8 B.,-
Twenty
By GERALD 8. SNYDER
UniUd Press International
Twenty years ago today,
the roll of mufllcd drums
sounded over the state radio
in Nazi Germany. It was fol
lowed by the second move
ment of Beethoven's Fifth
Symphony and then by a com
munique from the pastern
front.
The news was grim: The
five-and-a-half month battle
for the Russian factory ci
of Stalingrad had ended. The
frozen, half-starved remnants
of the proud Nazi sixth army,
which marched to the banks
of the Volga the summer be
fore, had given up.
Four days earlier, in the
darkened basement of a bomb
shattered Stalingrad depart
ment store, German field mar
shal Gen. Fricdrich von Paul-
us, weary and numbed by
, shock, nodded yes to
squad of Soviet troops who
demanded his surrender,
DeTastating Defeat
Germany had suffered its
most devastating defeat of
World War If. Like Lee at
Gettysburg, the Nazis bad
mounted a massive assault,
made their deepest penclra
tion of the enemy's homeland
and failed in a go for broke
campaign.
German casualties exceeded
250,000 and the price of vic
tory for the Soviet defenders
was far, far higher.
Stalingrad (known as Vol
gograd since the de-Staiiniza
tion of Russia) had been put
under siege by 330,000 Ger
man troops in mid-August,
1042, and soon was pounded
to rubble by their heavy
guns. But the Red army wrote
into the history books a leg
end of courage, holding stub
bornly to the 40-mile com
plex of factories and homes
until the cruel Russian win
ter became their ally and the
battle tide turned.
In retrospect, the battle of
Stalingrad proved to be the
beginning of the end for the
Nazis.
"Taken together with the
British victory in the battle of
1 Alame in Egypt and the
American defeat of the Jap
anese navy at the battle of
Midway in the Pacific, Stal
ingrad marked the turning
point of the war as a whole,"
said Col. Vincent J. Esposito,
SUNDAY. FEBRUARY 3. 1963
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON
Ago Today
Battle of
' WW " ' c
Stalingrad Ended After Five Months
PATROL TENEMENTS Russian troops, shown in this
in war-torn Stalingrad following Nazi Germany's defeat in
picture taken Jan. 26, 1943, patrol blocks of tenements
a battle for the city. (UPI) ;
military historian at the mil
itary academy at West Point.
Hitler had played his ace
in hopes of driving through
the southern tier of Russia to
the oil-rich Caucasus, to Mos
cow and eventually to India.
But, like Napoleon, he under
estimated the Russians and
the ferocity of their winter.
On Aug. 22, 1042, Hitler
announced to the German na
tion: "We are attacking Stalin
grad and we shall take it."
The tank-equipped Sixth
army opened its Russian cam
paign with a scries of vic
tories. It was a well-trained,
well-armed, confident legion-
veterans of the Belgian, Yugo
slav and Greek campaigns.
The Germans rolled swiftly
to the banks of the Volga, 1,
000 miles southeast of Mos
cow. They came supported by
armies of Italy, Hungary and
Rumania. The Luftwaffe
rained fire and destruction on
Stalingrad and the axis ground
forces blasted it with mortars,
artillery and tanks. The Sov
iet perimeter was breeched
and fighting was carried into
the city-house to house, fac
tory to factory.
Launch Counter Attack
Then, in a lightning-swift,
surprise move, the Russians
launched a 13-division coun
ter-attack on Nov. 19. Thou
sands of Soviet troops were
thrown into the battle and
they closed a ring of bayonet
steel around the German
force. The timing was perfect
ly coordinated with the onset
of the bitter Russian winter.
Almost like magic, the
thick, silent snow and plate
glass ice became the Soviets'
biggest asset. The Russian
troops were ghostlike in their
white camouflage capes,
worn over heavy uniforms,
thick woolen underwear and
fleecy-lined boots. The Ger
mans' greatcoats proved in
adequate and their blankets
ran short.
Hitler's propagandists pro
claimed Stalingrad a fortress,
but food and ammunition was
short and planes of the Luft
waffe no longer had a place
to land.
Germans Die, Pray
Many Germans died. Some
prayed. A chest of anti-aircraft
shells became an altar
and the field gray tunic of a
fallen soldier became the
mantle.
Christmas dinner for the
Germans - consisted . of the
frozen flesh of horses or dogs
and the roots of trees. They
drank "German Tea," as the
Russians called it. Melted
snow.
In a monotone. Radio Mos
cow repeated time and again
in German:
"Every . seven seconds a
Gerr-an soldier dies in Rus
sia. Stalingrad-mass grave1"
The wind knifed across the
steppes and the temperature
stood at 35 below.
