24 January 1943 A.D. Battle of Stalingrad: GEN Von
Paulus to Hitler: “Let us surrender!”—German 6th Army
Editors. “Von Paulus to Hitler: Let us
surrender!” History.com. N.d. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/von-paulus-to-hitler-let-us-surrender. Accessed 23 Jan 2015.
Von Paulus to Hitler:
Let us surrender!
On this day, German Gen.
Friedrich von Paulus, commander in chief of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad,
urgently requests permission from Adolf
Hitler to surrender his position
there, but Hitler refuses.
The Battle of Stalingrad began in the summer of 1942, as German forces
assaulted the city, a major industrial center and a prized strategic coup. But
despite repeated attempts and having pushed the Soviets almost to the Volga
River in mid-October and encircling Stalingrad, the 6th Army, under Paulus, and
part of the 4th Panzer Army could not break past the adamantine defense of the
Soviet 62nd Army.
Diminishing resources,
partisan guerilla attacks, and the cruelty of the Russian winter began to take
their toll on the Germans. On November 19, the Soviets made their move,
launching a counteroffensive that began with a massive artillery bombardment of
the German position. The Soviets then assaulted the weakest link in the German
force-inexperienced Romanian troops. Sixty-five thousand were ultimately taken
prisoner by the Soviets.
The Soviets then made a bold
strategic move, encircling the enemy, and launching pincer movements from north
and south simultaneously, even as the Germans encircled Stalingrad. The Germans
should have withdrawn, but Hitler wouldn't allow it. He wanted his armies to
hold out until they could be reinforced. By the time those fresh troops arrived
in December, it was too late. The Soviet position was too strong, and the
Germans were exhausted.
By January 24, the Soviets
had overrun Paulus' last airfield. His position was untenable and surrender was
the only hope for survival. Hitler wouldn't hear of it:
"The 6th Army will hold
its positions to the last man and the last round." Paulus held out until
January 31, when he finally surrendered. Of more than 280,000 men under Paulus'
command, half were already dead or dying, about 35,000 had been evacuated from
the front, and the remaining 91,000 were hauled off to Soviet POW camps. Paulus
eventually sold out to the Soviets altogether, joining the National Committee
for Free Germany and urging German troops to surrender. Testifying at Nuremberg
for the Soviets, he was released and spent the rest of his life in East
Germany.
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