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Octed jinene scene after I had returned to The Stockade our hafeld feeble informed me that the pitiful remnants of our Battalion were still in the vicinity of the barcadi factory since I was gradually getting better hearing in my right ear the next morning October 20th I decided to return to the
Company if at least some of those who had been lightly wounded and were now fit for Duty would soon return to us it would be advisable to consolidate all our remnants into one unit I took advantage of this evening to write to all my family I also performed thorough body care procedures including
A change of underwear as I did not know when I would next have the opportunity to do so October 20th St Peter was still kind to us as the next day was again clear and sunny after a hearty breakfast I headed back to my b Balan it was located
About 3 km away here I felt relatively safe as the front line was 4 five km away I watched with interest as our war planes over my head roared their way into Stalingrad and as they had been doing for weeks dropped a load of bombs on the city for them too today’s weather
Was perfect when would this accursed city finally fall never before had the enemy resistance been so fierce and self-sacrificing as here I remembered OV on the sosy donet river or voroshilovgrad a little later the fighting there had been hard but not as desperate and ruthless as here I was
Sure that the reason was that this city bore Stalin’s name the red dictator must have realized that he would lose his authority if Stalingrad fell and it must fall I was sure of it I was halfway there three other comrades from the the Battalion headquarters were with me
Suddenly a thin whistling sound came from the blue sky and then shrapnel rained down we threw ourselves to the ground the same thing happened four more times maybe more for a while we remained lying flat on the ground huddled on the ground waiting to see if another volley
Would follow then we rushed with all our might into the low ground where we could get out of sight thank God the morning prayer did not require any more casualties we looked at each other her Lieutenant what is that on your right arm one of my traveling companions pointed to two
Small holes in the right sleeve of my tunic I took it off and found two small splinters in my right arm above the elbow during the sudden fire raid when we all threw ourselves to the ground I felt nothing nothing our Battalion doctor Dr schapansky will examine my
Wound at least for now I can still move my arm Dr schapansky a medical Captain had saved my life before when I was wounded in the lung on April 19th he was quickly on the scene and gave me expert first aid and this trifle will be just a
Child’s play thing to him none of us could understand where the shells came from most likely they were fired from the other side of the vulgar we continued on to the regiment’s CP unfortunately there was no repeated shelling when we arrived we learned the latest news the regimental Commander
Oberst Colonel grer had returned from vacation Oberst liutenant Lieutenant Colonel Müller and his agitant obber leftenant Kell were transferred to the 267th Grenadier regiment major vurt was replaced as he had become ill with jaundice he was replaced by hman Israel who had previously been commander of the 13th company together with Colonel grer
Left Lieutenant Wester and Hagen and Lieutenant a and several others who had recovered returned to the regiment Ober liutenant polite of the regimental headquarters he commanded the communications platoon was buried alive by an exploding aerial bomb since the incident occurred at night no one noticed it and help arrived too late we
Always had to consider the possibility of change after such accidents Dr schapansky when I waited for him treated my wound and confirmed that it was nothing serious after lunch it rained for the first time in weeks hopefully it won’t last long at that time the order
Came to move our Battalion to an area about 8 km Northwest of the barcardi plant the replenishment was to arrive there as well mam 21 in the morning we set off in battle order for the new location it was still dark we had to avoid detection by The
Observers of the enemy’s artillery while it was still Dawn otherwise the risk of being exposed to the fire of his guns increased the farther we were from the main battle arena in the center of the city the lighter I felt this city was like Moc an
Insatiable Giant in a few weeks only a handful of soldiers remained from both battalions after the ruthless urban street fighting and the sit situation was no better in other infantry units when Dawn broke we recognized the settlement on our left it was gorish our way now lay in a Northerly Direction at
Orlovka the Battalion made a halt here I received orders from Lieutenant Schuler to arrive in the mess to the regimental Commander Colonel gr I was taken to the place by a courier on a motorcycle it was said that it was likely that in a few days we would halt
In Winter quarters creating a cutof position on the Northern flank probably someone just really wanted to believe in his cherished wish when a soldier is at War he never even knows what will happen to him in the next minute what task he will receive our regimental Commander was
Still following with the Convoy with him were about 40 men from the convalescence who had arrived with Lieutenant’s alst and Western hogen I gave a report to obest Colonel gr let Halla report in as ordered my commander thanked me for the greeting and smiling remarked it took
You a long time to find your way back to your regiment chaval her obest exactly 6 months including a detour through the 134th Infantry Division I had already heard of this as well as of the very heavy fighting the regiment had been engaged in during my absence the casualties have been
Extremely heavy we must inor to get as many men as possible to replace replenish them until further notice we’re relegated to division reserve and now for you Hull you are the last of the old experienced company commanders left in the regiment for the last four weeks you’ve been fighting continuously obus
Liutenant leftenant Colonel Miller awarded you a gold wounding badge yesterday you were lucky again I can’t afford to lose the last experienced company Commander you will stay here in The Stockade for a few days and then you will be at regimental headquarters for four or 6 weeks I was not at all happy
