Survivors Of Stalingrad - Eyewitness Accounts From The Sixth Army 1942 - 1943

Originally Published in German as 'Der Untergang der 6. Armee' (2012)This English Edition first Translated & Edited (2014)Edited & Collected by Reinhold Busch, Translated & Edited Geoffrey BrooksIn November 1942 as the Battle for Stalingrad reached its peak, the Russians launched a devastating counter-attack from their own defensive positions outside of the city, surprising and overwhelming Axis Forces, their actions effectively ended the German siege and any hope of capturing the city. The once attacking Wehrmacht force is soon fighting for its very survival after having been quickly cut off, encircled, and trapped behind the Russian advance. Now remaining inside this defensive pocket are a mixed force of some 290 000 surviving members of the Wehrmacht - mainly members of 6. Armee - who against all odds went onto hold out for almost 12 weeks after encirclement. These now besieged soldiers and their support units were to find themselves forced to endure atrocious weather & battle conditions, and were soon almost totally reliant on the Luftwaffe for their own survival. After such a dramatic reversal of fortune effected the attacking force, morale fell almost as quickly as their dwindling food and ammunition supplies - casualty numbers increased as did losses due to starvation, frostbite or infection. This important oral history reconstructs the well known grim fate of 6. Armee, along with other overlooked groups like Luftwaffe Airmen, Wounded and Prisoners Of War. The Author has located & edited previously unpublished reports, interviews, diaries and newspaper accounts to reveal the experiences of soldiers, airmen, nurses and support units of all ranks in their own words. In November 1942 - In A Devastating Counter-attack From Outside The City - Soviet Forces Smashed The German Siege And Encircled Stalingrad, Trapping Some 290,000 Soldiers Of The 6th Army Inside. For Almost Three Months, During The Harshest Part Of The Russian Winter, The German Troops Endured Atrocious Conditions. Freezing Cold And Reliant On Dwindling Food Supplies From Luftwaffe Air Drops, Thousands Died From Starvation, Frostbite Or Infection If Not From The Fighting Itself. This Important Work Reconstructs The Grim Fate Of The 6th Army In Full For The First Time By Examining The Little-known Story Of The Field Hospitals And Central Dressing Stations. The Author Has Trawled Through Hundreds Of Previously Unpublished Reports, Interviews, Diaries And Newspaper Accounts To Reveal The Experiences Of Soldiers Of All Ranks, From Simple Soldiers To Generals. The Book Includes First-hand Accounts Of Soldiers Who Were Wounded Or Fell Ill And Were Flown Out Of The Encirclement; As Well As Those Who Fought To The Bitter End And Were Taken Prisoner By The Soviets. They Reflect On The Severity Of The Fighting, And Reveal The Slowly Ebbing Hopes For Survival. Together They Provide An Illuminating And Tragic Portrait Of The Appalling Events At Stalingrad. I Flew Into The Pocket / Gottfried Von Bismarck -- Last Flight Into The Pocket / Michael Deiml -- Despatch Rider At Divisional Hq / Wilhelm Eising -- An Impressive Experience / Andreas Engel -- Sardine Tins In My Trousers / Eitel-heinz Fenske -- For Me The War Was Soon Over / Joachim Feurich -- My Escape From The Pocket On A Motorcycle / Erich Franke -- The Pilot Who Flew Me Into The Pocket Also Flew Me Out / Otto Gemunden -- To The Last Round / Wilhelm Gereke -- The Flight For Hill 102 And The Railway Station / Josef Goblirsch -- The Last Days Of The 160th Anti-tank Abteilung / Dietrich Goldbeck -- The End Of The Northern Pocket / Gottfried Greve -- Men From Supply In The Front Line / Wilhelm Grosse -- Advancing To The South Of Stalingrad / Werner Halle -- I Flew Into The Pocket Without Orders / Joachim Heil -- Flying Out The Wounded / Karl Wilhelm Hoffmann -- At The Last Moment / Gustav Kaminski -- With The Last Aircraft From Stalingrad / Friedrich Wilhelm Klemm --^ Taken Along As An Air-gunner / Willi Kreiser -- The End Of The Danzig Infantry Regiment / Arthur Kruger -- To The Bitter End / Hans Krumfuss -- As A Telephone Linesman At Stalingrad / Franz Kumpf -- My Last Flight Into The Pocket / Herbert Kuntz -- On The Northern Boundary / Jochen Loser -- Stalingrad Diary / Erich Von Lossow -- The Surrender Of The Northern Pocket / Gert Pfeiffer -- I Did Not Believe I Would Be Saved / Paul Pieper -- The Defense Battle At Baburkin / Eberhard Pohl -- My Excape Over The Don Bridges / Friedrich Randhagen -- As A Runner At Stalingrad / Franz Rechberger -- The Hell Of Baburkin / Josef Rosner -- Infantryman In The Most Forward Frontline / Otto Schafer -- The Final Days Of Xi Army Corps / Karl H. Schwarz -- Back Over The Don / Helmut Spieth -- With The Luftwaffe Ground Staff / Hans Staudinger -- My Wound Saved My Life / Adolf Voss -- Close Combat In The Tractor Factory / Helmut Walz -- My Angel Was A Female Russian Doctor / Helmut Wegmann --^ The Most Difficult Days Of My Life / Karl Wolf. Edited By Reinhold Busch ; Translated By Geoffrey Brooks ; Foreword By Roger Moorhouse. Includes Bibliographical References. Harrowing first-hand accounts of the soldiers and medical staff who endured the encirclement at Stalingrad. The book reconstructs the little-known story of the field hospitals and central dressing stations