Comments by "Cary Black" (@caryblack5985) on ""They're defending Stalingrad like dogs!" BATTLESTORM STALINGRAD E26" video.

Also small boats can be hidden and are extremely difficult to hit compared to a medium or large ship. If you don't think the luftwaffe tried you are mistaken.
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I suggest you don't watch it if you don't like it.
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He uses Isaev a lot and last I heard he was a Russian historian.
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Manstein and the 11th Army were sent to Leningrad to take the city. The Soviets launched an offensive and the Germans were just able to hang on. There were constant Soviet attacks at Rezvh and the Germans had to reinforce Army Group Center. The south got. the Italian 8th Army, Hungarian 2nd Army and Romanian 3rd and 4th Army. There were no other troops available.
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Not 20 extra divisions into the city. They had around 48,000 men on September 25th on Oct 1, 1942 they had approx. 41,000 on Oct10 they had approx 43,000 on Nov 20 they had approx 34,000. They replaced their losses to some extent but there was no buildup of Soviet forces in the city. See Isaev Stalingrad City On Fire p 132, p 165-66 p 179 p 218. Many of the divisions were worn down and some so small that they could not be called divisions or brigades or even companies.. The famous 13th Guards went from over 10,000 to 5,200 in November but this doesn't give an accurate picture because they had reinforcements throughout the battle. For more information see Isaev.
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How would they cross the Volga without boats. The Don front manned with armies and commanded by Yeremenko was there. How would they hold the beachhead? What about the Soviet troops north of Stalingrad if they sent troops over the Volga? The 6th Army and OKH never planned to cross the Volga.
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They did change the rails but often did a shoddy job since they were in a rush.. In many cases even changing rails was not enough because there was only a single line and that was a bottleneck in itself. Further you do not mention constant partisan attacks on the railways and motor transport columns which had a very negative effect on supplies to the front. The Germans were in the USSR for over 4 years and the supply situation never was good.
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They did and evacuated the wounded also.
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That info is not always available and would be changing day to day. I think TIK is working pretty hard just doing what he is doing.
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Hitler was nominally a Christian. He did not support paganism as did Himmler. He would have liked a Christianity more in line with Nazi ideology and racial notions. And of course he opposed any Christians both clergy and lay that were in opposition to his government.
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@Ph33NIXx As to Fall Blau being to only offensive planned you are wrong. Operation Nordlicht was planned to encircle and take Leningrad. Manstein and the 11th Army was sent to the Leningrad area and because of the Soviet offensive the Germans wound up in a defensive battle that enabled them just to hang on. You may not have heard it but it happened but is not as well known and of course an offensive requires a buildup of troops. Tik did not go into the fighting at Rezvh and how many troops it took. TIK I think did a disservice by indicating numbers of troops sent but not giving any reasons for the imbalance of reinforcements. It naturally raises questions and without looking into reasons it seems just arbitrary. It was a not. Was it poor decision? maybe but without exploring the reasons it makes it difficult to make a judgment. I will await his full explanation for the way reinforcements were allocated.
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@sorsocksfake I can't answer that. I don't think an armed assault over the Volga was ever in the German plans but I don't know.
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As of October 1, 1942 the Germans have lost 674,362 men killed and approximately 2,022,000 men wounded on the Eastern front
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The 6th Army had no plan to cross the Volga nor did the OKH. The Volga was a very wide river that would have taken extensive planning to cross. I don't believe the boats that would be needed were there. The Stalingrad front under Yeremenko was there with many troops. Finally the 6th Army was already weakened and short of troops and was already being attacked on the northern flank and all troops there were occupied as well as the troops trying to take the city.
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Well he was there at Yeremenko's headquarters.
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The Soviets also had Operations Mars and Saturn offensives.
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Most of them also moved at night and a small boat is much harder to hit then a medium or large ship.
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There are several reasons. As TIK mentioned in the Kotluban offensives the infantry failed to keep up and support the Soviet armor and the tanks were picked off. When the Germans got close to the city there was no longer maneuver room for encirclements and of course in the city itself tanks are not nearly as effective as their vision maneuver and speed are very limited. They can be ambushed and are very dependent on infantry.
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Using chemical weapons brings retaliation from the other side.
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@nikolaynovichkov166 I agree and also the Stukas and 109 had a limited range and of course were not effective at night
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Click on TIK first comment and you will see the bibliography.
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Yes if the Germans could supply the troops but they were tied up at Leningrad and Rezhv and the Paulus got the Italians, Romanians and Hungarians instead.
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@Ph33NIXx They sent them to Leningrad because they we supposed to encircle and take the city. That is why Manstein and the 1thh Army was sent north. There was a Soviet offensive and the Germans were just able to hang on. There were constant offenses by the Soviets at Rezhv and reinforcements were needed there. There was no surplus troops. They were sent where they were neede. The south got the Axis allies armies.
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@Ph33NIXx That troops appear to be misallocated seems right in the sense that the Stalingrad was not given as much reinforcement as the other. But it is also the fact that Halder and Hitler wanted to encircle and capture Leningrad and sent troops there and were unable to launch an offensive because of Soviet attacks. And Soviet attacks were heavy at Army group Center. Both army groups were weakened earlier to provide troops for Army Groups A and B which caused them to need reinforcements. You believe they got more reinforcements than they needed. I believe they did get what they needed and that the shortage of troops for the Germans was such that there were no surplus troops and that instead the OKH sent the Italians, Romanians and Hungarians to Army Group B. The decisions might have been faulty but I would argue that there was no extra troops and it was a situation of trying to do too much too fast with too little troops. So I would agree with you in that it would have been more likely Stalingrad would have been captured but on the other hand Leningrad siege would have been more likely to be broken and the Germans forced back at Rzevh.
