September 1942

Eastern Front

Fighting inside Stalingrad eases as Paulus regroups his bloodied divisions for the next phase of the offensive. With the 62nd Army defenses crumbling in the southern suburbs, the new assault will concentrate upon the factory district and Orlovka salient jutting out on the left wing of 6th Army's positions on the Volga.

Paulus moves the 16th Panzer Division opposite the right wing of the 62nd Army, while the fresh 389th Infantry Division moves out of reserve to deploy at Gorodische. The 295th Infantry Division, still around the Mamayef Kurgan, is reinforced with armor and the 71st and 76th Infantry Division grouped in the central railway station and central landing stages areas. The 71st is to attack the Red October factory, while the 100th Jaeger Division reinforces the attack on the Mamayev Kurgan. The 14th and 24th Panzer, 29th Motorized and 94th Infantry Divisions remain in the south. The 6th Army also assumes control of the XLVIII Panzer Corps divisions in the southern suburbs as the corps headquarters is withdrawn to redeploy in the rear of the 3rd Rumanian Army. This army takes over a large section of the Don line on the left wing of the 6th Army.

Hitler disimisses Halder as Chief of the General Staff. Zeitzler is appointed to the post.

Paulus' second attack upon Stalingrad, this time through the streets of the city, had again been uninspired and fatally flawed. Rather than using his established positions on the Volga to strike along the line of the river into the rear of the Soviet defenses, he had attacked directly from the west, channelling the 62nd Army into hedgehogs of defense. Chuikov, an expert in the art of street fighting, conducted small-scale actions throughout the city, breaking up the force of the German offensive into countless firefights. Thus was set the pattern at Stalingrad, of bludgeoning German attacks breaking against a wall of small, expertly lead combat teams in the ruins of the city. The Verdun of the east had begun.