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The 6th Army order for the
attack on Stalingrad. Top Secret
Sixth Army Command
Ops. Dept. Nr. 3044/42. t.s.
Army Hq. 19th of August, 1942
1845 hrs.
11 copies
Copy No. 9
Army Order for the Attack on
Stalingrad
(Map 1 :100,000)
I. The Russian enemy will defend
the Stalingrad area stubbornly. He holds the high ground on
the east bank of the Donand west of Stalingrad and has built
defensive positions there in great depth.
It must be assumed that he has
assembled forces, including armoured brigades, ready to
counter-attack, both in the Stalingrad area and in the area
north of the isthmus between
Don and Volga.
Therefore in the advance across
the Don towards Stalingrad the Army must reckon with
enemy resistance in front and with heavy counter-attacks against
die northern flank of our
advance.
It is possible that the
annihilating blows struck during the past few weeks will have
destroyed
the enemy's means for fighting a determined defensive action.
2. Sixth Army will occupy the
isthmus between Don and Volga north of the railway line
Kalatch-Stalingrad and will protect its own northern and eastern
fronts.
With this intention the Army will
cross the Don between Peskovatka and Ostrovskii. Point
of main effort, on either side of Vertiatchi. With standing
protection being provided along the
northern flank, armoured and motorised formations will advance
over the high ground between
the Rossoshka and the sources of the Karennaia into the area
immediately north of Stalingrad,
and then to the bank of the Volga, while at this same time
forces will be detached to fight their
way into and occupy Stalingrad from the north-west.
This advance will be accompanied
by a subsidiary advance on the southern flank by a
detached force advancing along the central reaches of the
Rossoshka. This force will establish
contact south-west of Stalingrad with the mobile troops of the
neighbouring army advancing
on that city.
Initially a weak covering force
will hold a line facing south-west towards the area between the
lower reaches of the Rossoshka and the Kartovka rivers and the
Don below Kalatch.
This area will be mopped up from the north-east as soon as the
forces of the neighbouring army
advancing towards the Kartovka shall have arrived.
With the progress of the advance
on the east bank of the Don, the forces stationed along the
west bank of that river below Malyi will be steadily reduced in
strength, since their task will
then be that of a security force. This force will later cross
the river on both sides of Kalatch
and participate in the destruction of the enemy forces in that
area.
3. Objectives:
XXIVth Panzer Carps will hold the
west bank of the Don from Army's right-hand boundary
to Lutchinskoie (excl.) and, with the yist Infantry Division,
will prepare to leave a minimum
security force to hold the Don while establishing a bridgehead
on either side of Kalatch from
which 71st Infantry Division will advance eastwards.
Release of this Corps
headquarters for further employment elsewhere is to be prepared
against.
LIst Army Corps will seize a
further bridgehead across the Don on either side of Vertiatchi.
For this purpose the following units at present under XXIVth
Panzer Corps will be temporarily
placed under command, viz.: artillery, engineer, traffic
control, anti-tank and the necessary
signals units.
As soon as the XIVth Panzer Corps
shall have advanced eastwards from the bridgehead.
LIst Army Corps will become responsible for covering the right
flank of the advance.
With this intention, the List
Army Corps will attack across the Rossoshka between
Nijni-Alexeievski and Bol. Rossoshka, will occupy the high
ground west of Stalingrad,
and will temporarily establish south-westerly contact with the
advancing mobile forces of the
neighbouring army to our right.
The Corps will then capture and
occupy the central and southern parts of Stalingrad.
Meanwhile weak forces will form a covering line between
Peskovatka and Nijni-Alexeievski.
A special Army order will decide when the time has come to
annihilate the Russian forces
located south of this line and north of the Karpovka.
XIVth Panzer Corps, after the
capture of the bridgehead by LIst Army Corps, will push
forward through the bridgehead, advancing eastwards over the
high ground north of
Malrossoshka and Hp. Konaia to the Volga north of Stalingrad. It
will prevent
all river traffic and cut all rail communications immediately to
the north of the city.
Elements of the Corps will attack
Stalingrad from the north-west and occupy the northern
parts of the city. Tanks will not be used for this purpose. In
the north a covering line will be
established running along the high ground south-west of Yersovka
and south of the
Gratshevaia stream. While so doing closest contact will be
maintained with the VIIIth
Army Corps advancing from the west.
VIIIth Army Corps will cover the
northern flank of the XIVth Panzer Corps. It will launch a
sharp attack in a south-easterly direction from the bridgehead
captured between Nijni-Geras-
sirnov and Ostrovskii, and then, swinging steadily north, will
form a line, which must so far as
possible be proof against attack by armoured forces, between
Kusmitchi and Katchalinskaia.
Close contact will be maintained with XIVth Panzer Corps.
XIth and XVIIth Army Corps will
cover the northern flank of the Army.
XIth Army Corps will hold the
line of the Don from Melov-Kletskaia (excl.) to left Army
boundary.
Xlth Army Corps will release 22nd
Panzer Division, as soon as possible, to Army reserve.
This division will be assembled ready for action in area
Dalii-Perekovskoie-Orekhovskii-
Sselivanov.
4. D-Day and H-hour will be
announced in a special order.
5. Boundaries as given on map
attached.
6. VIIIth Air Corps will give air
support to the Army's attack, with point of main effort
initially
in LIst Army Corps' sector, later switching to line of advance
of XIVth Panzer Corps.
7. Army HQ as of dawn, 21 August:
Ossinovskoie.
8. Contents of this order may
only be communicated to subordinate commands, and only such
parts as are relevant to the future operations by the
subordinate command in question may
be communicated.
This order is not to be carried
by plane. Attention will be drawn to the secret nature of such
parts of this order as are communicated to subordinate commands.
The Commander in Chief.
Signed : PAULUS.
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