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@Ph33NIXx I saw the movie and what TIK calls "surplus" is not surplus in the sense the troops were not needed or not fighting in the North and Center. They just got more troops than their casualties. In the North they were attempting to launch an offensive which required a build up. It did not happen since the Soviets attacked and the additional troops were needed just to hold their position. In the Center there was constant pressure by the Soviets and they kept all the reinforcements busy fighting. I agree they could have changed priorities. Kept Manstein and the 11th Army in the south and followed the original plan to capture or neutralize Stalingrad and THEN drive to the Caucasus it would have greatly aided the capture of Stalingrad. But the idea that since some army groups got more reinforcements than actual casualties does not mean they were not needed or they could be sent to Stalingrad. To do that they would have had to change priorities which they did not. There would have been a problem somewhere and it would also have been in the North at Leningrad where the offense was called off and turned into a defense just to hang on or there would have been a retreat at Rezvh. Calling the troops there a surplus is misleading seeming to mean the troops were not needed. They were needed. So I disagree with the whole notion of a surplus because they received more men than casualties and this is where are disagreement centers.
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Could be but seems unlikely and Isaev thinks the idea was discussed by Zhukov, Vasilevski and Konev on Sept 28th , at least the outline of the plan. See p.226-7. It is possible Zhukov just confused the date.
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No they ere planning to capture Stalingrad and this was laid out in the meeting at Vinnitsa on Sept 12, 1942 with Hitler, Halder, von Weichs and Paulus.
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@nemecec01 In 1941 the Germans got as far as Rostov but were unable to hold it. Of course they planned to defeat the USSR in 12 to16 weeks and if that happened they would have occupied Stalingrad in 1941. It had relevant in that it would provide a shoulder to protect the troops in the Caucasus. The Germans would travel down from there to Astrakan which would cover the east side of the Caucasian thrust. Whether they actually need to capture Stalingrad or merely neutralize it is another question. Take a look at a map of the region and it will give you an idea of what they were attempting.
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Stop shouting. The Volga was a very wide river and there were many Soviets divisions on the other side. I think given the 6th Army weakness and the troops that had to hold in the North it would have been suicidal.
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@LavrencicUrban It is considered shouting when you answer in all caps rather than lower case. The entire Stalingrad front under Yeremenko with Soviet armies were on the other side of the Volga. Such a crossing would be very risky especially in the weakened condition of the 6th Army.
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@LavrencicUrban I DON'T THINK THE GERMANS EVER PLANNED A VOLGA CROSSING. i THINK IT WIOULD BE A BAD IDEA CONSIDERING THE SHAPE OF THE 6TH ARMY AND THE DANGER OF A RIVER ASSAULT AND THE NECESSITY OF HOLDING A BRIDEGEHEAD.
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@LavrencicUrban WELL YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DO THE RESEARCH YOURSELF IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT MORE. I DON'T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE AND I AM PRETTY SURE THE GERMANS NEVER PLANNED A VOLGA CROSSING AT STALINGRAD. JUST STRAIGHT DOEN THE WEST BANK OF THE VOLGA TO ASTRAKHAN. WE GAVE YOU ALL THE REASONS WHY WE THOUGHT IT WAS A BAD IDEA AND WOULD BE VERY HARD TO CARRY OUT. WHAT DID STRACHWITZ ACTUALLY SAY? DID HE GIVE ANY PLANS TO CROSS THE VOLGA OR DID HE JUST SAY THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE IT? STARNGE NOBODY ELSE SUGGESTED IT.
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@LavrencicUrban Do not go by TIK's map. Yeremenko and the Don Front was holding that side of the Volga. There were Soviet units there.
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@LavrencicUrban Take a look at the map again. How would the 16th Panzer be able to cross when there was pressure on their northern flank. You would have to cross at least several divisions and the Soviet units to the north would have made this extremely risky if not impossible. They needed all their manpower to keep the Soviets from destroying them. Finally Strachwitz was a regimental commander, not even a division and and his idea must have been rejected by higher ups if they even knew about it. I don't think it was a lost opportunity. I think it was common sense. You have not even given us any idea of a plan on how to cross. All we have from you is that Strachwitz suggested it with no details.
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@LavrencicUrban Well we have give you the reasons that a crossing even if possible would be risky and possibly fatal.. I believe there were many Soviet units under Yeremenko across the Volga. I do not think a regiment of tanks and if you watch Tiiks which had already been reduced from 6 to 4 battalions could have made a difference. If you choose to believe so fine. However the German 6th Army and I presume the high command never planned to cross the Volga for the possible reasons we gave and it strikes me this is another if only the Germans did this. I would need pretty good evidence to convince me it would be a good move. Anyhow I have said my piece.
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@LavrencicUrban I had my say don't want to keep going over what if situation.
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@gilbertjones9157 The line was supposed to be from Archangel to Astrakhan which was decided prior to the invasion. What changes they may have made I do not know. As to what they might have done is a what if question that cannot be answered except by speculation but you can speculate on many different scenarios.
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@gilbertjones9157 I am not aware of further plans and not heard of any. It is possible they decided lets capture Stalingrad, Grozny and Baku and see what we can do after we accomplish that. I lean toward that scenario since manpower was already scarce and becoming scarcer but this is speculation. I know that once the Germans were defeated and the 6th Army was eliminated there seemed to be no strategic defensive plans. Manstein claimed he was aiming for a draw which implies a cease fire or peace treaty. I think that highly unlikely after the horrific war crimes and hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens murdered.
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