Paulus radioed Hitler once again for permission. They put the number of POW captured at Stalingrad at 100,000 of whom 6,000 survived. 'Meeting The Victors', Sputnik Magazine, 1968, USSR; (English-language article). The units craved encouraging news, recalled an officer of the 6th Army's intelligence section, Joachim Wieder. 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. The implication was clear: Paulus was to commit suicide. 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]. In deciding to promote him, Hitler noted that there was no known record of a Prussian or German field marshal ever having surrendered. The governments responsible for this have both put their armed forces in front of insoluble problems. This is on page 194. This website uses cookies. Hitler implied that if Paulus allowed himself to be taken alive, he would shame Germany's military history.[16]. Wilhelm Adam - Wikipedia An officer, the head of the guards, allowed me and the driver to go out and get the car ready. The Red Army fighters looked fresh and wore warm winter uniforms. Armee. 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. 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. Paulus and his staff were captured on the morning of 31 January 1943. The appearance of the Red Army soldiers seemed symbolic. [35] Together with most German officers, Schmidt was moved to Camp 48 at Voikovo, although he was kept away from Paulus by the NKVD, apparently because he was considered to be a bad influence on him. Schmidt joined the army as a one-year volunteer on 10 August 1914, attaining the rank of Leutnant on 8 May 1915. STALINGRAD: BREAKOUT AND AIRLIFT OPERATION - Academia.edu Panzer Korps, - Armee The enemy wanted to start negotiations. Germans at the gates of Stalingrad, 1942-1943 The Battle of Stalingrad was a brutal military campaign between Russian forces and those of Nazi Germany and the Axis powers during World War II. Stalingrad archives of Jason Mark, Manfred Kehrig - [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). The Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) was fought during the Second World War between Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union led by Joseph Stalin. White flags appeared from the ground and second floors. The area around the department store had by then come under the full control of Soviet infantry and Wehrmacht soldiers were clearing sectors that had been mined. 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 Armys outnumbered 302nd Rifle Division, subsequently embarking on a rapid advance in the direction of Stalingrad. [18], Paulus, a Roman Catholic, was opposed to suicide. I have in mind, first of all, France. Gerhard Hindenlang was born 1916 in Berlin. https://books.google.com/books?id=OWOQAv01lYEC, https://books.google.com/books?id=inwd2rDaLm4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:1874622469&cd=1#q=schmidt, https://books.google.com/books?id=xg8QrmsLK-kC, https://books.google.com/books?id=qWuWOFS4o7AC&dq=%22arthur+Schmidt%22+stalingrad, "A Desperate Struggle to Save a Condemned Army: a critical review of the Stalingrad airlift", http://www.stormingmedia.us/44/4497/A449793.html, "Photographs of Schmidt at a Sixth Army reunion, Wiesbaden 1969", http://www.stalingrad.net/german-hq/members-aok-6/members_aok_6_a.htm, Pages containing cite templates with deprecated parameters, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht), Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union, German commanders at the Battle of Stalingrad, Knights of the House Order of Hohenzollern, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. I was taken by surprise" in conversation with Marshal Voronov. (PHOTOS). [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]. [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." Hitler responded by showering a raft of field promotions by radio on Paulus' officers to build up their spirits and bolster their will to hold their ground. [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]. Schmidt suffered a life threating Upon finding out about Paulus' "surrender", Hitler flew into a rage and vowed never to appoint another field marshal again. later during World War 2, German officers who flew out of the Stalingrad Nachdem er anstelle von Paulus im Keller des Kaufhauses Univermag die bergabeverhandlungen gefhrt und die Kapitulation der 6. Snow fell from our vehicle tracks. Schmidt commented: Early on the 24th November, while Paulus and I were preparing the necessary measures for a breakout to the south, we received a 'Fhrer decision' from Army Group [] It said that the Sixth Army was to stay in Stalingrad and wait to be relieved. [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). He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . November 1987 ebenda) war ein deutscher Generalleutnant. Diese Seite wurde zuletzt am 24. [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 German troops sustained significant losses and found it difficult to make headway. Ahead for Friedrich Paulus lay Soviet camps, work in the anti-fascist National Committee for a Free Germany and life in the GDR for the short time left to him. The general feared that, deprived of their armored strike force, the slow-moving bulk of his troops would simply be ground into dust by the Red Army in the freezing steppe. 