Today in 1943, on the northern outskirts of Stalingrad, Soviet Union,

At Stalingrad, the remnants of the German 6^th Armee under General Strecker in the northern pocket of the Kessel ceased fighting and surrendered to the Red Army.

German troops march into Soviet captivity.

The Battle of Stalingrad began in the summer of 1942 with a German assault on the city, a major industrial center and a potential strategic coup, and an early determination that the capture of the city would be swift and relatively easy.  However, repeated attacks by the 6th Army, under General Friedrich von Paulus, and part of the 4th Panzer Army, under General Ewald von Kleist, could not break past the determined defense of the city by the Soviet 62nd Army.  German forces pushed the Soviets almost to the Volga River in mid-October and eventually encircled Stalingrad (before later becoming encircled themselves).

 

Stubborn, resourceful defenders, diminishing resources, partisan guerilla attacks, and the harsh Russian winter were already taking their toll on the German forces when, on November 19, the Soviets launched a massive counteroffensive.  The Soviet attack began with a massive artillery bombardment of the German positions and ended with the Soviets encircling the enemy, launching pincer movements from north and south simultaneously, eventually making the German position untenable.

Von Paulus surrenders.

Surrender was the German’s only hope for survival, but Hitler refused to consider it: " Surrender is out of the question.  The 6th Army will hold its positions to the last man and the last round."  

 

In fact, Von Paulus held out until January 31, 1943, 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.  Only about 5,000 would ever return to Germany after the war.

 

Soviet troops celebrate their victory.

Pockets of German belligerence continued until February 2.

[February 2, 1943]