Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad
On the night of 12 on July 1942, the commander of the South-Western Front, Marshal Semyon Konstantinovich Tymoshenko, received a telegram from the Supreme Command Headquarters (UGRC). The South-Western Front was transformed into the Stalingrad. As a result, even before the first battles on the distant approaches to Stalingrad, a new phase of the war began. The battle began, which was to decide the outcome of the 1942 campaign of the year and become a fundamental, strategic turning point in the whole war.
Previous events
After the victory near Kharkov in May 1942, the Führer ordered the division of Army Group South into two groups. Army Group A, under the command of Wilhelm List, was to continue the movement launched by the Wehrmacht in the North Caucasus and capture oil fields near Grozny and Baku. Army Group B under the command of Fyodor von Bock (and then Maximilian von Weichs), which included the 6th Army of Friedrich Paulus, the 2nd Army of Hans von Zalmut, the 8th Italian, 2nd Hungarian Army and 4th Yu tank the army of Hermann Goth, was to move east in the direction of the Volga and Stalingrad. The capture of the city on the Volga allowed the Germans to cut the water and land communications vital for the Soviet Union, which connected the Center with the South of Russia, including the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia, create serious problems with the supply and replenishment of the opposing Soviet troops, and reliably cover the left flank of the group Army "A". Stalingrad itself was a major industrial center; its loss dealt a blow to the defense potential of the USSR. In addition, it is believed that the Third Reich had an agreement with Turkey that if Stalingrad falls and the Germans cut the Volga route, the Turkish army will enter the war with the USSR.
The summer offensive of the German armed forces was given the codename “Fall Blau” (blue). The 6-I and 17-I German armies, the 1-I and 4-I tank armies defeated the troops of the Bryansk Front to the north and the troops of the South-Western Front south of Voronezh. Wehrmacht rushed to the Don. However, the Red Army was able to keep the left-bank part of Voronezh and gain a foothold at the turn of the Voronezh River. The Wehrmacht could not continue the offensive in this direction, since all the main forces were directed towards the Stalingrad direction. Soviet forces retreated east and south. In the next few months, two large-scale battles will unfold: the battle for the Caucasus and for Stalingrad.
Formation of the Stalingrad Front
The stake not only renamed the South-Western Federal District to Stalingrad, but also moved its headquarters to Stalingrad. The first commander of the front was Tymoshenko. The 9-th, 28-th, 29-th and 57-th army in the South-Western Front were transferred to the Southern Front, and the 21-th army (there were only about 28 thous. People) and the 8-th Air Army - Stalingrad Front (SF). The new front was subordinated to the reserve armies: the 63 army (the former 5 reserve army in the 1, 127, 153, 197, 203 rifle divisions and 14 of the Guards rifle division); 62 Army (Former 7-I Reserve Army, 147-I, 181-I, 184-I, 192-I, 196-Rifle and 33-I Guards Divisions); 64-I army (former 1-I reserve army, 18-I, 29-I, 112-I, 131-I, 214-I and 229-I infantry divisions). The total number of 62 army on 10 in July was 81 thousand, 63 army - 67 thousand, 64 army - 72,8 thousand. As a result, more than 220 thousand soldiers were entered into the battle to restore the integrity of the front. In addition, the front received a number of artillery, mortar, armored and engineering units. A. M. Vasilevsky informed the Chief of Staff of the Front Pavel Ivanovich Boldin about the transfer of a number of artillery units to the Stalingrad direction, 8 individual tank companies armed with heavy tanks KV, 8 air regiments, 4 armored trains division (8 armored trains).
The SF received the task of 62 and 64 armies, two naval rifle brigades, 18 artillery and machine-gun UR battalions, cadets of 8 schools arriving from the North Caucasus, to take the Stalingrad frontier west of the Don River and "stand to death". The 63 and 21 armies were supposed to prevent the Germans from crossing the Don. The severity of the situation is evidenced by the use of cadets of military schools. Only in a critical situation, the command refused to complete the training of future command personnel and threw the cadets into battle as usual infantry.
