Let's say that the Sixth Army's true situation at Stalingrad hits Paulus a lot sooner following Operation Saturn (like on 25 November 1942). Furthermore, he's willing to risk his career and orders the Sixth Army to breakout of Stalingrad. Would the Sixth Army be able to not only breakout, but remain a viable fighting force? What effects could this have on the future of the Eastern Front?
Sixth Army Breakout
- Thread starter m0585
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Most likely no, he would have to have done it before the pinchers closed shut. He could have tried and I am not saying that some would not have made it out, but few would be in any recognizable force. Plus Paulus if he would have made it out would have been forced to commit suicide. It was a no win for him.
Like I said, the best time would have been before the pinchers closed, as it is you are looking at less than 10% of the 6th army escaping. Also you would have had less damaged done to the USSR than what happened. So it depends.
Not the expert here, but recall from accounts of this battle the 6th Army had sufficient vehicle fuel and horse fodder for a November breakout. They'd had to leave behind a lot of ammunition and other material, but the armies transport was still functional. That changed in mid or late December when enemy artillery or airstrikes set a large portion of the fuel afire. The horses were also rapidly being slaughtered as the fodder had run out in early December.
Sixth Army was in no condition to breakout. They didn't have the firepower, they didn't have the tanks. The Soviets were more better off in number of material resources like tanks and artillery and already had a deep perimeter in place. The Red Army had just constituted the 5th tank army, a product of their reorganization.
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While the pincers may have linked up, was the encirclement that strong around the Sixth Army that it couldn't break out early on? I remember reading somewhere that Soviets were stunned by how many troops they had actually encircled, and had to send additional troops to reinforce the perimeter.
I will try to at least add something to what the Soviet forces blocking 6th army were. There would be two perimeters. One facing 6th army and one facing the actual Soviet German front that 6th army would have to break through to free themselves over what is a long way, many many km.
On the Nov 24, 57th and 64th were definitely on the perimeter facing 6th army.
On Nov 26, 21st army was definitely on the perimeter.
The reason for example a breakout was possible for the Red Army at Smolensk was because follow on forces were not in position, and there was not stable perimeter.
Not to mention at some point in the breakout attempt, I think they are basically assured to come up against Soviet tanks to which their only real counter is artillery, something they were possibly lacking and something they might even need to leave behind in order to escape if they can somehow escape the perimeter facing them.
The Red Army entrapment of 6th army was one of the greatest deep shock strikes in the history of war, over a vast lateral expanse engulfing the 6th army, it had the terrible foreboding of Cannae.
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IIRC, the German rescue attempt came pretty damn close to 6th Army (something like 30-40 miles away)... is there anything that could give it the extra oomph to break through that last little margin?
Point of order, but in order to even begin the breakout the 6th Army would have to extricate the bulk of it's forces which were embroiled in fighting in Stalingrad and then orient them westward. The earliest they could have made the attempt is around the start of December and by then the Soviet lines would have very much solidified. Thus, the 6th Army get annihilated struggling as it's starving soldiers (even before Operation Uranus, there were reports of malnutrition due to the poor supply situation) trying to reach German positions while exposed to Soviet guns on the massive snow drifts. Then the 6 Soviet armies that frees up are able to turn around and join Operation Saturn to shatter the German lines, encircling the rest of Army Group South before it can escape the Caucasus...
No, and from the German perspective that was probably for the best. A Winter Storm which somehow manages to it's way to the 6th would have then had to hold the corridor for an extended time, weeks to months, against powerful Soviet attempts to either reseal it or, alternatively, simply continue the effort to swing in behind them to take Rostov and pocket them, the 6th, and Army Group A while the men of the 6th Army regain enough physical strength from their crippled state to even just conduct a fighting withdrawal out of the pocket without being annihilated in the attempt.
No, and from the German perspective that was probably for the best. A Winter Storm which somehow manages to it's way to the 6th would have then had to hold the corridor for an extended time, weeks to months, against powerful Soviet attempts to either reseal it or, alternatively, simply continue the effort to swing in behind them to take Rostov and pocket them, the 6th, and Army Group A while the men of the 6th Army regain enough physical strength from their crippled state to even just conduct a fighting withdrawal out of the pocket without being annihilated in the attempt.
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