Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 54

The First Full Story of Stalingrad When Hitler said that, he knew that heavy and heaviest German siege artillery had reached the city, presumably the same siege Full Extent of GermanyBs Greatest Defeat Told in Official Book Issued by Moscow guns up to 24 Inches In caliber The tfieration entailed ea-tremely heavy fighting which was, at the same time, rather confused since the enemy was not just in front ol the attackers but also at both flanks and often enough even In the rear. It is now known that the Russians employed their artillery to extreme measure and with enormous success. And wherever an that had dealt the sledgehammer blows at Sevastopol. But a Soviet relief army made the far advanced position of the Nazis near-untenable, which gave By WILLY LEY The first full story of the lifting of the siege of Stalingrad, the worst German setback of the war, is told in "Stalingrad," printed by the Foreign Languages Publishes House in Moscow. This writer has received what is believed to be the only copy of the book to reach especially dense barrage became this country.

Here is the epic story it tells: The siege of Stalingrad began Aug. 23, 1942, when the Nazis ing battalions and numerous bridgebuilding and other auxiliary units. necessary, the artillery was joined by quantities of the still mysterious Katyusha and by enormoua batteries of rocket throwers, firing large salvoes of heavy rocket with explosive heads, in rapid succession. The Russians divided their whole counter-attack tinto three During the first phase, beginning Nov. 19, the Red army; 92,000 Prisoners Token Included 24 Generals rise to the announcement (Oct.

8) "It is no longer necessary to capture the rest of the city bjr storm. It will be reduced by heavy artillery." However, three weeks later another attempt was made and the Germans actually reached the Volga at some points. But by that time the Russian armies were ready to begin the counter-offensive. Re-inforce-ments crossed the Volga under heaviest German fire and dangerous ice conditions. The Germans were not only pushed back in some sectors, but also had to withdraw troops to meet a Russian thrust at Nalchik.

The Nazis, hampered by ex TIME5 mam succeded piercing the outer defenses of Greater Stalingrad after a 17-day push. This was near the The dispatch summed up: Our troops have taken over 92,000 prisoners, including 6ver 2500 officers and 24 generals, of whom one is a field marshal, two colonel "annihilated 05,000 enemy off icera and "men and took 72,400 prisoners." They captured 134 airplanes generals, and the rest lieutenant generals and major generals. (destroyed 826), 1,792 tanks (de But this almost Incredible stroyed 548), 2,232 artillery piecea achievement was still several treme cold, still tried to hold ap (destroyed 934). 7.306 motor ve months in the future when the proximately what they had gained- corner in a room, for a turn on a stair case." And another correspondent added that the defenders were certain that the ceasing of fighting for one building meant, plainly and simply, that none of "he defenders in that building was alive any more. Hitler Went Off Deep End In Predicting Fall of City At first the Nazis had tried to encircle the city.

Failing in that they decided on the enormously costly method of frontal assault. For not quite two weeks, the German took some parts of the city on the western banks of the Volga literally yard by yard, at such losses that a Russian correspondent, looking at the smoking rubbish heaps of Stalingrad, declared that there were more dead German soldiers in the streets than stones from demolished buildings. On Sept. 19, the Russians made a counter-attack, but the determination of the Germans was not broken. On Sept.

30 Hitler made that famous declaration: "The occupation of Stalingrad, which also will be concluded, will become a gigantic success you can be of the firm conviction that no human being will ever posh ns away from that spot." Germans pierced the outer ring of defenses on August 23, 1942. By the end ol November, tne Russians had crossed the Volga at two points, abxve and below Stalingrad, for a determined attack hicles (destroyed 3,190) and large amounts of other supplies. 59,000 Germans Captured In 2-Week Year-End Phase Two days later, true to Hitler's wishes, a German spokesman declared that the fate of the city on the German siege army. will be settled before the end It was an exceedingly difficult of the week." During the second phase, between Dec. 16 and the end of the In a way it was, but not the year, the Russian forces killed 59,000 German soldiers and offi end of the German summer cam-I-aign of 1942, with which the Nazis sought to wipe out the mem-pry of their defeat at Moscow and ith which they hoped to break the Red Army's morale as well as Jts strength.

Most of the summer campaign Lad been successful from the German point of view, even though it had been so expensive that the Nazi high command never dared to announce the true number of casualties suffered. A Red Army officer with a flair for statistics has proved in the meantime that the German high rommand probably slashed all casualties suffered to one-third of their true value before publishing them. (An English translation of that article appeared in the Field Artillery Journal.) Hitler Demanded Capture Of City Despite Generals The taking of Stalingrad was supposed to crown that campaign. way the Germans wanted and expected it. The citizens of Stalingrad prepared for a street-to-street defense of their city.

