it's october before general powers can attack the industrial quarter with five divisions two of them armed [Music] in the wreckage of the tractor factory the russian workers turn out tanks until the very last minute [Music] [Music] when the german advance is nearly upon them they put on military uniforms and go out to meet the enemy in tanks which they had only just completed [Music] general palace throws all his reserves into the battle seven divisions [Music] the german panzer grenadiers advance yard by yard through the residential zones the red october factory the barricade factories [Music] constantly the russian troops counterattack the crack guard units the siberian soldiers of general batuk in two weeks three russian divisions lose 75 percent of their strength the german stuka die bombers put in a final blow on the banks of the vulgar the last gasoline stores of the russian army are destroyed and a sea of fire sweeps over the shelter of general churkov who continues to issue orders from his command post at the end of october the germans occupied the last factories the dead russian soldiers and whitman had kept their promise they had not retreated general powers tells hitler that the sixth army holds stalingrad or at least 90 percent of it they raise the german flag in the center of the town they have reached the west bank of the volga hitler is exalted he strikes a medal to commemorate the victory throughout europe he posts notices of the latest german triumph on the 9th of november in munich he makes a long speech announcing the good news [Music] the speech is received more appreciatively by the nazi officials than the soldiers who are listening far away in stalingrad although hitler speaks contemptuously at the ten percent of the city still held by the russians they unlike him intend to turn the defense of stalingrad into another verdun and the slogan is for the motherland and to stand [Music] the supply line to the beleaguered russian forces is now only a trickle the german artillery prevents groups of more than 10 or 20 men crossing the vulgar under cover of [Music] darkness [Music] day after day night after night week after week the hell of combat in stalingrad continues together with the agony of fear thirst hunger and hate the savage fighting that dragged on endlessly became a test of human endurance for both the forces involved there was no place for great tactical maneuvers the war was reduced to the defense of a serra or a wall with the enemy only a few yards away day and night the hand-to-hand fighting never gave the soldiers the chance to pull out for a red general chewy cup issued an order to his snipers that each german soldier has been made to feel that he was always in the sights of a russian rifle the germans past masters of the rapid attack and technical breakthrough found that fighting in the ruins of a large city had lost the most of their advantage especially if the defenders were prepared to die rather than give up russian reinforcements could only come across the vulgar from the eastern side under cover of darkness and it was not possible to cross in large units the great problem facing the russian command was that the attrition of stalingrad would swallow up men at a greater rate than they could be replaced under these conditions it was impossible to know the true lottery as men disappeared in the inferno of battle thousands of russian soldiers crossed the volga only to disappear forever in the ruins that claimed them all russia was later to know the names of 23 men of a crack guard regiment who held a house for 58 days against the best units of the german army there were hardly any survivors one of those russian soldiers who fought at stalingrad constantine simanov became a famous writer and during the terrible days when all his friends were dying around him he wrote a poem which all russia learned if you wait for me i will return but wait for me truly very truly wait for me when the yellow rain brings sadness wait for me when the snowflakes turn wait for me when summer conquers all wait until the past is forgotten and we no longer await the others wait until from other lands no further news will come wait until they shall rest those who along with you had waited the russian winter makes an early appearance in stalingrad on the 16th of november the vulgar begins to freeze soon the supply lines will be cut soon ammunition will run out general rod itself and the other defenders of the city wonder what was meant by stalin when he broadcast over the radio that soon we will dance in our streets the reason for stanley's cryptic statement was that he had secretly ordered general zhukov the savior of moscow and leningrad to attempt to save stalingrad after carefully analyzing the situation we put the following plans we would continue to exhaust the germans in stalingrad for the past month in great secrecy zhukov has gathered together a formidable array of armor and infantry 900 tanks from factories in the euros amassed on the far bank of the vulgar a million men a new army stalin has reestablished the ranks and orders of the old regime the influence of the political commissars is cut the red army is now the russian army [Music] the new divisions completely re-equipped are brought down to the don and the vulgar by pontoons and terrible the russian thunderbolt will be totally [Music] unexpected the attack will begin at 6 30 a.m on the morning of november the 19th under the command of general the surprise is totally [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] within 24 hours rakozovsky has routed the third romanian army thirty-seven thousand romanians dejectedly shuffle across the winter planes prisoners of the russians further south yeremenko has swept up the italians unwilling latins far from home and lost in the frozen waste [Music] on the 22nd of november in the region of collapse the russian armies of the don and the vulgar meet up and close the ring around the germans cut off the sixth german army with 22 divisions 330 000 men is now held in a pocket which measures 40 miles by 25 miles the soldiers of the german sixth army begin to wonder why they have not received orders to break out of the russian encirclement the officers on the staff of the surrounding army urge general paris to act quickly before it's too late but carlos hesitates and delays a decision all the while the russian tanks draw closer the german six army is still a formidable force he could still break the russian circle but it would have to leave stalingrad paris