According to Beevor: [Soviet commanders] were increasingly convinced that Paulus was virtually a prisoner in his own headquarters, guarded by his chief of staff [Schmidt]. Guderian described him as "brilliantly clever, conscientious, hard working, original and talented" but had severe doubts about his decisiveness, toughness and lack of command experience. Friedrich Paulus - Wikipedia Captured German generals before meeting with commander of the 64th Soviet Army general N. Shumilov. [4] The British historian and author Antony Beevor offers the following description of Schmidt: [He was] a slim, sharp-featured and sharp-tongued staff officer from a Hamburg mercantile family. It now seemed more impossible than ever to act against an order of the High Command or Army Group.[17]. Rudolf Schmidt - Wikipedia This was a new formation under the direction of Oswald Lutz that directed the training and development of the Panzerwaffe, or tank forces of the German army. German soldiers fighting at Stalingrad, December 1942. Life. [23], From 1953 to 1956, Paulus lived in Dresden, East Germany, where he worked as the civilian chief of the East German Military History Research Institute. The battle of Stalingrad, fought between Stalin's Red Army and Hitler's forces from 23 August 1942 to 2 February 1943, is considered one of the major confrontations of World War II. [29] The signal sent from Sixth Army HQ on the evening of 30 January, that stated that soldiers were "listening to the national anthem for the last time with arms raised in the German salute", was, according to Beevor, much more likely to have been written by Schmidt than by Paulus. Calender - November1942 during the battle for Stalingrad November 1942 . Georgy Lipskerov//DF/russiainphoto.ru, 3 reasons why the Red Army won the Battle of Stalingrad, How the Germans tried to rescue their troops at Stalingrad (PHOTOS), What did Stalingrad look like before World War II? Battle of Stalingrad, (July 17, 1942-February 2, 1943), successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd), Russia, U.S.S.R., during World War II. Schmidt, confident of his own abilities, put many backs up within Sixth Army headquarters, although he also had his supporters. Mai 1942 Chef des Generalstabes der von Friedrich Paulus befehligten 6. During the Nuremberg Trials, Paulus was asked about the Stalingrad prisoners by a journalist. The German troops closest positions to the encircled 6th Army were in the area of the Chir River (just 40 km away). He served in various staff positions for over a decade (192133). Panzerkorps war diary and its annexes. The unit was renamed the Sixth Army and engaged in the spring offensives of 1940 through the Netherlands and Belgium. [11] Schmidt maintained that the army, which would adopt a "hedgehog" defence, must be resupplied, but that the situation was not yet so desperate as there were plenty of horses left that could serve as food. Schmidt and Paulus set up their HQ in the Kessel underneath the Univermag department store on the city's Red Square. Mrz 1942 Chef des Stabes des V. Armeekorps der Wehrmacht. Karl Uhrmacher (missing in Stalingrad since end The general feared that, deprived of their armored strike force, the slow-moving bulk of his troops would simply be ground into dust by the Red Army in the freezing steppe. the evening of 13 January 1943. Still, they believed that they could avoid disaster. Pages in category "German commanders at the Battle of Stalingrad" The following 25 pages are in this category, out of 25 total. In this it would constantly face the danger that its southwesterly push could stall or the enemy could overwhelm its rear guard or flank defenses. November 1987 ebenda) war ein deutscher Generalleutnant. That would be a Napoleonic ending." Hitler, leery of the reasons for Paulus' transfer to Nizhne-Chirskaya, orders him to move his HQ again. Nikolay Dyatlenko - Wikipedia General Schmidt surrendered the headquarters. Battle Of Stalingrad: 36 Photos From WW2's Deadliest Clash Battle of Stalingrad | History, Summary, Location, Deaths, & Facts jaundice. It appears the Storks only had the range to fly one way. [5] Ignoring Hitler's 'Fhrer instruction' of 30 June 1942 that Axis formations should not liaise with their neighbours, Schmidt authorised an officer from Sixth Army, Lieutenant Gerhard Stck, to be issued with a radio and join up with Romanian forces to the north-west of Stalingrad to help with intelligence gathering. Paulus and I came separately to the same conclusion. Following his release, Schmidt remained bitterly hostile to those German officers who had co-operated with the Soviets in the National Committee for a Free Germany. In the meantime, he kept his entire army in fixed defensive positions. Following the German surrender after the Battle of Stalingrad, he became a member of the National Committee for a Free Germany. However, the lack of food and ammunition, equipment losses and the deteriorating physical condition of the German troops gradually wore down the German defense. He remained there until 1955, when a visit to Moscow by West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer led to his release, together with the remaining high-ranking German prisoners.