Heavy fighting broke out near the hamlet of Verkhnekumsky, where the Soviet forces managed to resist the Germans for about five days, thus winning precious time. Certainly, in their time they assessed the political-military situation of Germany with perseverance and sobriety, developed principles and positions for the strategy and tactics of a general nature, which were valid for the special situation in which Germany would be in a state of war. I recorded Paulus's new rank in his military document, stamped it with the seal then threw the seal into the glowing fire. [6] Many false reports of the massing of Soviet forces were received from the Romanian sector, so when Stck radioed at 5 a.m. on 19 November that an offensive (marking the start of Operation Uranus, the Soviet encirclement of Axis forces) was about to begin, Schmidt, who was furious when disturbed by false alarms, was not informed,[7] although he was awoken twenty minutes later when it became clear that this was no false alarm. said Paulus after reading the dispatch. sick. [6] This is incorrect, as Paulus' family was never part of the nobility,[citation needed] and Antony Beevor refers to his "comparatively humble birth" (like Rommel's family; their "sole similarity").[7]. November 1987 ebenda) war ein deutscher Generalleutnant. He had the appearance of a sick and physically exhausted man and his face was twitching in a nervous tic.. "[31] Schmidt, together with Paulus and Colonel Adam, were taken to Don Front HQ at Zavarykino, where they were interrogated. He was assigned to the 13th Infantry Regiment at Stuttgart as a company commander. 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]. Army He is not here. It formed part of the German Third Army that enacted the attack on France and Belgium in August 1914 as part of the pre-war Schlieffen Plan. With Paulus at Stalingrad - by Martin Cherrett The main reason was the extremely low stocks of fuel, which would have allowed his hundred tanks or so to travel only 30 km, whereas the relief forces were almost 50 km away. On the same plane as him [34] Unlike many German prisoners of war, such as Paulus himself and von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, Schmidt refused to co-operate with the Soviets, despite the NKVD's attempt to ingratiate themselves by serving him caviar and champagne in a luxury railway coach. He took with him That danger is real. Dyatlenko had no doubt that Schmidt was "the eyes and hand of the Nazi Party" in the Sixth Army, because captured officers reported that "Schmidt was commanding the Army and even Paulus himself."[21]. 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. The phrase Manstein is coming! was still on everyones lips. [14][15] Schmidt contacted his corps commanders and, in defiance of Hitler's order to stand firm, they agreed with Schmidt that a breakout to the south was desirable. In 1920s, as part of the military cooperation between Weimar Republic and Soviet Union to escape Treaty of Versailles, Paulus presented guest lectures in Moscow, Soviet Union.[8]. The German soldiers, ragged and in light coats, looked like ghosts with hollow, unshaven cheeks. Arthur Schmidt (general) | Military Wiki | Fandom He crossed the Meuse river at Dinant. Paulus surrendered in Stalingrad on 31 January 1943,[a] the same day on which he was informed of his promotion to field marshal by Hitler. later during World War 2, German officers who flew out of the Stalingrad [14], On 7 January 1943 General Konstantin Rokossovsky, commander of the Red Army on the Don front, called a cease-fire and offered Paulus' men generous surrender terms: normal rations, medical treatment for the ill and wounded, permission to retain their badges, decorations, uniforms and personal effects. [9] At Nizhne-Chirskaya on 22 November, Schmidt told 8th Air Corps's commander, General Martin Fiebig, that Sixth Army needed to be resupplied by air. "[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. When presented with the commander of 51st Corps General Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach's 25 November memorandum to Paulus, detailing plans for a breakout, Schmidt said: "We don't have to break the head of the Fhrer for him, and neither does General von Seydlitz have to break the head of [General Paulus]. Guderian described him as "brilliantly clever, conscientious, hard working, original and talented" but had severe doubts about his decisiveness, toughness and lack of command experience. Adolf Hitler prohibited attempts to break out or capitulate, and German defence was gradually worn down. 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. 