Initial Balance of Forces in the campaign for Stalingrad: Add-on to TIK Battlestorm series скачать в хорошем качестве

Initial Balance of Forces in the campaign for Stalingrad: Add-on to TIK Battlestorm series

This is an add-on to TIK's excellent video "Battlestorm Stalingrad, S1, E1". Let's see what units took part in the first significant fighting in July, and incidentally, let's have a look at the initial balance of forces between 6th Army and the Stalingrad Front. Let's also review the different dates used as the beginning of the battle for Stalingrad, depending on the chosen point of view, and as presented in archival evidence. As of July 23, 1942, the German 6th Army was about 380,000 strong. Archival data confirm that it's actually 100,000 more than the usually given figure of 270,000. Not only Western, but Russian history as well had long underestimated it. From the very beginning 6th Army faced logistical issues, as pointed out by TIK as well, and it experienced a lack of supplies as shown in the Oberquartermaster's report The Soviet Stalingrad Front was created on July 12, 1942, out of the structure and troops of the Southwestern Front, to which were added three newly arriving, ex-reserve armies: 62nd, 63rd and 64th and 8th Air Army. On July 20, it numbered 350,000 men. Whereas the 21st, 51st and 57th Armies were exhausted and severely depleted after weeks of fighting, not even speaking of 28th and 38th of which only the structure remained to serve as a basis for the creation of 1st and 4th Tank Armies, the three new arriving armies were at a high level of completion. Let's have a closer look at these armies' composition, because this particular part was lacking in TIK's video. The Soviet Stalingrad Front had about 230 tanks in various subunits, to which were soon added those of the reserve tank corps which became part of the newly created 1st and 4th Tank Armies, respectively 390 and 180 tanks, for a grand total of about 800 tanks. So, as compared to German figures, there was no clear disparity of forces regarding either men or tanks, at least on paper. In terms of aircraft the situation was much less balanced: it would even be ironical to say that the 450 aircraft of the newly created 8th Air Army were no match for the 1,200 in 4th Luftflotte. References to TIK channel and Battlestorm Stalingrad series. Sources: German and Soviet Archives at TSAMO, NARA