[Stalingrad] Was a Breakout possible? Some Numbers [Updated Version]

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» SOURCES & LINKS «
Boog, Horst; Rahn, Werner; Stumpf, Reinhard; Wegner, Bernd: Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg. Der Globale Krieg. Band 6.
Battistell, Pier Paolo, Panzer Division: The Eastern Front 1941-43
German Forces lost at Stalingrad Report Dated 7 February 1943:
carl.army.mil/nafziger/943GBBD...
And basically every Wikipedia and Lexikon der Wehrmacht page for most of the units involved to check if they were actually encircled or not, e.g., the 22. Panzer Division wasn’t.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/384th_I...)
www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/G...
www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/G...
» CREDITS & SPECIAL THX «
zieten 99 - for pointing out the errors in the original video.
Song: Ethan Meixsell - Demilitarized Zone
The Counter-Design is heavily inspired by Black ICE Mod for the game Hearts of Iron 3 by Paradox Interactive
forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/...

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

In-depth Analysis on the Chances of the 6th Army Breaking out of the Stalingrad Pocket here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3qao3mbhLNmqNk

[@sebclot9478]

Your are missing a few key points. The Soviets had outnumbered and out equipment the Germans by sizable margins throughout Case Blue, at least as far as volume was concerned. So this wasn’t a new development. The Germans could have withdrawn Army Group A from the Caucasus to support the breakout, but Hitler refused. The Soviets weren’t exactly dug in. They had just completed the encirclement and were not aware of how strong the pocket really was. They were vulnerable to a breakout attempt. Luftwaffe air support, which amounted to thousands of sorties a day just a few weeks before, could have supported the breakout. Finally, THERE WAS NO CHOICE! No Available force was strong enough on its own to relieve them and winter was fast approaching. An immediate breakout attempt supported by any and all available force was the only viable option.

[@kamielheeres8687]

I love the way you pronounce "schtalingrad".

[@MichaelFay63]

Schit!

[@Amnesty4Germany]

@Stanley Jedrzejczyk Scheiße..

[@randonlando418]

Stanley Jedrzejczyk Can’t you just hold S and have an option appear to type ß?

[@lucius1976]

Der Sieg war zum Greifen nahe, dann sta(h)l in grad der Russe.

[@vojislavdragic5090]

why are you 'siting' on a narrator ?:)

[@EzekielDeLaCroix]

After watching the numbers of the 6th Army, I was actually rather surprised. Those numbers were very reasonably large. Certainly the Red Army could outnumber that, but not that much... And then... 3:45 "... TWO-THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED SEVEN..."

[@user-me5oq3kl4h]

You have to remember, that Wehrmacht had enormous amount of allies in Stalingrad, which had their own equipment, armor etc, and weren't included in Wehrmacht command tree. Those auxiliaries were different quality and morale, but still they were numerous almost 600k men. In general Soviets amassed great force, extremely powerful in number of arty, both tube and rocket per 1 km of front. Barrage was so massive and successful, that the day in happened is now celebrating as an Artillery day.

[@MichaelFay63]

On U- Tube I had a conversation about Rumanian casualties at Stalingrad. He mentioned 350,000 which shook but I've never had it verified. Hungarians, Italians. Slovenians? After Kursk Mussolini implored Hitler to make a deal with Russia. He was doubtfull that anyone could beat the Soviets!

[@MichaelFay63]

The Germans were shocked at witnessing Rumanians being flogged. Their equipment was poor!

[@MichaelFay63]

Spoke on U-Tube to a young Rumanian who said Rumania lost 300,000 at Stalingrad,also there were miniscule Croats,Spaniards. Hungarians were prominent. Soviets lost 350,000 casualties. Beggars belief. NO No No to WAR!

[@MichaelFay63]

German troops were shocked at Rumanian use nof flogging their soldiers!

[@alejandrobetancourt4902]

Very German of you to be so attentive to details and committed to the facts.

[@Ted52]

Everizing haz to be prezais, ja.

[@royalblueknight83]

He is from Austria.

[@royalblueknight83]

+Ibnziyad Tariq ...Yeah.

[@Ted52]

dot dot dot

[@ethanniblock5341]

Jack If he is from Austria he is Austrian.

[@momo9594]

We should not forget that Göring promised that the Luftwaffe will be able to supply the 6th army from the air. I think that it would make sense to do a series of the responsibility of each German high officer in the loss of the war and how their action led to it. Thank you for your vids!

[@Bayomeer]

Goring fucking up the airlift is a myth. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJbIioKnhtClaa8

[@panzerzak988]

What an irritating guy that is.

[@panzerzak988]

And it is not a myth at all, Goring did promise such thing as even the irritating guy admits.

[@Rangerpl1322]

The only irritating guy here is you

[@bc-nv7co]

GORING WAS ACTUALLY A COUNTRY AWAY IN BERLIN AT THE TIME... GORING’S SENOR STAFF OFFICER ACTUALLY GAVE HITLER THIS IDEA AT THE WOLF’S LAIR (IN POLAND).... HISTORY HAS PROVEN GORING WAS NOT AT THE MEETING WHEN THIS WAS DISCUSSED.... WHEN GORING FIRST SAW THE DROP-PLANS HE ACTUALLY REMARKED THAT IT WAS “IMPOSSIBLE” - UNTIL HE HAD ALREADY BEEN GIVEN WORD THAT THE DROPS WERE ALREADY UNDERWAY.... AT THAT POINT- WHY DISAGREE... ? IT WAS GOING TO BE ATTEMPTED EITHER WAY AT THAT POINT.... HILTER HAD ALREADY MADE THE DECISION TO TRY THE AIR-DROPS BY THE TIME GORING WAS FILLED IN ON THE PLANS IN BERLIN.

