. We are slowly advancing. Spirits were so high that Leutnant Sander even took a bottle of champagne with him to toast his division's first attack. But even such Nazi ideological work paled against the systematic, communist, political conditioning that took place in the Red Army from the hour the Germans attacked in 1941. Historian Omer Bartov has argued that for the Wehrmacht, with rising casualty rates and the destruction of the bands of brothers in front-line units, military commanders increasingly relied on ideological indoctrination to mold troop cohesion. August 25, 1942. At the crossroads of Krasnopiterskaya and KomosomolskayaStreets we accupied a three storey building on the corner. For the socialist motherland! and For comrade Stalin! these were some of the slogans of those fighting in Stalingrad. . Recently, the Orthodox Church has incorporated Stalingrad into its prayers, even though the church was hardly present during the battle itself. . In a total war for refusing to . . At that time we actually cut up a dog, and the vodka really came in handy. 'But have I myself really taken these slogans to heart? . This is an apolitical forum for discussions on the Axis nations and related topics hosted by the Axis History Factbook in cooperation with Christian Ankerstjernes Panzerworld and Christoph Awender's WW2 day by day. It marked the beginning of a campaign that would ultimately decide the outcome of the Second World War. They describe shocking violence. When I think about this, Im ready to howl from annoyance December 25.The Russian radio has announced the defeat of Manstein. . A question looms before us: The following entries in the diary of William Hoffman, a German soldier who perished at Stalingrad, reveal the decline in German confidence as the battle progressed. . December 21.We are waiting for the order, but for some reason or other it has been a long time coming. . The first months of the operation were a success for Nazi troops, who made it to within 15 miles of Moscow before a Soviet counter-offensive pushed them back from December 1941. Who would have thought three months ago that instead of the joy of victory we would have to endure such sacrifice and torture, the end of which is nowhere in sight? 4 pages, ebook First published January 1, 1942 Book details & editions About the author William Hoffman He wrote them throughout the battle of Stalingrad. Germans fire the 105 mm howitzer leFH 18 in the area of the grain elevator. To join the party was a matter of honor and prestige for him and other soldiers. The retreat of the Nazis in that particular battle is seen by many historians as the turning point of WWII. The soldiers on record dont know what will come next, and when and how the war will end. Winter privations and Soviet, attacks, however, forced the Germans to surrender on, February 2, 1943 (see the box above). . Life in the Third Reich & Weimar Republic, Kriegsmarine surface ships and Kriegsmarine in general, Luftwaffe air units and Luftwaffe in general, German Strategy & General German Military Discussion, NSDAP, other party organizations & Government, The Dieter Zinke Axis Biographical Research Section, The Ron Klages Panzer & other vehicles Section, Panzer & other vehicles - Photo threads, Axis Documents, Feldpost numbers, Postcards & Other Paper Items, The United Kingdom & its Empire and Commonwealth 1919-45, The Allies and the Neutral States in general, German Colonies and Overseas Expeditions, The end of the Ottoman Empire 1908-1923, Translation help: Breaking the Sound Barrier, http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.as ld&rLink=0. The Russians have stopped surrendering at all. . The weather is getting worse and worse. .. . We havent eaten or slept in three days. toward our generals boiled up in me. A question looms before us: what should be done? The company commander says the Russian troops are completely broken, and cannot hold out any longer. "German WWII soldiers get proper burial after 60 years", The Age (2008) The German War Graves Commission's (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgrberfrsorge) . We Poor fellow, hes got three children. From time to time mines explode around us. Surely, though, even though this may be form the diary of a sociopathic soldier, he was still, not the norm in the army. I believe that the Fuhrer will carry the thing through to a successful end. In July 1942, the Germans resumed their advance into the U.S.S.R. begun the previous summer, seeking to conquer Stalingrad, a vital transportation center located on the Volga River. . The weather's getting worse. . Stalingrad Soldier - Read online for free. The stash showed how they tried to communicate their impressions to their loved ones, how they wanted them to see their situations as they fought in the Stalingrad region and how they see the Red Army. He wrote: 'That isn't a good idea when facing tank men like us - floor the accelerator, turn left and run over him. Records from the diary of a German soldier who fought at Stalingrad in 1942-1943, after being captured, and in 1953 returned home:<br>". Ideology was the cement that the Red Army command used to bind together its diverse soldier body. by Oleg Grigoryev 21 Aug 2003, 22:03, Post In the summer of 1940, Italy had not entered the war until France had almost surrendered, and still the Italians were roughly handled by French troops (Italy's vulture-like behavior led Roosevelt. Behind them is theVolga. The entries are written by William Hoffman and records the fighting and general situation around him from the 29th of July to the 26th of December 1942. