The Battle of Stalingrad
Des Latham
Categories: Education
Listen to the last episode:
This is episode 34 – the final in this series. A big thank you to my listeners who have posted reviews as well as comments over the past 9 months. And those who have sent me email and twitter notices of support thank you so much too. So to the story at hand. Last episode you remember that Field Marshal Paulus surrendered with the men in the southern pocket inside Stalingrad. That was not the end of it all. We left off with Russian Generals Voronov and Rokossovsky interrogating Paulus. Before we continue with their attempts at getting Paulus to order the Germans in the northern pocket in Stalingrad to surrender, we must quickly return to the Wolf’s Lair in east Prussia. Hitler took the news of the surrender far more calmly than most would have forecast. Sitting in front of a huge map of Russia in the main conference room, he spoke with Zeitzler, Keitel and others about the debacle. The Wolf’s Lair in the middle of the Prussian forest was once described by General Jodl as a cross between a monastery and a Concentration Camp. Hitler didn’t bother banging the table or conducting his usual screaming and haranguing technique this time. He seemed resigned. “They have surrendered there formally and absolutely. Otherwise they would have closed ranks, formed a hedgehog and shot themselves with their last bullet…” “That Schmidt will sign anything..” Hitler was referring to the ardent Nazi and Paulus chief of staff. “A man who doesn’t have the courage in such a time to take the road that every man has to take sometimes, doesn’t have the strength to withstand that sort of thing …” he droned on “he will suffer torture in his soul…” Hitler was disgusted. Zeitzler was his usual toadying self - coddling Hitler’s ego … “I still think … the Russians are only claiming to have captured them all ..” “No ..” Hitler shouted “In this war no more Field Marshals will be made. I won’t go on counting my chickens before they are hatched..” The Führer kept returning to the fact that Paulus failed to kill himself. In his mind he’d built up the moment as one of heroic courage, something he could draw on to rally his Reich. Nobody was more shocked than the Japanese. When their military officials were shown a Soviet propaganda film featuring Paulus and the other captured generals, they wondered why all had not committed suicide rather than be paraded like common criminals. The final number of casualties on the Russian side topped 1.1 million, with a similar number on the German side.
Previous episodes
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34 - Episode 34 - The Battle of Stalingrad ends and the world changes Sun, 07 Feb 2021
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33 - Episode 33 - Field Marshal Paulus surrenders but the northern pocket fights on Sun, 31 Jan 2021
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32 - Episode 32 - Goebbels declares “Total War” as crows peck at the eyeballs of the dead Sun, 24 Jan 2021
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31 - Episode 31 - Pitomnik Airfield overrun and Major Thiel talks to dead men at Gumrak Sun, 17 Jan 2021
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30 - Episode 30 - Voronov’s “God of War” turns the melody of the front into a real-world Goya nightmare Sun, 10 Jan 2021
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29 - Episode 29 - The noose tightens and Hoth’s elastic withdrawal delays the Russian attack on Rostov Sun, 03 Jan 2021
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28 - Episode 28 - Tatsinskaya airfield overrun and Manstein turns around on Christmas eve Sun, 27 Dec 2020
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27 - Episode 27 - Little Saturn steamrolls the Italian 8th Army Sun, 20 Dec 2020
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26 - Episode 26 - Operation Winter Storm begins but Zhukov has other plans Sun, 13 Dec 2020
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25 - Episode 25 - The Kessel forms as the Sixth Army receives a Last Tango in Stalingrad Sun, 06 Dec 2020
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24 - Episode 2 - The Red Army staggers under the Wehrmacht’s storm Sun, 28 Jun 2020
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23 - Episode 1 - Shock and awe as Barbarossa begins & Stalin goes AWOL Sun, 21 Jun 2020
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22 - Episode 24 - German horror in Stalingrad “we’re surrounded!” Sun, 29 Nov 2020
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21 - Episode 23 - Trumpets herald the start of Operation Uranus Sun, 22 Nov 2020
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20 - Episode 22 - Zhukov finalises plans for Operation Uranus as Paulus' health fails Sun, 15 Nov 2020
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19 - Episode 21 -Hitler’s hubris at a Munich Beer Hall as crack German engineers arrive in Stalingrad Sun, 08 Nov 2020
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18 - Episode 20 - Paulus receives a shocking briefing as ice floes drift down the Volga Sun, 01 Nov 2020
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17 - Episode 19 - “Animals flee this hell, the hardest stones cannot bear it for long.. only men endure…” Sun, 25 Oct 2020
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16 - Episode 18 - A massive attack begins on the 14th October as the Germans target the Tractor Factory Sun, 18 Oct 2020
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15 - Episode 17 - Pavlov defends his house as Hitler orders a major attack on the 14th October Sun, 11 Oct 2020
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14 - Episode 16 - Sergeant Pavlov, Railway Crows and the Sixth Army targets the Red October plant Sun, 04 Oct 2020
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13 - Episode 15 - Dust and gore in the Grain Elevator as Hitler fires Army chief General Halder Sun, 27 Sep 2020
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12 - Episode 14 - Time for pancakes and Vodka among the bodies on the blood-splattered Mamaev Hill Sun, 20 Sep 2020
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11 - Episode 13 - Chuikov takes command of the 62nd Army as the fighting escalates on 14th September 1942 Sun, 13 Sep 2020
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10 - Episode 12 - The Germans cut off the Russian 62nd Army and Hitler changes his tune Sun, 06 Sep 2020
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9 - Episode 11 - The 16th Panzer Division batters its way into Stalingrad suburbs as Zhukov arrives Sun, 30 Aug 2020
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8 - Episode 10 - An air raid pulverises Stalingrad and Russian women slow 16th Panzer division’s advance Sun, 23 Aug 2020
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7 - Episode 9 - The Sixth Army crosses the Don and Stalingrad trembles as the Nazi horde approaches Sun, 16 Aug 2020
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6 - Episode 8 - Stalingrad digs in as the Wehrmacht approaches Sun, 09 Aug 2020
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5 - Episode 7 - Stalin issues order 227 “Not One Step Backwards” as the Sixth Army approaches the Don Sun, 02 Aug 2020
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4 - Episode 6 - Voronezh slows the Wehrmacht as Operation Blue is split in two Sun, 26 Jul 2020
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3 - Episode 5 - A redhead leads a battalion of women at Kharkov facing General Paulus' 6th Army Sun, 19 Jul 2020
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2 - Episode 4 - Moscow survives as General Paulus takes command of the 6th Army Sun, 12 Jul 2020
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1 - Episode 3 - The Reich attacks Moscow with fingers instead of a fist Sun, 05 Jul 2020