When World War I began, Paulus' regiment was part of the thrust into France, and he saw action in the Vosges and around Arras in the autumn of 1914. [16] However, on 24 November Sixth Army received a further Fhrer order relayed from Army Group B, ordering them to stand firm. Had the Germans succeeded in their Operation Winter Storm (Operation Wintergewitter), all the efforts and sacrifices of the Soviet troops which had been heroically defending Stalingrad would have been in vain. According to Beevor: [Soviet commanders] were increasingly convinced that Paulus was virtually a prisoner in his own headquarters, guarded by his chief of staff [Schmidt]. . We were in frenzied spirits and, had it made sense, we would have been shouting Hoorah! We were firing at every target that appeared, operating our machine guns to their very limit The Russian infantry dispersed in all directions; they must have thought we were madmen, is how 1st Lieutenant Horst Scheibert remembered the launch of Operation Winter Storm that aimed to break through to Friedrich Pauluss 6th Army encircled at Stalingrad. Paulus fought in World War I and saw action in France and the Balkans. ", "Battle of Stalingrad a summary History in an Hour", " . : (02/07/1954)". [11], Paulus followed Adolf Hitler's orders to hold his positions in Stalingrad under all circumstances, despite the fact that he was completely surrounded by strong Soviet forces. Evacuating their HQ at Golubinsky amid a bonfire of burning files and stores, they flew to Nizhne-Chirskaya that same day, just missing Hitler's order that "Sixth Army stand firm in spite of danger of temporary encirclement. Analyse und Dokumentation einer Schlacht, in the evening of 13 January 1943 - ordered to, during the night of 19 and 20 January 1943 - Schmidt was not a man of great tactical skill, daring or initiative; rather he was characterised by a stubborn optimism, tenacity and a willingness to obey the orders of his superiors without question. There are still many people today who wonder how Germany, which no doubt possessed a highly trained army, could be defeated in two wars. The general announced that we were his prisoners. Friedrich Paulus - Wikipedia List of important officers and commanders of the German Wehrmacht, the Russian Red Army, Romanian Army, Italian army and Hungarian Army in the Battle of Stalingrad . Hitler, leery of the reasons for Paulus' transfer to Nizhne-Chirskaya, orders him to move his HQ again. The march towards the Volga had ended.[17]. In comparison . Army Newspaper clippings about Friedrich Paulus, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friedrich_Paulus&oldid=1149650806, This page was last edited on 13 April 2023, at 15:20. Description On 26 January 1943, the German forces inside Stalingrad were split into two pockets. He was a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union for twelve years, and was released following West German chancellor Konrad Adenauer's visit to Moscow in 1955. On December 12, as part of Operation Winter Storm, the German Army Group Hoth (named after its commander, Colonel-General Hermann Hoth) launched a surprise attack and crushed the Red Army's. [36], After Voikovo, Schmidt was held in the Lubyanka prison. [13], Regarding the resistance to capitulate, according to Adam, Paulus stated .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, What would become of the war if our army in the Caucasus were also surrounded? Schmidt was not a man of great tactical skill, daring or initiative; rather he was characterised by a stubborn optimism, tenacity and a willingness to obey the orders of his superiors without question. Unwashed, with unkempt beards, they wore comical-looking makeshift snow boots and were wrapped in towels and womens headscarves. [5] Ignoring Hitler's 'Fhrer instruction' of 30 June 1942 that Axis formations should not liaise with their neighbours, Schmidt authorised an officer from Sixth Army, Lieutenant Gerhard Stck, to be issued with a radio and join up with Romanian forces to the north-west of Stalingrad to help with intelligence gathering. He was, in any case, a defender of a united and sovereign Germany. Behr had an important task once he was free of pocket and became General Officer German officers who flew out of the Stalingrad He attempted to conduct himself in a suitably dignified manner, but in his condition it was difficult for him to manage. [22] The envoys were even fired on; Paulus denied that he had ordered this, so it is possible that Schmidt might have issued the order. [30] When the forces defending Sixth Army HQ surrendered on the morning of 31 January, Schmidt discussed surrender terms with officers from General Shumilov's HQ, while Paulus waited unaware in a room next door. The implication was clear: Paulus was to commit suicide. 