Chapter 157 Chapter 25 "The Underworld also follows him" (8)

On New Year's Eve, Hitler sent his private pilot, Bohr, to Stalingrad to bring General Hans Huber, commander of the Fourteenth Panzer Corps, who had lost an arm in World War I, back to Germany.Huber was puzzled.After he returned to the Führer headquarters, Hitler asked him to tell him the situation of the Sixth Army accurately and in detail.Huber was outspoken and had no qualms about telling Hitler about the desperate situation his comrades were in.The Führer listened in silence, greatly moved. "Many situations were new to me," he said.He then pledged to send an SS Panzer Corps—now in France—to relieve Stalingrad.Meanwhile, airfreight supplies will increase at all costs.The Führer said affectionately that he vowed to turn the setback at Stalingrad into a victory, just as he did after last winter's crisis.

Huber flew back to the battlefield with orders to instill new hope in his comrades.He arrived on the 8th.That same day, Soviet planes dropped leaflets, including an ultimatum: Surrender or perish.Encouraged by Huber's news, Paulus told his regiment commanders that surrender was out of the question. Two days later, the Soviet army began to attack.The Sixth Army's western front was slowly being compressed, and supplies of food and ammunition dwindled rapidly; most cannons had only one round a day to fire, and each soldier had only one piece of bread and a little horsemeat.The supplies that reached the battlefield were far less than what Goering had promised to deliver.Hitler had lost his illusions and spoke almost to the point of vitriol, calling Göring "a fat pig with a fat head!" Perhaps the greatest insult was the selection of one of his subordinates to reorganize the airlift to save the Sixth Army.The Führer praised Field Marshal Milch twice, saying that he was a person who did not know what the word "impossible" was. In mid-January, he came to the "wolf den".Hitler ordered him to deliver 300 tons of supplies to Stalingrad every day.To this end, he was granted special powers, including the right to issue orders to any one of the commanders.Milch vigorously carried out reforms and increased the daily transportation capacity from 60 tons to 80 tons, giving the trapped officers and soldiers a glimmer of hope.Before long, however, even Milch could do nothing.He finally realized that this task was impossible.

On January 20, the battlefield, which had been reduced by half, was about to collapse, especially the area where the fighting was most intense.Paulus had seen so much suffering among the officers and soldiers that he felt obliged to appeal again to his superiors.That day, he called in Schmidt and two other staff officers for advice. Of the three, only one (combat staff officer) advocated continuing the fight.As a result, Paulus sent a telegram with the same message to Manstein and the Führer's Headquarters respectively.It is required to "avoid all being wiped out" when it is no longer possible to fight.

Both Manstein and Zeitzler pressed Hitler for a favorable answer.But he continued to demand that the Sixth Army "fight to the last soldier."As a last, desperate measure, a major named Zizewitz flew out of Stalingrad to report to Hitler first-hand the desperation there, in an attempt to win him back. On January 22, when Zizewitz had an audience with him, Hitler clutched his hands tightly. "You come from a place of danger," he said.Then, he talked about another relief plan-using a battalion of tank troops to break through the enemy's lines and go to the relief. Zizewitz was stunned. The entire armored unit of the army failed. How could a battalion win?Taking advantage of the pause in Hitler's conversation, the major took out a prepared note and read a series of numbers.He told movingly how the trapped officers and soldiers suffered from hunger, how they were frozen, how their supplies were dwindling, and how they felt when they were wiped out. "My Fuhrer," he concluded, "permit me to say that the officers and men of Stalingrad cannot be allowed to fire to the last bullet, because their physical strength cannot fight any longer, and there is no last bullet to fire."

Hitler turned to him in amazement and, it seemed to Zizewitz, looked directly at him. "A man regains his strength very quickly," Hitler said.After he sent the major away, he sent a message to Paulus: "Never surrender. The troops resist to the end." Hitler himself was full of doubts and worries.But two days later, his spirits were lifted again.The reason was that Roosevelt demanded the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers as soon as the Allied conference in Casablanca was over (for some time the Germans believed that Casablanca was the code name for the White House and that the conference was held in Washington).Since it was impossible for the President to bring about a political solution to world conflicts, the incident became in fact extremely valuable propaganda material for Hitler, inciting his men to fight it out.This was a ray of hope, as Hitler himself was finally forced to accept the hopeless situation at Stalingrad.It is said that he had ordered Assistant Director Schmondt to fly to Stalingrad to bring Paulus a pistol with which he could kill himself—at the last moment.

The Germans had begun to capitulate sporadically, and the total number was not small, but Paulus himself remained steadfast.He told the two division commanders who had raised the question of surrender that the general situation did not allow them to take this action.They must obey the Führer's orders to fight to the last moment.In spite of his decision, his conscience was oppressed, for he was well aware of the tortures of his officers and men.Until recently, their will to fight was strong.They trusted their leaders and thought that reinforcements would come.Today marks the 10th anniversary of the National Socialist seizure of power; there is an air of desperation among the soldiers.There was no place for the wounded, as every cellar in Stalingrad was overcrowded to the point of suffocation.Medicines, bandages, etc., are running out rapidly.It is no longer possible to bury the dead in frozen ground.

