[14] That evening the Soviet encirclement of Axis forces was confirmed in a signal Paulus sent to Hitler. World War II - The Battle of Stalingrad | Britannica He also criticized United States foreign policy as aggressive and called for a reconciliation between the Germans and the French: American policy today calls itself "power politics". Fortress Stalingrad. The following excerpt covers the last two days in Stalingrad as Adam began to have doubts about the Chief of Staff to the 6th Army, Lieutenant-General Schmidt: Was Lieutenant-General Schmidt playing a double game? On 4 July 1912 he married the Romanian Constance Elena Rosetti-Solescu, the sister of a colleague who served in the same regiment. Paulus relied greatly on his judgement, and as a result he played a large, some say an excessive, role in determining the course of events later that year. Behr had an important task once he was free of It has been suggested that much of the reason for Schmidt's ascendancy over Paulus lay in the fact that, unlike Paulus, Schmidt was a committed Nazi, and Paulus, afraid of Hitler and conscious of his responsibility for Sixth Army's catastrophic position, saw Schmidt as a cipher for the Fhrer whom he could placate. The Soviet Operation Koltso (Ring) to defeat the enemy grouping encircled in the city was approaching its finale. [4] The British historian and author Antony Beevor offers the following description of Schmidt: [He was] a slim, sharp-featured and sharp-tongued staff officer from a Hamburg mercantile family. In these last days Schmidt also developed a lively busy-ness in other respects. . Adolf Hitler prohibited attempts to break out or capitulate, and German defence was gradually worn down. Nikolay Dyatlenko - Wikipedia Arthur Schmidt (general) View source Arthur Schmidt (25 October 1895 - 5 November 1987) was an officer in the German military from 1914 to 1943. It was involved in heavy action against the French VIII Cavalry Corps and fought in Belgium at Namur on 23-24 August and again at St. Quentin. 'One can't help feeling it's an invitation to suicide. I placed my revolver on the table. As a former military man and commander of a large sector, taking into account the current situation and based on my experiences, I have come to the conclusion that we must definitely take the path that, in any form, leads to the development and consolidation of relations between East and West. He remained there until 1955, when a visit to Moscow by West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer led to his release, together with the remaining high-ranking German prisoners.[35]. [36], After Voikovo, Schmidt was held in the Lubyanka prison. Marshal Paulus and his generals after capture at Stalingrad - YouTube This list may not reflect recent changes . The following month he was named deputy chief of the German General Staff (Oberquartiermeister I). Schmidt commented: Early on the 24th November, while Paulus and I were preparing the necessary measures for a breakout to the south, we received a 'Fhrer decision' from Army Group [] It said that the Sixth Army was to stay in Stalingrad and wait to be relieved. The battle of Stalingrad, fought between Stalin's Red Army and Hitler's forces from 23 August 1942 to 2 February 1943, is considered one of the major confrontations of World War II. "Award Document to General der Panzertruppe Paulus, Item Number: EU4642". The Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) was fought during the Second World War between Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union led by Joseph Stalin. Januar wurde er zum Generalleutnant befrdert. [16] However, on 24 November Sixth Army received a further Fhrer order relayed from Army Group B, ordering them to stand firm. The Germans had already had the successful experience of using an air bridge to resupply the 100,000-strong II Army Corps cut off near Demyansk at the beginning of the same year and successfully releasing it from its trap after several months of encirclement. This was a new formation under the direction of Oswald Lutz that directed the training and development of the Panzerwaffe, or tank forces of the German army. [10] Later that day, Schmidt and Paulus held a conference attended by General Hermann Hoth and Major-General Pickert,[10] during which Schmidt "did much of the talking". Believing that an attempt to break the encirclement would be made here, the Soviet command attached special importance to the sector and intensively reinforced it. Juni 1942 zum Generalmajor ernannt und nahm an der Schlacht von Stalingrad teil. [34] Unlike many German prisoners of war, such as Paulus himself and von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, Schmidt refused to co-operate with the Soviets, despite the NKVD's attempt to ingratiate themselves by serving him caviar and champagne in a luxury railway coach. The last German success in Operation Winter Storm was reaching the Myshkova River 48 km from Stalingrad on December 19. According to Soviet statistics, from 1945 to 1956, over 580,000 people died