My uncle was fighting in Stalingrad with Italian Bersaglieri. He was captured by the Soviets and put in a prison camp somewhere East and South of Moscow. Previously he had fought in the African campaign. He came from Gorizia, in Northern Italy and many people there, including my uncle, spoke Italian, German and Slovenian. Once in Russia, he quickly learned that language and, at the camp, was put to work as a translator. According to him, conditions at the camp were terrible and even the Russians didn’t have much to eat. The Italians got less much less but got some food since they, unlike the Germans, had also fed Russian prisoners their own rations. The Germans got little food, no compassion and simply died off. When my uncle was finally released, one of the last to be let go, he was given a letter of safe passage and pointed in the right direction. Nothing else. He was forever grateful for the help he received from Russian peasants, who treated him kindly as he made his long walk home to Italy where he arrived several months later. He was starving, without his teeth, suffering from the malaria he picked up in Africa and forever changed both physically and mentally. Thank you for the excellent episode as otherwise I would not have thought of him, his travails and the strength of the human spirit.

My grandfather was there, with the Romanian 4th Army, 30th inf regiment, at the river Don's bend. Out of a regiment of 3.200 nominal strenght, there were only 185 survivors that made it back to their lines, after walking more than 200 km, in the Russian winter. All the rest became KIA or MIA. Walking at night, hiding by day from the prowling Russians, scavenging what they could. He arrived in the town of Rostov in mid march 1943, and was sent straight home, as unfit for front duty. Weighed just 50 kg, was 1.65 m tall. He was 32 years old, had 3 children home. In august 1944, after Romania left the Axis and joined the Allies, he was recalled (he had 4 children home now) and sent westward, to fight the Germans and the Hungarians. He went through the liberation of Transylvania and the siege of Budapest, VE Day found him in the Banka Bistriza area, present day in Slovakia. He arrived back home, to his village outside Bucharest in late September 1945, after WALKING all the way from Slovakia (, 1.100 km, the Russians didn't allow them to use the trains and have confiscated their vehicles, because they were of German make and considered war spoils!). He tried to get back to his farming, only to see his land and wares confiscated by the communists, who forced him to work in a collective farm. He died in 1991, delighted to see the fall of the communist regime in Romania. From his scant stories, ( he would only talk after a couple of glasses of plum brandy) I got the details above and from the regiment's archives I tried retracing his steps and came up with the mindboggling distance of some 5.000 km, on foot, with countless engagements and fights against the Russian and the Germans Here is one story, from so many untold ones.

My former boss knew I'm a history buff. He told me he had an uncle from Austria who was in the 6th Army. He survived and retreated into the encirclement. He was wounded so was evacuated early on by one of the supply aircraft flying out. Very, very lucky man.

Is there an Emmy Award category for online content?? Dr. Felton's work would certainly be a good candidate if one does exist, brilliant storytelling

"The railway station changed hands fourteen times over six hours of fighting." Fascinating research Mark as always! Thanks for sharing!

History Channel: Aliens Mark Felton: 100% History.

I read in a German memoir that the worst impact of Stalingrad was on moral. German troops had always believed they would never be left in the lurch. That if they were cut off every effort would be made to rescue them. After Stalingrad they knew that the German high command could no longer be trusted.

My father worked with a German architect in the 60s. He invited his German friend and family to come skiing with us. He said he d seen enough ice and snow in Russia. He came on a picnic with us and while we we swimming I noticed he had an incredible amount of scarring on his body from bullet and shrapnel wounds. They were a nice family. I was 8 yo at the time. His name was Karl Schmidt.

When you consider that most of the Germans that were captured at Stalingrad never returned home, putting up a resistance probably wasn't the worst idea.

In my small hometown near Hamburg , northern Germany , there used to be a pub during the 1970s and 1980s run by a Stalingrad survivor. This landlord's name was Adolf L. , everybody called him "Addi" , but out of his presence we youngsters just nicknamed him , and accordingly also his place , "Einachser"(German technical slang that translates to about "single axle trailer" ), as he was one of the last severely wounded German soldiers to be flown out of the Stalingrad pocket with one of his legs severed above the knee. He had put wooden pallets all around behind his bar , where we often used to sit for a beer or two back then , as this more elastic underground was easier and less painful for his stump and wooden leg attached to walk and stand on rather than on the hard floor.

