Battleplan 13. Urban Warfare (17 of 20)

Battleplan

Despite the bravery of his pilots and crews, it's a vain offer.
Only on one or two days does the German army ever receive more than five tonnes.
As a result of that, there is a massive deficit, and one can only wonder where the Germans found the wherewithal to continue their fight.
Hitler refuses to accept that von Paulus and his men face disaster.
He orders Field Marshall Erich von Manstein to batter the Soviets to a standstill so that von Paulus can hold till spring and mount a counter-offensive.
But in reality, all von Manstein can do is to provide von Paulus and his besieged forces with a last chance to save themselves.

German panzers seek to carve a corridor through the Soviet lines to give von Paulus's men the way to break out.
They get to just 30 miles of the besieged men before they are halted, but this still gives von Paulus a chance.
His losses will be massive, and he needs authorisation from Hitler.
Von Manstein requests Hitler's permission to authorise the break-out, but Hitler does not even deign to reply.
Von Paulus and his men are forced to fight on, but their situation is becoming increasingly desperate.
On Christmas Day alone, 1,280 German soldiers die of frostbite, typhus and starvation.
To survive, they eat their horses, their dogs, even the frozen corpses of their dead comrades.
Von Paulus finally surrenders on January 31st.
In the five months of the Stalingrad campaign, over 750,000 Germans and their allies have given their lives.
Soviets lose the same number, including many civilians.
In the end, 108,000 Germans are taken prisoner and are led off to an uncertain fate.
Only 5,000 of them would ever see Germany again.
In Vietnam, after a week's fighting, General Giap's troops withdraw or are forced out of most of the cities and towns they have occupied.
In Hue, the fighting lasts a month.