SURRENDER AT STALINGRAD
The bloodiest battle in history ended on 2 February 1943 when the surrounded German 6th Army surrendered to Soviet forces at Stalingrad. The Germans had been pushed into a defensive pocket and were starving and short of ammunition. Adolf Hitler refused 6th Army’s commander, Friedrich Paulus, permission to surrender and even promoted him to field marshal.
Paulus nevertheless surrendered to the Soviets on 31 January, with his subordinate General Karl Strecker holding out for two more days. When Strecker finally surrendered he sent the last signal from Stalingrad saying “Long live Germany!” rather than “Heil Hitler!”
Approximately 91,000 German soldiers were captured, including 22 generals. The Battle of Stalingrad’s casualties were apocalyptic and included losses of c.1,100,000 Soviet and c.800,000 Axis soldiers along with c.40,000 civilians.
SPORTPALAST SPEECH
On 18 February 1943, Joseph Goebbels delivered an infamous speech at the Berlin Sportpalast to a large, carefully selected audience. Occurring soon after the German capitulation at Stalingrad, he declared total war against the Allies underneath a banner that said: “TOTAL WAR – SHORTEST WAR.”
Denne historien er fra Issue 116-utgaven av History of War.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 116-utgaven av History of War.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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COUPS & CHAOS
How the French armed forces lost the war in Algeria and almost destroyed French democracy in the process
BATTLE OF ALGIERS
When the Front de libération nationale FLN) took its war to the streets of the capital, France’s military responded with merciless wrath
THE RISE OF ALGERIAN RESISTANCE
How the anti-colonialist struggle around the globe helped inspire Algeria’s liberation movement to organise and fight back
ROOTS OF REVOLUTION
A century of French occupation led to a genocide in Algeria that provoked one of the bloodiest showdowns of the modern age
DWIGHT W BIRDWELL
In the opening hours of the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive, this Specialist Five led his armoured cavalry detachment in repulsing a fierce communist assault against Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon
THE FIVE STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP
Phillips O’Brien discusses how this quintet of national leaders impacted the course of the Second World War
Great Battles FLODDEN
On the morning of 9 September 1513, King James lV of Scotland stood atop Flodden Hill with what seemed an insurmountable advantage over the English. Yet by the day's end he would lay slain and his army shattered
FERDINAND 'THE BLOODY'
Known for his brutal martial punishment and execution of his own men, Ferdinand Schérner’s ruthlessness was matched only by his devotion to Nazi ideology
AIRBORNE UNDER SIEGE ARNHEM
For nine days the heroic 1st Airborne fought desperately, waiting vainly for relief that never came
SCANDINAVIA UNDER ATTACK
Hitler’s forces smash through Denmark and Norway ina grim foretaste of the terrible fate awaiting the rest of Western Europe
