…The army, and the whole country, has become a trembling creature, avoiding any manifestation of initiative. In total, directly from hunger and terror, from 1932 to 1941 (in peacetime) killed 8.5 million people. Different scientists give different numbers, and I’m not a historian; the number is the mean between the extreme values, and it most corresponds to my inner sensations.

What in such conditions could induce people to continue (or, rather, all the same, the beginning) struggle?

…Stories of eyewitnesses of the German occupation. Yes, sometimes they are organized by commissars, but, what these people say is true, and not ordinary Soviet propaganda. There is definitely something implausible that is clear: those who go here are even worse, even worse than «their own». They intend to kill everyone.

You can now recall the current series «The Game of Thrones». To rephrase: «The Army of the Dead is coming from the West, and they do not accept any negotiations. We must fight together, despite the differences».

On July 17, 1942, the first fighting clashes began at Stalingrad. The correlation of forces is not in favor of the Red Army: 187,000 people, 300 tanks, 500 aircraft against 270,000 soldiers and officers, 400 tanks, and 1,200 aircraft. On Aug. 23, Richthofen’s air fleet drops 2000 tons of bombs on the city, turning it into a heap of debris that is practically unsuitable for the movement of tanks. This is the beginning of the destruction, including 300,000 civilians, including refugees from Leningrad, who, on the orders of Stalin, or, in general, in the spirit of the times, were refused timely evacuation. The maneuver war turns into a positional one. This is the first battle in which German soldiers admit they see more corpses of their «genossa» on the streets than an enemy soldier. By November the Wehrmacht lost 700,000 people, the Red Army 644,000.

For incomprehensible reasons, reconnaissance planes of the Luftwaffe cease to fly beyond the Volga; when such flights still take place, the German command simply does not have time to realize the scale of the approaching threat.

On November 19, the Red Army launched an offensive from the flanks: a 330,000-strong group of German-Romanian troops entered the encirclement ring. For their supply, the same officer, who six months ago successfully carried out the transfer of goods to the demyansky cauldron, is responsible for this, but this is another case. The Luftwaffe loses not less than 500 transport planes alone, in difficult weather conditions, from the work of Soviet air defense and deep tank raids to airfields.

In the historical literature it is widely believed that, here, «as many as seven Soviet armies clung to one German». However, in the first place, as a rule, the German units are larger than the Soviet one and a half times, and secondly, in addition to the 6th Paulus army, the following took part in the hostilities: the 4th Gotha Tank Army (one of the divisions was surrounded), the 8th Army, I the Italian army named Garibaldi, Hungarian 2nd Army, 3rd and 4th Romanian armies. You can also recall the troops of Guderian from the outside of the ring. The Magyars are distinguished by special military zeal and cruelty to the peaceful population, so they are not taken prisoner.

Paulus asks Hitler about the evacuation of «… individual specialists – soldiers and officers, who can be used in further combat operations. The order for this should be given as soon as possible, since soon the landing of aircraft will become impossible. Officers please indicate by name. Of course, I can not speak about me».