Length of life - 24 hours Bashny.Net

The life expectancy of a soldier in Stalingrad was 24 hours



victory in the Battle of Stalingrad Soviet command allowed to make a radical change in the course of hostilities

-Automatic machine guns rattle at a distance of 400-500 meters from each other. And deafening echo exploding grenades. From the whistle of artillery ears pop. Front No war everywhere: in front of you, behind you and next. Our enemy soldiers and watch the devastation, formed by thousands of tons of bombs dropped. German soldier says: "Stalingrad turned into a huge pile of rubble and debris, stretching along the banks of the Volga».



This picture is hidden behind the dry statistics: on the final count in the Battle of Stalingrad killed 1, 5 million soldiers from the Axis countries and slightly more than 1, 1 million - from the Soviet Union. To be able to imagine the scale of battles, remember that the loss of the United States totaled just over 400 000 people in the course of fighting in the war. Speaking of battles, for some reason, often omitted information on casualties among the civilian population, and because they are, according to various estimates, ranged from 4000 to 40 000 people. Moreover, the head of the Soviet state forbade the evacuation of civilians, ordering them instead to join the fight and help build fortifications.

The victory in the Battle of Stalingrad Soviet command allowed to make, as they say, a radical change in the course of military action, the initiative and win a fortune on their side. And this victory they won people - soldiers and officers. About the same conditions in which fighting took place than they were willing to sacrifice the soldiers as they were able to survive, what was it like enemy soldiers first came into the trap of not so widely known.



Reinforcements arrive on the Volga, under German fire. Most people in the reinforcements arrive died, but fresh troops allowed to defend at least a part of the city, despite the constant massive enemy attacks. To reflect another such attack here was aimed elite 13th Guards Division; the first 30% of the profits lost in the first days after arrival. Overall mortality was 97%.

Anyone who has moved away from the front line, were considered deserters and cowards and brought before a military tribunal, which could bring the death penalty, or send a soldier in a penal battalion. There were even cases where deserters were shot on the spot. There were special undercover units, tracking unplanned crossing the Volga: in these cases were in the water were shot without warning.



Command chose the tactics of close combat as the most suitable, given the superiority of the enemy in firepower and air support. Tactical move to keep the front close to the enemy line of defense paid off. The fascist army has not been able to use the dive-bombers to support ground troops in connection with the risk of their own soldiers.

Position command was: "Stalingrad can be captured by the enemy on the sole condition that there will be no live his counsel." Each house became a fortress defended, sometimes - even a separate floor of the house. Became famous "Pavlov's house": Yakov Pavlov's platoon so selflessly defended his position that the enemies remember the name of the house to defend his commander.

The fighting took place even in the sewer tunnels. The railway station can pass from hand to hand 14 times in six hours. The dedication of the soldiers is amazing.



... The defense division, which included a Michael Panikahi, attacked at the same time about 70 tanks. Some of them managed to break through the trenches. Then one of the soldiers, armed with Molotov cocktails, crawled toward the very first enemy tank. When he was about to throw the bottle, it was hit. Lightning flashed fluid spread over the body soldier. He was burned alive, but continued to fight. He caught up with the tank and broke a bottle over the second motor vehicle. The tank caught fire, the soldiers completed the task with their lives.

Lieutenant Gregory Avakian was instructed to keep the tank attack. He chose a good position and waited. Launch an attack was greeted with friendly and good volley, hit by several cars. The unequal battle lasted about an hour, and combat numerical superiority was on the side of the enemy. However, the battery did not give, but continued to fire only one gun. The only survivor, wounded, Lieutenant brought, downloaded and sent deadly projectiles on target. Knocked out another tank, he lost consciousness and died of his wounds. But Nazi tanks did not pass. And such was the dedication Mass.

In the context of the melee is becoming increasingly important snipers. The most successful Soviet sniper Vassili Zaitsev became, on account of which was between 200 and 400 enemy soldiers.



At the cost of enormous willpower city lasted until the arrival of fresh reinforcements large. The Soviet counter-offensive, code-named "Uranus" began in mid-November 1942.

One of the Silesian soldier Joachim Wieder so remember those fighting and their feelings: "November 19 will live in my memory as a black day disaster. At dawn in the dark, misty autumn day, when we were getting ready for the winter blizzards, Russian attacked us from the north. And the next day - and in the east, holding our entire 6th Army in the iron grip ».

Already on December 19 it declared that our troops have won, but the announcement was somewhat premature: Heavy fighting continued.



The same hard line in terms of defense of the city tried to keep Hitler. Under his orders, "surrender prohibited, the 6th Army was to hold their ground to the last man," what should have been, according to the Fuehrer, to reward soldiers eternal folk memory and admiration.

Soldiers of the enemy did not know about his real position. A letter from one of the soldiers: "I was horrified when I saw the map. We were completely alone, without any help from the outside. Hitler left us trapped. Whether you come to this letter, it depends on whether we will deduct the sky. We are located in the north of the city. The other soldiers of my unit had suspected the truth, but they do not know what I know. No, we are not going to surrender. When the city falls, you will hear or read about it. Then you will know that I will not come back ».

In order to "save face" of the fascist army, Hitler awarded located surrounded by the commander of the rank of Field Marshal Paulus. None of the Field Marshal in the history of the Reich did not surrender, and that counted on the Fuhrer, but miscalculated. "Field Marshal" not only gave, but also actively criticized the actions of its former leader, while in captivity. On hearing this, the Führer stated: "God of War moved to the other side».

At a time when the leaders decide the fate of the commanders (to whom glory, and to whom - a shame), the fascist soldiers continued to keep fighting and testing your willpower with blows icy Russian winter. Now they did not provide a proper degree of no food, no clothes, they themselves frostbitten limbs. From the memoirs of one of the soldiers: "I froze my fingers. I am absolutely helpless: Only when a person loses a few fingers, he understands how they need it to perform various small jobs ».

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