The Battle of Salingrad: Operation Uranus

In October 1942, German forces had reached the Volga, and the Soviet generals Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy and Georgy Zhukov, both responsible for the strategic plan in all the Stalingrad territory, concentrated big masses of Soviet forces in the siege of Stalingrad. The German northern flank was particularly vulnerable to any attack, since it was defended by the allied axis and these that were the Italian, Hungarian, and Romanian forces suffered from inferior training, poor equipment, and lack of morale and hopes when compared with their German counterparts. 

This weakness from the axis was well known and exploited by the Soviets, who preferred to battle against troops that weren’t German when was possible so they had more chance to defeat, just as the British preferred attacking Italian troops, instead of German ones in North Africa. The Soviet’s plan was to keep maintaining the Germans down in the city, then punch through the overstretched and weakly defended German flanks and surround the Germans inside the Stalingrad area. During the preparations for the attack, Marshal Zhukov himself visited the front, which was rare for such a high-ranking general. This master operation was code-named “Uranus” and launched by the hand with Operation Mars, which was directed at Army Group Center. The plan was similar to Zhukov’s victory at Khalkin Gol three years before, where he had destroyed an important division of the Japanese army. 

On November 19, the Red Army of Soviets unleashed Uranus. The attacking Soviet unit forces under the command of Gen. Nikolay Vatutin consisted of three complete armies, , including a total of 18 infantry divisions, eight tank brigades, two motorized brigades, six cavalry divisions and one anti-tank brigade. The preparations for the attack could be heard by the Romanians, who continued to push for reinforcements, but once again they ended being rejected. When the Romanian Third army which defended the northern flank of German Sixth Army was finally spread, outnumbered and poorly equipped, was shattered by the Soviets. 

On November 20, a second Soviet attack by two armies was launched to the south of Stalingrad, against flanks defended by the Romanian IV Corps. The Romanian forces, made up primarily of infantry, were defeated almost immediately. Soviet forces raced west in a pincer movement, and met two days later in a place near the town of Kalach, sealing the ring around Stalingrad. The Russians later reconstructed the link up for use as propaganda, and the piece of footage made famous around the entire world. We can say Operation Uranus was a master operation, wll prepared, where the Red Army knew how to explote and use the overwhelming resources to smash down the German flanks of the 6th Army that were weakly defended by the axis, and also encircled it into the Stalingrad pocket. During battle preparations, Stavka, employed empleado maskirovka for hiding his intentios, one facet that would turn into a distinguished hallmark of future attack operations, as would the huge artillery preparations which opened the offensive and the far greater superiority in manpower and material which were employed to ensure its success. Finally, Hitler's refusal to release forces from Stalingrad and allow 6th Army freedom of movement to meet the threat, added to Paulus's reluctance to take independent action, sealed 6th Army's fate. 

Lucia Valdivia