About this for such an order was not at all in accordance with my desires the ties of connection with my sevenths were too precious to me to think of a transfer I inquired her obest will I get my company back at the end of this period you will of course retain nominal
Command of your company lieutenant alst will perform your duties for the time being you will remain my officer for special duties at regimental headquarters especially now that OB lant poit has so tragically lost his life relieved I replied I’m grateful to you her obest for the next half an hour I
Answered the questions my commander asked me they mostly concerned the battles we had fought in various parts of the city I didn’t hide anything because I thought that would be wrong there was no point in hiding the truth otherwise the higher command would have a wrong picture of what was going on
When they announced the arrival of a courier from the regiment on a motorcycle with a sidecar I was released I watched the motorcycle Drive Away colonel grer was a remarkable man judging by the way he looked his vacation at home had done him good a pair of pale blue eyes sparkled in a
Face devoid of even a hint of wrinkles he was wellb built I guessed the colonel to be between 55 and 60 years old his voice was calm he spoke measuredly and did not take offense at Fair criticism I considered him a good man for his age of
Course now I didn’t have to think about my soldiers I found our Treasurer non-commissioned officer halam calm and judicious he had been with the company since its formation his greeting was genuinely friendly soon after him arrived foter Meister greets and then The Coachman of the horsedrawn wagon the
Vehicle at the disposal of the assistant Gunner and the rest of the supply men eff lant Fischer each like a cog in a machine had his own duties and without them we the rest of us could not funun and so it was in all units whether they moved on horse
Abar or in vlas whether they were infantry Luft Wafer air force or CS Marine Navy I ask it a lot of questions but I also had a lot to tell myself greets took me to the horses some of the quadrip heads were in place including my horse mum pits they had all
Known better days now they were on the cusp of another harsh winter the Grooms I am sure of it were doing the best they could for them but they could not perform Miracles if tomorrow or the day after tomorrow the weather remains good I shall take mumpitz and take him for a
Little ride already looking forward to it I wondered whether the horse would recognize me his former Rider when I rode him o 25 I spent 4 days in the wagon it was cold the difference between the relatively peaceful life 10 km behind the lines and the continuous fighting on
The front line was palpable on October 22nd we watched 60 bombers flying over us towards Stalingrad soon we could hear the explosion of bombs even in the mess yesterday I was able to welcome our Battalion Treasurer ozal Meister kop he stopped by on his way to visit us for a
Few days bringing supplies ammunition and mail including two letters to me from my wife dated October 3rd and 15 at lunchtime I took a short ride on mum pizza after such a long break it was a wonderful feeling to sit on the back of a horse again looking down on the
Surroundings in good weather it was as if I had lost myself in time forgotten the seriousness of the moment and returned to those Happy Days in Obits when I first saddled this sturdy stocky white gelding we soon became friends and in August 1941 when I became commander of the
Company in which I had previously commanded a platoon mumpitz became my riding horse this horse lived up to his name completely even now I had to be wary of of him and show him that I was his master we returned an hour later the happy hour was over if the weather
Continues to be good tomorrow I will go horseback riding again what 28 thank God the days of inactivity are over last night I received orders to report to the regiment’s CP today I plan to report to the regimental Commander at mumit accompanied by a stable boy however I soon received a phone call
Saying that the commander would drive up himself as he had some business to attend to in the wagon I was glad I had time to ride mum pizza two days in a row my four-legged friend also enjoyed our walks he was noticeably Lively frisky and playful who knows when I will be
Able to ride him again obest grer arrived at noon after half an hour when we had been quickly and fully served in the field kitchen we went together to the regiment’s CP located in a small Oak Grove near spartak kovka spartak kovka and Rhino are two small villages north of
Stalingrad separated from the city by the orlovka river The Oaks in the so-called Forest were too young no more than 5 m high they had already shed almost all their leaves nevertheless the shelter was well hidden from prying eyes the area of the Grove was about 100 by
400 M and it looked like a toothbrush at the CP sat a single officer Lieutenant H Hoffman he was a court officer by profession was born in plow fogland Saxony and had commanded the 13th artillery company before being transferred to regimental headquarters the regimental adjutant obber liutenant kelz was still on leave
At home but his return was expected any day now in the meantime this for foress was held by Lieutenant Hoffman I had to give him a helping hand Hoffman and I were to sleep in a double room of about 3 square m i quickly stowed the rudimentary belongings of an infantry
Man and intended to use the free time to pass the time by reading the mail I had brought with me in the wagon but Lieutenant Hoffman entered the room and invited me to the Commander’s office he was already waiting for me and after I had given my report he looked at me
Attentively and said my predecessor obest leutenant Miller awarded you the wounded in Gold badge for your seventh wound in combat with the Enemy he was going to present the award to you personally here in the regiment we did not have this badge and had to request it from the division
Yesterday we received it and now I can pin it to your uniform I wish you Holly good luck as a soldier and all the best I gladly shook the Commander’s hand I was absolutely convinced that my fate was in the hands of the almighty and without him we were nothing and it is
Senseless to think that we can cheat Fate by trying not to fulfill something of what has fallen to our lot when the Lord decides that your last moment has come everyone must be ready for it and please or regrets are useless here the oath I took to the furer the