[35]. Oktober 1895 in Hamburg; 5. As a former military man and commander of a large sector, taking into account the current situation and based on my experiences, I have come to the conclusion that we must definitely take the path that, in any form, leads to the development and consolidation of relations between East and West. Schmidt joined the army as a one-year volunteer on 10 August 1914, attaining the rank of Leutnant on 8 May 1915. German hopes for the rescue of the encircled grouping were finally dashed by the Soviet Operation Little Saturn that started on December 16. have Handlungsfreiheit (freedom of action). [4] The British historian and author Antony Beevor offers the following description of Schmidt: This decision to stand firm in a "hedgehog" defence sealed Sixth Army's fate. Telling Hitler that collapse was "inevitable," Paulus stressed that his men were without ammunition or food, and he was no longer able to command them. Oktober 1895 in Hamburg; 5. After all the formalities had been settled and the Field Marshal had received guarantees of his personal safety, he was led out of the basement, along with his staff officers. [19] Beevor states that it is unclear what happened at the meeting, except that Paulus, who still believed in the chain of command, refused to break out without a clear order to do so from a superior, something that the politically deft Manstein refused to give.[19][20]. He handed the colonel general a piece of paper and said: 'Congratulations. Then they left the room. [32] When their baggage was searched for sharp metal objects, Schmidt, referring to Paulus, snapped at the Soviet officers: "A German Field Marshal does not commit suicide with a pair of scissors. The Soviet Operation Koltso (Ring) to defeat the enemy grouping encircled in the city was approaching its finale. They knocked out and set on fire the enemys tanks and armored vehicles, they brought down the enemy infantry. A shameful capitulation, the terrible tragedy of the soldiers. When I say that we Germans must focus above all on the unity and independence of Germany, on the affirmation of the vital national rights of our nation, I realize that in this way we are best serving the cause of peace, of international dtente and reconciliation between peoples. Paulus and I came separately to the same conclusion. Gaunt, pale and emaciated, the commander of the Wehrmachts 6th Army looked like a hunted animal to the Soviet military commanders. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Gerhard Hindenlang - Facing Stalingrad Januar 1943 erhielt er das Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes. The frontline was holding on with the last of its strength, banking on Hitler imminently, in the run-up to Christmas, fulfilling his promise of relief. When presented with the commander of 51st Corps General Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach's 25 November memorandum to Paulus, detailing plans for a breakout, Schmidt said: "We don't have to break the head of the Fhrer for him, and neither does General von Seydlitz have to break the head of [General Paulus]. Paulus remained absolutely firm in obeying the orders he had been given. The battle ended in disaster for the Wehrmacht when Soviet forces encircled the Germans within the city, leading to the ultimate death or capture of most of 265,000 6th Army personnel, their Axis allies and collaborators. Ignoring the German officers halfhearted request to hand over their weapons, the Soviet negotiators started going down to the basement where Friedrich Paulus had his HQ. The northern pocket was tactically commanded by General Strekker while the southern pocket was commanded by General Roske. His final plan was to have two Stork aircraft towed by larger aircraft to Stalingrad, land and pick him up, then fly out of the pocket back to German lines. 26, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Schmidt_(Offizier)&oldid=219508932. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! Dr. Karl Uhrmacher and the 6. List of officers and commanders in the Battle of Stalingrad He was, in any case, a defender of a united and sovereign Germany. The events of that day were recorded by Colonel Wilhelm Adam, one of Paulus' aides and an adjutant in the XXIII Army Corps, in his personal diary: January 31, 1943 7.00 a.m. However, after the attempted assassination of Hitler on 20 July 1944, he became a vocal critic of the Nazi regime while in Soviet captivity, joining the Soviet-sponsored National Committee for a Free Germany appealing to Germans to surrender. Wilhelm Adam - Wikipedia The time has come for the old enmity that we have inherited and the many disputes to be buried once and for all. Hitler expected Paulus to commit suicide,[3] repeating to his staff that there was no precedent of a German field marshal ever being captured alive. Its appalling pronounced Paulus somberly. Dyatlenko had no doubt that Schmidt was "the eyes and hand of the Nazi Party" in the Sixth Army, because captured officers reported that "Schmidt was commanding the Army and even Paulus himself."