[@AECoH]

Lifelong fan from me, I love that you completely remade your video because you were wrong before. Defense of Crete what went wrong would be a cool one, such terrible errors from both sides to look at!

[@KCatalano88]

+AECoH Yah! And I'd love his analysis as to how the German paratroopers failed and why after Crete the Paratrooper program was ultimately abandoned by Hitler.

[@carlsfetcu4800]

+Kristofer Catalano strange in history books says that German paratroopers managed with heavy loses to secure Crete... The program was not abandoned... And you'll find German paratroopers fighting in Sicily, Monte Casino... Battle of Bulge... Just to mention few...

[@KCatalano88]

Carl Sfetcu I've read somewhere that Hitler was once quoted saying "Crete is the graveyard of the German Paratrooper program". You're absolutely right that the Fallschirmjäger continued fighting throughout the war, however Crete was the last airborne operation / large scale airborne invasion that the German Army would ultimately carry out. Quoting wikipedia now, "This battle however, resulted in a German victory but due to the inefficiency and high loss of paratroopers Hitler halted the use of large airborne attacks."

[@carlsfetcu4800]

+Kristofer Catalano that's true... But the program was never closed only that after invading Russia Hitler has other priorities...

[@KCatalano88]

Carl Sfetcu Sure. These were still specially trained units, disbanding these divisions wouldn't seem to make much sense logistically. So, while the Fallschirmjäger would continue to fight the war, airborne invasions were 'off the table' following Crete. This is a big deal if you consider how symbolic the Fallschirmjäger program, and the implementation of airborne warfare into German grand strategy, was to Hitler in the late 30's. It was symbolic- it represented, at the time, the 3rd Reich's modernity. This is the ultimate point. Nobody is arguing that the Fallschirmjäger didn't exist after Crete- merely that the grand strategy had changed- and that airborne invasions had been abandoned.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

as promised here is the corrected version of the "Stalingrad - Numbers video". Enjoy! Background information on what went wrong here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZPZeIFoiLiloK8

[@user-go1sl6rd7u]

maybe you can do this for future videos, but why instead of filling the screen with tank silhouettes you just add the number of tanks and AT guns. cheers.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

no, because most people can't make sense of numbers if they are not properly visualized.

[@user-go1sl6rd7u]

Military History Visualized got it, I'm actually quite the opposite lol, I prefer just watching the numbers instead of a visualization. Your videos are great btw.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you, yeah I assumed from your statement that you are probably one of the few that have a natural feel for numbers.

[@1cspr1]

von Lewinski sure had a talent that matched napoleons - as a spin-doctor and a mythmaker

[@213thAIB]

Thank you for this analysis. While I realize that some will debate the myriad variables, this material comparison dramatically demonstrates just how far the fighting strength of the Sixth Army and (elements of) the Fourth Panzer Army had been degraded by late November, 1942. Although I have studied this battle for many years, your comparison is quite striking. It also settles in my own mind the question of whether the Sixth Army could have broken out, though as you say Paulus should have tried, anyway. As a retired officer, I agree.

[@frankderryberry1412]

And it was damn cold.

[@jasonharry645]

Put like this it sets out clearly to me how the fate in Stalingrad was sealed. The Russians knew they were coming via lucy spy ring so the Germans were bled out and their supply chain heavily smashed. It was a meat grinder on many levels including rzhev and Leningrad

[@CarrotConsumer]

When considering a breakout you have to take into a consideration the health of Army Group South as a whole. A failed breakout would hasten the 6th armies demise and free up the circling Soviet troops to press the rest of the front. It's a difficult situation.

[@CLAX1337]

Wow, I can't believe I only just found this channel. LOVE IT

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you!

[@matovicmmilan]

+Military History Visualized Hi!I have a lot of respect for your work and commitment to precision and providing much details without rendering videos boring and hard to percept(which is very difficult task)! But why are you pushing that heavy German accent without trying to improve it(just don't say "Because I am a German")?

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

> But why are you pushing that heavy German accent without trying to improve it(just don't say "Because I am a German")? pretty wrong assumption, I tried it quite early on and read up some stuff. First step: hear it. well, I tried I didn't make it. I tried it and got more words wrong than before. Also check out my patreon goals: www.patreon.com/mhv besides that many native speaker love my accent.

[@matovicmmilan]

+Military History Visualized Mainly I wanted to say that I appreciate your work, accent was a side note! Also I like German which I learn to get C1 certificate for my own satisfaction!I have recently been in Vienna, in a place about 500m from Schotentor!

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you. Hint for life: never assume that someone does something "without trying".

