Stalingrad
: January 1943
There
are few moments in history when so much was decided militarily
with so intense human sacrifice and devastation as the all-force
encounter between the Russians and Germans at Stalingrad.
Hollywood went to great lengths to elaborate and to recreate the
violence and importance of World War II battles in West Europe and
Pacific implying (and brainwashing) that those battles decided the
war. No, the outcome of the war was decided on the Eastern front.
And among the pillars of the Russian victory, the battle at
Stalingrad stands out. Yes, the battle at Kursk comes close by the
intensity and consequences but there would be no Kursk if there
was no Stalingrad. It is not enough to say that Stalingrad was
military and psychological turning point: Stalingrad was more than
just a battle, it was the supreme confrontation in an ambiance of
extinction aimed at one big nation, its wealth and its culture.
I
recall the event as an anniversary: by the last week of January
1943, German 6th Army was at Stalingrad reduced to two pockets
crowded with starving, desperate men. Von Paulus, the commander of
the 6th Army who started the Stalingrad battle on August 14, 1942,
asks Hitler on January 24 for permission to surrender. The Führer
replies "The 6th Army will hold its positions to the last man
and the last round". On January 31, Hitler appoints von
Paulus field-marshal, but this very day the newly promoted
commander is forced to seek surrender terms. Of the 284 thousand
German soldiers approximately 160 thousand have died in action and
more than 90 thousand were sent to Siberia on foot. Russian
casualties are estimated to be up to three times higher. That’s
probably hard to fit into a Hollywood movie. |
A
jubilant Russian soldier waves the red flag
over the ruins of a building in the shattered
city center. |