The first English translation of a German account of the attempt to
relieve Sixth Army in front of Stalingrad.
In late November 1942, Soviet forces surrounded General Friedrich
Paulus' Sixth Army in a pocket at the Russian city of Stalingrad. In
response the Germans planned a relief operation, Operation Winter
Thunderstorm, 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 12 December
1942 and was aborted on 23 December after heavy Soviet counterattacks.
This failure sealed the fate of the German Sixth Army in Stalingrad.
This account of the operation was first published in German in 1956,
written by the well-respected military historian and retired German
officer, Horst Scheibert who was a tank commander in 6th Panzer Division
during the attempt. Utilizing many excerpts from war diaries, and
telegrams sent during operations, it is a unique account of the entire
operation from the situation in mid-November through the two German
offensives, the Soviet counteroffensive and ongoing fighting until early
January. This book includes 16 maps from the original edition and is the
first English translation of this important German account.