asks hitler to let him make a decision on the spot as to whether he should hold or withdraw from the city at the same time a dramatic conference is being held at the fiora's headquarters at vinnitsa the general staff pleads with hitler to pull out the sixth army goring assures his leader that he can supply the trapped german force by air and the luftwaffe will carry out the tots hitler accepts this solution and sends paulus a direct order hold on at all costs supplies will be sent by air the luftwaffe assembles all available planes in russia to support the massive supply operation [Music] the sixth army requires 600 tons of rations and ammunition daily goring has no doubts i guarantee it he promises very soon it becomes evident that he cannot keep such a promise the russian anti-aircraft batteries are too numerous and accurate [Music] the russian fighter pilots swear solemnly to close the skies around stalingrad the oath echoes across the frozen fields of russia [Music] is [Music] the mastery of the skies no longer belongs to the luftwaffe but to the yanks to the migs and to the stomabics of the russian efforts [Music] in spite of the losses in spite of the cold which freezes the hands of the mechanics and ices up the engines the luck brother tries to the very limit to get through to the sixth army and evacuate the wounded but it will never be able to keep the promises made by guri cut off from vital supplies the german troops are reduced to two ounces of bread and less than an ounce of fat a day the wounded can no longer be evacuated hitler decides he must try and save the sixth army by a ground offensive field marshalls von manstein coming up in the caucasus receives an order to go to the rescue of paulus now isolated behind the new front line to achieve this mansline will have to break through the russian positions the plan is to drive through the encircling russian forces and enable powers to begin a breakout from his side [Music] on the 12th of december attacking with several hundred tanks manstein opens a corridor through the russian front on the 19th of december the leading troops of nanstein's army are only 24 miles from the trapped six army manstein will never get any further towards the city why didn't powers attempt to break out and join the relieving german forces he is indecisive the sixth army is short of fuel it has eight thousand wounded men who cannot be moved the troops are exhausted carlos's hesitation has cost him his last chance of retreat [Music] on december the 19th one of the rare supply flights gets through to drop some sacks to the trapped german army [Music] instead of christmas packages or myths the capsule contains an order from hitler to hold stalingrad at all costs on the 1st of january 1943 it's minus 25 degrees on the 5th of january minus 30 degrees why don't the russians attack the masked armies of rocosovsky have been ordered to clear the german pockets still holding out at stalingrad they are ready to attack but rokosovsky and his staff think there may be another solution if the germans will accept the hopelessness of their position on the 8th of january rakozovsky following a traditional ritual sends an ultimatum calling for surrender to the officers other ranks and soldiers of the german army who surrender we guarantee their lives and safety and after the war a return to germany or any country of their choice otherwise the german forces now surrounded will be wiped out once more hitler sends a radio message it is forbidden to surrender the ultimatum is rejected on the 10th of january at 8 o'clock in the morning 7 000 russian guns open the attack [Music] the germans overwhelmed withdraw towards the vulgar and the dislocated troops scurry back to take shelter in the ruins of stalingrad where they will make a final stand [Music] although worn down and exhausted the german sixth army resists the pressure of seven russian armies who launched the final assault on the 17th of january the russian soldiers are forced to take the ruins of their city house by house center by center in the fierce german defense prolongs the agony of fighting for two long weeks the maya pill must be retaken the central railway station must be [Music] taken the great factories of barricades and red october must be retaken the tractor factory also the center of the town must be liberated [Music] finally the red flag once more shows its colors over the recaptured city in clearing the centers of the univermark department store soldiers of the 64th army uncover by accident the hideout of general powers and his staff they are flushed out and brought before the russian commander the night before hitler had raised powers to the rank of field marshall had it been to reward him for being sacrificed or was it in the hope that he would die in action hitler had not foreseen that he had made him the first field marshal to be taken prisoner [Music] captain along with paulus are all the members of his staff and 2 500 officers among them 24 generals aristocratic prussians still showing their arrogance grizzled professional soldiers hardened by sirs young fanatics still convinced of nazi superiority for the first time the proud german war machine tastes the full cup of bitter defeat and humiliation on the 2nd of february the last german soldiers holding out in the wrecked factories surrender their weapons now the russians know that victory is possible the german reich has suffered a mortal root [Music] the germans have lost 200 000 men killed in action or dead from wounds hunger and cold only 91 000 prisoners are left to march [Music] away in liberated stalingrad rogosovsky yeremenko chuikov christophe and all the victorious russian commanders all the russian soldiers understand at last the words of stalin who once said soon we shall dance in our own streets thirty years later on the mamayaf hill a huge monument has been erected in keeping with the immense sacrifice made by the defenders of stalingrad so long ago [Laughter] [Music] the walls carry huge tablets listening the names of those who died no one has ever been able to count them the russian government has never revealed the number [Music] this gigantic monument stands for them all you

Channel: War Stories

Views: 412,702

Keywords: military history, war, war documentary, military tactics, war stories, history of war, stalingrad, Battle of Stalingrad, WW2 Documentary, WW2, World War 2, Hitler, stalin, Luftwaffe, Red Army

Id: tb_f_pHjF7g

Length: 49min 16sec (2956 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 03 2021