Personally I'd like to thank all commenters here who gave a personal report of their relatives who survived the incredible suffering during and after this monumental battle.

Dr. Felton, I am a Black 71 yr old man and have watching you for two years! Thank You so very much

When you hear the number of casualties that came out of Stalingrad, D-Day seems like barely a blip on the German radar.

My great grandpa fought in Stalingrad and was one of the fortunate 6000 German soldiers in the cauldron who returned home. He was sent to a prison in Siberia and forced to mine coal. They didn't receive any food besides raw herring and onions. The mere smell of onions made him have flashbacks even when he was 97 years old. They didn't get medical supplies, attention or work breaks. He had scars all over himself black as night, from all the coal dust accumulating in the wounds. On a lighter note, he made the best waffles i ever had.

I love how detailed and informative the old news programs are. I absolutely love the animated drawing of maps and the front line.

My wife's maternal grandfather was a Romanian cavalry reconnaissance soldier in the Fall Blau campaign in 1942; not sure if he was attached to the 3rd or 4th Romanian Army. He was captured sometime in September or October 1942 on a recon mission east of the Don. It probably saved his life since he avoided becoming a casualty when the Red Army launched its counterattack. He spent years in a POW camp in present-day Moldova, worked in a literal salt mine, and only returned to Romania in '48 or '49. Quite a story, but all too common for Eastern Europe at that time.

The part about units of German soldiers escaping Stalingrad and getting back to German territory would make a great movie. Especially how they snuck through Russian territory.

This is one of the things that makes this channel so great. Common sense tells you that not all Germans would have surrendered when Paulus did, but I have never seen, heard or read any other historical source that even mentioned 11,000 men remaining under arms of their own accord after the surrender. Thanks once again Mark for providing the service of not letting important history be forgotten. As usual, you’re information and presentation are second to none. Best history channel on KZfaq.

A friend of mine, who is native German (who moved to US as a boy with his family but still has ties in Germany) told me about an uncle who fought in Stalingrad and who got back. The uncle said that in order to get through the German lines they killed more fellow Germans than Russians.

I'm addicted to these things I've exhausted all documentary's I can find n these are keeping my addiction for knowledge about this conflict going.

Whenever I'm working outside in the summer or winter I always just remind myself I never had to go through what these men went through. Doesn't seem so bad then.

One can only imagine the terrible suffering on both sides..

My mother was there, she was a 22 year old Ukrainian woman who had been employed by the Wehrmacht as an interpreter in the Poltava region of Ukraine way West of Stalingrad. She was transferred to Stalingrad because she was fluent in Russian and German. The Germans were sending Hospital trains crammed with terribly wounded soldiers out of the battle which were routinely attacked by Russian partisans. My mother was asked (ordered) to accompany a German officer and one well armed Soldier on a Railway 'Shunt', a small open platform powered by a small motor which would precede the Hospital Train by some distance. They would set off at night and proceed to the locations where attacks had occurred. She told me 'when the little shunt came to a bend it would slow right down and its noisy engine was turned off the soldier would propel us along manually. In eerie silence I would use the Hailer device to appeal to the Partisans who may or may not have been lurking in wait for the Train. Loudly speaking in Russian, she would say, 'Comrades, comrades, I appeal to you to consider this, behind me is a HOSPITAL Train with severely wounded German soldiers. They are going away and never to return! I beg of you to let go! Please do not attack the Train! If the Train is attacked you know the Germans will go to the nearest Town or Village from here and will stand 10 Men and Boys up against a wall and shoot them. That is their practise. I beg you let the train pass, spassiva! She was in Stalingrad until the last Train left with all German Females in January 1943.

"This part of the battle of Stalingrad has been completely ignored by historians..." that is, until now. Mr. Felton, I am always amazed at the depth of your research. I learn something new every time👍

One of the times "youve been promoted" means death.

Never heard of the holdout German units before. Thanks for bringing this to light.

I love stories about Stalingrad. I just can’t imagine the struggle both sides dealt with. It had to have been hell on earth or worse.

And thanks for a fresh presentation of a subject endlessly explored. With rarely-seen footage too. Brilliant!

