The Battle of Stalingrad, which began on July 17, 1942, ended on February 2, 1943 with the defeat and capture of the troops of the 6th German army. For the first time, the Wehrmacht suffered losses of this magnitude. The captive commander of the 376th Infantry Division, Lieutenant General A. von Daniel, assessed the actions of the Soviet troops: "The operation to encircle and liquidate the 6th German army is a masterpiece of strategy …" the authors persistently try to sow doubts about the greatness of the Stalingrad victory, to belittle the feat of the Soviet troops, mainly by exaggerating our losses.
B. Sokolov in his book "The Miracle of Stalingrad" asserts that the irretrievable loss of Soviet troops was 9, 8 times higher than the losses of the Wehrmacht. This figure does not correspond to realities, primarily due to the author's uncritical attitude to German military statistics and ignoring the differences in the concepts of military-operational losses used by the Red Army and the Wehrmacht when comparing them.
A correct comparison of the human losses of the Red and German armies at the walls of Stalingrad is possible only with a unified interpretation of the concept of "irrecoverable losses in a battle." It corresponds to the following definition: irrecoverable losses in a battle (decrease) - the number of servicemen excluded from the lists of troops during battles and who did not return to service until the end of the battle. This number includes the dead, captured and missing, as well as the wounded and sick, sent to the rear hospitals.
The losses are mythical and real
In Russian literature, there are two fundamentally different opinions regarding the scale of the human losses of the Red Army in the Battle of Stalingrad. They are huge, Sokolov said. However, he did not even try to count them, but for the estimate he took the "ceiling" figure - two million dead, captured and missing Red Army soldiers, citing the fact that allegedly official data usually underestimated losses by about three times. Taking into account the proportion of the wounded and sick evacuated to the rear hospitals, the irrecoverable losses of the Red Army in the Battle of Stalingrad, if we focus on Sokolov's numbers, amounted to approximately 2,320 thousand people. But this is absurd, since the total number of Soviet soldiers who participated in the battle, according to B. Nevzorov's estimates, was 1920 thousand. Secondly, Sokolov, as has been repeatedly shown, with the help of falsifications and forgeries overestimates the irrecoverable losses of the Red Army three or more times (in the Moscow battle, for example, Sokolov more than fivefold overestimated the losses of the advancing Soviet troops).
Another assessment of the results of Stalingrad is given by a team of military historians headed by G. Krivosheev ("The Great Patriotic War without a stamp of secrecy. Book of losses"), the authors under the leadership of M. Morozov ("The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Campaigns and strategic operations in numbers", v. 1), as well as S. Mikhalev ("Human losses in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. Statistical research"). The dead, captured and missing Soviet soldiers - 479 thousand, sanitary losses - 651 thousand people. These figures are considered close to reality by most authoritative historians.
However, for the same assessment of the losses of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, it is necessary to add to the number of dead, captured and missing Soviet soldiers from the sanitary losses, a part of the wounded and sick sent to the rear hospitals. N. Malyugin, in an article devoted to the logistical support of the troops ("Voenno-istoricheskiy zhurnal", No. 7, 1983), writes that in the Battle of Stalingrad, 53.8 percent of the wounded and 23.6 percent of the sick were evacuated to the rear. Since the latter in 1942 accounted for 19-20 percent of all sanitary losses ("Soviet health care and military medicine in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945", 1985), the total number of people sent to the rear hospitals during the fighting was 301-321 thousand people. This means that the Red Army irrevocably lost 780-800 thousand soldiers and officers in the Battle of Stalingrad.
Stalingrad is a grave for German soldiers …
Information about heavy losses was contained in almost all letters of the soldiers of the Wehrmacht, in the reports of the troops of the 6th German army. But in the documents, the estimates differ significantly.
According to 10-day troop reports, the irrecoverable losses (decrease) of Army Group B advancing on Stalingrad from July to December 1942 amounted to about 85 thousand people. In Mikhalev's book “Human losses in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Statistical Study”, published in 2000, contains a generalized report on the loss of personnel of the Ground Forces in the East from December 1, 1941 to May 1944. It has a higher (2, 5 times) figure of irrecoverable losses of Army Group "B" for July - November 1942 - 219 thousand people. But it does not fully show the damage suffered by the Wehrmacht personnel in the Stalingrad defensive operation. Real losses were significantly higher. So, the decrease in October 1942 was estimated at 37.5 thousand people, but calculated according to archival documents by A. Isaev, only in five infantry divisions of the 6th German army and only for seven days of fighting (from 24 to 31 October 1942) amounted to more than 22 thousand. But in this army 17 more divisions fought, and in them there were no less losses.