[@coenijn]

I'm absolutely amazed by the amount of work you put into these videos. Thorough AND straight to the point, you also mention and link to all/most of your sources and come across as very unbiased and knowledgeable. I can't imagine the amount of time you spend working on this, absolutely amazing and I hope you keep going for a long time. I've been bingewatching lots of your videos for the last 3 nights now and I'm continuously amazed by every last one of them. I open more new tabs with your vids than I can watch in one evening, it's just too damn interesting. You've heard this before but the accent can be a bit thick at times but that's no problem because you explain everything very well. Don't feel bad about it, it's like I have a genius history prof on demand all the time. Writing this feels like some sort of love letter to a guy I don't know but you seriously deserve all the credits, subscriptions and views you get. Never seen a YT channel that was this well sourced and laid out in such a short period of time. Keep up the great work you do! I'm getting a paycheck in a couple days, definitely will donate you some money to make sure you can keep going!

[@TheCloudhopper]

Hey MHV, thanks for the corrected version, appreciate the effort and time you put into these!

[@FantadiRienzo]

One Jäger Division. My gradfather was a part of it, 369th (croatian) infantry regiment. He only survived because he was flown out, since he got wounded. He was one of only 20% that came back. His brother died in Stalingrad. He died in 1995. He probably had PTSD, although that term wasn't known when I met him, and like many of his generation, he never complained. But he always appeared to me like he was drunk (I was a child, so I had no other explanaition), even though he was an anti-alcoholic, very withdrawn, at times almost apathetic. He returned to action, though, and was ultimately captured in the battle of vienna.

[@blindmikeguard]

I've watched a ton of your videos over the last few weeks: Fantastic work! Well researched, organized, and with enough visual spice that they are impossible to turn off. Great job!

[@MEHOLE]

I love your videos, brilliant analysis with graphics to break them down. Absolutely awesome

[@MT-tu8qd]

thank you for taking the time to produce these

[@nickyjamesg]

It's great videos like this that make military history understandable for those who have never looked into it in depth. I'd love to see more videos about the Pacific theatre such as midway, keep up the great work!

[@bigeteum]

Just passing to say that you make really Good quality vídeos!!!!

[@KVW22]

Your videos are a gift to military historians around the world 👍👍👍

[@Othello484]

I greatly appreciate your care and concern for accuracy.

[@Lvkan]

Keep up the good work. I studied history myself and know how much time and work you invest.

[@annatarii6932]

Thank you for presenting the various ratio's of equipment in such a detailed manner, my opinion has always been that any breakout, even through a corridor established by friendly forces such as the 4th Panzer army would not have allowed for a successful extrication of the 6th Army owing to the gross insufficiency of available mechanised transport as well as the strength of Soviet artillery, the withdrawal of the 6th army, which would have had to take place on foot through any corridor would have turned into a mass slaughter by Soviet guns.

[@jimiraj]

Of course it might have been possible if when Manstein was ordered to break in, Von Paulus had like wise broke out at the same time

[@looinrims]

With what was he supposed to break in with? The reserves were deployed to army group center, the corps who had to reorganize the line didnt last long, and their destruction would mean the isolation of army group B (in the Blau plan) in the caucuses, as awful as it sounds the 6th army was worth less than every asset in the Caucuses Not to mention 6th army had insufficient transport, few horses for their Artillery and no where near enough trucks for the wounded, the fuel was apparently desperate considering the Luftwaffe flew in 10x more fuel than they did food in terms of weight

[@jimiraj]

@@looinrims I am not saying it would have been easy. But we all know what the alternative was? Manstein did penetrate about 20 miles. If Von Paulus had used whatever assets he had at his disposal. It might have been possible. But simply counting on Manstein doing it all. Doomed the army.

[@looinrims]

@@jimiraj what assets did Paulus have? 6th army could not move, the airlift implies there was no fuel (fuel was flown in more than 10x the amount of food and Ammo during the airlift), and they had none of their draft horses, the wounded, artillery, anti tank guns, and most supplies would be abandoned

[@jimiraj]

@@looinrims whatever tanks or artillery he had. However much it was or however much he could have spared. Would have been better spent on at least attempting a break out. As opposed to what happened. Even Von Paulus wanted to try. But was told to stay put by Hitler. Which I place some of that blame on Goering. Claiming he could keep Stalingrad supllied by air. Which of course was one boast he couldn't back up. I would have tried and failed to break out. Than have stayed put.

[@looinrims]

@@jimiraj no guy, no, he had no artillery, none of his artillery, his AT guns, none of his wounded, could move, and none of the fourth panzer army were in any way combat capable, they had just been mauled to hell and stuck encircled, they obviously had no fuel to work with considering how much was brought in, there was no breakout possible, they would’ve just been killed sooner, strategically it was best for 6th army to die like they did so they could tie down as many soviets as they could to allow Army Group B to escape the Caucasus Do people forget that Stalingrad wasn’t the point of Fall Blau?

[@vonmanstein6491]

This is an excellent video. You have spent a lot of time here and deserve to be commended! An interesting fact - the 4th Panzer Army could see the buildings of Stalingrad on the horizon at the climax of Operation Winter Storm. One would think that a dedicated breakout attempt by the 6th Army could have linked them up with the forward units of the 4th Panzer Army, if it wasn't for Hitler repeatedly denying Paulus to breakout. The situation is tragically, but beautifully described in the book 'Lost Victories' by Field Marshal Erich Von Manstein for anyone interested in further reading on the battle.