An uncle of mine was in Stalingrad as a blacksmith. The German army had many horses and , therefore, also many blacksmith. He had much luck, caught a frost bite and was flown out. He was a very calm man not talking about it all. A grandfather of my wife was as a "Sanitäter" i. e. a medic (not a doctor) in Stalingrad and lighly wounded. He should not be flown out. The doctor saw him and asked him how many children he had. 6 was the answer. The doctor thought ... and then covererd arms and legs with bandages so that he looked like a severe wounded soldier ... and was flown out and survided the war. He, too, never talked about Stalingrad

Mark Felton definitely has the best historical channel , period.

Oft forgotten. Hats off to the cameraman who got in the thick of this to bring us incredible footage, sometime within feet, no protection.

One of my Opa's brothers died at Stalingrad in February of '43. We don't know how or why, my family simply got a death notice with the date. It also makes me wonder how his death notice went through official channels out of that hellish place.

Mark thank you for telling the side stories of WW2, as useal I was not aware of this, so keep telling th stories, so we all can learn

I love these documentaries cos they're just the facts. Thats it. Not a stupid reality series. Just the facts. Thank you Mark!

Thank you Mark for reporting on WWII. I'm a war history buff, but you are a Master at one of my favorite subjects.

One of the best channels I've discovered on KZfaq. I appreciate your work a lot.

I'd always heard that Stalingrad was important, but I never really knew how important until that old film explained its strategic importance. Thanks for finding those bits of film.

Operation Uranus, what a fitting name for an encirclement offensive in the rear lines.

I like watching these old videos..Mark does a great job bringing them back to life!

The History Channel V Mark Felton = no contest. He is a master. Thanks for all the little treasures!

i lived in Germany in the 70`s, the old veterans never wanted to talk about the war. back then anybody over 40 seemed to me to be bitter and miserable. i went to a school in Euskirchen, we had a teacher in his late 30`s, one day he suddenly talked about a war experience , he was nine years old when he was shot at by an american fighter plane strafing the town at anything that moved, i was the only foreigner in the class, he looked at me several times while telling his story....Ironically, the first German book i ever read was entitled ; Das Herz der 6`er Armee ...detailed account of a German medical unit in Stalingrad and what the doctors witnessed.

What a horrible hopeless situation to find yourself in.

Absolutely fascinating, Dr. Felton. Thank you.

I always learn something new from Mark Felton. Thank you.

Mark Felton a real Historian and not someone who thinks they know history. I respect that

In May 1990 I went to Volgograd (Stalingrad was re-named in 1961) with a group of students. We visited the museum and walked around the sites of urban warfare around the ruins of the factories. Our tourist guides were old Russian men in their 70s, veterans of the battle, the chests of their suits plated with medals. What I found remarkable was their friendly attitude toward us. To be honest I never met any Russians (or Americans, for that matter) who held a grudge against us, despite the atrocities of the war.

My ex-father-in-law was a young German soldier in the Panzers. One night when we were both drinking some honey schnapps in his Man-cave (his shed), he told me that in the first battle his unit was in, the whole unit was wiped out and he was the only survivor and was taken prisoner by the Red Army. I’ve read many books about how the Russians treated the Germans and it was nearly always bad, but for some reason my ex father-in-law had nothing but nice things to say about Russians. He wasn’t released from the POW camp until about 1949 or 1950, and when he got back to Wanne Eickel (near Dortmund) and met my ex-mother-in-law he was emaciated and sick. He passed away in the 90’s I believe, but I have always wondered why he spoke of the Russians so favourably - re-education/brain washing possibly? I will never know now. It makes me wish I’d asked him more about it. But as with all war veterans, speaking about it can be a touchy subject. Love your channel @Mark Felton. Always something interesting to learn about the history of World War 2.

Damn Mark. I really thought I knew EVERYTHING about this particular battle. Until now. Fantastic work once again!

Mark, once again you find a bit of obscure forgotten history and weave it into a great story. Well done as you are brilliant at it.

The looks in the eyes of these men from history just sends me the chills.

This was a fascinating video. Thanks for all your hard work.

Good work, Dr. Felton. Always worth a listen/view.

I'm alive today living under great stress and loneliness. Nothing compared to what those men went through. This video gives me strength

If Mark Felton would've been my teacher at school I wouldn't have such a hard life I reckon. Mark thankyou.