Nation and the Fatherland will always be sacred to me especially considering that I took the oath voluntarily at the age of 18 that evening I answered letters from home at night the chatter of sewing machines was heard in the sky again OED 29 the day of October 29th promised to
Be a weather day the sun appeared in the East and even though the nights were already cold it was possible to warm up a little in its Rays my thoughts often returned to my company while on duty near our shelter I found small mines scattered around us and further into
Into the forest they were ball-shaped about 10 cm in diameter and had wires coming out of them if touched the mine would explode and could cause injury I reported my observations to the commander and he immediately ordered me to be careful about such dangerous things while I was examining one such
Thing with due caution an obera frer from regimental headquarters came up to me and asked her Lieutenant what is it these are small mines that the scattered at night from their sewing machines are they dangerous doesn’t look like it believe me they’re dangerous stay away from things like this anything you can’t
Recognize if it comes from the ivens is dangerous but it clearly can’t be such a dangerous thing I warn you keep your paws off them the soldier walked away but my warning didn’t seem to convince him much at about noon the first nights cross recipient in our regiment the
Commander of the the Third Battalion halman Arthur Ritner appeared before Colonel gry he reported that he was leaving for his s olob Ritner especially distinguished himself in the battles in the southern part of Stalingrad we were all happy for him Ritner was a Zender and had received his
Military training while still in the Reich ve some of my teachers had also once served in the rice ve such as my old company Commander if it had not been for CES from the rice ve our leaders would not have been able to create the
Ve m in such a short time on leaving home on leave halman Ritner took with him all the letters from us to our homeland which he intended to send from Breslau thus we thought it would take only a few days to deliver the letters there was another piece of good news my
Old universally respected Commander Major Zimmerman had been awarded the German Cross in Gold he was still at home on on medical leave the days were getting shorter and shorter in daylight we tried to do all the bureaucratic work we had accumulated as in any other headquarters otherwise we would have had
To work by the Light of the Hindenberg lanterns in addition we were given some captured kerosene lamps OED 30 on October 30th we received a delegation from the neighboring 16th Panza division the commander of the 29th motorized regiment Oberst Rish arrived with his agitant over lutant Brenan they were accompanied by several
Other men the 79th motorized regiment like our unit had been in heavy fighting and like us had suffered heavy losses it now took up positions on our left with the exception of two Colonels the other officers were my countrymen from reinand and West faia The Familiar accent of
Their native home sounded like mus music to my ears the main topic of conversation between the two Colonels was the situation on the front line in the section of both regiments and how difficult it was in this connection to advance in the direction of Roch and Sparta kovka towards the
Vulgar in Colonel rees’s opinion this sector could safely be called the second verun since hardly an inch of ground could be found there that was not torn up by bomb and shell explosions in addition he added because of this it was impossible to use tanks in this area the enemy resistance
Here still could not be broken it was interesting to watch the meeting of the two commanders Rish came from steer Mark and displayed good manners my commander grer was not much different from him in my opinion they were both old school knights from whom I could learn a lot
Our guests invited us to pay them a return visit on the condition that the general atmosphere would permit it grer replied that he would gladly do so then he turned to usit is always good to know your comrades from other units personally this is important for possible joint actions in the future all
I had to do was agree with him o 31 October is almost over fighting is still raging in the city almost nowhere had we been able to make a significant Advance we were too weak numerically to advance again we could only hold our ground here in the quiet sector 6 months
Ago at the mouth of the tarita when we were advancing at an almost constant Pace I wrote to my wife maybe only a few days will pass and we will take Stalingrad now winter was almost Upon Us fresh forces were needed to capture the rest of the city the morale of the
Soldiers was high and we had full confidence in our Command we received a call from division headquarters informing us of General Fifer’s visit he had been with us since the unfortunate accident that happened to our first division Commander infantry General vman I was instructed to arrive at the regimental Commander’s office after
Colonel gross had responded to my greeting he said with a smile the regiment is to assign one officer to ACC company Commander training course in dobert west of Berlin Ed the training will last from December 6th 1942 to January 16th 1943 from December 22 1942 to January 2 1943 all
Students of the course will receive Christmas leave on behalf of our regiment you are being sent this is a sign of recognition of your merits I know that you have already completed such courses at the division in the fall of 1940 in Obits however these courses are
Conducted on the initiative of the OK and will be useful for your development finally if you are able to give three three lectures at the course you may be granted a special leave of absence for 5 days I could barely understand what I was being told I listened with a
Disgruntled expression on my face which surprised my commander leftenant Hoffman was already aware of this and congratulated me on my appointment suddenly a messenger appeared who holding his breath reported behind the forest about 100 m away obber efra corck was blown to Pieces by a mine Explosion expecting the
Worst I hurried to the scene my fears were confirmed it was the same guy who had shown such interest in those damn Minds the day before yesterday even though I had insistently pointed out to him the danger they posed this tragic incident should definitely be reported to all
