Stalingrad: Deadly Battle of WWII

Before the Soviets could engage Paulus, they had to rout the Rumanians camped north and south of Stalingrad. Part of the Russian troops would sweep down from the north; the rest would move up from the south. They would meet in the middle, at the Kalach area. (This fantastic animated map from a great German web site is worth the load wait.)

At first, the Rumanians did not believe the shaking ground was caused by an initial salvo from Russian Katyusha rockets and T-34 tanks. With morning fog hiding the truth on November 19th, it was easy to disregard warnings of an impending attack. When the fog cleared, panic ensued. Frantic calls to the Sixth Army were taken seriously, but no one believed the Soviet threat would lead to disaster.

Front lines, stationery for so many weeks, now changed daily. Hitler, refusing to believe his men were trapped, refused to allow Paulus to escape or surrender. The only movement Paulus had was to move his headquarters to the southern section of the besieged city.

By the middle of December, the Germans planned their own attack, called "Operation Winter Storm." Trying to break free between December 12 and 18, their efforts produced little more than frustration. The brilliant strategy of Zhukov, Vasilevsky and Voronov had outwitted the men of the Third Reich. (Follow the link to a terrific animated map from the Hungarian University of Szeged. Once it's loaded, you can follow the course of the Soviet counter attack.) Stalin was Time Magazine's 1942 Man Of The Year!

By January 8, 1943 the Soviets offered Paulus surrender terms. He refused. At the end of January, sensing the situation was hopeless, Hitler promoted Friedrich Paulus to Field Marshall. His reason? A not-so-subtle reminder that no German Field Marshall had ever surrendered. Paulus had only one option, according to the Fuhrer: commit suicide.