Я очень рад что показали видео про Сталинград, ведь мой прадед и я сам родились в этом чудесном городе, мой прадед воевал под Сталинградом и я скажу вам, он не был готов к такой мясорубке ведь каждый дом был в трупах по его расказам он говорил мне что видел немца который был вовсе без глаз и пол лица у него небыло, у него до сихпор остались эти жуткие моменты в его памяти, из его расказов я помню то как он делал переправу через Волгу вместе с его младшим братом чтобы укрепиться на позиции. Потом немецкие истребители начинали пикировать на их плот Цетирую: -Я видел как мой брат лежал в воде без ног и постепенно умерал.. Сразу наворачивались слёзы У моего деда. Прежде, он не видел такой жестокости и кровопролития за всю свою жизнь, ведь он УБИВАЛ!!! ЛЮДЕЙ, ему было 17 лет как он уже в армии помню он мне говорил что один раз когда шли рукапашные бои он убил деда которому было на вид 50 лет и тот дед смотрел на него с улыбкой и со слезами со взглядом непонимания и боли умирая с ножом в печени. Я очень боюсь войны потому что мой дед пережил то что и врагу не пожилаешь

Incredibly well done report. Thank you!

An unbelievably dark time in history.

That news reel at the beginning made the Stalingrad decision make a lot more sense. What a great clip to give context.

“The street is no longer measured by meters but by corpses ... Stalingrad is no longer a town. By day it is an enormous cloud of burning, blinding smoke; it is a vast furnace lit by the reflection of the flames. And when night arrives, one of those scorching howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure.” Max Hastings

Remarkable research and story. Thank you Mark! 🇨🇦

Historically, it's a fascinating place to visit. I was there in September 2014. Incredible museum and many sites throughout the city, from the flour mill to Pavlov's house to the grain elevator. Paulus' headquarters is still there in the basement of the former GUM department store. It's virtually intact and is surprisingly free admission. His kubelwagon is there too. The Motherland statue at night is breathtaking. We then flew from Volgograd to St. Petersburg which would be roughly the length of the eastern front in the summer of 1942. A vast country. Great video Mark.

At this time my grandpa was a motorcycle courier in the Hungarian Royal Army. (Signal unit's motorcycle courier) He was not in the first line of the front until when this is really happened. 6:56 An officer won't let them flee, but commanded his reserve small signal unit to a machine gun nest where the Solothrun 31M Light machinegun should be manned. The light machine gun just jammed for bad condition and the officer changed his mind and ordered them to get the hell outta there.

Read a lot about this battle. Fascinating and well researched 👍

I hate I missed this when it came out, awesome content as usual as I never fail to learn something from the good Doctor.

One of my great grandfathers fought in Stalingrad and managed to escape - as far as I know with some of his comrades. My grandfather told me, that he never talked about the war in his whole life except for one time, where he accidentally broke silence by saying about Stalingrad "If we did not have our MPs, we wouldn't be alive today." I cant imagine what he had gone through and was too young when he was still alive to know about what the war actually meant.

I swear Mark Felton, The History Guy, and The Engineer Guy are like educational ASMR

Excellent content and presentation. Thank you.

Thank you Mark. I never heard this History before. Like your stories very much. 👍.

"Enjoy the war while you can," a common joke in the ranks went, "because the peace will be terrible!"

I recall in another's historic video that some of these "holdouts" actually fired upon a Red Army ceremonial formation in the days after the official surrender. But I had not known that there were 11,000 of them. 11,000 dead men walking.

The best historian by far on youtube . Great work.

Thank you for excellent documentary.

My grandpa’s brother was a Red Army soldier who died in Stalingrad

I'm currently teaching English to senior army officers. Your videos are providing excellent material for my lessons - thanks and keep them coming!

The "Summer, 1942" clip starting at 2:15 running to 4:25 was pretty cool. First time I've seen it. Thanks.

Man this guy's videos are great. And that intro music is awesome 👌👏

Mark: "...at least that is what the history books tell us." Me: *heavy breathing*

They should have attempted escape as soon as Operation Uranus started but a really stubborn guy said no.

My grandfather was one of those only 5000 Germans who made it back to Germany. He was captured outside Stalingrad by the Soviets and held in a temporary small PoW camp at a farm where escape, although difficult, was still possible. He urged his comrades to make an attempt to flee because according to justified rumors they were supposed to be force-marched or transported into Siberian labor camps shortly. But nobody wanted to follow him because conditions at this farm PoW camp were kind of acceptable compared to a gruesome thousands of miles long escape march back to Germany. He made it in a year-long solitude stealth march where he had to steal food and clothes from farms and even kill some civilians or Soviet soldiers in order to survive. For example when he had to cross some river one night there apparently was no other choice than to kill the ferryman. He was always very reluctant to talk in detail about this ordeal but one fact he mentioned was that he never heard anything of his friends from the PoW camp ever again. The more I learn about the fate of German soldiers in Soviet captivity the more proud I am of my grandfather.