1955 wurde er aus der Gefangenschaft entlassen. On one of the final Luftwaffe flights out of Stalingrad, Paulus had sent his wedding ring to his wife. with these words he opened the door and a Soviet general and his interpreter entered the room. On the same plane as him Telling Hitler that collapse was "inevitable," Paulus stressed that his men were without ammunition or food, and he was no longer able to command them. He attained the rank of Generalleutnant during World War II, and is best known for his role as the Sixth Army's chief of staff in the Battle of Stalingrad in 194243, during the final stages of which he became its de facto commander, playing a large role in executing Hitler's order that it stand firm despite being encircled by the Red Army. Arthur Schmidt (soldier) - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core His final plan was to have two Stork aircraft towed by larger aircraft to Stalingrad, land and pick him up, then fly out of the pocket back to German lines. German soldiers fighting at Stalingrad, December 1942. And anyway, my new uniform will hardly be of any use to me now, the commander added with a wry smile. The Germans had already had the successful experience of using an air bridge to resupply the 100,000-strong II Army Corps cut off near Demyansk at the beginning of the same year and successfully releasing it from its trap after several months of encirclement. [11] When told that this was impossible, he replied that "more than 10,000 wounded and the bulk of the heavy weapons and vehicles would have to be left behind. He was told that "The Luftwaffe doesn't have enough aircraft. He took with him Oktober 1895 in Hamburg; 5. Arthur Schmidt (Offizier) - Wikipedia These two peoples must put aside all conflicts between them, all the more so because German-French relations are the link in the dangerous chain held by the Americans to turn one European people against the other and use them as a vehicle for their own policy.[23]. Dyatlenko was born in 1914 in the village of Kulichka in the Lebedin region, in present-day Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. Thus, another prominent and experienced German politician stressed that a final implementation of the EDC agreement would be dangerous for the German nation. The Soviet units and subunits already there were to contain the enemy until its arrival. [2] On 26 January 1942 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold.[3]. wounded, in the evening of 19 January 1943 - ordered to, became Armee war diary and its annexes. Finally, he supported former German Chancellor Heinrich Brning's appeal for a betterment of relations between West Germany and the Eastern Bloc, agreed with Brning's criticism of West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's overtly pro-American policy, and expressed his hope for a German reunification: Chancellor Brning took a clear stand against Chancellor Adenauer's rigid orientation to the West, and practically against the EDC and the Bonn conventions. Gerhard Hindenlang - Facing Stalingrad Kommandeur Infanterieregiment 191, Stalingrad Oberstleutnant - Kommandeur [1] Am 17. Realizing their blunder, the Soviet military command ordered the 2nd Guards Army under the command of Lieutenant-General Rodion Malinovsky to the battle zone. The basement was literally packed with soldiers - there were hundreds of them here. He studied philology at the University of Kyiv before World War II, and after the war he became an author.. Stalingrad truce First attempt. They led the Soviet soldiers to Pauluss room. I placed my revolver on the table. Millions were killed, wounded, missing, or captured in what was perhaps the most brutal battle in modern history. Still, they believed that they could avoid disaster. What happened to the first German Field Marshal made prisoner?On January 31, 1943, in the basement of the Univermag department store, Field Marshal Paulus su. In February 1938, Paulus was appointed Chef des Generalstabes to Gen. Heinz Guderian's new XVI Armeekorps (Motorisiert), which replaced Lutz's command. White flags appeared from the ground and second floors. Nach dem Krieg wurde er in die Reichswehr bernommen. Stalingrad archive of Geert Rottiers, Private This list may not reflect recent changes . At 9.00 sharp the HQ commander of the 6th Army arrived to take the commander of the vanquished German 6th Army and its staff towards the rear. Calender - November 1942 - Stalingrad Establishing