“To the citizens of Stalingrad, strong as steel”

To the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad. From the chronicle of courage and heroism in the battles for their native land.

In the spring and summer of 1942, the Nazi command launched a general offensive on the southern sector of the Eastern Front. The task was to cut off the central regions, Moscow and Leningrad, from food supplies from the southern regions, from the oil of Baku, Maykop and Grozny. 90 percent of strategic raw materials were mined here. Hitler ordered his generals:

“Finally destroy the forces still at the disposal of the Soviets and deprive them, as far as possible, of the most important military and economic centers. If we do not capture Maykop and Grozny, I will have to liquidate this war.”

In the television documentary series dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Victory “The Diary of Memory”, of which I was the chief editor, Nikolai Konstantinovich Baibakov, Deputy People’s Commissar for the Fuel Industry of the USSR in 1940-1944, said:

“In August 1942, Stalin called me and said: “Comrade Baibakov, Hitler said that if he did not seize the Caucasian oil, he would lose the war. Therefore, you must immediately fly to the Caucasus and will be responsible for the state of the oil industry from Krasnodar to Baku.” I understood what he meant and asked: “Who will give me the command if I have to destroy the fisheries?” Stalin replied: “Go and together with Budyonny, commander of the Southern Front, you will make a decision. But keep in mind, if you leave even one ton of oil to the Germans, we will shoot you.” He paused and added: “Comrade Baibakov, keep in mind that if you destroy the fields, and the Germans do not come, and we are left without oil, then we will also shoot you.”

Nikolai Konstantinovich recounted the story with a certain chuckle: here, they say, what times were, it’s a thing of the past …

“The fate of the Caucasus will be decided at Stalingrad,” General Jodl, chief of staff of the operational leadership of the Wehrmacht High Command, announced. Three combined arms and one tank army developed the offensive in the Stalingrad direction. Our troops, in order not to be surrounded, retreated with battles to the bend of the Don. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command, understanding the strategic importance of the city, pulled up reserves to the Volga. Under Stalingrad, 12 divisions from the Far East were urgently transferred.

By August 10, Soviet troops retreated to the left bank of the Don.

Stalingrad was under siege. Three defensive lines were built on the outskirts of the city. The fourth is in the city.

On August 23, the tank corps of the army of General Paulus broke through the front line and, having passed through the rear of the Soviet troops for about 60 kilometers, reached the Volga north of Stalingrad. Under the fire of German guns were the workshops of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant.

Massive bombardments began. In just one day, August 23, German aviation made 2,000 sorties.

From the memoirs of the commander of the 62nd Army, Lieutenant General Chuikov:

“Enemy air raids have never reached such force in the entire war. The huge city, stretching for fifty kilometers along the Volga, was engulfed in flames. Grief and death entered thousands of families. On August 23, our air defense units shot down about 90 enemy aircraft. Until dark, the bombardment did not stop.

From the memoirs of the commander of the Stalingrad Front, Colonel-General Eremenko.

“Stalingrad was drowned in the glow of conflagrations, shrouded in smoke and soot. Fire arose everywhere, the whole city burned, wooden buildings burned brightly like bonfires, huge clouds of smoke and flames rose above the factories … Quarters of a huge flourishing city turned into ruins.

And this is only one day – August 23.

The city was completely destroyed. The loss of the civilian population is appalling. Until now, historians cannot determine more or less exact figures. According to the 1939 census, there were 490 thousand people in Stalingrad. They were joined by tens of thousands of evacuees from Leningrad and the North Caucasus. With the outbreak of hostilities, according to various sources, about 400 thousand civilians were evacuated from Stalingrad. All studies agree on one thing: by February 2, 1943, 32 thousand inhabitants remained in the city.

From September 12, when the battles unfolded within the city, the defense of Stalingrad was entrusted to the 62nd Army of General Chuikov and the 64th Army of General Shumilov. The general leadership was carried out by the Chief of the General Staff, Colonel-General Vasilevsky, who arrived in Stalingrad.

In the first days of the assault, the German motorized infantry, supported by tanks, advanced towards the banks of the Volga. The situation was saved by the 13th Army of General Rodimtsev. Suffering heavy losses, she crossed to the western bank of the Volga and immediately joined the battle. Two regiments occupied Mamayev Kurgan, the height dominating the city.

Going to the Volga meant taking the city. In some areas, the enemy was 150-200 meters from the river, but could not advance further.

Unsent letter from a murdered German officer:

“We need to get to the Volga. We can see it – it’s less than a kilometer away. We are constantly supported by aviation and artillery. We fight like crazy, but we can’t get to the river. The entire war for France lasted less than for one Volga plant. We took large cities and lost fewer people in the process than on this God-damned piece of land. Suicide bombers are probably fighting against us. They are not receiving reinforcements as we control the crossing. They simply decided to fight to the last soldier. And how many of them are left there – the last ones? When will this hell end?