Units soldiers on the front lines tended to be more careful and alert the division Commander arrived about 13th soand he was accompanied by the regimental agitant who had just returned from vacation after our commander gave the general a report both officers with their agitant proceeded to the regimental
CP liutenant Hoffman and I were invited to accompany them the current situation was discussed the map was extensively used the general told us that the numbers in the companies of each regiment had begun to increase due to the fact that soldiers were constantly returning from hospitals to the Troops
After treatment he was also of the opinion however that this was not enough and that fresh reinforcements from Germany were needed before getting into his cubal vargon the general called me over to him holler you’ll soon be going on a course in dobert before you leave find me my
Family lives in Potsdam and I would like you to go there in person to deliver a letter from me I exaggeratedly cheerfully bellowed yav her General I still couldn’t believe it in five weeks I was to be in Berlin and then in another seven weeks I was to meet my
Family back home it was hard to believe Lieutenant Hoffman informed me that following major vigot his agitant and my friend Lieutenant yakim Schuler also fell ill and was hospitalized I hope that his illness was not very serious no one November started with good weather the nights got colder but the days were
Sunny and clear with the latest additions both battalions were now down to an infantry company of course this was still not enough and we were still too few we therefore rejoiced at every soldier who reported his return among the officers who reported back to the regiment were Lieutenant pills from
Berlin and Lieutenant Bowman from Bavaria among those who returned after recovery were many faces of my old acquaintances mostly all of them were from upper and lower celissia which still formed the basis of our regiment Although our originally all sisian regiment began to receive natives from other regions of the mother country
Everyone was aware of the seriousness of the situation each wanted to be home among friends as soon as possible but they all did their Duty in an exemplary manner many became ill with jaundice and had to be hospitalized Dr schapansky kept talking about the monotony of rations which happened after we crossed
The dawn our army could be supplied by the only Road through kales Nadu which caused difficulties in bringing in many food Stuffs the result was an increase in cases of hepatitis which had previously been quite rare in the units nov 2 today November 2 was another clear
Day and we decided to pay a return visit to our neighbors with our commander we his adjutant OB liutenant keltz and I went by car to the 79th motorized regiment’s CP we were warmly welcomed by her obst Colonel Rish and his staff officers we stayed with them for lunch
To which we were invited even here there were no excesses in the form of sausage but if you were hungry even the vegetable soup aptly called Barbed Wire by the soldiers was good the main topic of conversation was again a broader discussion of the general situation in
Stalingrad and our fears caused by the fact that the enemy was still occupying renok and Sparta kovka Colonel Rish also told us that the tank units of the 16th Panza division had to constantly fulfill the role of fire brigades I took the opportunity to talk to a distant relative who commanded a
Communications platoon in the first Battalion we had never seen each other before but decided to catch up if possible when at about 3 AR p.m. we returned to the regiment’s CP it was already dark the whole day was was quiet at the front nothing much happened on
November 3rd and four I would say that our world is small shortly before dark a PK reporter showed up at our headquarters whose task was to take photos of life on the front lines and write a report accordingly you’d think you could take good pictures in such a cramped space
The reporter introduced himself Herman later sitting in my shelter I struck up a conversation with him I could tell from his accent that he was a native of reinland I asked her Herman I hear you’re from reinland what city I’m from duberg me too more specifically I was
Born in duberg in the district of L and I know Herman Herman he had a serious bicycle accident as a child that’s my brother well then why don’t I know you her Hall I am 12 years older than my brother and have been away from home for
More than 10 years I now live in valet in Berlin we had a long talk about our home and mutual acquaintances the situation in our sector remained calm and the next morning before leaving my fellow countrymen took a few pictures here no Vera 6 since 0 300 hours Colonel gret and I
Have been on the Move we’ve been to the very front lines including my seven Lieutenant alst is carrying out his duty competently and accurately I was pleased when my silesians asked me here Lieutenant when are you going back to your company my commander heard this and
Grinned the weather was foggy and it was Dripping rain when we got back to the CP at about 14:30 both my Colonel and I were tired and exhausted it was cold at night it looks like the time for good weather is over at least it’s better to stay dry and
Freezing than to get wet if if we are to spend the winter here the big problem will be finding something with which to keep warm the regiment has requested the division to send winter uniforms as a matter of urgency as well as white camouflage we need them to send all this
Before it is too late the first snowfalls are coming soon and by then at least in the forward units camouflage clothing should be available up to now our soldiers have been wearing the usual uniforms two pairs of underwear two pairs of socks two pairs of Underpants two pairs of Underpants one pullover
Pants tunic cap one pair of gloves steel helmet Overcoat piece of cloth trench coat bread bag with canteen supplies one pair of short leather boots known as Noble Beckers but for the cold Russian winter with its brutal cold this set was clearly not enough the winter uniform
Consisted of a pair of quilted cotton pants and the same tunic both of these garments could be worn on either side and could could be worn over the summer uniform in winter when there was snow the winter uniform was worn with the top white side out and after the snow melted