Paulus had no choice but to stand up to deal with the endgame, and telegraphed Hitler saying: On the 10th anniversary of your reign, the Sixth Army pays tribute to the Führer.The swastika still flies over Stalingrad.Let our struggle be an example for generations to come.No matter how outnumbered, never surrender.At that time, Germany will surely win. " In another private telegram, Paulus informed the Führer that his nephew Leo Rabaul had been wounded.Will he be evacuated by plane?The answer is no: as a soldier, he should be with his comrades.In this way, the brother of Gilly, Hitler's real beloved lover, was in an almost certain death situation. (*On this front, Hitler also had two relatives: Hans Hitler, the eldest cousin of the Führer on his paternal line; Heinz Hitler, the son of Alois Jr., the half-brother of the Führer. Hans fled to Germany; both Leo and Heinz were captured. According to Stalin's daughter, the Germans had offered to exchange a German prisoner, probably either Leo or Heinz, for her sister Yasha. Stalin told her "I won't do it. War is war." Stalin's young daughter is said to have been shot by the Germans. Heinz died in captivity. Gilly's brother returned home in 1955 and won't blame his uncle for not rescuing him Pursue, and believe even more, that Hitler was "absolutely ignorant" of his sister's death)

Paulus wrote in his last letter to his wife (a well-born Romanian): "I persist and fight-this is my order!" On the evening of January 30, in order to participate in the last battle, He armed himself with a rifle.At this moment an order came from "Wolf's Lair" that the Führer had promoted him to Field Marshal.This honor is the dream of every soldier, but at this moment it seems to be irrelevant.After midnight, Zeitzler sent a telegram—this was the promotion’s price tag: “The Führer wants me to point out that it is important that the fortress of Stalingrad last another day.”

At dawn on the 31st, Chief of Staff Schmidt looked out the window and saw an unbelievable sight.Amidst the flashes of countless artillery fire, a large group of German and Russian soldiers stood together in the market place, smoking and talking enthusiastically.Schmidt told Paulos it was time to end.There is no point in further partial resistance unless they are willing to kill each other.Surrender, Paulus agreed, was the only way out.In less than an hour, the two sat in a Russian car and headed for General M.S. Sumilov's 64th Army headquarters. When Sumilov suggested going to lunch, Paulus said that unless the Russians promised to provide food and medicine for his men, he would not be able to eat a mouthful.

"We are human beings," Sumilov said sympathetically, "of course we will." They got out of the car.Although it was cold, the sun was shining brightly.Sumilov stretched out his arms. "Ah, wonderful spring!" At lunch, Sumilov proposed toasting the victory of the Red Army.After hesitating for a while, Paulus raised his glass: "I toast the victory of the German army!" Sumilov felt insulted, so he put down his glass, and said kindly, "Forget it, toast to your health!" Early the next morning, February 1, Moscow announced the surrender of Paulus and Schmidt.At the noon meeting, Zeitzler did not believe this to be true; Hitler was convinced. "They officially surrendered. Absolutely," he insisted. "Otherwise, they would have gathered, gathered together, and, with the remaining bullets, killed themselves en masse." Zeitzler was still not convinced that Paulus had surrendered.Perhaps he was badly wounded, lying somewhere? "No, it was a real surrender," Hitler said. "They will be taken directly to Moscow, handed over to the KGB, and they will issue orders without hesitation that the northern theaters will also surrender." He went on rambling on , praising the soldier who shot himself in the head to kill himself. "How easy it is! A pistol—that makes it so easy. What cowardice to be afraid of that. Fright! Better to be buried alive! In a case like this, he knew very well that his death could Set an example for officers and soldiers near the battlefield. If you set such an example, how can you want others to continue fighting.

He continued to curse Paulos. "What pains me most is that I made him a marshal. I wanted him to be satisfied one last time. This is the last marshal I raise in this war. You must not count the chickens before they are hatched. I Not at all. When one sees so many people die—I really say: how easy it is..." He broke off. "... Then he couldn't have thought of it. Ridiculous, to do that kind of thing.So many had to die, and one man like this stained the heroism of so many others.He could have transcended the world, lived forever, and was favored by the world.But he preferred to go to Moscow.What choice is this?It makes no sense at all! " The next day, the northern battlefield surrendered.The Soviet Union announced the capture of 91,000 prisoners of war, including 24 generals and 2,500 officers.These were also subjected to inhumane treatment as a result of Hitler's brutal treatment of Soviet prisoners of war.According to reports, between February and April 1943, more than 400,000 German, Italian and Romanian prisoners of war were tortured to death, mainly by starvation.Cannibalism is common.Only the able-bodied people survived, and these people survived by picking the undigested corn and millet (after washing) in the excrement.Of the prisoners taken at Stalingrad, only a few thousand made it back to Germany.One of them was Paulus - who delighted the Soviets by publicly denouncing Hitler and the Nazis. After visiting the ruins of Stalingrad, General de Gaulle commented to a reporter: "Ah, Stalingrad, great people, very great people." The reporter thought he meant the Russians. "No, no, I'm not talking about the Russians, I'm talking about the Germans. It's come to this!"