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. However, the lack of food and ammunition, equipment losses and the deteriorating physical condition of the German troops gradually wore down the German defense. German officers who flew out of the Stalingrad pocket and became The general announced that we were his prisoners. Battle of Stalingrad, (July 17, 1942-February 2, 1943), successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd), Russia, U.S.S.R., during World War II. World War II - The Battle of Stalingrad | Britannica Juni 1942 zum Generalmajor ernannt und nahm an der Schlacht von Stalingrad teil. Stalingrad archive of Geert Rottiers, Private The following month he was named deputy chief of the German General Staff (Oberquartiermeister I). The following excerpt covers the last two days in Stalingrad as Adam began to have doubts about the Chief of Staff to the 6th Army, Lieutenant-General Schmidt: Was Lieutenant-General Schmidt playing a double game? 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. Its appalling pronounced Paulus somberly. Mai 1942 Chef des Generalstabes der von Friedrich Paulus befehligten 6. In it, he paid respect to the memory of General Heinz Guderian, who had died a little over a month previously, and criticized the political leaderships of the German Empire and Nazi Germany for causing the defeats of the German Army in both world wars: I have in mind in particular General Guderian, who died prematurely, and with whom I was particularly close, as chief of staff for the organization of the armored troops, and we were carrying out a task together. Okay, October. said Paulus after reading the dispatch. "[33], Prior to Paulus's interrogation, Paulus asked Schmidt how he should respond, to which Schmidt replied, "Remember you are a Field Marshal of the German Army," apparently (according to the Soviet interrogator) using the intimate "du" form of address, although Captain Winrich Behr, who was familiar with the relations between the two men, considered this unlikely. The Red Army soldiers were well nourished, full of vigor and dressed in fine winter uniforms I was deeply moved by something else. [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. [4] The British historian and author Antony Beevor offers the following description of Schmidt: Doctor Generalstabarzt Dr. Otto Renoldi adviced On the afternoon of 22 November, Schmidt flew with Paulus to the new Sixth Army HQ at Gumrak. ", "Battle of Stalingrad a summary History in an Hour", " . : (02/07/1954)". [27], Thyssen comments that both Paulus and Schmidt seemed to have forgotten Fiebig's statements on 21 and 22 November that the Luftwaffe would not be able to supply Sixth Army in the Kessel.[28]. Schmidt, confident of his own abilities, put many backs up within Sixth Army headquarters, although he also had his supporters. Soviet soldiers, who seized the headquarters of Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus. 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. Arthur Schmidt (general) - Wikipedia The time has come for the old enmity that we have inherited and the many disputes to be buried once and for all. Unwashed, with unkempt beards, they wore comical-looking makeshift snow boots and were wrapped in towels and womens headscarves. General Kurt Zeitzler, chief of the Army General Staff, was in a panic because hundreds of Soviet tanks had just smashed through the Romanian Third Army's lines northeast of Stalingrad, threatening communication and supply lines to the German Sixth Army. [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. [1] On 19 January, Major Thiel was sent by VIII Air Corps to assess the runway at Gumrak and see whether further landings by Luftwaffe supply aircraft would be possible. He had not seen her since 1942 and would not see her again, as she died in 1949 while he was still in captivity.[20]. 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. After he concluded that they would not, telling both Schmidt and Paulus so, Paulus reprimanded him for the original promise that air supply to Sixth Army would be possible, asking him: "Can you imagine that the soldiers fall upon a horse cadaver, split open its head, and devour the brain raw?" 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 comparison . 