[@orochimaru1708]

Your vidoes are great. Educational and entertaining.thnx

[@udeychowdhury2529]

Very good and thanks for posting

[@KingBobCat]

Great video! Thanks very much!

[@powerhouseonline1747]

Great video. Full of information.

[@raylast3873]

Wow, I did not realize it was that unequal from the getgo. From that perspektive, the German situation was probably hopeless even before Stalingrad. What surprises me is how quickly the Red Army managed to rebuild their strengh after the near-catastrophic losses during the summer of 1941, especially when you add the lost industrial capacity in Western Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. It seems clear they were always going to win after managing to hold Moscow.

[@alexandermiles2890]

Love this show: unbiased, cool, calculating - Clausewitz would have been mesmerized!

[@Swiss6Made]

excellent work

[@williamharis2467]

I would like to give suggestion about upcoming video. 1.Tactics.I would like to know offensive tactics and defensive tactic.(I think it would be best if you make part 1,2 etc just to ensure that people aren't bored 2.Military leaders we(spectators) would love to know each generals/military leaders tactics and how they implemented it on the battlefield Great videos by the way, I looking forward to see these episodes. Sorry for my worse grammar.Thank you for reading this comment.

[@donfrandsen7778]

Great video and stats!!

[@program4215]

As you said, Hitler denied Paulus any attempt at a breakout. He did this because he didn't want to lose the city, which was and had been such a major accomplishment in the German campaign so far, as Leningrad and Moscow had yet to, and never did, fall.

[@oldyoutubevideos1262]

Definitely interesting. Very good job. I would suggest adding some ww2 pictures from both sides to add a bit more flavor to the video. Specially some rare ones we haven't seen before. I'm assuming they are no longer copyrighted.

[@Dalesmanable]

This misses the main point: after months of low rations, the German/Axis troops in Stalingrad were in no fit state to walk across the deep snows even if they had the numbers to punch a hole in the Soviet ring. Rations then got so low that well before the end men just dropped dead - the Germans flew out a specialist to carry out over 100 autopsies to investigate such mysterious deaths - and Stalingrad remains one of the finest investigations into mass starvation.

[@BlackMan614]

They had passed the point of no return in late September! Paulus destroyed the 6th army by the end of October and even if it wasn't surrounded would probably cease to exist by the next spring.

[@fulcrum2951]

The force was battered even before entering Stalingrad

[@sebclot9478]

This is not correct. What you are describing occurred later, after a few weeks of starvation lever rations after the encirclement. They would have been fine in November and possibly early December.

[@mikegillihan4546]

The best chance for the Sixth Army to breakout was in November. Once the Red Army consolidated their positions the chances grew worse daily.

[@RotgerValdes]

I think any order to retreat after November 23rd would become senseless.

[@BlackMan614]

Paulus would have to have called off the offensives in the north by the tractor factory in October as well. He wasted many of the last remaining of his best soldiers with these attacks gaining only a few buildings and a few hundred meters.

[@lookchahshway5182]

Paulus was Hitler's little bitch.

[@frankderryberry1412]

@@lookchahshway5182 he survived of course.

[@lookchahshway5182]

@@frankderryberry1412 Because he became Stalin's little bitch.

[@collintrytsman3353]

keep up the good work

[@trunkschillman]

Man you say thank you for watching at the end but actually I say thanks to you for giving me the opportunity to gain such information. But especially referring to the battle of Stalingrad and the dire situation of the German forces there I will refer to the Fuhrer directive No.21 or so I don't exactly remember.Its the directive to start Operation Barbarossa.It states that the Soviets stationing around 160 armed divisions along the German border.Sometimes I get a feeling that Germany was fighting for her survival against hordes of armies from all over the world..

[@simonshep75]

A joke! Ze Chermun writes a funny one! Excellent analysis, and I especially loved the joke.

[@saikofukuyo973]

I seriously love the way you say "Stalingrad'...Shh-tal-len--grad.. It's like a shot of shhweet sonic schappes.

[@MT-tu8qd]

great channel

[@franscobben9044]

thank you for the explanation

[@vorenus8150]

Having just read Anthony Beevor's Stalingrad, I found this video complementary to what I'd already known. Great work and much effort put into making it. Great quality overall !

[@seanmoran6510]

From memory I believe he thought or quoted from a source that if the panzers divisions had been left outside of the city they might have been able to defeat one of the Soviet encircling arms.

[@edwardreilly4330]

What are the odds of us seeing a "[Stalingrad] Was a Break-in Possible? Some Numbers" in the future? Great work as always.

[@rubenskiii]

Your videos are great and very informative. Love them! But can you change the colors a bit? Maybe use more brighter colors (not too bright!) and more animations (like icons "popping" up) and small and simple animations in them (like an artillery piece aiming up and down). Maybe you can also illustrate army sizes by putting one unit of each size against each other, for example an Sherman versus a tiger. Then you can scale them according to a formula. This will make things very clear for viewers: If you compare "numbers build" of the m4 and the pz6 you will have an enormous Sherman and a tiny tiger.... Imagine doing that with the t34 :X I don't know what programs you use but maybe I can help a bit 😊

[@VRichardsn]

I have read a little article some time ago mentioning that the lack of horses was a critical aspect that would seriously affect any breakout attempt. The author argued that with the coming of the winter, the VI. Armee was supposed to go into winter quarters. Now, in the area near Stalingrad, pastures were not very abundant, and thus many thousands of horses were relocated to rear areas, were they would be properly cared for. Now, without most of its horses, and with a severe lack of motorised/mechanised transport (and fuel for said transports) thousands of wounded would have to be left, and the soldiers would have to make do mostly with the ammunition they could carry themselves, good enough only for one firefight. Now, Mantein´s relief forces managed to reach a point 50 km near the encircled. So that was the distance to cover, with few horses and transports.

