Above all, Stalingrad is a battle that fills me full of absolute dread. The sheer numbers of individuals caught in the cogs of war here in the depths of winter is unfathomable.

My wife's great uncle, Karl Müller, was a mortarman with the 79th Infantry Division. He fought at the famous Red October tank factory. I have letters from him that continued to be delivered even after the encirclement, the last was dated Christmas Eve. In that letter he said they ate horse meat for the holiday, which was a treat due to the dire food situation. Throughout his time in the city, Karl described intense fighting. He never stopped using positive language, but he did stop talking about his dream of returning home soon. Perhaps the writing was on the wall. After that final letter, he was never heard from again. It is unknown if he died in Stalingrad, or later on in some Soviet labor camp. I can only hope the first. He was an avid photographer, and I have many photos from his campaign across southwestern Russia in 1942. He was just a kid, always smiling and being silly for the camera. He would have been 21 when the 6th Army surrendered. War is a crime. edit: Mail service out of Stalingrad continued by air until January, 1943. Literally the last plane out of the city had at least seven mail bags. Checkout 'Last Letters From Stalingrad' by Franz Schneider which looks into the topic.

One of my best friend’s father was in the 6th army at Stalingrad. His first son was a baby in an incubator in Dusseldorf when an air raid cut the electricity causing him to freeze to death. My friend’s father was given hardship leave to return home for the funeral. By the time he shipped back out to the front all was lost. My friend often said that if his brother hadn’t died, he wouldn’t be here. He lives in Krefeld just outside Dusseldorf.

1:43 that has to be one of the most haunting pieces of imagery from WW2. The statue of the girls playing while holding hands with the shattered buildings engulfed in flames in the background just speaks a thousand words about the type of war that was raging on the eastern front.

Can’t imagine what it must feel like to be instead of celebrating Christmas with your family but instead being stuck in Stalingrad fighting to the death in frigid weathers and dwindling supplies

Merry Christmas to Dr Felton and his legion of history followers. Looking forward to more quality content in 2022.