139142; other examples are Allen and Muratoff's The Russian Campaigns of 19411943, published in 1944[5] and Peter Margaritis (2019). high command ordered him not to fly back into During his captivity, according to General Max Pfeffer, Paulus said, "I have no intention of shooting myself for this Bohemian corporal." It now seemed more impossible than ever to act against an order of the High Command or Army Group.[17]. However I'm not going to do them such a favour.' Nikolay Dyatlenko - Wikipedia 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. On the order of the brigade commander, Colonel Ivan Burmakov, a group of negotiators led by Senior Lieutenant Fyodor Ilchenko headed for the department store building. 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). General Schmidt; an ardent Nazi, that the Luftwaffe would not be able to supply an encircled 6th army from the air alone. 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. We Germans have seen that in the 20th century, such "power politics" that a strong and rich country seeks to pursue at the expense of other countries is doomed to failure. A car to the neighboring village of Beketovka, where the 64th Army HQ was stationed, awaited the Field Marshal. After the Soviet troops opened intensive fire from machine guns and mortars on the building at about six oclock in the morning, the shooting from the German side stopped. The main entrance to the cellar was closed and guarded by the Soviet soldiers. I had the official seal with me. [37] He died in Karlsruhe on 5 November 1987. [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. [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. [2] On 26 January 1942 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold.[3]. This was a new formation under the direction of Oswald Lutz that directed the training and development of the Panzerwaffe, or tank forces of the German army. Karl Uhrmacher (missing in Stalingrad since end [14] That evening the Soviet encirclement of Axis forces was confirmed in a signal Paulus sent to Hitler. List of officers and commanders in the Battle of Stalingrad [1] Am 17. Schmidt joined the army as a one-year volunteer on 10 August 1914, attaining the rank of Leutnant on 8 May 1915. Arthur Schmidt (25 October 1895 5 November 1987) was an officer in the German military from 1914 to 1943. No sensible person can understand why Dr. Adenauer, under American influence, strongly opposes exploiting the opportunities for the resumption of economic and cultural relations with the peoples of the East. Almost 70% of deaths occurred in the winter of 1945-1946. "[15], After a heavy Soviet offensive overran the last emergency airstrip in Stalingrad on 25 January, the Soviets again offered Paulus a chance to surrender. He later acted as a witness for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials. He lived out the rest of his life in Dresden. After leaving university without a degree, he joined the 111th Infantry Regiment as an officer cadet in February 1910. Paulus claimed that "I didn't surrender. Contents 1 German 2 Soviet Red Army 3 Romanian 4 External links German Soviet Red Army Romanian External links Persons Battle of Stalingrad" (nl.) Arthur Schmidt (general) View source Arthur Schmidt (25 October 1895 - 5 November 1987) was an officer in the German military from 1914 to 1943. Several hours later, accompanied by several colonels and lieutenant-colonels, Maj-Gen Ivan Laskin, chief of staff of the 64th Army, came down to the basement. Armee whrend der Schlacht von Stalingrad.Paulus war von 1943 bis 1953 in sowjetischer Kriegsgefangenschaft und lebte danach bis zu seinem Tod in der DDR This list may not reflect recent changes . Arthur Schmidt (* 25. They had huddled here to hide from the mortar fire, recalled the senior lieutenant. 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. After a leave of absence due to illness, he joined the Alpenkorps as a staff officer, serving in France, Romania and Serbia. In November 1941, after German Sixth Army's commander Field Marshal Walter von ReichenauPaulus' patronbecame commander of the entire Army Group South, Paulus, who had never commanded a larger unit than a battalion, was promoted to General der Panzertruppe and became commander of the Sixth Army. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. . How German prisoners of war lived and died in the USSR that it was the best to fly him out of the 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. Even the best army is doomed to fail when it is required to perform impossible tasks, that is, when it is ordered to campaign against the national existence of other peoples.[23]. 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. If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material. But it is a misconception and dangerous idea that the age of nations is over simply because a power, the United States, relies on this position so that it can bend over and dominate other nations at the lowest cost to it. The basement was literally packed with soldiers - there were hundreds of them here. 