good neighborly relations with the countries that surround us from east and west is crucial for our national existence. "[31] Schmidt, together with Paulus and Colonel Adam, were taken to Don Front HQ at Zavarykino, where they were interrogated. Ignoring the German officers halfhearted request to hand over their weapons, the Soviet negotiators started going down to the basement where Friedrich Paulus had his HQ. He attained the rank of Generalleutnant during World War II, and is best known for his role as the Sixth Army's chief of staff in the Battle of Stalingrad in 194243, during the final stages of which he became its de facto commander, playing a large role in executing Hitler's order that it stand firm despite being encircled by the Red Army. Janaury 1943, Stalingrad - Oberst - Fighting extended to the full depth of our defense, was how the chief political officer of the 20th Independent Anti-Tank Artillery Brigade, Vladimir Bubnov, later described the fighting at the neighboring village of Gromoslavka. Paulus was born in Guxhagen and grew up in Kassel, Hesse-Nassau, the son of a treasurer. Interrogation of captured German officers led Soviet commanders to realise that, because of the toll of events on Paulus's nerves, Schmidt was the real commander of the defending forces. Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox. Category : German commanders at the Battle of Stalingrad Okay, October. Hitler awarded the Knight's Cross to Schmidt on 6 January 1943 on the same day that Paulus signalled to General Kurt Zeitzler: "Army starving and frozen, have no ammunition and cannot move tanks any more" [25] and made him Generalleutnant on 17 January. Even though it was obvious the Sixth Army was in an untenable position, the German Army High Command rejected Paulus' request, stating, "Capitulation out of the question. Intensive talks started between Mansteins and Pauluss HQs about the need to embark on the implementation of Operation Thunderclap - a breakthrough by the 6th Army to meet Army Group Hoth. 26, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Schmidt_(Offizier)&oldid=219508932. The Field Marshal was lying on an iron bed without a uniform, in just his shirt, recalled Ilchenko. The governments responsible for this have both put their armed forces in front of insoluble problems. Wilhelm Adam (28 March 1893 - 24 November 1978) was an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. German officers who flew out of the Stalingrad pocket and became General Officer later during World War 2 End November early December 1942 Johannes Schmidt became sick. Vasily Grossman's Stalingrad : A Soviet masterpiece about World War II The German troops closest positions to the encircled 6th Army were in the area of the Chir River (just 40 km away). Schmidt was appointed chief of staff to General Friedrich Paulus in Sixth Army on 15 May 1942, replacing Colonel Ferdinand Heim after the counter-attack against Marshal Semyon Timoshenko at the Second Battle of Kharkov. He attained the rank of Generalleutnant during World War II, and is best known for his role as the Sixth Army's chief of staff in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-43, during the final stages of which he became its de facto commander, playing a large role in executing Hitler's order . In 1953, Paulus moved to East Germany, where he worked in military history research. "[11] When told that this was impossible, he replied that "more than 10,000 wounded and the bulk of the heavy weapons and vehicles would have to be left behind. Aggressively ideological, his aggression would translate into a passive kind as he functioned as his chief's alter ego [] As late as mid-December, Paulus, even as illusions had all but vanished, would still not contradict Schmidt when he presented his tragically absurd hypotheses to visitors to the besieged and starving Sixth Army.[24]. The phrase Manstein is coming! was still on everyones lips. 139142; other examples are Allen and Muratoff's The Russian Campaigns of 19411943, published in 1944[5] and Peter Margaritis (2019). [23] When General Hans-Valentin Hube flew into the Kessel [the encircled pocket of Axis forces in Stalingrad] on the morning of 9 January with Hitler's message to stand firm, "this strengthened General Schmidt's intransigent position at Sixth Army's headquarters."[21]. [2] On 25 October 1940 he served as chief of staff in 5th Army Corps, a position he held until 25 March 1942, when he moved to the Fhrerreserve at Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH). During the Nuremberg Trials, Paulus was asked about the Stalingrad prisoners by a journalist.