My Grandma had six brothers fighting in Stalingrad, three of them died and three them got captured and survived (with lost toes and fingers), but none of them was ever married and none of them had a normal life. I am named after one of the dead brothers. I am not even 30, still I think about this battle for pretty much all my life and often think about how lucky I am being born 70 years later... Edit: since this got so much more attention than I expected some clarifications: I am german and I am not at all proud of them fighting, it was completely crazy and a useless waste of young lifes. Also I am not sure all six brothers fought in Stalingrad, I only know they all fought in Ukraine/Russia and some of them did fight in Stalingrad (and also died there). I know some more details I remember from what my grandfather told me when I was a teenager. The one I am named after drove on a land mine, lost both legs, apparently survived for a couple of days but then died. He was the favourite brother of my grandma, he used to drag her along on a sled when they were cildren. One other brother was shot by a russian sniper in the head. The fate of the third one I don't know. I think all the brothers fighting on the front line died. The ones who survived were, as far as I am aware, mostly respsonsible for operation radio equipment and transfering messages (I think they were Pioneers), so more of a task behind the front line. The surviving brothers actually spent the rest of their lifes living together in what is now poland (and used to be german before ww2) in one tiny house, while my family moved to west-germany after ww2. One of these brothers visited my family for a while for medical treatment in west germany at the beginning of the 90s when I was an infant (I dont remember). This guy said he never experienced anything like that in his life: good treatment, warm housing, running water, unlimited food. He stayed for a couple of month, went back to poland and died at the beginning of 00s. A story that apparently happened to this guy my grandfather told me many times as a teenager. Its a very horrifying, disgusting story, so don't read it if youre sensitive to these things. Also, obviusly, I cant gurantee that it is a true story, so maybe take it with a grain of salt. On their way to the east they made lots of russian prisoners and they didnt know what to do with them. Once apparently they (that is a small group of german soldiers) made like 10-15 russian prisoners, but also had the task to lay cables or something (some pioneer like task) and had to leave their occupied house the whole day. But one guy had to stay behind and take care of the prisoners. And handling 10 people alone is difficult, one wrong moment and they will overwhelm you. So when my great uncle came back in the evening, they were weary of what happened, because there was no noise around the house. So they slowly approached it, fearing an ambush. But they just found the one german soldier peacefully sleeping. When they asked him where are the prisoners, he just answered "oh you dumps, you went all day to work outside. The moment you left the door, I just shot them all and had a whole day of sleep". This story sticks with me and will my whole life. I am sorry and ashamed for all the pain also my family brought upon the russian people. If you want to know something specific, I can ask my dad, I'll see him this christmas and he knows much more about these storys than I do. EDIT ONE YEAR LATER: OK its christmas again and I asked my dad some more questions about on what he remembered. I dont care if people believe me or not, I dont have proof for any of the stories, the people involved are all dead by now. All the papers were left in Silesia and are long gone by now, so I cannot figure out any details. I would like to figure out things like the company thery served in, but I dont know how to. The people involved have different surname from me, since these are brothers of my grandma and she took my granddads name. They were actually 7 brothers, 6 of them fought (one was too young), 3 died, 3 returned. The ones who died called were Paul, Franz and Josef, the ones who survived were called Viktor, Richard and Conrad. Paul and Franz apparently died in near Kharkiv, Josef died in Stalingrad. Two other brothers (Richard and Viktor) were in Stalingrad as well, they both survived. Viktor was at the artillery and took pride that he was the only one who managed to bring back his gun and his horses out of the encircelement. I dont know how he did it, anyway, later he got captured, but managed to escape (with some polish people by train towards Warsaw) and survived. Richard (he was the oldest one) got captured in Stalingrad and survived as well (several years of imprisonment), he actually founded a family later on when he returned to Silesia. Conrad managed to slip away somehow and was only imprisoned shortly. Anyway, he lost nearly all his toes. Paul was at the field communication (german "Fernmeldeeinheit"), he drove onto a land mine with his motorbike, lost his legs and one arm and died 14 days after this. He was 19 when he died. He was my grandmas favorite brother (the one who would drag her on the slide). Franz was a machine gunner, he got shot in the head by a russian sniper and died at 21. Josef was shot as well, but noone remembers what he served as. He was like 25. What Viktor later told (survivor) was that because of their polish sounding name, they were not in high regard within the german army. So they frequently were sent to do the most dangerous tasks. Viktor was the one who visited our family for an elongated amount of time mid 90s in germany. He did not have health insurance, however, our family doctor treated him for free. However, my granddad from my mothers side (completely different family tree) was among the front line to invade poland (which he barely survived; only through quick acting and thinking. Different story and just as hard to believe) and then he was among the first ones to invade france. However, there he got lucky because he got shot py a partisan while marching. He lost a fraction of his leg and henceforward had a shortened leg and was limping (anyway he was more sportive than 99% of people with functioning legs. He was still climbing trees in his 70s). His luck was that after he got wounded, he left the army. His whole company was later shifted to invade the soviet union, noone returned. His brother was stationed in Norway and returned unharmed. What everyone had in common who fought in the war was, that the rarely spoke about it. They rarely told stories about it, they just wanted to forget. Viktor only mentioned some stories, when he met my other granddad from my mother side, among veterans they apparently opened up a bit. He was the one who told the story about the killed russian prisoners. Its everything just horrible, horrible, horrible. Even more so, when I think about that right now people die again in the region of Kharkiv.

This episode really points out, how fortunate we are to be living in this time of relative peace … Merry Christmas 🎁🎄 to All and of course to Dr Felton …!

Many years ago I had the (mis)fortune to meet a German veteran, who took part in Operation Wintergewitter (Winterstorm) in the ranks of Hoth’s army. He told me, he never celebrated Christmas again. The peaceful and cheerful spirit of Christmas had been diminished forever the moment the order to cease the rescue attempt had been given on Christmas Eve. In my mind I still see his sad fear-filled eyes which clearly showed, the inability to rescue the trapped men, his comrades, of the 6th Army, haunted him to this very day. Merry Christmas Dr. Felton, keep up the tremendously amazing work! 😄👍

one of my great grandpas died 5 days before his birthday (died on 14.12.1942) in northafrika. we still have the death certificate. im grateful i can celebrate my birthday every year in peace. i can not imagine how all these men felt fightin at the christmas day. greetings from germany.

My grandfather was one of the few who came back. I only discovered late in life, why he, after Christmas eve when all were at sleep, he was still sitting alone in the kitchen and crying... May all who lost their life or soul in this nightmare rest in peace. Marry Christmas to everyone!

The sheer misery of the men who fought this battle is almost unbearable to think of. Human endurance is amazing.

I've read Anthony Beever's book on Stalingrad and it's an absolute horror story. War is hell.

