Stalingrad! I want to know everything about it! If anyone could please give me some usefull information or direct me to a website that could teach me a lot. Thanks.
Russian officers did really shoot their men if they retreated or fell back. In some of the Call of Duty shooting games it shows this. If the men were to run away from a German MG gun that was mowing down dozens of their comrades their officers would be waiting behind and would shoot them on the spot. It was suicide to be in a position like that. Many of the German soldiers who witnessed this happening even felt sorry for the Russians who were shot for being "cowards" and "traitors" just for falling back to try to save themselves. Zeppelin, here's a great website on the battle of Stalingrad. It has a lot of photos. Link: Stalingrad battlefield information Stalingrad is probably one of the most famous battles of WW2. Lots of books and movies have been made about the pivotal battle. Thousands of soldiers along with civilians died there. There's a famous book about Stalingrad called, "Enemy At The Gates" which, tells the history of the battle.
I want to know if the russian officers really did shoot their men for retreating. Absolutely correct, they were termed execution squads, and to my surprise many in those squads were women and they were assigned to Penal Divisions whos orders were simple shoot any convict soldier who retreated in the face of the enemy, also they were put into ordinary units this was to enforce Stalins order "Not one step backwards", and if i am correct it was first used in Stalingrad, if not can someone let me know.
I'd have to agreee with you Roddoss72 on that Stalingrad was the first place where Russian officers killed deserting soldiers. Stalin wanted the city named after him to not be caught that everyone was required to fight using whatever weapons they could find. They would not let the Germans take a yard without a fight and if a Russian soldier was killed the Germans would have ten times that ammount of their soldiers killed. Stalin vowed there would not be a step backwards. Also he said in his speech that all deserters and traitors would be shot. There would be no mercy for "cowards." Stalingrad was the place were this policy was sadly enforced. Wonder how many soldiers were killed because of this policy by Stalin? I can only imagine how high the numbers were!
... I can only imagine how high the numbers were! no doubt you can... however, don't let your imagination take you too far away from reality.
Zeppelin, here's something for you to read for starters: Battle of Stalingrad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stalingrad battlefield information Military History Online - Battle of Stalingrad And The Battle for Stalingrad is especially good. There is also the movie "Enemy at Gates". While completely worthless in historical terms, it does provide you with a good visual impression. The initial river crossing sequence is makes you wish you were somewhere else. The correct term would be not "execution squad" but "blocking detachment". Nothing like a little incentive to put a spring in your step
My understanding is that the blocking detachments were part of the NKVD & that it would generally be them rather than the men's own officers who carried out the shooting of alleged deserters.
...and to my surprise many in those squads were women ... I'd be surprised too. Women served as auxiliaries (comms specialists, medics, traffic controllers, AA gun crews, etc.) and there are also cases of a few serving as snipers. In the air force they served as mechanics, armourers, etc., and there were a few front line pilots as well. As Gibbo says, the blocking detachments were NKVD troops, male only. Here is the White Rose of Stalingrad WW II ACE STORIES WW II ACE STORIES
I think it was a missed opportunity myself. Initially the city was ripe for the taking but Hitler Vacillated and that hesitation cost him dearly. It was a case of trying to take too much and hence ending up with nothing. A decision should have been made at the start of the campaign as to the specific objectives but these were shifting sands with Hitler -subject ot change at a moments notice. Another example of this was at Barbarossa - objectives were constantly changed.
no doubt you can... however, don't let your imagination take you too far away from reality. The number that I read was 15,000. Also the germans were using the Russian children trapped in Stalingrad to fetch water from the river for them in return for scraps and crusts of bread. When the Russians learned of this they started shooting the children coming to the riverbank with canteens. GM
The number that I read was 15,000. Also the germans were using the Russian children trapped in Stalingrad to fetch water from the river for them in return for scraps and crusts of bread. When the Russians learned of this they started shooting the children coming to the riverbank with canteens. What the hell?! I hear such story the very first time.. I should make investigation on this, as it sounds to me like nonsense.
When i have been to Stalingrad we used to speak to a veteran ( think he was from the 284th Rifle Div ) who stated that before they entered the City when they were on the east bank of the Volgo the CO of his Regiment counted out every 10th man and shot him to motivate them to cross the river into the inferno on the other side , this was from the horses mouth as it were !! Soviet blocking detachments of the NKVD were in use way before Stalingrad. As regards the use of women they fought in a number of roles even as Infantry , but some of the most famous were the lady pilots of 585th fighter Regt , 588th night bomber regt and the 587th dive bomber regt. The night bomber Regt flew the old PO - 2 biplanes and were called the "Night witches " . During the war the " night witches " alone were awarded 21 Hero of the Soviet Union medals. regards Paul
gott,i believe moobile elements of 6th army did ideed reach the volga,north of stalinrad.do you not think these units could have crossed the volga,and taken the east bank.yours,lee.
Lee, The problem with this was that When 16 Panzer reached the Volga at Rynok and Spartakovka on the late afternoon of 23/8/1942 they alone were to weak to comtemplate crossing the river or breaking into the Northern suburbs as their motorised infantry support 3 ID and 60 ID were still in the Don steppe and were being interdicted by Soviet forces from the north. All German forces went in to hedgehog defensive positions and the two motorised divisions were isolated from 16 Panzer who began to run short of ammo and supplies. At one point Hans Hube was thinking of withdrawing 16 PD back towards the Don , however the motorised Divisions managed to link up and connect the front together and by the end of August a 550 truck train had resupplied them. Another problem was the width of the River , it is very wide in places and a huge force would have been required to cross it. As far as i know the Germans had no plan to assault the east bank at this time. Funnily enough Northern Stalingrad was the first point reached but they never really penetrated much further into the city in this area. regards Paul
If it was in the Soviet Command's interest yes. Remember Chuikov's 63nd Army was defending the city on a shoestring, being fed by dribs and drabs, keeping 6th Army focused on the fight, while at the same time two fronts were raising stema for a large offensive each side of the city. 62nd Army was the bait.
so,is there anybody here who reckons it was possible for 6th army to take stalingrad.lee. I dont think the Germans had the strength to take Stalingrad Lee. The reason their Summer Offensive got so far was partly due to the fact that the Russians thought another Moscow Offensive was on and placed their reserves on the Moscow front.