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. October 27.Our troops have captured the whole of the Barrikady factory, but we cannot break through to theVolga. Let the generals and officers fight the war By February 1943, German forces in the Soviet Union were back to their po-, sitions of June 1942. September 28. Yes, leading generals of the Stalingrad battle, like Chuikov, were able to publish accounts of their role in the battle, but they carefully omitted any reference to executions within the Red Army. Born in Bonn, West Germany, Prof. Hellbeck, 51, is also founder of an online project, facingstalingrad.com, at the heart of which is a series of in-depth interviews conducted jointly in 2009-2010 with photographer Emma Dodge Hanson with surviving veterans of the fateful battle from both Germany and Russia. He was wounded, but asserted that the Russians would fight for Stalingrad to the last round. But it is for precisely this reason that we need to exert all our strength in order to win the war. While the German army was penetrating deeply into Russia, he believed that victory was not far away and dreamed of returning home with medals. Russian resistance in the elevator has been broken. After our attack the field was littered with dead. In the summer of 1942 Paulus advanced toward Stalingrad with 250,000 men, 500 tanks, 7,000 guns and mortars, and 25,000 horses. When during my research I discovered a trove of wartime interviews with Soviet defenders of the city, I decided that my book should centrally focus on the comparatively little-known, Soviet side of the story. A letter from Elsa today. Your IP: While some of these things indeed happened, they did not signal an abdication of communist rule, quite to the contrary. The fighting in Stalingrad, lasting from August 1942 to February 1943, and ending with the surrender of Hitlers army, changed the course of World War II and world history. Hailed as the single largest confrontation of the war, the battle involved nearly 2.2 million military personnel, with around 1.8-2 million were killed, wounded, or captured. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a1250ab68a49c24 . The majority of the writings date from November . . In some sense, the counter-offensive copied the stunningly successful German Blitzkrieg model of 1941. 15:59 GMT 17 Jun 2021 January 5. This could not fail to influence our decision. Click to reveal With the help of an arctic wstopped just before Moscow. December 1 . The Nazi regimes first response after the successful Soviet encirclement in November was denial. . We have been told we are soon going to be withdrawn to be brought back up to strength. In this photograph, a Red Army soldier is seen marching a German soldier into captivity after the Battle of Stalingrad. Up to that point, German propaganda had confidently predicted a new order for Europe under Germanic rule; after Stalingrad, it began to sound alarms about the future of Germany, Europe, and civilization.. If fate allows it, someday I 'For the first time in a documentary series we are letting the voice of a soldier be the narrator. Here it is: http://imgur.com/a/22mHD commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 518th Infantry Regiment of the 295th Private First Class Karl Weitzel, November 13, 1942. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Clothing freezes on our bodies. By the end he is starving to death as is everyone around him. The Fuhrers orders were read inevitably soon be over. Portion of a letter from Senior Lance Corporal Joseph Tzimach, no. military publishing house of the Peoples Commissariat of the Defence of the .. . I was extraordinarily lucky to have been the first historian to fully explore the 215 interviews conducted with Soviet defenders of Stalingrad, and publish them. . worse and worse. Ive had my fill. The turning point of World War II came at Stalingrad. It was the most powerful formation of the whole 'Heer' (German Army). Perhaps well be home out to us. Among the trophies of the Soviet troops was an . Large-scale help is coming up for us, and the Russians will be beaten. Russia, and for what? There have been a number of cases of self inflicted wounds and malingering among the men. Six thousand survived, returning to Germany after the war. As Stalingrad was about to fall into German hands in September 1942, the Red Army came up with a plan for a counter-attack that would eventually smash the enemy. by Lawrence Tandy 21 Aug 2003, 22:24, Post . Hetti, I have . October 3. By by tonyh 21 Aug 2003, 18:14, Post . the war. Its just terrible. 'His spine is broken, and he is totally paralysed. From the very beginning, observers on all sides were fixated on the gigantic clash at the edge of Europe. You dont see them at all, they have established themselves in houses and cellars and are firing on all sides, including from our rear-barbarians, they use gangster methods. He can hardly speak. If fate allows it, someday I will tell you about it. 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