My Dad was on the trains traveling east to his very first posting, Stalingrad, when the Soviet pincers closed and made my Dad's new first posting; operation Winterstorm. My Dad fought on a halftrack with a 20mm anti-aircraft gun mounted on it. He spent 2 years on the Russian front with many horrible stories. One time, my Dad was the only survivor of his platoon after a 6 hour Russian artillery barrage. He spent the next few days burying his friends. Can't say ANY 18 year olds today have to live that horror.

Anytime I think I'm cold or hungry I have to remind myself..."I'm not in Stalingrad."

I really want to thank him for uploading this, it makes me feel fortunate for not having to experience any of this suffering. May all the souls that suffer or have suffered in this world find peace and heaven.

Thanks for the video. TIKhistory has a series of videos on Stalingrad campaign in which he rather convincingly argues against many of the narratives about the battle of Stalingrad. 1-Hitler was not obsessed with Stalingrad, Stalingrad was not even emphasized in any way in the original case blue plan. 2-Paulus could not just "go around" the city. His flanks would have been badly exposed. A large city like Stalingrad could provide safe defensive opportunities for the extended German front in an otherwise featureless steppe. 3- Paulus could not simply "break out" of Stalingrad. He did not have enough fuel for vehicles or even enough horses to tow away heavy equipment and supplies. Paulus had to send back tens of thousands of horses before getting encircled simply because he had logistical issues and could not feed them. So most of the Germans could only attempt to break out on foot with light weapons. They would have gotten mowed down by Russian forces on the featureless steppe outside the city.

I have been reading and watching everything about the eastern front for years now and everytime the numbers killed and wounded,the distances and brutal conditions shock me. Merry,peaceful christmas and thank you for another excellent story

The word „Stalingrad“ has a specific tone to it in modern German language. It is hard to explain to none native speakers - it is like the unspeakable horror and the brutality of the Landser’s combat are mixed with the grief about millions of lifes lost. The last POWs that returned in 1955 were the Stalingradkämpfer (Stalingrad fighter).

Great video. As a German language student I recall some of my German students talking about this. They never spoke much about ww2. It was sort of a tabu subject. However I remember being told that after the war many Germans kept a lit candle in the window of their home. This was for the many German pows still held by the soviets after Stalingrad.

Honestly knowing about this battle got me through so much in life. Just makes me so grateful to have what I have.

imagine how thankful you'd be as a German soldier being shot in the arm or leg and then getting out on one of the last flights before Pitomnik airfield was overrun.

Whilst Stalingrad was a German disaster it’s holding out allowed one million German soldiers fighting in the Caucasus to escape with their equipment. A rapid defeat of Stalingrad and a Russian advance to take Rostov would have partly trapped army group south who would have only had the Crimea left to escape through.

Merry Christmas to everyone, especially to the great Dr. Mark Felton and his family. May 2022 bring many more great, informative videos - that will be the greatest gift of all.

Brilliant narration covering an interesting and truly horrific battle.

Len Deighton pointed out something I always thought repeating, which is that Germany got far more from the Soviet Union with peaceful trade (oil, rare earth metals, wheat, and other vital commodities) than he ever got from invasion & conquest. This was to the point of the UK & France considering bombing the RUSSIAN oil fields in the Caucasus in 1940 in order to deprive Germany of their fresh supply of Russian-sourced oil. Ironic, isn't it?

I spent a Christmas Eve with a man who was a German Soldier at Stalingrad. The stories he told under the light of a traditional tree with candles on the branches were horrifying. He managed to master both English and Russian so served as an interpreter between the Armies then made it to the US for which he was forever grateful. I asked him how he believed all that Nazi stuff and he said that the propaganda was all they heard in the schools growing up so they knew nothing else. Words for thought

happy Yule! This past year and a half You helped me through my fight with cancer and my days of Chemo. I want to thank you for being one if the reasons I was entertained and survived and am so far clear, Battles won we move along with hope and caution. I wish I could give you money this holiday but all i have is hope and blessings for you which I hope hold some value to you. Thank You from the depths of my soul

This channel is such a gem! Keep up the great work, Mr Felton! Merry Christmas!

Always been grateful being born in Canada after the war, growing up in a small town with many immigrants from all sides of the war, kept it's memory close at hand. I always turn to this topic at this time of year, must be the wonderful hospitality shown by many eastern European families over the Christmas season, their delicious food and drink they shared with the friends of their children. Always generous and kind, rarely were the war years mentioned in my presence. Very Best of the Season to Mark Felton and his incredible group of followers who add so much to his channels. Thank you all for your excellent posts and anecdotes.