It should be noted that the commander of the 62 Army, Vladimir Yakovlevich Kolpakchi, received an order to take up defensive positions at the distant approaches to Stalingrad about a day before the establishment of the Stalingrad front. The commander was ordered to remove parts from the positions at the Stalingrad bypass and to strengthen the so-called. Stalingrad frontier. At this time, the 64 Army was only transported from the Tula region, and the 64 Army rifle divisions were located on July 12 only on the approach to the city.
During this period, a member of the State Defense Committee, secretary of the Central Committee Malenkov was in the troops of the South-West Front (and then Stalingrad). He worked on cadres and “discharged” Moscow’s Chief of the Main Automobile and Armored Directorate of the Red Army, Ya. N. Fedorenko. The head of the GAU, arriving at Stalingrad, developed a vigorous activity in preparing tank units for the upcoming battle. On July 17, Fedorenko submitted a plan for the reorganization of tank brigades to GHQ. From the structure of the South-Western Front, the tank crew was handed over to the SF. Of these, only three left at the front, and eighteen sent for re-formation. Six brigades were sent to Stalingrad and twelve to Saratov. Thus, they began to create reserves that will have their say during the defense of Stalingrad. Tank units abandoned in Stalingrad were thrown into battle in August 21, and in Saratov in September. From the North Caucasus to Stalingrad, they began to transfer a tank brigade due to a sharp weakening of the armored forces of the Northern Fleet. In addition, Fedorenko banned sending tanks from the Stalingrad Tractor Plant to them. F.E. Dzerzhinsky (CTZ) in the Caucasus. Now the entire issue of STZ went to the Federation Council, to the restored brigades. Also, according to the decision of the head of the State Agrarian University, an armored training center was left in Stalingrad.
The command of the Federation Council soberly assessed the immediate prospects for the development of hostilities. On July 14, a report was sent to the General Staff, where it was assumed that Army Groups “A” and “B” would deliver the main attack on the Southern Front with access to the lower course of the river. Don. After completing the operation against the law firm, one should have expected a strike at Stalingrad. The attack on Stalingrad was considered ancillary to the main attack that the Germans would inflict in the direction of the lower reaches of the Don in order to break through to the Caucasus. The command of the SF quite clearly outlined the original idea of the "Blue Operation". Indeed, at that time a battle unfolded in the LF zone, as a result of which the Wehrmacht surrounded the forces of the 9 and 38 armies near Millerovo.
The defeat of the armies of the law firm led to the “disgrace” of Tymoshenko. According to the reports of the 28-th, 38-th and 57-th armies headquarters (they were the directive of the rate from 17 on July 1942, they were transferred to the Federation Council), the pitched remnants of the compounds left on the eastern bank of the Don. So, from 13-th Guards Rifle Division came out 387 people, from 15-th Guards Rifle Division - 225 people and 100 people from the rear parts of the division, from 38-th rifle division - about 60 people without headquarters, etc.
Already on July 13, the Commander of the Northern Fleet set before the Stavka the question of evacuating the population from Stalingrad. He proposed to take out children and women not engaged in military production. It should be noted that the city was crowded with refugees from Ukraine. Tymoshenko noted that it would be very unprofitable to conduct evacuation under enemy air strikes.
Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad
The beginning of the battle for Stalingrad can not be called ordinary for the battles of World War II. Usually, before the attack, the sides touched each other. Before the start of this battle, German columns marched east across seemingly endless steppes. The units of the Soviet armies at that time were moving towards the positions of the Stalingrad line, burrowing into the ground. German units and Soviet divisions divided tens of kilometers. There was an unusual silence for the front, broken by rare spans of airplanes.