It was turned out so that the other side was the camouflage color in addition the soldier received felt boots for the Russians winter uniforms were the order of the day here they were more often than not better dressed than we were our camouflage for snowy Winters was made
Artisanally this included a white sheet with a hole for the head and two slits for the arms this camouflage was intended to make it difficult to spot soldiers in the snow the weather started to change it became cold and very windy it rained yesterday and it was very
Slippery outside this made it very difficult for our supply wagons to bring in food it also made fighting in the front line very difficult the entire regimental headquarters was busy looking for winter uniforms for the soldiers on the front line novat May 15 I had heard that the Americans and
British had landed in North Africa but I had no time to get into these more General matters we had other problems to deal with helped Feld Feld Fable Michelle arrived and reported that he was going home on leave he had honestly deserved it for being a bachelor he had
Repeatedly yielded his turn to those who had families and now he hadn’t been home for almost a year and a half I wished him all the best and a safe return to his unit field febel kopal will take his place he was from sudetenland Germany and had served in the czechoslovak Army
Male from home brought me sad news several of my childhood friends and buddies were killed or missing at Sea when their submarine was sunk during a combat Patrol the commander told me that I must leave on November 25th for the company Commander training course that is still 10 days away November
16 we were again transferred to the 79th motorized regiment it happened on November 16th 1942 at that time Colonel rin’s CP was discussing the offensive in the area of Roch and Sparta kka both our regiments were to attack next to each other the strike was to be delivered
Unexpectedly we could not count on the support of Tanks as the nature of the terrain did not allow their use in addition the tank units again had to fulfill the role of fire department the beginning of the offensive was scheduled for the morning of November 17th we were
To be supported by the artillery of the 16th Panza division since the 79th motorized regiment had also managed to increase its combat strength in recent weeks after the return of soldiers and officers who had dropped out due to wounds and illness the Corp headquarters believed that our our two regiments were
Capable of capturing both areas no Ander 17 the offensive was only hours away this meant that none of us had time for any rest orders had to be transmitted to the Troops where this could not be done by telephone the orders were delivered in writing by Messengers if it was something
Particularly important a regimental staff officer had to be present at Battalion headquarters by the time everyone was notified time had passed finally there was only 1 hour left before the start of the rush forward everyone was thinking would it work this time will the enemy be taken by surprise doubts and questions that
Could only be answered later a few days before both regiments like ours the 267th and 274th Grenadier infantry regiments had been transferred to positions along the northern blocking line line which stretched from the dawn to the vulgar in a facet mostly to the north we too were to be transferred to
These positions for the winter however before that moment came we first of all had to fulfill the tasks of the offensive since I was the commander of the seventh company assigned to regimental headquarters for only 6 weeks my thoughts naturally kept returning to the soldiers of my
Company as had often been the case in Rec weeks they were once again faced with an extremely difficult task the natives of both celesia were to operate alongside my countrymen from Rin West failure the remaining part of the strike group was one regiment made up of units
From the 24th Panza Division and the 16th Panza division the soldiers of both of these divisions both before in this campaign and now in their respective stations had succeeded in gaining a well-deserved reputation I myself was but a small Cog in this huge machine with only tactical training and little knowledge of
Strategy yet I had my doubts that our strike would be successful if someone goes on the offensive from a defensive position he must have a significant numerical superiority as well as an overwhelming advantage in heavy weapons which with their fire must pin the enemy to the ground until the Breakthrough of
His positions is realized I did not believe that we possessed numerical superiority I did not know whether we could with the heavy weapons allocated to us pin the enemy to the ground during the assault the terrain was inconvenient for the implementation of tank support besides we did not have them at that
Moment when we heard the first sounds of battle to the north of us we realized that the dancing had begun it was an unusual feeling for me I had been directly involved in battles with my soldiers before on such occasions you are completely immersed in the battle and often forget about time
Altogether now for the first time I was at the headquarters and my participation was expressed by completely different tasks time passed very slowly for me I could see that our commander Colonel gray was in doubt as to how the offensive was going he knew the general situation better than any of us and
Objected as much as we did to the task assigned to us in the offensive but at the end of the day we were all soldiers who had to obey and Carry Out orders the combat effectiveness of any army rests on the ability to obey and faith in the
Command its successes and defeats depend on it by about noon we began to receive the first data on the progress of the fighting the offensive had stalled after we had covered about 200 M our heavy weapons were not enough to pin the enemy to the ground as a result of the fire of
The defending enemy we in both regiments suffered considerable losses including killed we could hear the heavy Rumble of artillery and mortar fire from both sides which meant that we were not making much progress by order of the commander I went accompanied by a messenger to the headquarters of the
Second and then the Third Battalion the situation of the units of hapman Israel and over lutant krausser who had replaced hapman Ritner was extremely dangerous both battalions had no reserves and any losses were debilitating to the real Combat effectiveness of these units OB lant krausser stated in his East Prussian
