Battleplan 13. Urban Warfare (8 of 20)

Battleplan

The initial assault must be fast and unexpected, to prevent the defenders from preparing and building up their forces.
At Stalingrad, surprise is less important than the speed of the initial attack.
When Soviet resistance to the German advance collapses that summer, Stalin expects an attack on the city.
For General von Paulus, therefore, the vital element is speed of attack, before Stalingrad's defences can be strengthened.
On August 23rd, he launches his attack.
Squadrons of German bombers and dive bombers begin their devastation.
Tanks race for the city.
At night, the sky glows.

When morning comes, 40,000 inhabitants of Stalingrad are dead - many of them women and children trying to flee on ferries across the Volga.
Easy prey to the screaming Stukas.
Smoke obscures the sun.
In the north, German tanks reach the northern suburb of Rynok, on the cliffs above the Volga.
Von Paulus seems on course for victory.
But thanks to Hitler, his attack has already been weakened, and his battleplan for urban warfare is in danger.
August, 1942.
German General Friedrich Von Paulus launches his attack against the Soviet city of Stalingrad.
But his plans are already in danger.
A month earlier, confident that Stalingrad will fall easily, Hitler transfers Fourth Panzer Army to the south.
Two weeks later, he changes his mind, but the assault force for Stalingrad is fatally weakened.
The tank units attacking the south of the city are under-strength and their crews exhausted.
Now they are hemmed in by ravines that criss-cross the area.
Only on the last day of August do they break through the outer Soviet defences and advance toward the heart of the city.