The Germans accused the Romanians and Hungarians of not putting up a sufficient fight to hold their flanks to which the Hungarians pointed out that of three senior Hungarian officers killed in the fighting two were killed in hand to hand combat.

It would have been good to mention, that a big reason as to why so many Stalingrad prisoners died in Soviet captivity, was because of the malnourishment they had been affected by, once the supplies in the cauldron ran out. They had been going with less and less food ever since the pocket closed, not to even mention the battle fatigue they had suffered even before that. By the time they germans were captured, they were dying in droves every day and while soviet mistreatment surely added to the list of casualties, it was not the chief reason as to why just 5000 returned

I've been a student of WWII history for 57 yrs and this site is really good, thank you for sharing with us. Stalingrad is one of my favorite areas of reading and watching.

Dr.Felton i just want you to know i learned more from you about military history than any history teacher i ever had. And I really appreciate the effort you put in

I’ve been researching Stalingrad lately, perfect timing! Thanks for the content Dr.Felton. Much appreciated!

My Grandfather who was an officer in the British Indian Army and who served in the 10th Baluch regiment and Royal Indian Army Service Corps before and during the Second World War had a close German friend of his who served as a Panzer officer in the relief column that attempted to break through to Stalingrad. Somehow, this man survived the war and came to visit my Grandfather in his house in Dublin in the late 1950’s. Apparently, whilst he was bending over to put some logs on the fire, my Mother came into the room and couldn’t resist kicking him in the backside with my grandparents looking on. That was the 2nd time in his life he had his ass kicked.😀

To be honest, even if 6th army would manage to make contact with Mannsthain forces, how much would it change the overall strategic situation ? Long retreat in middle of russian winter would be insanenly costly in casualties and hardware anyway. Surrounded or not, 6th was doomed as fighing force either way.

When the Red Army overran the Italian 8th army, they decimated 5 of it's divisions in just two days and left a 90 mile gap between Army Group B and Don(Manstein). And with the russians moving further and further westward towards Rostov, there's no way Manstein could have rescued the 6th army in time.

Merry Christmas Mark! Your videos are top notch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"The officers today told the soldiers to be prepared for action. General Manstein is approaching Stalingrad from the south with strong forces. This news brought hope to the soldiers' hearts. God, let it be!" - Wilhelm Hoffman, December 18, 1942.

Merry Christmas!

I lost 6 great uncles in Stalingrad. All were my grandmother's brothers who were in the Wehrmacht. Four died in combat, two as POWs.

My grandfather fight in Russia he came 1948 back as a poor broken men .rip stalingrad soldiers .happy holidays for everyone

That would have been the worst Christmas ever. Hope you and your family are well Dr. Felton. Happy holidays and thank you for the insightful content.

What a brutal Winter. Thank You Sir Mark and a Marry Christmas to you and your family. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🇺🇸

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Dr. Felton! Thank you so much for all the very interesting history, I cant wait for more next year!

Merry Christmas Mark and thank you for saying it it’s something you just don’t hear on KZfaq anymore and thank you for your videos this horrible knowledge should not be lost and forgotten or swept under the rug because people are too sensitive to hear it we cannot forget the horrors or we will relive the horrors

Felton ROCKS! Thanks for all you do mate

Merry Christmas Mark Felton and thank you for your great stories this year. Looking forward to more in 2022.

I think Hitler's fixation on Stalingrad because it bore his enemy's name has been shown to be debatable, at minimum, as it dismisses the strategic importance of the city to both sides. (It also dismisses Hitler's awareness there would never be a second chance after 1942.) Also several comments were made in the video which more or less rely on the popular wisdom Hitler was so power hungry and mentally unstable he dismissed the advice of his knowledgeable/experienced generals. This too is debatable, at minimum. It was Halder who derailed Barbarossa in 1941 by changing Hitler's plan to capture the Ukrainian breadbasket and the oilfields in the Caucasus by late 1941 to capturing Moscow, which the Russians were willing to give up anyway. Halder's betrayal put Hitler's strategic plans behind by a full year, after 1941 Hitler had an excellent reason for dismissing his generals' advice when it did not further his strategic plan. As far as the operation to relieve Stalingrad the video is good but the introduction is not.

Merry Christmas for you too, Dr. Felton, and to everyone watching this channel.

