" The battle of Stalingrad entered its second phase at the beginning of December 1942. Because the OKH did not allow the troop commanders freedom of operation, the Germans could not take any countermeasures. Only the commander of the LI Army Corps, General of Artillery von Seydlich-Kurzbach, ordered the troops in his sector to withdraw to better defensive positions."

Army group South 1941-45 by Werner Haupt

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