in prison camps, over 356,000 of them Germans. On 30 January, Paulus informed Hitler that his men were only hours from collapse. Later, Paulus briefly commanded a motorized battalion (193435) before being named chief of staff for Panzer headquarters in October 1935. Arthur Schmidt (25 October 1895 - 5 November 1987) was an officer in the German military from 1914 to 1943. "Photographs of Schmidt at a Sixth Army reunion, Wiesbaden 1969", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Schmidt_(general)&oldid=1145006784, Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht), Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union, German commanders at the Battle of Stalingrad, Short description is different from Wikidata, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from August 2013, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 March 2023, at 19:24. [4] The British historian and author Antony Beevor offers the following description of Schmidt: [4], Despite Lieutenant-Colonel Niemeyer's frank and pessimistic area briefings, Schmidt severely underestimated the build-up and capabilities of Soviet forces at Stalingrad following the initial Axis successes, a failing that he unlike Paulus subsequently did not attempt to excuse. Paulus radioed Hitler once again for permission. In late 1956, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and became progressively weaker. [20]:207208,212215 Beevor comments, "Whether this was a ploy to allow Paulus to distance himself from the surrender, or a further example of Schmidt handling events because Paulus was in state of nervous collapse, is not clear. He had not seen her since 1942 and would not see her again, as she died in 1949 while he was still in captivity.[20]. "[18], On 18 or 19 December, Major Eismann was sent by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein to brief Paulus and Schmidt on Operation Donnerschlag, Army Group Don's plan, not sanctioned by Hitler, for the Sixth Army to break out and incorporate itself in Manstein's Army Group. I had the official seal with me. We Germans have seen that in the 20th century, such "power politics" that a strong and rich country seeks to pursue at the expense of other countries is doomed to failure. Evacuating their HQ at Golubinsky amid a bonfire of burning files and stores, they flew to Nizhne-Chirskaya that same day, just missing Hitler's order that "Sixth Army stand firm in spite of danger of temporary encirclement." He was considered a promising officer; by the time World War II broke out he had been promoted to major general. He had the appearance of a sick and physically exhausted man and his face was twitching in a nervous tic.. [26] Schmidt addressed Thiel in the same vein: "[] here you come trying to justify the Luftwaffe, that has committed the worst treason, that has ever occurred in German history [] An entire army, this wonderful 6th Army, must go to the dogs like this. That would be a Napoleonic ending." Germany's defeat in the battle marked a turning . In it, he paid respect to the memory of General Heinz Guderian, who had died a little over a month previously, and criticized the political leaderships of the German Empire and Nazi Germany for causing the defeats of the German Army in both world wars: I have in mind in particular General Guderian, who died prematurely, and with whom I was particularly close, as chief of staff for the organization of the armored troops, and we were carrying out a task together. They had huddled here to hide from the mortar fire, recalled the senior lieutenant. The twin pincers of this counteroffensive struck the flanks of the German salient at points about 50 miles . On December 12, as part of Operation Winter Storm, the German Army Group Hoth (named after its commander, Colonel-General Hermann Hoth) launched a surprise attack and crushed the Red Armys outnumbered 302nd Rifle Division, subsequently embarking on a rapid advance in the direction of Stalingrad. [30] When the forces defending Sixth Army HQ surrendered on the morning of 31 January, Schmidt discussed surrender terms with officers from General Shumilov's HQ, while Paulus waited unaware in a room next door. [23] When General Hans-Valentin Hube flew into the Kessel [the encircled pocket of Axis forces in Stalingrad] on the morning of 9 January with Hitler's message to stand firm, "this strengthened General Schmidt's intransigent position at Sixth Army's headquarters."