[21]. He Field Marshal Paulus in Captivity: NKVD Files - All World Wars They were all armed, some with weapons in their hands, some with them over their shoulders. 1955 wurde er aus der Gefangenschaft entlassen. He later acted as a witness for the prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials. The area around the department store had by then come under the full control of Soviet infantry and Wehrmacht soldiers were clearing sectors that had been mined. Schmidt continued: 'At the same time I have to inform you that the Russians are at the door.' [35] Together with most German officers, Schmidt was moved to Camp 48 at Voikovo, although he was kept away from Paulus by the NKVD, apparently because he was considered to be a bad influence on him. The Red Army fighters looked fresh and wore warm winter uniforms. Magdeburgisches) Nr. Germany's defeat in the battle marked a turning . German officers who flew out of the Stalingrad Click here to find out more. Schmidt, confident of his own abilities, put many backs up within Sixth Army headquarters, although he also had his supporters. This decision to stand firm in a "hedgehog" defence sealed Sixth Army's fate. His troops fought Soviet forces defending Stalingrad for over three months in increasingly brutal urban warfare. report to Hitlers headquarters to personally After a leave of absence due to illness, he joined the Alpenkorps as a staff officer, serving in France, Romania and Serbia. [19], Shortly before surrendering, Paulus sent his wedding ring back to his wife on the last plane departing his position. [16] However, on 24 November Sixth Army received a further Fhrer order relayed from Army Group B, ordering them to stand firm. This is on page 194. The negotiators were met by the commander of the Wehrmachts 71st Infantry Division, Maj-Gen Friedrich Roske, and the 6th Armys chief of staff, Gen. Arthur Schmidt. He was allowed to move to the German Democratic Republic in 1953, two years before the repatriation of the remaining German POWs. That danger is real. Doctor Generalstabarzt Dr. Otto Renoldi adviced explain to Hitler the situation of the encircled [37] He died in Karlsruhe on 5 November 1987. Paulus did not request to evacuate the city when the counter-offensive began. Climbing out of the cellar, I stood dumbfounded. Stalingrad archive of Geert Rottiers, Private List of important officers and commanders of the German Wehrmacht, the Russian Red Army, Romanian Army, Italian army and Hungarian Army in the Battle of Stalingrad . 'One can't help feeling it's an invitation to suicide. [16] However, on 24 November Sixth Army received a further Fhrer order relayed from Army Group B, ordering them to stand firm. that it was the best to fly him out of the [27], Thyssen comments that both Paulus and Schmidt seemed to have forgotten Fiebig's statements on 21 and 22 November that the Luftwaffe would not be able to supply Sixth Army in the Kessel.[28]. Other historians, such as Mitcham, agree: As the situation in Stalingrad deteriorated, Paulus's self-confidence declined, and he allowed himself (and 6th Army) to be more and more guided by his chief of staff, until Arthur Schmidt was virtually conducting the battle for the German side. How German prisoners of war lived and died in the USSR Category : German commanders at the Battle of Stalingrad Am 6. In der Endphase der Schlacht bernahm er von Paulus weitgehend die Fhrung der Armee. The Field Marshal was lying on an iron bed without a uniform, in just his shirt, recalled Ilchenko. [10] Later that day, Schmidt and Paulus held a conference attended by General Hermann Hoth and Major-General Pickert,[10] during which Schmidt "did much of the talking". Stalingrad archives of Jason Mark, Manfred Kehrig - Finally, he supported former German Chancellor Heinrich Brning's appeal for a betterment of relations between West Germany and the Eastern Bloc, agreed with Brning's criticism of West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's overtly pro-American policy, and expressed his hope for a German reunification: Chancellor Brning took a clear stand against Chancellor Adenauer's rigid orientation to the West, and practically against the EDC and the Bonn conventions. They had huddled here to hide from the mortar fire, recalled the senior lieutenant. Museum Memory. Stalingrad Department Store - Univermag On December 12, as part of Operation Winter Storm, the German Army Group Hoth (named after its commander, Colonel-General Hermann Hoth) launched a surprise attack and crushed the Red Armys outnumbered 302nd Rifle Division, subsequently embarking on a rapid advance in the direction of Stalingrad. Hitler expected the success to be repeated here and ordered Paulus to hold on in Stalingrad, while getting essential food, weapons and ammunition supplied by air. [12] All the while, Paulus remained silent; the only time he spoke during the conference "was to agree with his chief of staff".[13]. He was told that "The Luftwaffe doesn't have enough aircraft. Malinin looked 35, square-faced with hair in a short pompadour which stuck up like a schoolboy's. Arthur Schmidt (25 October 1895 5 November 1987) was an officer in the German military from 1914 to 1943. Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, General Arthur Schmidt and Wilhelm Adam, adjutant to the 6th Army commander. Battle of Stalingrad - Definition, Dates & Significance - History It would have had to go out to meet the 4th Panzer Army, while fighting on all four sides as if forming a square, Erich von Manstein wrote in his memoirs, Lost Victories. Everyone knows that our nation used to have great military experts, known all over the world, such as Clausewitz, Moltke the Elder, Schlieffen. The German He was not able to walk anymore and was Stalin himself was pessimistic. World War II [31] Schmidt, together with Paulus and Colonel Adam, were taken to Don Front HQ at Zavarykino, where they were interrogated. The phrase Manstein is coming! was still on everyones lips. Er wurde am 15. "[31] Schmidt, together with Paulus and Colonel Adam, were taken to Don Front HQ at Zavarykino, where they were interrogated. Stalingrad cover The novel begins with a meeting between fascist dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini on April 29, 1942, in which they discuss the progress of the war. Hitler awarded the Knight's Cross to Schmidt on 6 January 1943 on the same day that Paulus signalled to General Kurt Zeitzler: "Army starving and frozen, have no ammunition and cannot move tanks any more" [25] and made him Generalleutnant on 17 January. This website uses cookies. Schmidt suffered a life threating In comparison . He had the appearance of a sick and physically exhausted man and his face was twitching in a nervous tic.. The following month he was named deputy chief of the German General Staff (Oberquartiermeister I). In 1953, Paulus moved to East Germany, where he worked in military history research. The question cannot be answered in military terms. Armee unterzeichnet hatte, geriet Schmidt am 31. Vasily Grossman's Stalingrad : A Soviet masterpiece about World War II The Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) was fought during the Second World War between Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union led by Joseph Stalin. wounded, in the evening of 19 January 1943 - ordered to, became ", "Battle of Stalingrad a summary History in an Hour", " . : (02/07/1954)". These characteristics of Paulus and Schmidt would prove fatal to the trapped garrison of Stalingrad. [5] Ignoring Hitler's 'Fhrer instruction' of 30 June 1942 that Axis formations should not liaise with their neighbours, Schmidt authorised an officer from Sixth Army, Lieutenant Gerhard Stck, to be issued with a radio and join up with Romanian forces to the north-west of Stalingrad to help with intelligence gathering. "[33], Prior to Paulus's interrogation, Paulus asked Schmidt how he should respond, to which Schmidt replied, "Remember you are a Field Marshal of the German Army," apparently (according to the Soviet interrogator) using the intimate "du" form of address, although Captain Winrich Behr, who was familiar with the relations between the two men, considered this unlikely. Aggressively ideological, his aggression would translate into a passive kind as he functioned as his chief's alter ego [] As late as mid-December, Paulus, even as illusions had all but vanished, would still not contradict Schmidt when he presented his tragically absurd hypotheses to visitors to the besieged and starving Sixth Army.[24]. But it was precisely during those days, when everyone was still waiting, believing and hoping, that the approaching formations tasked with releasing the 6th Army from its encirclement were halted and then pushed back by Russian forces without reaching their objective.. You will go in your personal car.' Snow fell from our vehicle tracks. [26] Schmidt addressed Thiel in the same vein: "[] here you come trying to justify the Luftwaffe, that has committed the worst treason, that has ever occurred in German history [] An entire army, this wonderful 6th Army, must go to the dogs like this." [14][15] Schmidt contacted his corps commanders and, in defiance of Hitler's order to stand firm, they agreed with Schmidt that a breakout to the south was desirable. According to Pois and Langer: [Paulus's] chief of staff, Arthur Schmidt, a committed National Socialist to the end, seemed to represent Hitler for Paulus, indeed, probably was Hitler at Stalingrad. [9] At Nizhne-Chirskaya on 22 November, Schmidt told 8th Air Corps's commander, General Martin Fiebig, that Sixth Army needed to be resupplied by air. It was the HQ commander. Arthur Schmidt (25 October 1895 - 5 November 1987) was an officer in the German military from 1914 to 1943. [32] When their baggage was searched for sharp metal objects, Schmidt, referring to Paulus, snapped at the Soviet officers: "A German Field Marshal does not commit suicide with a pair of scissors. high command ordered him not to fly back into [34] Unlike many German prisoners of war, such as Paulus himself and von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, Schmidt refused to co-operate with the Soviets, despite the NKVD's attempt to ingratiate themselves by serving him caviar and champagne in a luxury railway coach. [9] However, he only took over his new command on 20 January, six days after the sudden death of Reichenau,[10] leaving him on his own and without the support of his more experienced sponsor. Dyatlenko had no doubt that Schmidt was "the eyes and hand of the Nazi Party" in the Sixth Army, because captured officers reported that "Schmidt was commanding the Army and even Paulus himself."