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. STALINGRAD: BREAKOUT AND AIRLIFT OPERATION - Academia.edu [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." had been ordered to fly out by Heeresgruppe Don "[11] Schmidt maintained that the army, which would adopt a "hedgehog" defence, must be resupplied, but that the situation was not yet so desperate as there were plenty of horses left that could serve as food. [33], Of all the senior German officers held at Zavarykino, Schmidt was the most disliked by the Soviets; on one occasion he apparently reduced a mess waitress to tears during lunch, for which a Soviet officer, Lieutenant Bogomolov, made him apologise. An ordinary lieutenant could not accept the capitulation of the German commander and, gradually, representatives of the senior and top-level Red Army command started arriving at the department store. Soviet and German soldiers who just a few hours earlier had been firing on each other stood calmly next to one another in the courtyard holding their guns in their hands or slung on their shoulder. Schmidt and Paulus set up their HQ in the Kessel underneath the Univermag department store on the city's Red Square. The dispatch came early this morningit was the last one.'. [9] However, he only took over his new command on 20 January, six days after the sudden death of Reichenau,[10] leaving him on his own and without the support of his more experienced sponsor. Panzer Korps, - Armee On 4 July 1912 he married the Romanian Constance Elena Rosetti-Solescu, the sister of a colleague who served in the same regiment. Pages in category "German commanders at the Battle of Stalingrad" The following 25 pages are in this category, out of 25 total. Following his release, Schmidt remained bitterly hostile to those German officers who had co-operated with the Soviets in the National Committee for a Free Germany. [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). I had the official seal with me. That would be a Napoleonic ending. Following the German surrender after the Battle of Stalingrad, he became a member of the National Committee for a Free Germany. Manstein told Paulus that the relief would need assistance from the Sixth Army, but the order to initiate the breakout never came. Its appalling pronounced Paulus somberly. Street fighting was still under way in the center of Stalingrad when German officers, accompanied by Soviet commanding officers, set off in vehicles to order their units to cease firing. [11] Schmidt maintained that the army, which would adopt a "hedgehog" defence, must be resupplied, but that the situation was not yet so desperate as there were plenty of horses left that could serve as food. While in Soviet captivity during the war, Paulus became a vocal critic of the Nazi regime and joined the Soviet-sponsored National Committee for a Free Germany. Hitler implied that if Paulus allowed himself to be taken alive, he would shame Germany's military history.[16]. 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. How can he surrender himself to the Bolshevists?! Germany's defeat in the battle marked a turning . The battle of Stalingrad, fought between Stalin's Red Army and Hitler's forces from 23 August 1942 to 2 February 1943, is considered one of the major confrontations of World War II. White flags appeared from the ground and second floors. high command ordered him not to fly back into 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. Contents 1 German 2 Soviet Red Army 3 Romanian 4 External links German Soviet Red Army Romanian External links Persons Battle of Stalingrad" (nl.) Januar 1943 gemeinsam mit dem tags zuvor zum Generalfeldmarschall befrderten Paulus in sowjetische Kriegsgefangenschaft, zunchst im Kriegsgefangenenlager 5110/48 Woikowo, dann im Gefngnis Lubjanka. They need these forces for a big offensive against Army Group 'A' in the Caucasus and along the still-unstable front from Voronesh to the Black Sea. In dieser Funktion wurde er am 1. Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (* 23.September 1890 in Guxhagen; 1. According to Pois and Langer: [Paulus's] chief of staff, Arthur Schmidt, a committed National Socialist to the end, seemed to represent Hitler for Paulus, indeed, probably was Hitler at Stalingrad. Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox. Click here to find out more. 