At last I now understand why the Germans fought so long and hard at Stalingrad. For the longest time I thought why didn't they just go around, or bypass the place and go to capture the Oilfields. Dr. Feldman your explanations are the very Best.

Everybody quiet, I'm watching Mark felton productions.

These stories of war gives me a sense that as a middle class American, im living in paradise compared with my grandparents WW2 ordeals and my father service in the frozen hills of Korea, and my best friend service in Vietnam. Makes me try to work as hard as I can. Because they did it before; For me. And Because hard work makes hard to knock down men...

The Utube algorithm sends me war history videos all the time, I look and if it doesn't say Marc Felton I move on. Your videos have always proven to be worth my time as well as accurate and fair, sorrily lacking in most any other WWI or II.

My grandfather's friend was flown out of the Kessel sick with jaundice where they met at the military hospital where my grandfather served, becoming lifelong friends. I asked him once to tell me about his experiences in Stalingrad, but he wouldn't share anything. The memories were obviously too painful even years later.

My great grandfather fought with the ARMIR Italian division in the Stalingrad operations of Barbarossa. He lost most of his hand in a skirmish with soviet forces and was eventually captured. Though, he managed to escape travelling through rural eastern Europe, scavenging whatever he could, sometimes eating from pig troughs. He eventually made it back to Italy alive. When he arrived in his village he was apparently unrecognisable with a dishevelled appearance, extremely thin, and a great beard.

My Grandpa lost his Leg in Stalingrad after a direct Artillery hit. Good bless the Pilot who flew him out before the 6. Army surrendered.

no one ever provides the extreme detail that felton does, truly impressive, it would do the youth of today well to watch these videos

Excellent as always!

Mark, thank you for all your hard work in producing these great videos. I enjoy them immensely. I am a big history fan here in Arizona USA. When I was a kid in the early 60's, I had a neighbor from Oklahoma who served in Patton's 3rd Army. He told me that he marched from North Africa to Germany. I asked him about his toughest fight. He told me it was against a British soldier outside of a bar in France. The Brit was at the top of the stairs and my neighbor was below him. He advised me of the value of holding the high ground. ;-)

Thank you for educating me on these battles as I was listening to these type of stories from my grand parents growing up in Bosnia where my late grandfather was in the battle of Sutjeska and survived being wounded in the face by a german bullet. I never had a chance to speak to my grand parents as an adult as the Bosnian war had them killed and I ended up in Australia. My fascination has been brought back with your videos and my memory of my grandfather as well. Thank you again.

Hello there from Poland, I am impressed by your films, which I regularly watch with great pleasure. Excellent job! However, let me make one remark here. The scene in 14.47 shows the facade of the Polish post office in Gdańsk under assault by the German troops in September 1939, and not a building in Stalingrad. Best wishes and greetings - Krzysztof

Damn I love this channel. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos Mark.

A book well worth reading, is "Stalingrad", by Theodor Plievier. The last days of the struggle for the city, told from the German perspective. Harrowing.

What I like about this channel is its factual impartiality, and it’s ability to lay bare the tragedy on both sides. We can’t but pity all those thrown into the meat grinder - friend and ‘foe’ - by the merciless ambitions of a few despots.

My dad was at Stalingrad, was badly wounded and evacuated before it’s down fall.

I came for an interesting video on Stalingrad, and ended up vibing to his intro music......and watched an informative video

Mark Felton? I am leaving everything and start listening this masterprice of voice xD

I can’t imagine what these men went through on both sides but I have worked at an Amazon Fulfillment Center before.

Nice reminder of a little known part of a horrific struggle. Thx.

That statue... Probably in a former children's playground, maybe a town center.. They dance in a circle, hands clasped.. eyes on each other's happy faces.. Except for the boy on the far left of the pic. He stares at the engulfed, battered & burning building not far behind him. He seems confused, or unsure about what is happening to the world that surrounds him.. Haunting. Much like the stone apostle, perched high above the wasted city of Dresden up in the church belfry.. looking down with that outstretched hand.. As if only wishing he could offer mercy & assistance where there is none. War truly is hell