Yes it is good, but fails to show the number of soviets whom were fed to the meat grinder to achieve these victories, as well as never mentions which army had led during a full brunt attack, but as he was sent once the fighting became static, and won through numerically huge advantages in armour and men...

Had Stalin taken Zhukov's original plan intended at Stalingrad that another full army, 3 armoured brigades, 400 howitzers all backed by an aviation army had been granted, this might have switched the outcome of Stalingrad, as the success or reclaiming the city in a battle head on would have petered out, and ended his carreer. Stalin disapproved and demanded another solution, for he was ill wanting to loose his precious Stavka reserves and commit them. The second solution by Vasilevsky and Zhukov to Stalin led to the attack on the Northern flank.
Paulus has often been blamed for not disobeying Hitler later, once the scale of the disaster was clear, but his real failure as a commander was his failure to prepare to face the threat. It was his own army which was threatened. All he needed to do was to withdraw most of his tanks from the wasteful battle in the city to prepare a strong mechanized force ready to react rapidly. Supply and Ammunition dumps should have been reorganized to ensure their vehicles were kept ready to move at short notice. This comparatively small degree of preparation-and disobedience to the fuehers headquarters-would have left the sixth army in a position to defend itself effectively at the crucial moment.

Please do tell us exactly instances of which armies you mean in this statement so we know what you are talking about.

Except that the southern flank was attacked as well, pincers normally have two arms. North pincer was made up of the Southwest (Vatutin) and Don (Rokossovsky) fronts, south the Stalingrad (Eremenko) front.

You make it all look so simple, isn't it. Fortunately Paulus was selected for the post for his stupidity beyond measure, for sure.

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There is an ass in my avatar.

If Stalin was looking for any reason to get rid of Zhukov the summer 1942 losses would have been good enough and at the latest the failure of Operation Mars.

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September 12 1942 at Stalins order Zhukov was summons to the Kremlin, and made to explain what was wrong in Stalingrad..he concentrated on the fact that 3 understrengthed armies sent into combat had lacked artillery and tanks. Stalin demanded to know what was needed.as posted earlier Zhukov replied that another full army, 3 armoured brigades, 400 howitzers all backed by an aviation army....

Stalin said nothing. He picked up the map marked Stravka reserves and began to study it alone. Zhukov and Vasilevsky moved to a corner of the room. They murmured, discussing the problem. They agreed another solution would have to be found.

Stalin possed sharper hearing than they had realized. "and what,"he called across'does"another" solution mean?'

summons back the next day and asked by Stalin what they came up with is the Plan which is now known in History as the Battle of Stalingrad...

as for what army # or tank battalion Zhukov had intended or Stalin had, and most likely used on the Flanks 100+miles to north where the same as what Zhukov had asked is not privy to me in this book, nor might it be in any other, but the fact Zhukov did come up with the plan as first set out and later changed is a matter of record...

bf109 Emil

Interesting commentary on Stalingrad´s value....

The Stalingrad Front - The New York Review of Books

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Perhaps one way to stop the operation from surrounding Stalingrad November 1942 would have been to push the Red Army troops over Volga. However the Germans did not have the resources to do this.

Serafimovich and Kletskaya

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I agree with this after Richthofen Luftwaffe destroyed the city, little was left except the symbol. Maybe if the sixth army had pulled out, forged the Volga, either to the North or south of Stalingrad securing bridgeheads across the Volga and to continue. Surround the supplying army and railheads on the east bank being used to supply Chuikov within Stalingrad as well as food/supplies, maybe, and perhaps only then would a starved and beleaguered city have succumbed to surrender or put up nil for resistance. The logistics of poor roads, lack of railheads across the Volga, and what would have been the target of numerous Soviet planes upon bridges constructed would have spelled doom to German troops upon the East bank to continue with the ferocity scene previously by armored units upon the Soviet landscape. Even the nightmare of having to feed 25,000 horses used by the sixth army, if an advance continued, after a scorched earth policy meant having to transport how many bales of hay for how far??? each day??? just to pull artillery guns, and Hitler pulling back horses for this reason left the ability to try and pull guns out to meet the advances soon to encircle them none available.

bf109 Emil

Correct, a symbol for both countries. I wonder if this tragedy would have happened if the place was still called Wolgograd then? This could be a nice "what if"

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