Mr Felton I have a great respect for your work, I love history and I appreciate people like you creating these educational shorts. Thank you

A cozy fireplace, a good cup of coffee and a fresh Felton story is a good place to be.

Ik wil u hartelijk danken voor alle tijd die u in uw mini documentaireserie steekt. Hulde voor al uw werk en ga vooral door. Fijne feestdagen en een gezond 2022

My favorite historian..kudoz Felton 🙏

Merry Christmas Dr. Felton. Thank you for giving us years of ‘hidden’ history, especially in regards to WWII. 👍👍👍

Great way to wake up! Thanks for all the amazing videos Dr. Felton and Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!

These numbers are staggering. Can you imagine the utter hopelessness of a captured German solider? After the war these 20 some year Olds were used to clean up and rebuild the USSR at the expense of their young lives. I don't sympathize with what the Germans did, in fact it was horrific. But, like the comment below, to be " Caught up in the cogs of war" the suffering and the thoughts that they would never see their families again.

1.5 million subs now! Remember the first video I seen from your channel, German U boats in Argentina u530 think you had around 30k. I usually don't subscribe at first but something about the thoroughness and detail convinced me. Through the next 3 years, you haven't disappointed. Cheers to another 3 years of great content.

Merry Christmas Dr. Felton, thank you for a year of great videos on both of your channels.

Dr. Felton, thank you for another great video at the end of a year full of other great videos from you. I just finished your book, Never Surrender, which was fascinating. Your books are always very informative yet they are a treat to read. Not the stuffy history texts I grew up with, or studied in college. This is my 5th book of yours, and to your viewers here, I say pick up any of Dr. Felton's books and you wont be disappointed. I hop you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the new year.

Thanks for the great content every time, and Merry Christmas to you too.

Mr Felton please have a very Merry Christmas thank you for all these videos. I've learned more about wwII then ever, and the way you tell the story keeps my complete attention. Again thank you.

I was fortunate in meeting a Stalingrad survivor on a Chevrolet assembly line back in 1973. After spending 10 years in Siberian captivity he returned home outside of Munchen. He collected his overjoyed wife and together journeyed to America to work initially on a farm in Georgia and eventually to Michigan at the truck factory in Flint. An 'Obergefreiter' (corporal) he was a very humble man, who set high standards for his work ethic on that line. He was amused at my pedestrian attempts at speaking German, but one day blurted out "..God did not intend for us to win that war"...I replied "ganz richtig"!(yes indeed).

Always a pleasure to watch your excellent videos , much time spent to produce such fine work both accurate and educational. And happy Christmas to you too

Merry Christmas Mark! I'm looking forward to more remarkable historic videos in the future!

Perfect timing. Just finished Antony Beevor's book.

Merry Christmas Dr. Felton! Thanks for yet another year of smashing videos.

4:51 - Not true. Paulus openly felt 6th Army was too beaten down, and too short of supplies and transportation, to stage an effective breakout. Göring claimed he could keep them supplied by air if they remained in "the cauldron" (the Stalingrad pocket). AND, Manstein personally advised Hitler (on November 24th) that 6th Army should NOT attempt to break out, but should be reached by a German counterattack. 5:39 - That shortage of supplies was not beginning JUST then. It had been building since the encirclement of the 6th Army, on November 23rd. By mid December, the situation was critical. 6:37 - Manstein mounted "Operation Winter Storm" to reach 6th Army from the southwest. Starting from Kotelnikovo, 13 divisions, commanded by Hermann Hoth, were to break through the Soviet 51st Army, and link up with the 6th Army. 7:21 - Stavka (Russian: Ставка) is pronounced STAV-ka (not STAV-kee). 8:04 - Tatsinskaya was only ONE of the fields used for the supply flights. The others being Morozovskaya, Sverovo, Salsk, Stalino-nord, Novotsherkassk, Lugunsk, Gorlokova, Makejevka, Konstantinovka, and Rostov. The loss of Tatsinskaya WAS a serious blow to the relief efforts however, as a large number of German aircraft had to be destroyed and abandoned, including 72 of the vital Ju 52 transports. 8:30 to 8:50 - UNTRUE! From the beginning, Paulus felt a breakout attempt would be suicide without more resources. Most of their supplies and big guns were normally towed behind horses. 70% of the horses had been evacuated from the area for the winter (because they ate too much) and many others had been killed during the fighting. They would have to attempt a breakout with almost no supplies or ammunition, which would be suicide Paulus was well aware of that. In addition, 6th Army had only enough fuel for its tanks to travel PERHAPS 30 km (fewer than 19 miles), WELL short of the distance they would need to reach to link up with a relief force, at ANY point in time. 9:24 - NO! "A few dozen vehicles" would have been slaughtered, wholesale, by the Soviets, who were laying in wait for JUST such an attempt. Paulus KNEW that. 10:25 - To the SOUTHWEST

The brother of my grandmother died in Stalingrad at the age of 19. The last letter she received from him was sent on december 24 I think. Such a useless fight. Merry Christmas guys!

