Field Marshal Paulus, who surrendered in Stalingrad: I have not the slightest desire to shoot myself for the sake of a bohemian corporal
At the end of December 1942, after the failure of Field Marshal Manstein's operation to release the 6th Wehrmacht Army, the troops that once took Paris and victoriously entered Kiev were, in fact, doomed.
The supply of the Paulus army encircled near Stalingrad, although still carried out through the so-called "Air Bridge", did not cover even half of the needs. In addition, many Wehrmacht soldiers did not have winter uniforms. Meanwhile, the Nazis were not going to give up.
In turn, the command of the Red Army at the end of December 1942 completed the development of Operation Ring, which meant cutting into two parts by strikes from the west, and then from the south, and the complete destruction of the 6th Wehrmacht Army.
It is worth noting that by the time the above-mentioned operation began on January 10, 1943, the Soviet army was superior to the troops of General Paulus in terms of weapons: 6860 guns, 257 tanks and 300 aircraft against 4130 guns, 300 tanks and 100 aircraft. At the same time, the Nazis "won" in manpower - 250 thousand people against 212 in the Red Army.
However, despite the formidable forces in terms of numbers, the 6th Wehrmacht Army was practically exhausted. Hunger and cold did their job, in connection with which non-combat losses increased sharply. So, according to information from open sources, during the period of the Stalingrad cauldron, the daily norm for issuing bread in the encircled German army ranged from 25 to 100 grams.
At the same time, General Paulus refused to capitulate on January 8, despite a very generous offer from the Soviet command. Moreover, in the early days of Operation Ring, the Germans still offered fierce resistance.
The turning point took place on January 14, when units of the Red Army took the Pitomnik airfield, which at that time was the main landing site for the encircled group, which received cargo. After another 7 days, the Gurmak airfield was taken.
From that moment on, Wehrmacht planes tried to drop cargo by parachute. However, most of them landed on Soviet positions. Discipline in the units of the Wehrmacht completely degraded, which was reflected in the more frequent episodes of mass surrender.
On January 26, 1943, the 6th Wehrmacht Army was cut in two: the northern and southern groups.
Paulus himself was in the south. The headquarters of the 6th Army was relocated to the basement building of the Stalingrad department store.
Tellingly, the top of the Third Reich insisted that the 6th Army stand to its death, holding down the forces of the Red Army. Apparently, in order to raise motivation, on January 29, General Paulus was awarded the rank of field marshal.
Meanwhile, this did not play a special role. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation and exhausted by dysentery, the commander of the 6th Army on January 31 decided to surrender the southern group.
I have no desire to shoot myself for the sake of this bohemian corporal
Paulus said at the time.
The northern grouping of the 6th Army continued to resist until February 2. In general, the cleansing of Stalingrad and the capture of scattered groups of Nazis continued until February 22.
According to updated data, 91 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht were taken prisoner only in the city of Stalingrad.
Information