Dialect if things continue like this we’ll have to fight with our young men in the wagon in my heart of hearts I agreed with him returning to headquarters I reported the results to Colonel gross and learned that the neighboring regiment had suffered heavy losses like us and was in
A similar position to ours at this time it began to grow dark and the sounds of battle began to die down our soldiers had plenty to do it was necessary to carry the wounded and dead from the field and to see that the enemy did not Counterattack the Ivans were planting
Mines in front of their front line which naturally confused our soldiers nov 18 November 18th also brought no change in the situation the offensive was hopelessly bogged down and could not be continued without fresh forces what the soldiers on the front line had to do was almost Beyond human
Capabilities most of them still had no winter uniforms this meant that they had to operate with what they had they huddled on the front lines in shelters with only their zel Barney raincoats to protect them from the wet and cold the hours therefore stretched on forever for them many came out of the
Battle with their uniforms tattered into rags to which they reacted laconically that’s all right better Rags than my bones I myself knew it all firsthand and I understood my soldiers completely and I was sure of one thing we would have to pay for everything we had experienced
With our health later if of course we were lucky enough to survive the war at all sixth Army surrounded November 18th December 5th 1942 no 18 in the evening of November 18th we received the following order at night on November 19th withdraw to the original positions the unsuccessful offensive
Operation with heavy losses on our side was over for the next 3 days we were engaged in patching up the holes that the losses we had suffered had caused in our ranks everyone who could be dispensed with at headquarters was sent to the front lines we learned from division headquarters that the Russians
To the northwest of us had taken the offensive against the Romanians and had broken through their positions on a wide front the same thing was repeated on November 20th in the south on November 21st the regiment learned that the enemy’s Advanced units had joined up near kalicha onon which
Meant the encirclement of the sixth Army from the very beginning it came as a shock to all of us how could something like this happen did everyone up there fall asleep did we have no German troops left at all to support the Allied units we couldn’t find answers to these
Questions I was sure that the cauldron would not last long our Command was not born yesterday and soon the encirclement would be broken through in addition we had to keep an eye on what was happening on our section of the front the northern defensive line had
Been reliably built at the time when we were striking from from the dawn to the vulgar the enemy had finally stopped his unsuccessful strikes here we should have improved and further strengthened our positions in this sector as for what was happening to the west of us on the dawn
We had no influence on what was happening there nov to 23 about noon on November 23rd we received orders to prepare every serviceable wagon all trucks cars and other equipment fill it with gasoline and be in readiness to break through in a southwesterly direction Colonel gr’s inquiry to division headquarters was answered that
The order was given by the commander of the LI Army Corp to which we belonged General von seidlits all important documents were ordered to be burned anything we could not take with us was to be prepared for Destruction we were to take with us only the essentials especially
Ammunition fortunately it was mostly dry or albeit cold no one was happy about the prospect of starting to fall back again how much energy and offensive impulse it had cost us infantry soldiers to fight our way to this point and at the cost of what losses and now back my
Comrades with whom I had the opportunity to talk about it all held the same opinion we didn’t like the idea at all and finally we would have to cover the retreat and this in the face of an inadequate supply of winter clothing and equipment but more important than all
This was the fact that the bread portions for all who remained in The Cauldron were reduced to 200 Gr which meant empty stomachs and hunger and in cold conditions the body requires more caloric expenditure nevertheless an order is an order we did everything we were asked to do we prepared for
Destruction everything that was unnecessary at that moment as well as documents and now waited for further instructions all thought thoughts were now centered around how to break through it was going to be a difficult and costly Endeavor all of us were sure of that your sh to
24 on the night of November 23rd 24 we barely found time for a short sleep break for the most part we only managed to get a little rest the nervous tension was too great even Colonel gross took part in the general conversations we talked about everything and nothing just
To pass the time while waiting from time to time the commander himself or over liutenant Kells would contact the units on the front line to see if the situation had changed at about midnight gry informed us of what was happening the units and subdivisions of the northern defensive
Line are carrying out a withdrawal I hope that they will be able to do it discreetly for us however all this meant that the waiting time would increase did anyone realize what was happening yesterday we were all ordered to prepare for a breakthrough and now just before noon we’re suddenly told that the
Breakthrough is cancelled everyone stay where you are we were operating surrounded by the enemy not On Maneuvers at a training ground therefore it was possible to do this at first and after a while do that anywhere but not here where we had to pay for every meter of Advance with blood
What was happening at the northern defensive line would our comrades be able to retake it fortunately the irreparable had not had time to happen there did the Ivans notice our withdrawal and how would they react to it one thing was clear to us without a breakthrough to the Southwest the next
Few days would become very difficult for us unless we recaptured the defensive lines the next day I was to go west and mentally I was already at at home but subconsciously I had constant doubts about it and I would believe it only after I was actually there and now goodbye beautiful
