Eastern Front Combat: The German Soldier in Battle from Stalingrad to Berlin (Stackpole Military History Series) by Wijers Hans

Author:Wijers, Hans [Wijers, Hans]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780811746380
Publisher: Stackpole Books
Published: 2008-09-01T05:00:00+00:00

On November 30, the “situation on the Stalingrad front” is described in only a few sentences in the Wehrmacht communiqué, painting a similar picture as in the days before. In the OKW war diary, the report on the 6th Army reads as follows:

On the westfront the withdrawal of our lines from the position on high ground (roughly running from Kotluban to Marinovka) was carried out according to plan. The enemy followed gingerly. By the 29th (Motorized) Infantry Division, the enemy withdrew about three kilometers and is digging in. Enemy attacks on the southern point southwest of Stalingrad were largely repulsed. A smaller penetration was contained and eradicated in a counterattack. On the right wing of the Romanian 3rd Army, enemy attacks were thrown back in an easterly direction and to the east of the Chir rail station. On the left wing, an attack of our own was made against a still existing enemy bridgehead. The transport of the 6th and 11th Panzer Divisions, 15th Anti-Aircraft Division and the 336th and 318th Infantry Divisions is in progress.

Captain Erich Domaschk brings positive news about our situation. Everything is being done in order to quickly bring about a change here. Of course, we’ll have to wait until our own forces can come up. The only important thing is that the army remains alive. Danger begins to loom when the aerial resupply cannot be increased. Daily the ring of Soviet antiair-craft guns increases; daily we can observe that the Soviet pilots are ruling the skies. Our Ju52s—those that come to us—perform unheard-of labors in these weather conditions, with the Russian defenses and the miserable circumstances of landing. But the commander of the 2nd Battalion of Panzergrenadier Regiment 103 shows himself to be an optimist and radiates confidence. Another few words with the officers, and then everybody hastens back to his place. And yet dark thoughts creep up on me when I explore the situation further and take in account all negative aspects that possibly could arise.

In the Wehrmacht communiqué of December 1, only the second part contains a brief account of the battle for Stalin-grad, and it offers not much that is new. The OKW war diary records for the day:

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