November 1942

Eastern Front

The Red Army prepares to launch its biggest and most ambitious offensive of the war so far. The deployment of strike forces is completed during the night of November 18.

On the right wing of the offensive, the Southwest Front deploys the 1st Guards, 21st and 5th Tank Armies together with the III Guards Cavalry and IV Tank Corps. Vatutin's force numbers 398,000 men with 6,500 artillery pieces, nearly 150 Katyushas and 730 tanks. Supporting the front is a fleet of 14,000 transport vehicles and 69,000 horses. The 17th Air Army provides aerial support with 380 aircraft and the 2nd Air Army with 150 planes. In all the front has 18 rifle divisions, 8 artillery regiments, 3 tank corps, 2 cavalry corps, 1 tank brigade and 1 motorized brigade.

To the left are the forces of Rokossovsky's Don Front. This formation has the 66th, 24th and 65th Armies and the 16th Air Army with 260 aircraft. Total deployment amounts to 24 rifle division, 1 tank corps, 6 tank brigades and 42 artillery regiments, a force of 307,000 ment, 5,300 artillery pieces and mortars and 150 Katyushas, 180 tanks, 12,000 motor transport vehicles and 45,000 horses.

The Stalingrad Front, commanded by Eremenko, forms the southern pincer. This force has the 62nd Army fighting inside Stalingrad, the 64th Army, Trufanov's 51st and Tolbukhin's 57th Armis. In support are the IV and XIII Mechanized Corps, the IV Cavalry Corps and the 8th Air Army, the latter having more than 530 aircraft at its disposal. In all the Stalingrad Front commits 24 rifle divisions, 17 rifle brigades, 2 mechanized corps, 1 cavalry corps and 67 artillery regiments, 429,000 men, 5,800 artillery pieces and mortars, 145 Katyushas, 650 tanks, 15,000 motor vehicles and 55,000 horses.

Against the strike sectors lay the 3rd and 4th Rumanian Armies. The 3rd Rumanian Army, commanded by Gen Dumitreacu, faces the Southwest and Don Fronts and deploys the I Corps with the 7th and 11th Divisions, the II Corps with the 9th and 14th Divisions, the V Corps with the 5th and 6th Divisions and the IV Corps with the 13th and 15th Divisions. The 1st Cavalry Division protects the army's right-wing junction with the XI Corps of the 6th Army, while the 7th Cavalry Division is in reserve. The army totals 100,000 men dug in on the southern bank of the Don. To the rear stands Heim's XLVIII Panzer Corps with the 22nd Panzer and a Rumanian armored division. Facing the 51st and 57th Armies on the southern flank is the 4th Rumanian Army under Constantinescu. Only recently activated, this army has the VI Rumanian Corps with the 2nd, 18th, 20th, 1st and 4th Infantry Divisions and the IV Rumanian Cavalry Corps with the 5th and 8th Cavalry Divisions, some 70,000 men. Bogged down inside Stalingrad, facing the 62nd and 64th Armies, are the 6th Army and the 4th Panzer Army. 6th Army deploys the LI, XI and VIII Corps and the XIV Panzer Corps, while the 4th Panzer Army has the IV Corps.

Deep in the Caucasus are the 1st Panzer and 17th Armies. The 17th Army has de Angelis' XLIV Corps near Maikop, and the XLIX Mountain and V Corps near Novorossysk. The 1st Panzer deploys the III Panzer Corps at Ordzhonikidze, and the LII Corps and XL Panzer Corps at Mozdok.

Germany's allies deploy significant forces on the eve of the Soviet offensive. Rumania has 27 divisions, Hungary 12 divisions, Italy 10 divisions and 3 brigades, while Slovakia has 1 division, the Spanish 1 division and the Finns 16 divisions.

Since the defense of Stalingras had begun in July, the Stalingrad front has lost 194,000 killed and missing and 215,000 wounded, while the Don Front, in action since the end of September, has lost 18,000 killed and missing and 42,000 wounded. The Soviet forces on the Stalingrad axis has lost 1,400 tanks, 12,000 artillery pieces and 2,000 aircraft.

On the eve to the Soviet counteroffensive, with winter closing in, the Germans were faced with the prospect of fighting another bloody battle against an enemy who was equipped for the rigors of winter war. The 6th Army was woefully short of winter clothing and equipment. Paulus himself was demoralized, his attention fixed on the capture of the city to the detriment of his flanks. Having encountered Soviet forces in the Crimea and western Ukraine, the Rumanians had proved unable to stand up to teh Red Army and such a burden of responsibility should never have been placed upon their shoulders. The 170,000 men of the 3rd and 4th Rumanian Armies held the fate of Paulus' 6th Army in their hands. The Red Army stood prepared to take the war back to the Germans, to begin the long battle for the re-conquest of Russia.