If we assume that the losses of the divisions that fought in Stalingrad are approximately equal, the real level of loss of personnel of the 6th Army in a week of fighting (from October 24 to November 1, 1942) was about 75 thousand people, this is twice as high as indicated in the Wehrmacht's certificate for the entire October 1942.
Thus, the information about the loss of German troops contained in the ten-day reports does not provide the necessary reliability. But focusing mainly on them, Sokolov "calculated" in the book "The Miracle of Stalingrad" that the Wehrmacht had irretrievably lost 297 thousand people. The following errors should be noted here. First, the number of servicemen who were in the "Stalingrad cauldron" (183 thousand), Sokolov, relying on the data of the 6th Army from October 15, 1942 to February 3, 1943, established by subtracting from the composition at the time of the encirclement (328 thousand people) of troops outside the ring (145 thousand). This is not true. In the "cauldron", in addition to the 6th army itself, there were many attached units and subunits, and the number of troops outside the encirclement ring was excessively overestimated by Sokolov. General G. Derr, a participant in the battle, cites other data. The soldiers and officers of the 6th Army who were not surrounded were 35 thousand people. In addition, in the appendix to the 10-day reports of German troops on losses for February 1943, it is indicated that after November 23, 1942, 27,000 wounded were taken out of the encirclement, and 209,529 people remained in the ring (total - 236,529), which is almost 54 thousand more than Sokolov indicates. Secondly, the calculations of losses of the 6th Army from July 11 to October 10, 1942 and losses of the 4th Panzer Army from July 11, 1942 to February 10, 1943 are based on military ten-day reports containing underestimated data. They do not give correct estimates of the loss of the Wehrmacht in Stalingrad. Thirdly, Sokolov's estimates did not take into account the decrease in the formations that were part of the 8th Italian Army (three infantry, two tank and security divisions - of which two infantry and one tank were destroyed, and the guard was defeated). Fourthly, it ignores the decline of German formations belonging to operational groups "Holidt" (a tank and two airfield divisions were destroyed in battles, one infantry division was defeated) and "Fretter Pico" (in January 1943, a mountain rifle division and an infantry brigade were defeated) …On the whole, the human loss of the Wehrmacht in Stalingrad, "calculated" by Sokolov, is more than doubled.
Due to the unreliability of the information contained in the ten-day reports and in the Wehrmacht certificates, we will estimate the German losses by calculation.
The loss of troops in battles includes losses during the attack on Stalingrad (17.07 - 18.11.1942), during the encirclement of the 6th Army (19-23.11.1942), in the ring (24.11.1942 - 02.02.1943) and outside it (24.11.1942 - 2.02.1943).
The estimate can be obtained from the balance of the number of troops at the beginning and end of the operation, taking into account the reinforcements. The main battles in the offensive were fought by the 6th Army. At the beginning of the operation (1942-17-07), it consisted of 16 divisions: 12 infantry, 1 light infantry, 2 motorized and 1 security. At the end of the operation (1942-18-11) - 17 divisions: 11 infantry, 1 light infantry, 3 tank, 2 motorized. The army at the beginning of the operation, as defined by A. Isaev in the book "Myths and Truth about Stalingrad", - 430 thousand soldiers. By the end - minus the security and infantry divisions plus three tank divisions - 15-20 thousand soldiers were added. As noted by the participant in the battle, General Derr (article in the collection "Fatal Decisions"), to Stalingrad "from all ends of the front … reinforcements, engineering and anti-tank units were being pulled together … Five sapper battalions were airlifted to the battle area from Germany …" about 10 thousand people. Finally, the troops received marching reinforcements. In July - November 1942, Army Groups A and B, according to Major General B. Müller-Hillebrand (German Land Army 1933-1945. War on Two Fronts, vol. 3), received more 230 thousand soldiers. According to the testimony of the former adjutant of Field Marshal Paulus, Colonel V. Adam ("Swastika over Stalingrad"), most of this replenishment (approximately 145-160 thousand people) went to the 6th Army. Thus, during the Stalingrad defensive operation, approximately 600-620 thousand people fought in it.
