February 1943

Eastern Front

The epic battle of Stalingrad, which has raged so fiercely in and around the city since August 23, 1942, ends as Strecker and the remnants of the XI Corps surrender in the Tractor Factory. In all, 91,000 German soldiers have surrendered to the Soviets during the battle and 147,000 have been killed. Added to this are the 15,000 who died in the encirclement operation between November 19 and 23, the 150,000 Rumanians of the 3rd and 4th Armies, nearly 100,000 men of the Italian 8th Army, 100,000 of the Hungarian 2nd and 80,000 of the German 2nd Army who also perished in the wave of Soviet attacks that followed the encirclement. Hitler's maniacal obsession with Stalingrad cost Germany and her allies over 650,000 men. Only 30,000 men of the 6th Army escaped the pocket during November, many being sucked into the savage fighting on the Chir, and 34,000 were evacuated by air after their encirclement. The Luftwaffe lost over 500 aircraft during the airlift, a large part of its transport fleet, and many irreplaceable experienced pilots were killed or captured.

Don Front losses have been heavy, with 46,000 killed and missing and 123,000 wounded, and the loss of 2,915 tanks, 3,600 arty pieces and 700 aircraft since January 12.

The Voronezh Front prepares to launch the next phase of its operations. The 60th Army aims to reach Kursk, 40th Army is to take Belgorod and penetrate into Kharkov, while 69th Army strikes directly into Kharkov and 3rd Tank outflanks the city to the southwest. The 69th Army is a relatively new force, having recently been raised around the XVIII Rifle Corps. It opens its attack upon Volchansk early in the day, breaking out of its bridgeheads on the Oskol and forcing back the Grossdeutschland Division. Heavy fighting also rages at Kupyansk as the 3rd Tank Army attacks the SS Panzer Corps. Cooperating with 6th Army, the two forces have almost isolated Kupyansk, embroiling the Germans in a vicious three-day battle as they fight their way west.

Southwest Front attacks with its 6th, 1st Guards, 3rd Guards and 5th Tank Armies. The 17th Air Army provides invaluable support with its 300 aircraft. Group Popov acts as a mobile group in the van of the Soviet attack. Popov is hit by a XL Panzer Corps counterattack at Kramatorsk but holds off the German armor. In an effort to strengthen their lines, the Germans move the 3rd Panzer Division east of Slavyansk, in turn bringing ohter elements of Popov's group to a halt. The 1st Guards Army begins its attack upon Slavyansk, becoming embroiled in fierce street fighting. Another XL Panzer Corps counterattack halts the 1st Guards advance, but other elements of the army attempt to get around the German flank and separated the two attacking elements of the panzer corps.

The 3rd Guards Army crosses the Donets River near Voroshilovgrad, attacking Group Hollidt and breaking through its defenses.

For the Germans January 1943 has been one long string of disasters. At the beginning of the month the 6th Army had lain encircled at Stalingrad and the forces of Army Group Don struggles to hold the Chir and Donets positions. Army Group A is withdrawing from the Caucasus and Army Group B remains fixed on the Don, albeit without the buld of the Italian 8th Army and the Rumanian 3rd Army. Barely a month later, Army Group B ahs ceased to exist, retaining only the remnants of 2nd Army against the southern and now open wing of Army Group Center. Army Group Don has been pressed back to the Donets and toward the Mius while attempting to retain Rostov. Army Group A has pulled its 1st Panzer Army back into the southern Ukraine and joins Manstein's Group Don, while 17th Army is isolated in the Kuban, a force of 350,000 men with 2,000 arty pieces languishing in a backwater when they are badly needed on the main combat line. Such is the scale of the German losses that the Ostheer has no other option than to fight defensive battles all along the line, the cream of the German forces which had been robbed from Army Groups North and Center in the summer of 1942 now lying wrecked on the steppes of the southern Soviet Union.

The battle for Stalingrad was a costly enterprise for both the Ostheer and the Red Army. Determined, though ultimately misquided, German resistance to the bitter end condemned an army of a quarter of a million men to absolute defeat. Hitler's refusal to accept the principles of a flexible defense, and the lack of resolution among the army generals to act independently in the best interest of their forces, was to be a common theme during the remaining years of the war. Meanwhile, the Red Army had begun the task of understanding the need for methodical preparation and planning. However, the victory at Stalingrad was to be clouded by a German recovery on the southern wing and the failure of the offensive in the center.