[@deadwolf2978]

it would be very intresting to see your analysis of double encirclment around Korsun-Shevkchenko operation. It was one of the rare situations when germany retained intiative despite being outnumbered and encircled. thank you for your videos.

[@JudeLawKingKlaus]

my grandpa's division had to break through several times, even though not directly located at stalingrad, but somewhere in russia. They got him after the 7th attempt to break-through failed.

[@MJKarkoska]

I think the 6th army could have broken out, but only very early on, and only with a coordinated effort by surrounding and reserve units. Even then, it may have failed, but did have a chance of succeeding, albeit small. I am referring to a relatively orderly withdrawal that maintains a hefty percentage of combat power. A breakout could have been effected slightly later on, but combat power would have been reduced severely since most of the equipment would have to be destroyed and left behind.

[@jonhwalsh4900]

Must of been a living hell. For both sides.

[@mikhailiagacesa3406]

It was...

[@djohanson99]

very thorough. i was there: i drove a tank held a general's rank while the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies STANK

[@Prometosermejor]

Thanks for the early response.

[@mangalores-x_x]

To me the stark contrast in the war with Russia is between ww1 and ww2. In ww1 overall the German army seemed more concerned at keeping its lines short and destroy the Russian army away from its supply. It was a longer and possibly as dangerous game but in essence it denied the Russians the chance of the big encirclement counter offensives it used once the Wehrmacht had run beyond its supply lines both before Moscow, Stalingrad and lastly Kursk. In the end the Nazis proved to be dare devils and gamblers compared to the old Prussian generals even though the doctrine of seeking a deceisive battle of annihilation is essentially the Prussian way of war (mainly because Prussia was a small country in flat plains with no significant geographical features to stop anything).

[@komradetuniska2003]

May I suggest doing a video on the Tobruk siege (1941) or the Battle of Kasserine in 1943. As they were the first big battles fourth between the Germans/Commonwealth and the Germans/Americans. BTW great job on updating the video, you are truly a professional you tuber ;)

[@germanhetzer]

well maybe late to comment on this but i think some units could have broken out just like the Cherkassy pocket in 1944 where a small amount of men succeeded in breaking out of the encirclement.

[@meathead919]

In order to break out, 6th Army would have been forced to leave behind/destroy any non self-propelled heavy equipment. It would largely have been a breakout by foot with a couple of panzers in front and a couple in the rear. It is therefore useless to compare the number of artillery or PAK pieces as 6th Army had no way of taking them with them in order to create a corridor towards Hoth's relief attempt.

[@rolands.6439]

Es ist schon so das mit Patreon und KZbin sich alles geändert hat ... Ähnliches ist wohl nur mit der Entwicklung des Kindle und der Ebooks zu verzeichnen.... Einfach fantastisch wie viel einfacher und besser alles geworden ist --- für die die sich trauen! Creative for Win!

[@broncosgjn]

Thank you sir

[@smithboys4645]

good videos dude.....

[@pohl54]

Excellent.

[@Waterflux]

Wow ... nice and compact presentation! :) In addition to very unfavorable correlation of forces, the German 6th Army was encircled during *winter*. If the soldiers of the 6th Army were to break out, they would have had to abandoned whatever shelter they already had and become exposed to blizzards over the steppe. To make things more dismal, they were already severely depleted during the Battle of Stalingrad. The street fighting was not the only cause; the Soviets, between August and October, repetitively launched suicidal attacks upon the northern flank of the 6th Army which prevented the 6th Army from sweeping into Stalingrad. (Much of these can be found from books authored by David M. Glantz, an American historian who has been studying Soviet primary sources for decades.)

[@sebclot9478]

This was Fall, not winter. One reason an immediate breakout was the only viable option. The weather was only going to get worse. MUCH worse.

[@podemosurss8316]

3:52 They would be a mixture of 45mm and 57mm anti-tank guns (53K and ZiS-2 models). 3:59 The 76mm guns were field guns capable of firing high explosive shells against infantry as well as anti-tank shells.

[@HarryBalzak]

6:00 Wow. The Germans were fucked. I'm surprised they were able to fight so well being that outnumbered and outgunned.

[@RussianThunderrr]

107mm M-60 L-43 was a divisional artillery gun, 122mm A-19 was a Corp artillery Canon L-46.3, and 152mm was Howitzer-Gun L-27.

[@juliussigurorsson3509]

I think Hitler sacrificed 6th army in Stalingrad on purpose, that was warn army out and not much of military force any more. To safe Army group A from Caucasus, Operation Edelweiß. By holding up large forces around Stalingrad, they managed to get much more valuable forces out of Caucasus.

[@old_guard2431]

Breakout. . . A brilliant general/field marshal could probably have done it, with support from other German forces outside the Stalingrad pocket. Was von Paulus a leader of such brilliance? We will never know, because he was being micro-managed by a corporal. Who was, by all accounts, a pretty good corporal (in WWI) but. . . .