F. Paulus in 1947 stated: "The total number of those who were on allowances at the time of the beginning of the Russian offensive (November 19, 1942 - VL) was 300 thousand people in round numbers." It, according to the Chief Quartermaster of the 6th Army, Lieutenant Colonel V. von Kunovski, included about 20 thousand Soviet prisoners of war who were used as auxiliary personnel ("hivi"). Thus, the number of personnel of the 6th Army at the time of the end of the Stalingrad defensive operation was 280 thousand people. Consequently, the total irrecoverable losses of this army are 320-340 thousand servicemen.
In addition to her, 11 German divisions operated on the Stalingrad direction - 6 infantry, 1 tank, 2 mechanized and 2 security. Of these, two (22nd Panzer and 294th Infantry) were in the reserve of Army Group B, one (336th) was transferred to the 2nd Hungarian Army, and four (62nd and 298th Infantry, 213 and 403 -i security) were part of the 8th Italian army. The listed formations almost did not fight, and their losses were insignificant. The remaining four divisions (297th and 371st Infantry and 16th and 29th Mechanized) fought for most of the defensive operation as part of the 4th German Panzer Army. Even according to the understated 10-day reports of the Germans in August, September and November 1942 (there is no information for October), she lost about 20 thousand people killed, missing and wounded, sent to the rear hospitals. The total irrecoverable losses of the Germans in the Stalingrad defensive operation amounted to 340-360 thousand troops.
In the battles during the encirclement of the 6th Army (19-23.11.1942), the main losses were suffered by the Romanian troops, but the Nazis were also battered. The combat effectiveness of a number of German divisions participating in the battles decreased significantly. An estimate of the loss during the encirclement was given only by the military commander of the 6th Army H. Schreter ("Stalingrad. The Great Battle through the Eyes of a War Correspondent. 1942-1943"): front - 39 thousand people … ".
The composition of the troops of the 6th Army, surrounded, liquidated and captured at Stalingrad, is clearly defined and does not cause disagreement. On the other hand, there are different opinions regarding the number of units trapped in the “Stalingrad cauldron”.
Major General B. Müller-Hillebrand ("German Land Army 1933-1945. War on Two Fronts", vol. 3) provides data that characterize not the number of blocked troops, but the losses of the 6th Army (excluding allies) from the moment of encirclement to surrender. But at this time from the 6th Army were taken out by air, according to various sources, from 29 thousand to 42 thousand wounded. Taking them into account, the total number of the encircled, based on the information on losses given by Müller-Hillebrand, is 238,500 - 251,500 German troops.
Paulus determined the number of soldiers of the 6th Army in the encirclement at the end of November 1942 at 220 thousand. But it does not take into account the reassigned 6th army after the start of the offensive of the Soviet troops of the formations and units of the 4th tank army (reassigned on 1942-23-11 297 and 371st infantry and 29th motorized German divisions). The total number of the listed formations and units was at least 30 thousand fighters.
P. Carell in his book "Hitler Goes East", relying on information from the combat logs of the 6th Army and the daily reports of various corps, determines the number of servicemen in the "cauldron" on December 18, 1942 at 230 thousand people, including 13 thousand Romanian soldiers. Since the encirclement of the troops took place on November 23 and until December 18 the Germans suffered losses in ongoing battles, by November 23, 1942, the number of German and allied forces encircled at Stalingrad was at least 250-260 thousand people.
M. Kerig in his book "Stalingrad: Analysis and Documentation of the Battle" (Stalingrad: Analise und Dokumentation einer Schlacht) gives the following data on the encircled troops: 232 thousand Germans, 52 thousand Khivi and 10 thousand Romanians. In total - about 294 thousand people.
General Tippelskirch believes that 265 thousand not only Germans, but also soldiers-allies were surrounded ("History of the Second World War"). Since the latter were about 13 thousand, the number of German soldiers was 252 thousand.
Paulus's adjutant, Colonel Adam, writes in his memoirs that on December 11, 1942, the Chief Quartermaster of the 6th Army, Colonel Baader, informed him: in accordance with the reports of December 10, 270 thousand encircled persons are on allowance. Since from November 23 (encirclement of the 6th Army) to December 10, 1942, the troops suffered losses in ongoing battles, then on November 23 the number of German and allied troops surrounded at Stalingrad was approximately 285-295 thousand people. This is taking into account the 13 thousand Romanians and Croats who were in the "cauldron".