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. Operation Winter Storm, a relief effort by Army Group Don under Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, was launched in December. Having survived Winter Storm and not having heard the Thunderclap, the Soviet command calmly returned to drawing up its planned operation to split up and conclusively destroy the Paulus grouping - preparations for which had been interrupted by the German offensive. [8], Paulus and Schmidt realised that Sixth Army was encircled on 21 November. fly out of the Stalingrad pocket and he left on [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. In der Endphase der Schlacht bernahm er von Paulus weitgehend die Fhrung der Armee. Soviet soldiers attacking last german resistance in Stalingrad. However, suicide rearguard regiments put up the usual hopeless and violent last stand battles in the streets. 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 . Rudolf Schmidt - Wikipedia The German commander, according to Laskins recollections, greeted the members of the delegation with a sentence in broken Russian: Field Marshal of the German Army Paulus renders himself prisoner to the Red Army. He apologized that, since his new rank had only been conferred on him on January 30, his new uniform wasnt ready and he was compelled to appear in his colonel-generals uniform. The Soviet units and subunits already there were to contain the enemy until its arrival. Panzerkorps war diary and its annexes. 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. 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]. His troops fought Soviet forces defending Stalingrad for over three months in increasingly brutal urban warfare. German officers who flew out of the Stalingrad Army He was told that "The Luftwaffe doesn't have enough aircraft." Januar 2022 um 19:24 Uhr bearbeitet. The carnage of the Battle of Stalingrad finally came to an end in February 1943, when the German Sixth Army Commander, Gen. Friedrich Paulus, surrendered the remaining ninety thousand troops of his army to the Soviet Forces. Hitler, leery of the reasons for Paulus' transfer to Nizhne-Chirskaya, orders him to move his HQ again. 26. How German Field Marshal Paulus was taken prisoner The commander of the encircled troops did not issue the order, however. [2][3], deutscher Generalleutnant im Zweiten Weltkrieg, Zuletzt bearbeitet am 24. Behrs instructions were to ask The march towards the Volga had ended.[17]. As a result of the talks, the southern pocket of German troops, commanded by General Roske, was to capitulate. 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. Friedrich Paulus Last Days in the Bunker: Facing Stalingrad - YouTube He was not able to walk anymore and was Paulus requested permission from Hitler to surrender. [14] That evening the Soviet encirclement of Axis forces was confirmed in a signal Paulus sent to Hitler. On that frosty morning in Stalingrad, it dawned on all the men of the Red Army and the overwhelming majority of the German soldiers that this was the beginning of the end for them and the start of our Victory.. [4], Despite Lieutenant-Colonel Niemeyer's frank and pessimistic area briefings, Schmidt severely underestimated the build-up and capabilities of Soviet forces at Stalingrad following the initial Axis successes, a failing that he unlike Paulus subsequently did not attempt to excuse. He had the appearance of a sick and physically exhausted man and his face was twitching in a nervous tic.. On 2 February 1943 the remainder of the Sixth Army capitulated. In February 1938, Paulus was appointed Chef des Generalstabes to Gen. Heinz Guderian's new XVI Armeekorps (Motorisiert), which replaced Lutz's command. He was, in any case, a defender of a united and sovereign Germany. Mrz 1942 Chef des Stabes des V. Armeekorps der Wehrmacht. They were all armed, some with weapons in their hands, some with them over their shoulders. But how shockingly different their external appearance was! recalled Wilhelm Adam, adjutant to the 6th Army commander. In 1953, Paulus moved to East Germany, where he worked in military history research. 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. Paulus remained absolutely firm in obeying the orders he had been given. On 4 July 1912 he married the Romanian Constance Elena Rosetti-Solescu, the sister of a colleague who served in the same regiment. Everyone knows that our nation used to have great military experts, known all over the world, such as Clausewitz, Moltke the Elder, Schlieffen. Behr had an important task once he was free of 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.
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