[@MichaelFay63]

Hitler was the errand boy.for the officers,he refused promotion to save his life! His rank was like a private first class in the US army. Lance Corporal?

[@Riceball01]

It wasn't just Paulus, Manstein could have ordered to Paulus to break out but he never did; like Paulus, he didn't have the courage and/or initiative to take matters into their own hands and breakout on their own. Both generals kept on sending work back to Germany begging Hitler for permission to conduct the break out and neither one wanted to be the one who disobeyed Hitler.

[@MichaelFay63]

Far far too late. Paulus went on to teach manoeuveres at the"Frunz" School for Staff Officers. He didn't like Hitler and surrendered since he didn't take orders from Corporals. Most of the Officers survived,the other ranks died of diptherea and typhus since they were starving. Hitler was against innoculation believing if you died you weren't Germanic enough therefor unfit! Paulus died in bed in the old GDR!

[@MichaelFay63]

Hitler in WW1 remained a Corporal refusing promotions offered since it meant death he was errand boy for the officers. Hitler had no intention of relieving Paulus and Paulus knew. Goebbels had all the German Newspapers edged in Black with the defeat. The Idea being that fear would galvanise the population to continue a lost war! Wagnerian Gotterdamerung, The Bulk of casualties were in the final year of war! Mussolini had advised Hitler to seek terms!

[@pohl54]

No

[@julenibarlucea4083]

excellent

[@ftffighter]

This is a really sad video when you think about it...so much hope destroyed by those encircled who just wanted to see their families again. It would have been physical and mental torture. Also, I am going through your videos but have you done one on the Siege of Budapest in 1945? There is some pretty amazing documentation on it if you need some sources and how they could hear the relief force just outside of town.

[@Native_love]

AWESOME!

[@arisps17]

We actually have this answer from later in the war. Battle Korsun. The Germans were somewhat successfully supplied by air which didn t happen in Stalingrad but the force in the pocket was much smaller than Paulus army and the terrain did not help an escape as much as in S.( there was a river cutting off in favor of the soviets). About 1/3 of the encircled forces did manage to breakout in an epic struggle for survival. Given all the similarities, the advantages and disadvantages in Stalingrad we can assume that some Germans would have escaped but perhaps less in a percentage than Korsun.

[@davidprice5678]

A breakout, even if futile, is surely a better alternative than freezing to death or being sent to a gulag.

[@shinobi2309]

I know your channel is more intentioned to compare numbers and statistic, but I will also like to see more military tactics and see how division were moved in the battlefield, maybe yousing some maps.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

more of that will be coming. My channel is more about understanding the various basics of military stuff, like the organization videos etc. because the tactics etc. make more sense with those. But there will be video out soon that will explain my channel "doctrine".

[@AthosRac]

About maps, the best ones came from Soviet Storm. Search here...

[@noahzuniga]

are you gonna do videos on later battles on the eastern front: kursk, bagration etc

[@ZacksYT]

nice one

[@weasalpj]

According to Beevor the majority of German horses (transport) were moved away from Stalingrad prior to the encirclement so it woulda been harder to actually deploy guns, heavy weapons and ammo stocks for a breakout effort. Paulus was a student of the Napoleonic campaign against Russia (his hobby was making maps of the campaign) he would have known better than most how his army could be dismembered in the open during a retreat from his fortified positions.

[@jfbuno6013]

Cool channel friend! Do you happen to have WWII US Paratrooper Vids?

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

not yet, but I planned one, still need to get a proper T&OE on the 101st, I have a special idea for that video.

[@jfbuno6013]

+Military History Visualized I'll wait for it! :D God Bless you on your work.

[@andrewdolokhov5408]

Interesting, but I would like to add something that I read in Anthony Beevor's "The Second World War". He claimed that due to supply problems early in the fighting on the Volga, Hitler ordered the elimination of most of the horse transport of the Sixth Army. This was to avoid having to feed all those big, hungry beasts. This made trying to transport the German artillery ALL AT ONCE to be impossible after the encirclement. Trying to break out with only infantry weapons and the few remaining German tanks (after the initial push) would have been next to suicide.

[@waltertaljaard1488]

The Germans would have been routed in the frozen steppes and a break through would have been the same disaster as Napoleons retreat from Moscow. Exhausted, ill equipped, badly fed and badly clothed troops chased by tank divisions, massive air superiority and partisans who had to plough through 300 mls of deep snow in polar conditions in a wide open field without any cover. The Russians counted on this possibility and were prepared for this. The outcome would have been equally disastrous.

[@Dasmaster1]

Being that depleted they should not even be a frontline force. While the artillery seams to be fairly intact and could probably be brought back entirely with some rest, reinforcements and maintenance the rest of the units should be broke up and added as reserves in other units or merge them into new ones along with new recruits and much needed equipment.

[@jacksonrandyrhoads6089]

I wonder how Soviets managed to gather such huge forces after 1941. And at the same time there was Rzhev meatgrinder

[@podemosurss8316]

5:13 That's due to the use of different calibers. For the Germans, the light AT gun was the 37mm, for the Soviets it was the 45mm (as in the 53k); the medium AT gun was 50mm for the Germans and 57mm for the Soviets (as in the ZiS-2). For the heavy AT gun both used roughtly the same caliber: 75mm for the Germans, 76mm for the Soviets (although at first the Soviets didn't use dedicated AT guns of this caliber, but the so called "multi-purpose gun" which could be loaded both with AT rounds or HE rounds to be fired at enemy forts and troops agrupations.