Military Correspondent H. Schreter estimated that 284 thousand people were surrounded. A. Isaev in his book "Myths and Truth about Stalingrad" is guided by Schreter's data, adding that there were about 13 thousand Romanians among the encircled people.
Thus, the actual German servicemen (excluding the allies) who ended up in the "Stalingrad cauldron" on November 25, 1942, were 250-280 thousand people. Among them, the irrecoverable losses of the Wehrmacht should include only the Germans, who died, captured during surrender, wounded and sick, taken out of the encirclement. This means that from the total number of the encircled troops it is necessary to subtract about 20 thousand Soviet prisoners of war and "hivi". The interval estimate of the irrecoverable losses of the German troops of the encircled grouping of the 6th Army is in the range of 230-260 thousand people.
Let us again turn to the testimony of Müller-Hillebrand: "Outside the" Stalingrad cauldron ", two infantry (298, 385th), two tank (22nd, 27th) and two airfield (7th, 8th) divisions were destroyed." The latter were formed in October 1942, and took part in the battles since January 1943. In total, there were about 20 thousand people in them. The remaining four divisions by the beginning of the Soviet offensive were no longer fully equipped formations, their total number was approximately 10-15 thousand servicemen. This corresponds to the loss of at least 30-35 thousand people.
In addition, during Operation Winter Thunderstorm (an attempt to unblock the troops of the 6th Army in December) and in the battles to preserve the entire southern wing (December 1942 - January 1943), other formations of the Don "And" B ". General Derr, although he does not give general figures, notes the high level of losses of the Germans when trying to unblock. General-Field Marshal Manstein in his memoirs reports on the large losses of the 57th Panzer Corps when trying to unblock the encirclement. British journalists U. E. D. Allen and P. Muratov in the book “Russian campaigns of the German Wehrmacht. 1941-1945 "claim that by December 27, 1942, in the battles to break through the encirclement of the 6th German army," Manstein's units lost 25 thousand killed and captured."
In the battle to preserve the entire southern wing of the German army (December 1942 - January 1943), the 403rd security division and the 700th tank brigade were destroyed in army groups "B" and "Don" until February 2, 1943, 62, 82, 306, 387th Infantry, 3rd Mountain Rifle, 213rd Security Division and Infantry Brigade "Schuldt". Losses - at least 15 thousand people.
Thus, the irretrievable loss of troops of groups "B" and "Don" in the Stalingrad offensive operation amounted to 360-390 thousand soldiers, and the total losses of the Wehrmacht in the battle are equal to 660-710 thousand people.
Balance in favor of the Red Army
The reality of the numbers of Wehrmacht losses in Stalingrad can be roughly estimated by the balance of the German armed forces in 1942-1943. The loss of the Wehrmacht (NUV) for any period is calculated as the difference between the numbers at the beginning (NNV) and the end (NKV) of the estimated period, taking into account the replenishment (NMB). For the period from mid-1942 to mid-1943, the decline, calculated from the Mueller-Hillebrand data, is:
NUV = 8310, 0 + 3470, 2 - 9480, 0 = 2300, 2 thousand people.
The decline of the Wehrmacht in the second year of the war shows that the figures of losses calculated above (660-710 thousand people) in the Battle of Stalingrad do not contradict the balance of troops from mid-1942 to mid-1943.
The real ratio of the losses of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht was (1, 1–1, 2): 1, which is 8–9 times less than the "calculated" by Sokolov. Taking into account the Romanian and Italian troops allied with Germany, the losses of the Red Army were 1, 1–1, 2 times less than that of the enemy.
It is important that with some excess in absolute figures, the relative - irrecoverable damage (the ratio of irrecoverable losses of the army to the total number of its servicemen who took part in the battle) of the Red Army was significantly lower than that of the German troops. According to Nevzorov's calculations, 1,920 thousand Red Army men and 1,685 thousand Germans and soldiers of the Allied Wehrmacht troops (3rd and 4th Romanian, 8th Italian armies) took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, the total number of which was about 705 thousand people. There were 980 thousand Germans who participated in the Battle of Stalingrad. Relative losses: Red Army - (780–800) / 1920 = 0, 41–0, 42, Wehrmacht - (660–770) / 980 = 0, 67–0, 78. Thus, in the Battle of Stalingrad, the relative losses of the Red Army were 1, 6–1, 9 times less than that of the Wehrmacht.