The command of the Stalingrad Front pushed forward reconnaissance units to determine the position and forces of the enemy. In fact, they were to establish contact with the German troops moving towards Stalingrad. In addition, Tymoshenko wanted to know if he had time to transfer troops to new positions. The defensive line occupied by the 62 Army was located in an open area accessible to enemy tanks. A more advantageous position was the height in 15-20 km from the defense line of the 62 army. The forward detachments planned to form cadets of the schools, strengthening them with an artillery battalion, a tank company and a company armed with anti-tank guns. The 8-I Air Army was supposed to provide air cover. Later, due to the delay of the schools, the forward detachments formed parts of the 62 Army.
At the same time, the commander of the Stalingrad Front was considering the possibility of providing assistance to those fighting near Millerovo, surrounded by troops of the Southern Front. However, there were no real opportunities for a releasing offensive. It was concluded that an isolated strike would not give the desired effect and at the same time lead to significant losses in the strength and means of the Northern Fleet, which would weaken the defense of the Stalingrad direction. It was during this period that Tymoshenko proposed creating a tank army consisting of 2-3 tank corps with artillery formations, 2-3 rifle divisions and a strong group aviation. This army was planned to be used to strike the flank of German troops advancing to the south. Subsequently, such an army will be created, and not one. Tank armies will play a large role in the battle of Stalingrad and in subsequent military operations.
17 July is the generally recognized date for the start of the Battle of Stalingrad. It was on this day that the advance troops came in contact with the enemy. However, military historian Alexey Isaev (“Myths and truth about Stalingrad”) discovered that, according to the 62 Army's combat log, the first clash occurred on July 16. On this day, the vanguard, formed from the 147 th Infantry Division, entered into battle with the Germans. The basis of the detachment was a company of medium tanks T-34 and a company of light tanks T-60. Also in the advanced compound included two platoon of machine gunners, four rifle platoon, six PTR calculations and three anti-tank guns. July 15 squad went in the direction of the village Morozov and Morozovskaya station. Hilly terrain hid the advancement of troops, so the German and Soviet units converged imperceptibly from each other. In 13.00, the Soviet reconnaissance detachment arrived at the Golden Farm, approximately in 8 km southeast of Art. Morozovskaya. In 17.40 16 July, several Soviet tanks during the reconnaissance of the Morozov farm were shelled by German anti-tank guns. Soviet tankers returned fire from enemy positions. After reconnaissance tanks returned. One T-34 tank refused a gearbox, so they took it in tow.
Somewhat later a more serious fight took place. In 20.00, four German tanks were able to secretly approach the Golden Farm and opened fire on Soviet tanks. Apparently, the German command did not expect a clash with the enemy’s two tank companies and sent such insignificant forces. The clash lasted 20-30 minutes. Soviet tank crews announced the elimination of two German tanks with crews, damage to the third tank and the destruction of one anti-tank gun. The Soviet vanguard lost 11 man to the wounded, one T-34 burnt down and two thirty-fours downed (i.e., they could be recovered). After taking the wrecked tanks, the forward detachment came back.
Soon the battle was already in full swing. 20 July 1942, the vanguard of the 33 Guards Division attacked Chernyshevskaya, occupied by the Germans. The fight continued from 5.00 in the morning to 19.00 in the evening. The tanks of the Soviet 651 tank battalion shot two ammunition ammunition. The losses were already more substantial: nine thirty-fours burned down, one T-34 tank was badly damaged and remained on the battlefield.
On the same day, Tymoshenko’s commander-in-chief signed operational directive No. 0023 / op, which defined the tasks of the Stalingrad Front. It was believed that the German command after the approach of operational reserves will try to seize the area of Stalingrad and reach the Middle Volga. The task was to “by all means retain the Stalingrad region” and prepare the troops for a counter-offensive in the western and south-western directions.
Sources:
Isaev Alexey. Myths and truth about Stalingrad. M. 2011.
Moschansky I., Smolinov S. Defense of Stalingrad. Stalingrad strategic defensive operation. July 17 - November 18 1942 of the year. M., 2002.
Battle of Stalingrad. Chronicle, facts, people. In 2 pr. M., 2002.
http://militera.lib.ru/h/samsonov1/index.html
http://militera.lib.ru/h/isaev_av8/index.html
http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/vasilevsky/index.html
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