[@novat9731]

As you put it in your video concerning the Russian winter stopping the German army, or not. The German army was already slowing down after the initial push, mainly due to combat hardened veterans of the polish and French fronts, being replaced by fresh units with very little, or more often, no combat experience at all. So even if a hypothetical breakthrough could not be done in an orderly fashion. Where the majority of the equipment and men (healthy and wounded) could be brought out. The Heer was already drafting fresh recruits for the eastern front.

[@petras8385]

Can you do the battle of helms deep

[@hentehoo27]

Could you do a video about the *Winter War*, please? That would be an interesting topic

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

yes, it is probably the most requested topic. I already started once, but wasn't happy with the sources, thus stopped.

[@williamharis2467]

+Military History Visualized but in the same time you could teach us about guerrilla warfare.

[@hentehoo27]

What kind of sources did you use then? I think I may find something e.g. about the battles of Kuhmo and Suomussalmi

[@hentehoo27]

if you'll restart making a video about this topic, let me know. I'd like to help you with sources (there are lots of books about the winter war etc. published, and they are easily found in Finnish libraries)

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thx, the problem is, I need them in front of me. Coordination etc. takes a lot of time, something I don't have. I probably will loan two books from the Austrian national library at some point, but that process alone will take up 2-4 hours getting to the local library and back etc.

[@gunghoWT]

Could you make a video on Turkish War of Independence and Battle of Gallipoli? I crave for these.

[@LittleMacscorner]

Great Analysis, but I am not sure it encompasses the whole of the question: What if the 6th Army had attempted an immediate breakout the same Manstein pushed East----especially if Operation Winter Storm was more hastily planned and executed? I'm not sure....but would love to hear your analysis of that, as I believe the real questions is: Why Manstein recommended To Htiler fthat the 6th Army not to break out and attempt to re-link with Manstein?

[@sebclot9478]

Yes, the combined attack was an option. Luftwaffe tactical support Of the breakout and the redeployment of Army Group A we’re also options. This Situation wasn’t quite as bad as this video suggests, though he isn’t wrong about it being difficult. There just wasn’t a viable alternative.

[@shitoryu8]

I hope we never have to witness such a conflict again. The numbers alone give me nightmares. Life was hell for all sides.

[@jhb9526]

Great job, just one quibble: heavy artillery should be 150mm and greater not 155mm since German army used the 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 and the Soviets a 152 mm gun.

[@andraslibal]

In October when the Germans knew all well that victory was not in their reach, a covered withdrawal was still possible to the line of the Don. Alternatively, accepting a large loss of territory in the North around Leningrad, Rhzev and Bryansk could have stabilized the Southern Front maybe also in November immediately after the encirclement. The Germans were fighting three battles (four, if you count the southern push into the Caucasus) at the same time when they only had power to fight one.

[@bingobongo9521]

Thanks, this is interesting. Never had such an understanding on how bad the odds really were. One thing I already knew, was that Hitler was really bad at military strategies. How should he‘ve learnt it? He never saw a military academy from the inside. His only lucky guess was the importance of speed and the use of tanks as tactical weapons, with which he made his first victories. But when this didn‘t work, he always failed…luckily!

[@taumil3239]

Stats is one thing. If you take these numbers then break out is certainly possible, germans were comfortably fighting against much larger numbers anyway. But the troops were so exhausted and sick, that quick movement towards safe lines was practically impossible, and they had no fuel, no ammo. Even when the relief army came, and they were pretty close (troops in stalingrad could hear the fighting, it was so close), even in that situation barely any of them were in any condition to help with fighting and go for break out (a lot of the troops were so sure that breakout is incoming, that they burned some of their belongings to reduce weight and heat up before fighting...which never came, so they became even more miserable). The situation itself didnt demand for a breakthrough anyway, at least not until the very last moment, only when fresh soviet tank armies made the surprise counter attack did the situation become bad, and even THEN, stalingrad held away about a million soviet soldiers and lots of tanks, which allowed for other german forces to retreat, so it might be that instead of just remains of 6th army, soviets might have surrounded even more retreating german forces. Either way, it was a nightmare scenario for germans. When stalingrad was being bombed at first, the black smoke clouds formed a giant cross, some german soldier wrote that they thought it symbolized the grave of the soviet army, and later realized it was the grave of the german 6th army.

[@wormwood6376]

Great videos. Do you teach Military History?

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

on this Channel yes ;)

[@wormwood6376]

Youre not a professor or anything?

[@epszteinbenoit8525]

A remarkable historian !

