On to Stalingrad: Operation Winter Thunderstorm and the attempt to relieve Sixth Army, December 1942

Summary

In late November 1942, Soviet forces surrounded Paulus' Sixth Army in a pocket outside the Russian city of Stalingrad. In response the Germans planned a relief operation, Operation Winter Storm, intended to break through the Soviet forces and open the pocket, releasing the encircled units. The 6th Panzer Division was the spearhead of the German relief force.

The attack started on December 12th, 1942 and was aborted on December 23rd after heavy Soviet counterattacks. This failure sealed the fate of the German 6th Army in Stalingrad.

This account of the operation was first published in German in 1961, written by the well-respected military historian and retired German officer, Schiebert Horst. It covers the entire operation from the situation in mid-November through the two German offensives, the Soviet counteroffensive and ongoing fighting until early January.