For every German who
lived seven died.
Guns jammed and fuel
froze.
On the morning of Jan. 8,
three young Soviet officers
entered the German lines un
der a white flag.
"Surrender!" they demand
ed of Gen. Paulus.
From Berlin came the or
der: "Stay and fight."
On Jan. 10, the battle en
tered its final phase. Soviets,
now outnumbering the Ger
mans 20 to 1, cut the Ger
man position in half and one
of the halves was cut in two.
The Germans' allies lost their
will to fight and one division
surrendered en masse wiih all
its equipment.
The Russians offered Paul
us another chance to surren
der. The general pleaded with
Berlin, but Hitler screamed:
"The Sixth army will hold
their positions to the last man
and the last round."
Fighting Hand To Hand
The fighting now had be
come largely hand to hand
and the mortal struggle en
veloped the city of Stalin
grad. Its cheerful white
houses, the kiosks, the piers,
were gone. Russian .women
and children dug caves in
the snow-covered cliffs along
the Volga. Soviet gunboats
plied the river.
Hitler, by this hour, seem
ed to sense that all was lost
but he hoped for a miracle.
"There is no record in mil
itary history of a German
field marshal being taken
prisoner," he told an aide in
Berlin. By radio, he confer
red on Gen. Paulus the cov
eted marshall's baton. For the
beleaguered Paulus it was no
magic wand.
In the last 20 days of Jan
uary more than 100,000 Ger
mans were killed. Those who
lived scratched holes in the
snow or hobbled about on
bandaged, frost-bitten feet.
Finally, at months' end, the
last three strongholds gave
in. Paulus and two dozen les
ser generals surrendered.
As hostorian Col. Esposito
sees it now, the end was in
evitable and its effect on the
remainder of the war was far
reaching: "Overextended and unable
to reconstitute a strategic re
serve in the east, Hitler was
now powerless to counter ef
fectively the successive, wide
ly separated, alternating Rus
sian blows.
"Now he could not concen
trate adequate strength on
any front to launch a sustain
ed offensive of sufficient mag.
nitude to gain a local decision."
BARKER'S
(Gent's Stuff)
CLOSED
MONDAY
and
TUESDAY
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MEDF0RDi1i&sTlUBUNE
Faber Voices His
Approval of Bill
County Commissioner Don,
aid Faber said Friday he is
writing State Rep. Edward
Branchfield voicing his ap
proval of Senate Joint Reso
lution 7 which would author
ize appointment of an interim
committee to study Oregon
wildlife.
Faber said he is writing as
an individual urging the legis
lature to issue a temporary
law forbidding the killing of
doe deer until the committee's
studies are completed. Faber
is a director of the Central
Point Sportsmen's club.
"Until recently 1 didn't
realize the wonderful fish
and game heritage Oregon
has," Faber commented. Ho
noted that all of the Jackson
county legislative delegation
endorsed the bill.
Women Officers to
Conduct Interviews
Three officers from the wo
men's armed forces will be
In Jackson county Feb. 4, 5,
and 8, to conduct a panel In
Jackson county high schools,
Chief Ronald k. Vulkos. of the
Navy Recruiting station here,
has announced.
When not conducting panels
In t';s high schools, the three,
representing the WAVES, the
WACS and the WAFS, will
be In the recruiting offices to
conduct interviews with high
school seniors and graduates
durins regular offico hours.
Parents, !o, are invited to
allcnd the interviews.
The recruiting offices arc
located in the Mcdiord post
office buiiuii'iH. TIi Army d
Navy recruilins oiicer are in
the 'basesiscnt "and the Mar
lues and Air Force offices
ti-- -.--nJ f'--.r
Locsi Man Placed
On Probation Here
Keith Edward Schrocdcr,
30, of route 3, box 195. Med
ford, was placed on probation
and sentence was suscndcd
for one year in Jackson coun
ty circuit court on a charge
of driving while under the In
fluence of liquor.
Schfocder Thursday plead
ed guilty 10 the churiies of
driving under tiie influence of
liquor. Earlier charges of neg
ligent homicide were dismiss
ed upon request ol the diMrul
attorney's olllcc.
Schrocdcr had lircn charg
ed in connection with an acci
dent involving a car driven
by Annie Matilda limes, Mori
lord, lust April 0 Miss Inncs
died of injurirs received.
Last Oct. 22, a circuit court
Jury failed to return a virdict
In circuit court jury tii.l.
II
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