In the ruins of the Barricades plant, the 138th division of Colonel Lyudnikov fought fierce battles. This division had its own song composed by an unknown soldier. She was sung to the tune of “Three tankmen, three cheerful friends”:

The streets trembled from explosions,
But the front of our regiments did not flinch.
We stood together like a granite wall
To protect the Volga banks.
We fight at the barricades
We are not afraid of the most ardent battle.
Let’s sing, brothers, a song about soldiers,
About the heroes of the 138th!

On November 19, 1942, the troops of the Southwestern Front, supported by units of the Don Front, launched an offensive from the northwest. On November 20, the troops of the Stalingrad Front went into the breakthrough from the south. The direction of the main blow is the city of Kalach-on-Don.

In preparation for the offensive, it was necessary to move a colossal amount of equipment and ammunition. 27 thousand cars worked on the transportation. The railroads delivered 1,300 wagons daily. Troops and cargo for the Stalingrad front were transported under fire, in the conditions of autumn ice drift on the river. From November 1 to November 20, 111 thousand people, 427 tanks, 556 guns, 14 thousand vehicles, about 7 thousand tons of ammunition were transported across the Volga.

On the afternoon of November 23, near the town of Kalach-on-Don, near the Soviet farm, units of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts advancing towards each other met. The iron ring is closed.

In the interfluve of the Volga and Don, 22 Nazi divisions and 160 separate units with a total number of 300 thousand people were surrounded.

Three armies of the South-Western and Stalingrad fronts developed an offensive to the west, to Rostov, pushing back the Nazis from the encircled group of Paulus. Soon three armies from the North Caucasus went on the offensive.

To break through the encirclement from the west, the Nazi command urgently created the strike army group “Don” under the overall command of Field Marshal Manstein. For its formation, divisions were transferred from other sectors of the Soviet-German front and even from France and Germany.

On December 12, the German grouping “Don” – three tank divisions, a separate battalion equipped with heavy tanks “Tiger”, four infantry and two cavalry Romanian divisions – launched an offensive. Our units withdrew beyond the Aksai and Myshkovo rivers. In three days of fighting, the enemy advanced 45 kilometers. Stalingrad was 40 kilometers away. At that moment, the Headquarters transferred reserves, including the reinforced 2nd Guards Army of General Malinovsky, whose blow decided the outcome of the battle. The enemy was stopped, and by the end of December he was thrown back from Stalingrad by 150-200 kilometers. Paulus’s army lost hope of breaking through the blockade.

On January 24, General Paulus reported to the Wehrmacht High Command: “Further defense is meaningless. Defeat is inevitable. In order to save the survivors, the army asks for immediate permission to capitulate.”

Permission was not given.

On January 31, Paulus was awarded the rank of field marshal. On February 2, Field Marshal Paulus, 24 of his generals and the remnants of his army, numbering 91,000 soldiers, surrendered. So on February 2, 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad ended with a complete victory for the Soviet troops.

Germany plunged into three days of mourning. At a meeting of the Wehrmacht’s senior officers on February 1, 1943, Hitler declared: “The possibility of ending the war in the East through an offensive no longer exists.”

Meanwhile, in Stalingrad, Sergeant Polyakov from the 138th Infantry Division read poems of his own composition at a rally:

Here we have seen death more than once in battle.
On the Volga border, strength broke strength.
And many of us turned gray
And many here laid down their heads.

The war is not over. More fights are waiting for us
Long-distance campaigns, losses and rewards.
Remember, Guard: We saved the Fatherland
Here, on the black blocks of Stalingrad!

The defense of Stalingrad and the Stalingrad offensive operation lasted a total of 201 days and nights. The total losses of the Soviet troops amounted to 1,129,619 people. (“Classified removed: Losses of the Armed Forces of the USSR in wars, hostilities and military conflicts“. Moscow: Voenizdat, 1993.)

The losses of the German fascist armies – 1.5 million.

US President Roosevelt called the Battle of Stalingrad epic:

“The courage, fortitude and selflessness of Stalingraders will forever inspire the hearts of all free people. Their glorious victory stopped the wave of invasion and became a turning point in the war of the allied nations against the forces of aggression.

The King of Great Britain gave Stalingrad a gift sword, on the blade of which the inscription is engraved in Russian and English:

“To the citizens of Stalingrad, strong as steel, from King George VI as a token of the deep admiration of the British people.”

Sergei Baimukhametov.