From the archives, 1943: Surrender at Stalingrad

First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on February 2, 1943

DETAILS OF THE GREAT GERMAN MILITARY DISASTER
LONDON, 1 February (AAP).

The latest official details of the major German military disaster at Stalingrad were revealed in a special announcement in Moscow last night.

The bulletin said: “Between January 27 and 31, the Russians completed the annihilation of the Germans who were trapped west of the center of Stalingrad.

“In the course of the fighting and from the testimonies of captured enemy generals, we have established that the German forces encircled on November 23 numbered at least 330,000 men, including auxiliaries and engineering and police units – not 220,000 as previously reported.

“It is known that between November 23 and January 10 (when the final offensive against them began) the encircled forces lost 140,000 men to artillery and air raids, to attacks by our ground forces, and to disease, frost and exhaustion.

“So when the Russians launched their final offensive on January 10, there were 190,000 troops trapped. This was confirmed by the captured Colonel von Kubovsky, Quartermaster General of the Sixth Army, who stated that the encircled effective troops, including non-combatants, numbered 195,000.

“In view of these data, the Russian victory before Stalingrad takes on even greater significance.

“TASK DONE”
Today’s Berlin communiqué states: “At Stalingrad, the southern group of the 6th Army under Field Marshal Paulus has completed its task after two months of heroic combat. The northern group is still actively defending itself.

“Heavy fighting breaks out at other hotspots on the eastern front.