[21]. [14], On 7 January 1943 General Konstantin Rokossovsky, commander of the Red Army on the Don front, called a cease-fire and offered Paulus' men generous surrender terms: normal rations, medical treatment for the ill and wounded, permission to retain their badges, decorations, uniforms and personal effects. The enemy wanted to start negotiations. When I say that we Germans must focus above all on the unity and independence of Germany, on the affirmation of the vital national rights of our nation, I realize that in this way we are best serving the cause of peace, of international dtente and reconciliation between peoples. Wilhelm Adam - Wikipedia Speaking about the surrender of Paulus, Hitler told his staff: In peacetime Germany, about 18,000 or 20,000 people a year chose to commit suicide, even without being in such a position. The battle ended in disaster for the Wehrmacht when Soviet forces encircled the Germans within the city, leading to the ultimate death or capture of most of 265,000 6th Army personnel, their Axis allies and collaborators. [1] On 19 January, Major Thiel[who?] We want good relations between the German people and other peoples who respect our national rights. Paulus surrendered in Stalingrad on 31 January 1943,[a] the same day on which he was informed of his promotion to field marshal by Hitler. The German commander, according to Laskins recollections, greeted the members of the delegation with a sentence in broken Russian: Field Marshal of the German Army Paulus renders himself prisoner to the Red Army. He apologized that, since his new rank had only been conferred on him on January 30, his new uniform wasnt ready and he was compelled to appear in his colonel-generals uniform. Russians consider it to be one of the greatest battles of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. [32] When their baggage was searched for sharp metal objects, Schmidt, referring to Paulus, snapped at the Soviet officers: "A German Field Marshal does not commit suicide with a pair of scissors. Dyatlenko was born in 1914 in the village of Kulichka in the Lebedin region, in present-day Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. Manstein told Paulus that the relief would need assistance from the Sixth Army, but the order to initiate the breakout never came. 26, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Schmidt_(Offizier)&oldid=219508932. I was going to get up quietly when someone knocked at the door. American diplomats in Moscow expected it. November 1987 ebenda) war ein deutscher Generalleutnant. He crossed the Meuse river at Dinant. Schmidt suffered a life threating Paulus awoke and sat up. Hitler expected it. The Red Army soldiers were well nourished, full of vigor and dressed in fine winter uniforms I was deeply moved by something else. Interrogation of captured German officers led Soviet commanders to realise that, because of the toll of events on Paulus's nerves, Schmidt was the real commander of the defending forces. At first, Paulus refused to collaborate with the Soviets. https://books.google.com/books?id=OWOQAv01lYEC, https://books.google.com/books?id=inwd2rDaLm4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:1874622469&cd=1#q=schmidt, https://books.google.com/books?id=xg8QrmsLK-kC, https://books.google.com/books?id=qWuWOFS4o7AC&dq=%22arthur+Schmidt%22+stalingrad, "A Desperate Struggle to Save a Condemned Army: a critical review of the Stalingrad airlift", http://www.stormingmedia.us/44/4497/A449793.html, "Photographs of Schmidt at a Sixth Army reunion, Wiesbaden 1969", http://www.stalingrad.net/german-hq/members-aok-6/members_aok_6_a.htm, Pages containing cite templates with deprecated parameters, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht), Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union, German commanders at the Battle of Stalingrad, Knights of the House Order of Hohenzollern, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Category : German commanders at the Battle of Stalingrad Stalingrad archive of Geert Rottiers, Private Schmidt explained that Hitler had expressly ordered Sixth Army to stand fast at Stalingrad, that the army lacked sufficient fuel for a proper breakout attempt, and that the terrain itself complicated matters. Tired of waiting for Friedrich Paulus himself to finally appear, the Soviet commanders went into his room. It formed part of the German Third Army that enacted the attack on France and Belgium in August 1914 as part of the pre-war Schlieffen Plan. For the next two months, Paulus and his men fought on. On the afternoon of 22 November, Schmidt flew with Paulus to the new Sixth Army HQ at Gumrak. After a leave of absence due to illness, he joined the Alpenkorps as a staff officer, serving in France, Romania and Serbia. In comparison . The events of that day were recorded by Colonel Wilhelm Adam, one of Paulus' aides and an adjutant in the XXIII Army Corps, in his personal diary: January 31, 1943 7.00 a.m. Almost 70% of deaths occurred in the winter of 1945-1946. Schmidt continued: 'At the same time I have to inform you that the Russians are at the door.' was the 01 of 6. It was the HQ commander. When presented with the commander of 51st Corps General Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach's 25 November memorandum to Paulus, detailing plans for a breakout, Schmidt said: "We don't have to break the head of the Fhrer for him, and neither does General von Seydlitz have to break the head of [General Paulus]. Interrogation of captured German officers led Soviet commanders to realise that, because of the toll of events on Paulus's nerves, Schmidt was the real commander of the defending forces.