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. Then Manstein switched the direction of his main strike to the south, to a less reinforced area near the town of Kotelnikovo, from which it was over 120 km to Paulus forces. After all the formalities had been settled and the Field Marshal had received guarantees of his personal safety, he was led out of the basement, along with his staff officers. "[9] At Nizhne-Chirskaya on 22 November, Schmidt told 8th Air Corps's commander, General Martin Fiebig, that Sixth Army needed to be resupplied by air. [20]:207208,212215 Beevor comments, "Whether this was a ploy to allow Paulus to distance himself from the surrender, or a further example of Schmidt handling events because Paulus was in state of nervous collapse, is not clear. But the city held, aided by the very destruction heaped on it by the Luftwaffe and Nazi tanks and artillery. The main entrance to the cellar was closed and guarded by the Soviet soldiers. This plan was to be successfully implemented in early 1943. Soviet and German soldiers, who just a few hours earlier had been shooting at one another, now stood quietly together in the yard. He was not able to walk anymore and was Behrs instructions were to ask Arthur Schmidt (general) View source Arthur Schmidt (25 October 1895 - 5 November 1987) was an officer in the German military from 1914 to 1943. The German soldiers - ragged, in thin greatcoats over threadbare uniforms, as thin as skeletons - presented emaciated figures exhausted half to death, with sunken, unshaved features. Paulus relied greatly on his judgement, and as a result he played a large, some say an excessive, role in determining the course of events later that year. 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. They were all unwashed and hungry and they smelt to high heaven! A northern pocket centered on the tractor factory and a smaller southern pocket in the city center. Arthur Schmidt (soldier) - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core [8], Paulus and Schmidt realised that Sixth Army was encircled on 21 November. [26] Schmidt addressed Thiel in the same vein: "[] here you come trying to justify the Luftwaffe, that has committed the worst treason, that has ever occurred in German history [] An entire army, this wonderful 6th Army, must go to the dogs like this. The Field Marshal was lying on an iron bed without a uniform, in just his shirt, recalled Ilchenko. Januar 1943 erhielt er das Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes. The German Once again, Hitler rejected Paulus' request out of hand, and ordered him to hold Stalingrad to the death. On the night of January 31, 1943, units of the 64th Armys 38th Motorized Rifle Brigade broke through to the department store building in the center of Stalingrad, sealing it off from all sides. Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). ", "Battle of Stalingrad a summary History in an Hour", " . : (02/07/1954)". [1] On 19 January, Major Thiel[who?] Diese Seite wurde zuletzt am 24. German officers who flew out of the Stalingrad However, after the attempted assassination of Hitler on 20 July 1944, he became a vocal critic of the Nazi regime while in Soviet captivity, joining the Soviet-sponsored National Committee for a Free Germany appealing to Germans to surrender. He was not able to walk anymore and was brought to the divisional doctor, Oberstarzt Dr. Karl Uhrmacher (missing in Stalingrad since end January 1943). January 1943). He is Lieutenant General Mikhail Malinin, chief of staff for the Stalingrad front and one of the men responsible for putting into operation plans for the encirclement of the German 6th Army. We reacted to this order with astonishment, since we had expected some sort of discussion with the Army Group, and were fairly certain of the breakout. Arthur Schmidt (25 October 1895 - 5 November 1987) was an officer in the German military from 1914 to 1943. [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. Fortress Stalingrad. Every day that the army holds out longer helps the whole front and draws away the Russian divisions from it. It was the HQ commander. It has been suggested that much of the reason for Schmidt's ascendancy over Paulus lay in the fact that, unlike Paulus, Schmidt was a committed Nazi, and Paulus, afraid of Hitler and conscious of his responsibility for Sixth Army's catastrophic position, saw Schmidt as a cipher for the Fhrer whom he could placate. Calender - November 1942 - Stalingrad 1943. Field Marshal Paulus in Custody After Stalingrad He told the journalist to tell the wives and mothers that their husbands and sons were well. In these last days Schmidt also developed a lively busy-ness in other respects. [1], Schmidt held various positions in the Heer, including chief of operations in Fifth Army (25.08.3912.10.39) and Eighteenth Army (05.11.3901.10.40).
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