It turned out to be more than that, operation, since the Germans had meanwhile established well fortified field positions. The northern Russian group crossed the Don river in the area of Serafimo-vitch and finally succeeded in capturing the city of Kalatch, also on the Don river but south of the bend. cers, took 60,000 prisoners and captured 368 planes (another 117 were destroyed), 178 tanks (de stroyed 172), 1,927 artillery pieces it was not street-to-street fighting in the end, it was not even house- (destroyed 268) and 7,414 motor vehicles (destroyed over to-house fighting. At the same time, other Rus sian forces breached the German It was, to quote one of the The third stage was the coun Soviet correspondents, "More even ter-offensive against the des defense lines in the south, also moving in the direction of Kalatch. than a fighting for every floor and every room, it was fighting for a perate German attempt to cut through to the large contingents of troops surrounded by the Russians in the area between Kalatch and Stalingrad.

For this purpose, the Germans had massed shock troops north of the city of Kotelnikovo, which is southwest of Stalingrad. The If successful, it would have been 8 bad blow to Russia. Possession Russians set out to spoil this attempt, to keep the trapped divisions at Stalingrad cornered until of Stalingrad meant the cutting they would surrender and to drive the Germans to the south. During this third stage (fought simultaneously with the second stage) the Russians killed 21,000 Germans, took 5,200 prisoners and caplured 40 planes (destroyed of the Volga river and would have Opened the way to the Caucasus. It has been reliably reported in the meantime that the German hifh command would have preferred to leave Stalingrad alone.

Reasoning that the capture of the city would be expensive in men materiel and expecting, at I 1 tt f. -v. Y'" it 4 hit i 1.1 I 306), 94 tanks (destroyed 467), 292 artillery pieces (destroyed 257) and 329 motor vehicles (destroyed 945), along with the usual booty of other supplies. The Germans at Stalingrad had been surrounded on Nov. 23 and since then had been subjected to almost incessant attacks.

The Germans tried to bring food and liny event, a delay of future oper-fitions from such a venture, the German high command would have preferred to by-pass the city and veer south toward the Caucasus leaving Stalingrad in Russian hands and cutting the Volga liver far below the city. This was sound military reasoning, but Hitler personally demanded that Stalingrad be taken. As medical supplies by air, but, having lost what mastery in the air they had originally possessed, they lost most of these transport planes. On Jan. 8 the Russians asked the Germans to surreir, but the Germans refused.

one of the Russian commentators The Russians launched their final attack on Jan. 10. They learned later that the number of Germans surrounded in Novem ber had been 330,000, not "about put it: "The madman who thinks lie Is a general, wanted the city itself." The German army -massed in enormous strength, as can be fathered from the now famous "Dispatch No. 0079O.P." of the staff headquarters, Don front, written on Feb. 2, 1943, at 6:30 p.m.

According to that dispatch 200,000" as originally believed. But meanwhile the Germans had r- tLf: w.vii lost almost 140,00 men as a re sult of their bombardment, artil lery barrages, ground attacks and hunger, cold and disease. the Red Army "exterminated or Thus about 190,000 men were opposing the Russians in January. The final stage of the battle lasted took prisoner the 4th, 8th, and 11th army corps and the 14th and 48th tank corps, comprising 22 di visions, among them three -tank from Jan. 10 to Jan.

30, During this period the Russians wiped out about 100,000 Germans and divisions, three motorized divi fiions, a Rumanian cavalry divi Rumanians, captured 744 air sion and a Rumanian infantry division. The others were German infantry divisions. planes, 1,517 tanks, 6,523 artillery; pieces, 1,420 mine throwers, motor vehicles, 3 armored trains, 48 locomotives, 575 railroad cars and 229 ammunition dumps. Nor was that all. Eight artillery i-- ,7 And two days later the dis regiments "were taken prisoner or exterminated," also six artillery battalions of the high command reserve, one battalion of German vssault artillery, two mortar regiments of six-barreled mortars, six titi-aircraft battalions, four engi patch No.

079O.P. concluded: "In consequence of the complete extermination of the surrounded enemy forces, operations in the city of Stalingrad and in tb Stalingrad. re have ceased." neer battalions, nine special sap ALL CLEAR OVER STALINGRAD And two women, carrying their blankets, emerge from a ler battalions, two signal regi- I bomb shelter after a German raid. You can see the damage wrought by we Jcji. mcms, two artillery reconnoiter.