[21]. "[11] Schmidt maintained that the army, which would adopt a "hedgehog" defence, must be resupplied, but that the situation was not yet so desperate as there were plenty of horses left that could serve as food. Schmidt kmpfte im Ersten Weltkrieg als Zugfhrer und Kompaniechef im Infanterie-Regiment Frst Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau (1. [citation needed], Many English-language sources and publications from the 1940s to the present day give Paulus' family name the prefix "von". How the Germans tried to rescue their troops at Stalingrad (PHOTOS German officers who flew out of the Stalingrad pocket and became General Officer later during World War 2 End November early December 1942 Johannes Schmidt became sick. Stalingrad was going to fall - if not in August 1942 then certainly in September. said Paulus after reading the dispatch. XIV. [13], The decision not to negotiate with the Soviet envoys who bore an ultimatum to Paulus on 8 and 9 January 1943, was, for example, made by Schmidt, not Paulus, as Colonel Wilhelm Adam told one of the envoys, Captain Nikolay Dyatlenko, during his post-battle interrogation. Evacuating their HQ at Golubinsky amid a bonfire of burning files and stores, they flew to Nizhne-Chirskaya that same day, just missing Hitler's order that "Sixth Army stand firm in spite of danger of temporary encirclement. But as soon as a tank passed over an entrenchment, our men - soldiers, sergeants and officers - got up again and opened fire on the departing armored vehicles.. Paulus surrendered in Stalingrad on 31 January 1943,[a] the same day on which he was informed of his promotion to field marshal by Hitler. to solve several supply problems. We have been punished for pursuing the policy of violent and lightning strikes that is now being cultivated, and we know what it has cost us. Laskin gave the driver a sign to slow down to allow the German commander to observe them closely and thoroughly. Even the best army is doomed to fail when it is required to perform impossible tasks, that is, when it is ordered to campaign against the national existence of other peoples.[23]. For the next two months, Paulus and his men fought on. The commander of the encircled troops did not issue the order, however. flew out of the Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. As part of his last will and testament, his body was transported to Baden-Baden, West Germany, to be buried at the Hauptfriedhof (main cemetery)[24] next to his wife, who had died eight years earlier in 1949, not having seen her husband since his departure for the Eastern Front in the summer of 1942. Paulus requested permission from Hitler to surrender. A northern pocket centered on the tractor factory and a smaller southern pocket in the city center. 12 Dec 2013. Calender - November 1942 - Stalingrad American diplomats in Moscow expected it. February 9, 1943 The Russian blow at Kursk was so fierce and the threat of encirclement so great that the Germans fled frantically, throwing away quantities of equipment. [19] Beevor states that it is unclear what happened at the meeting, except that Paulus, who still believed in the chain of command, refused to break out without a clear order to do so from a superior, something that the politically deft Manstein refused to give.[19][20]. [4] He tried, unsuccessfully, to secure a cadetship in the Imperial German Navy and briefly studied law at Marburg University. A Gnther Angern D Alexander Edler von Daniels Heinrich-Anton Deboi Moritz von Drebber F Max Fremerey G Eccard Freiherr von Gablenz H Alexander von Hartmann Walter Heitz And, until now, the 6th Army was regarded as the best field army in the Wehrmacht. Having survived Winter Storm and not having heard the Thunderclap, the Soviet command calmly returned to drawing up its planned operation to split up and conclusively destroy the Paulus grouping - preparations for which had been interrupted by the German offensive. That would be a Napoleonic ending. . . Unwashed, with unkempt beards, they wore comical-looking makeshift snow boots and were wrapped in towels and womens headscarves. Schmidt explained that Hitler had expressly ordered Sixth Army to stand fast at Stalingrad, that the army lacked sufficient fuel for a proper breakout attempt, and that the terrain itself complicated matters. Januar wurde er zum Generalleutnant befrdert. [22] The envoys were even fired on; Paulus denied that he had ordered this, so it is possible that Schmidt might have issued the order. Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943).
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general schmidt stalingrad