Thank you Dr Felton for another great historical video. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Best wishes from Australia 🇦🇺

A good friend of mine's Grandfather fought in Stalingrad with the 100th Division. He was an MG34 gunner and was badly wounded and lost a leg. He was from Silesia and therefore technically Polish. The German Government after the war ended still continued to pay him a disability pension until he passed away in his late 70s. He used some of this money to pay for my friend to go to University and be given further advanced lessons in English. My friend has been able to have a much better life because of this generous man. :)

Another great lesson-always informative and enlightening.

quality content as usual, thank you.

Merry Christmas Mark, and RIP to the brave souls of the 6th Army

Thank you for this present Dr. Felton. Have a Merry Christmas as well.

Great episode! On the previous campaign the Germans managed to supply troops by air and to send a rescue force which managed to recover contact with the surrounded troops at Demyansk and maybe Hitler thought he could do it again but circunstances were different at Stalingrad...another issue is that if Paulus had the fuel to break west I still have the doubt of whether most troops would have been able to escape since many troops were infantry and depended on horses and not on vehicles but I am not clear about this...again thank you for this great episode...cheers from Peru!

Great way to start the morning. Merry Christmas all!

Merry Christmas Mark. So appreciative of all this content.

Merry Christmas to you, Mr. Felton! You are amazing, with the prolific knowledge of military history, is so facinating to me. Be well and safe.

The classic notion that Stalingrad had no strategic significance outside of it's name has been challenged by TiK East of the city was a main railroad leading north. Taking the city would have effectively cut the oil flow north to the Soviet Armies, not to mention supplies flowing north on the Volga itself.

Merry Christmas to too Mark. Thank you for another great year. Always the best!

A Merry Christmas to you Dr. Felton. Wishing you all the best for a safe and joyous new year. Thank you for another entertaining year, looking forward for more to come in 2022.

Merry Christmas Dr. Felton. Always appreciate the content you put forth for us.

Heartbreaking for men of the 6th army

Beautiful gift for Christmas, Mark Thank you!

Thank you again Mark Felton and Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Merry Belated Christmas Dr. Mark! Your endless work is greatly appreciated Sir!

Seasons greetings Sir. Another great video to add to this years haul. Looking forward to 2022 with more excellent glimpses into history.

This is interesting, Merry Christmas!

Thank you Dr. Felton for another year of great history.

Happy Holidays Mark Felton ! Thanks for all ur uploads during 2021. Looking forward to more in 2022. Peace 🎅🤶🌲

More interesting history, thanks so much, Mark! Have a wonderful and safe Christmas!

I think it's disingenuous to bring up the name of the city as something significant - there were many good strategic reasons for the Germans to want to capture the city and the Soviets to defend it. Stalingrad was the linchpin of the German flank on the Volga. You say it was possible to "bypass and let it wither," but bypass where? Across the Volga? The plan was to anchor the flank on the Volga in Stalingrad. They could surround the city instead of attempting to take it, but that leaves a sizeable Soviet bridgehead behind their lines that would take many forces to secure. The Soviets, for their part, want to maintain that bridgehead and control of an important industrial center, the factories of which still churned out tanks even with battle raging just outside the factory gates. As for why Hitler would refuse retreat, we need to look no further than the fact that he *always* refused retreat and wanted to hang on to every inch of ground they had gained, regardless of the name of the place.

Merry Christmas, Mark! So many enlightening videos! Always looking forward to your new episodes!!

‘Stalingrad Christmas’ would make a great festive season movie.

Peace on Earth and goodwill to all men. And thank you, Dr Felton, for a year of excellent education.

My father survived the winter battle there✌🏻🇩🇪

When I subscribed to this man, I think he had 250K followers - so great to see where you are now Dr. Felton! Continued success!

Another outstanding mini documentary Mark! Thank you and merry Christmas!