Dreams the reality was quite different everyone had to stay where they were by this time we learned from division headquarters that the units that were defending the northern defensive position had been pushed back in some areas up to 4 kilm the enemy had already advanced about 3 km from the barcardi
Factory through spartak kovka to gumrak he was now about 1 and a half km north of our regiment’s CP we received an order the highest degree of Readiness go on alert this included all rear services such as headquarters wagons supply companies Etc the distance was too small for a possible tank breakthrough until
The general situation became completely clear we all had to be alert nevertheless we all breathed a sigh of relief for everyone was sure that we would be rescued from The Cauldron by hitting it from the outside Nava 25 on November 25th and 26th the situation in our section was still
Unclear the units withdrawn from the northern defensive line according to orders were trying to establish a new line of defense along the single track railroad north of our regiment’s CP among these units was the 276th Infantry Grenadier regiment fortunately the Russians pursued us sluggishly they did not
Understand what was going on and how could they understand why we voluntarily abandoned our well equipped positions now in Winter whereas during the last months we had persistently repulsed every attempt to seize them the 274th Infantry Grenadier regiment deployed on the territory of the tractor plant with
Its front towards the village of spartak kovka it was was not required to withdraw after a short treatment in the hospital my friend yakim Schuler was assigned as regimental adjutant to this regiment whose Commander was Colonel Brendle no 27 obber lutant keltz informed me that the order for my promotion to the rank
Of obber lutant had finally arrived in the regiment novent 28 in the early morning hours it was already light suddenly the alarm was sounded outside from from the north of our shelters we heard the loud sounds of fighting which were getting closer and closer by this time the Russians
Realized that our troops had withdrawn from the northeastern section of the defensive position to the north with the support of Tanks they decided to break through the new front line first they tried to capture the area between the heights 1 to 35.4 1442 and 147.5 through these landmarks repeating
The the outline of the railroad now past the front line if the enemy managed to capture at least one of these Heights from here from above he would have a view of the whole of Stalingrad this would create a serious inconvenience for our troops our artillery and in general everything that
Could fire made desperate efforts to repel this blow and all this meant that the front clearly smelled something unspeakably rotten at about 10:00 a.m. two tanks arrived at the CP and their Crews requested our instructions Colonel gross ordered that I personally set the task for the tankers we set about carrying out his
Order it seemed to me that the enemy was concentrating his main efforts on taking the height of 135.4 I Ran as fast as my lungs would allow as a boy I was a good longdistance runner now it came in handy to my left I could see olova now over the Gully on
The opposite slope and there it was height 135.4 I stopped next to the front tank and gestured to the commander that he would have to observe the battlefield behind the height and then went back I had to make time now while I was here every minute mattered to my fighting
Comrades I realized that a few tanks even if there were only two engaging in battle would give my friends a break the first shots of tank guns were heard bra guys take care of yourselves the ground was frozen and the weather was clear now olova was on my
Right it was still at least 2 kilm away my path lay in a Southward Direction I had almost overcome a slight rise up the slope which stretched upward for about 40 m and had time to step on the next steeper rise and then all hell broke loose on me Stalin’s
Organs when you experience their influence once or twice almost every day as it happened to me in recent weeks in the area of the barcardi factory settlement you already know what will happen to you by the approaching Roar of the Rockets the shells of the organs came from the north from behind the
Front line from the first hits shuddered the opposite side of the beam about the place where I left both tanks I looked around like a hunted animal there was not a scrap of ground visible where I could could find shelter here I found a small crevice only about 40 cm wide and
10 cm deep it was practically nothing never before in my life had I ever wished to be as small as possible my feet pinned to the ground face looking down arms stretched forward explosions followed one after another I lay unprotected by anything a helpless piece of Flesh provided for this concentrated
Display of Power created by the hands of man Rockets exploded around me one after another here and there would it never end shell fragments howled through the air I waited and did not realize whether it was reality or a dream after lying so still for a few minutes I was completely
Stunned by this mourning blessing I couldn’t tell how many bursts there were in total at times like this we forget about numbers and just try to save our own skin the seconds of rockets bursting around me stretched into an eternity for me finally I came to my senses and
Realized with complete amazement that I had not received a single wound were those Rockets intended for our two tanks or did the Ivans suspect that our troops were here I did not know that by the time I arrived at the regiment’s CP I had had time to recover from the shock
Colonel gross paced excitedly around his Dugout he was waiting for my return he could hear the sounds of the Rockets hitting as it was only a kilometer away from our CP I reported Ober liutenant Hull reports back the tanks have been tasked as ordered the commander asked me
Can you see anything from up there I replied no her obst but it’s very easy to come under enemy fire there only a few minutes ago I was hit by rockets in an area where there was no cover and I am still surprised that I came back in
One piece and not in pieces please her obest letun go to cover you go on holler and I’ll stay here a while longer I had only taken six steps to the shelter and closed the door behind me when I heard the sounds of explosions outside the