[@mikebrown614]

It is, of course, academic, but the simple element of a thrust in a single direction, toward supporting forces is a force-multiplier of its own. Had the 6th Army staff organized the thrust, it would have provided the most effective forces-well supplied- at the Schwerpunkt, while adequately supplied and supported forces would have acted as rearguard, conducting a phased-collapse of the perimeter into the escape corridor. The forces facing the Volga would fall back first, followed by the forces facing the north and south flanks of the perimeter. This would form a retrograde phalanx, with the more capable forces reacting to local aggression by Soviet forces as the less-effective units streamed into the evacuation corridor. The bulk of the Soviet forces would have to literally race to the west over a totally-inadequate road network in winter in an attempt to get ahead of the collapsing ring, since the roads into and through the ruined city would be a deathtrap of mines and obstacles. Indeed, travel into and through Stalingrad would be (and was, historically) difficult for months to follow. All artillery batteries would be employed to depletion, then the guns spiked and left in-situ. In this circumstance, materiel is secondary to personnel, something the German leadership failed to grasp, historically, until late in the war. As the 6th Army began its westward thrust, Army Group South would have reacted- even against orders- to extend their line to meet the breakout. I have no doubt that von Rundstedt would have exerted the full force of the Army Group in relieving the 6th Army and, knowing his thinking, would have used the opportunity to riposte earlier Soviet moves against his lines. It really is an interesting "what if"................

[@jeanhaliburtonwills]

Indeed but the problem is these intricate maneuvers are probably beyond a frozen, starving exhausted army

[@RobbyHouseIV]

Any attempt to score the possibility of the Paulus's 6th Army breaking out of Stalingrad should be done with Hoth's relieving force factored in. This would necessitate waiting a few weeks after encirclement (about how long it took to concentrate enough armour out of the chaos) but in my opinion the coordinating efforts involved with such a plan would offere the best prospects for success regarding any Breakout.

[@carlsfetcu4800]

Robby House Hoth did try and failed... costed about 50k Romanian soldiers and don't know the number of Germans, Hungarians... don't know if there's any Italian units in attempt.

[@RobbyHouseIV]

Right...I was just saying that as far as analyzing any breakout plan/or relieving assault to link up with the 6th Army should not only look at the composition/force structure of the 6th Army and it's capability and combat effective abilities but also that of Hoth's relief force. When Hoth launched his assault to link up with Paulus's 6th Army that was all Hoth. If we are to understand the surviving record, 6th Army was prohibited from making any westerly advances or assaults in the direction of Hoth's force to help out which of course was utter madness.

[@carlsfetcu4800]

Robby House I can tell you to watch a movie.... Stalingrad from "90's you can still find it on KZbin for free... don't think that everyone was hopping to get out alive from Stalingrad just waiting to be rescued. Russian megaphones where already saying "Stalingrad common graveyard... on each minute a German soldier dies."

[@patrickseiler6626]

Mein opa was in the 6th army Artillery Stalingrad. According to my father.

[@patrickseiler6626]

May I express my gratitude for all your amazing videos Herr Bernard, professionaly analyzed truly.

[@Swiftglitcher28]

Although I agree by the hard numbers that a break out was unlikely. I do encourage you to read Erich von Manstein's book "Lost Victories" as the leader of Don Army Group he provides an insightful account on the possible break out scenarios for the 6th Army. Two major opportunities were missed by Paulus and Hitler. The first opportunity was a break out at the initial encirclement. At this point Soviet divisions were not properly entrenched along Stalingrads Western and Southern front. Manstein believes a break out that early was the best chance. But the second best chance came with a link up with Fourth Panzer Army. It had reached within 30km of Stalingrad and kept encountering new reserves of soviet Troops which blocked its further advance. Manstein claims that if Paulus had focused his resources on a link up and did a mobile retreating defense in Stalingrad this would have let up the pressure of Reserves blocking 4th Panzer Army and thus allowed the Germans to link up. The numbers look bleak, but operationally it was completely in the realm of possibility that 6th Army could have been saved.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

interestingly Manstein actually was against an outbreak during the war. Don't forget that nearly all German generals wrote their books while they were either serving time or being trialed at Nürnberg. Also the blame all errors on Hitler and none on themselves...

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

I will go more into that in one of the other outbreak videos, the main problem was the lack of fuel and ammo. After all even before the encirclement, the Luftwaffe had to fly in supplies... Manstein gave orders for what supplies were most urgent.

[@simonking7446]

I think the real limiting factor here wouldve been fuel. I think a fairly succesfull breakout wouldve been possible if it had been timed to coincide with the break in attempt by hitler when it had reached its fullest extent. They could see flares fired from the two panzer divisions on the outskirts of stalingrad which meant it was only about 30-40 miles distance. The equipment they had wouldve been enough to cover a corridor for a couple of days i reckon, before the soviets were able to concentrate their armour, but how long and actively they couldve defended it wouldve been down to fuel, and to a lesser extent ammo. If Paulus had been a better commander i reckon a good half the men wouldve gotten out, if not the equipment, but again, it depends on fuel.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

I agree, fuel, ammo and food were a severe issue. I intentionally didn't talk about the logistical situation yet, because I want to do several videos on the topic and each with a specific scope (troops, logistics, relief, air forces(?)), thus "not a final verdict".

[@bigchris2011]

Great vid. 1st one.

[@captainzenbi]

How far back do you cover? Would like to know more about the feudal Japanese invasion of Korea.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

depends on the sources, generally I will mostly stick to European History, because in that case I at least know some of the languages. Also my interest in Asia is limited, although I will definitely cover Sun Tzu and of course the Japanese in World War 2. Furthermore, my interest can change quite rapidly.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

the problem with extra credits is that they are quite loose when it comes to "facts". There are many examples, also the non-history related ones, like this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWe7n39sl7CkipI