Doors had been blown out by a blast wave one of the pipes of the stalinist organ exploded right in front of the door then the sounds of other explosions were heard closer then a little farther away after everything stopped a soldier burst into the shelter and shouted the
Commander is down keltz Hoffman and I looked at each other carefully just what we needed two soldiers carried Colonel gross in and laid him on the boarded he groaned with unbearable pain which he tried to stifle a large piece of shrapnel had penetrated the Colonel’s abdomen the regimental doctor was sent
For immediately I was furious at my helplessness I could not do anything and only reproachfully said to the wounded man why her Oberst did you not heed my advice overcome with pain my commander replied you are right holl in scolding me but I wasn’t going to reproach the
Commander at all if only he had listened to me but I a mere Ober liutenant could not order my Colonel to go into hiding without wasting time we immediately sent our commander who had been given first aid by the regimental doctor and was unconscious after a morphine injection to the Army hospital in
Stalingrad it is unlikely that I will soon be able to forget that day of November 28th the command continued to function as usual regimental adjutant obber lutant Kells took command of the regiment temporarily until a replacement for Colonel Grett arrived I learned that the two tanks placed in position by me had worked
Wonders they appeared literally at the last moment and managed to shoot four or five t34 tanks thus forcing the Russians to retreat as a result our soldiers were able to hold the front line along the railroad nov 29 on November 29th we were again welcomed by rain which immediately
Froze and turned into black ice this became another Misfortune for my comrades at the front nove 30 at noon on the last day of November the thermometer Rose above 0 Celsius again it was clear and sunny heavy defensive battles continued on the front line the enemy’s attacks were
Repulsed intense mortar fire from the Russians made life very difficult for us hman Israel who commanded our Battalion after major vot’s departure was killed by a shrapnel hit the remnants of the second and third battalions were merged into one unit named krauss’s combat group oberen an Krauss was promoted to
The rank of hapman he was a cold-blooded and imperturbable Native of East Prussia who knew his business well his adjutant was leftenant Gerlach a native of saand by profession a teacher at a technical school up until recently he had commanded a platoon in the 14th anti-tank company Deasia 1 about noon on
December 1st when the weather cleared we were able to to observe an air battle between two German and two Russian planes however no one was shot down I think our guys were low on gasoline because they suddenly turned around and flew away the Russians didn’t pursue them in the evening we received
Bad news about the commander of our regiment Co grer did not survive a severe wound and was drafted into the army of the most high he was 57 years of age we all respected and honored him as a man and as a superior who will succeed him we were constantly suffering losses
And no replenishment was expected in this connection the rear units were sifted every now and then everyone who was available was sent to the front line winter has also arrived at least outwardly on the night of December 1st to two it snowed everything around as
Far as the eye could see was wrapped in White in my opinion it looked like a huge shroud that carefully covered all our sorrows and suff sufferings here Deo four on December 4th I called my cousin Willie nbam he was very close by at Major voter’s headquarters in the first
Battalion of the 79th motorized regiment we agreed to try to meet the next day our soldiers and I too were firmly convinced that we would be rescued from The Cauldron everywhere they were saying hold on and the furer will rescue you until then we must hold our positions by all possible means tasor
Fire I still managed to see my cousin briefly we had never met him before but we understood each other immediately unfortunately we were both called Away by duty but we hoped that we could still find a chance to talk December 5th 6th and 7th were costly for the remnants of the 276th
Battalion of kow’s battle group group on December 5th Oberon and Schultz was killed at the height of 147.5 and on December 6th leftenant Pils was killed near the railroad embankment on December 7th liutenant Bowman was shot in the head at the same embankment besides them some of the old service soldiers and non-commissioned
Officers were killed at this time such as my messenger obber eer Kurt vilman obber eor Kerner who had formerly served in the eth company non-commissioned officer Feldman and some other tried and experienced Fighters those of the soldiers who contracted hepatitis had to stay in their units hepatitis patients
Were returned to their units from field hospitals if this continues this is how any of us will be treated when it is our turn the Russians were trying to knock us out of our weak defensive positions which were the exact opposite of the former Northern defensive line once for
All and then capture the heights of 147.5 144.5 and 135.4 which are south of the railroad track my comrades on the front line worked miracles which could hardly be demanded of them they fought defensive battles all day long in the snow in the cold they did not have the necessary
Clothing and equipment for such battles but they continued to stubbornly defend every square meter of ground our neighbors on the left were not in a better position as far as I could tell they were better equipped with winter uniforms but they like us had to Bear the brunt of the fierce defensive
Fighting by this time combat group rhines had been transferred to combat group Krauss the right flank of the 79th motorized regiment and the Left Flank of the remnants of the former 276th infantry Grenadier regiment were now called The Krauss combat group and they again had to find themselves on the edge of enemy
Strikes the battles boiled mainly around the height of 147.5 which the Ivans attacked continuously by forces up to a company of infantry supported by tanks the front line was broken through twice and up to the present moment our soldiers managed to repel the enemy again but how long could this continue