the field artillery journal - Fort Sill - U.S. Army

190 THE FIELD ARTILLERY JOURNAL March
with a view to intercepting the enemy on this line. At the
same time the troops which had gone eastward from the
Chernyshevsk area, meeting only minor resistance, secured
a line about north and south through Maiovsk. Russians
were still at Kalach, and it looked as if the enemy forces in
the Loop might be captured.
Before daylight on 26 November Axis troops from the
Loop commenced to cross the Don River on a broad
front on both sides of Nabatov. There was snow and low
clouds, and air activity on this and most other days of
this campaign was on a comparatively small scale;
consequently the Axis withdrawal from the Loop was
not seriously interfered with by bombing. Ice on the
Don enabled troops to cross easily, but there seems to
have been an abandonment of considerable materiel on
the west bank due to inability to move it over the
prevailing thickness of ice. Some of the withdrawing
troops were Italian and Hungarian divisions. After this
date they were not again reported in line until 12
December, by which time their lost equipment had been
replaced. They went temporarily to army reserve near
Stalingrad.
The Axis forces coming from the south attacked the
Russian line between Nebikov and Sadovoe, with the
principal effort on the right. Axis reports state that a
Russian Cavalry Division covering their east flank was
disintegrated, but the main Russian line held. On their part
the Russians also made a principal effort on their right, by
advancing southwest from Abganerova. This attack made a
gain of about 15 kilometers, and at night was on a general
line through Gromoslavsk.
A new Russian list of enemy losses for the entire
Stalingrad area claims that to date these were
63.000 prisoners,
1.863 guns,
1.320 tanks,
9.000 horses.
The number of tanks reported in this list is less than half
what had been previously reported as already taken on 23
November. Perhaps the basis for the count had been
changed.
The Axis completed its withdrawal from the Don Loop
on the 27th. According to Russian accounts, captured Axis
booty amounted to
many prisoners (number not stated),
99 guns, and
164 tanks,
which includes materiel abandoned by the Axis west of the
thin ice of the Don River. In the Don Loop there remained
only one Axis island—near Masovska, an important road
junction.
South of Stalingrad the Russians delivered violent
attacks both east and west of the railroad. The attack on the
east side was opposite strong Axis forces and was unable
to advance beyond the line Nebikov-Sadovoe; however,
the Russians appear to have secured Nebikov. On the west
side the Russians met weaker forces and advanced about
15 kilometers further, to the line Verkhni-Guilovski to
Larya (about 20 miles southwest of Abganerova).
New and strong Russian attacks were also delivered
against the Axis barrier line extending from the Don to the
Volga, north of Stalingrad. This barrier was built originally
around dug-in abandoned and condemned tanks, but had
since been strengthened by field fortifications and obstacles.
The line held, and the Russians made no appreciable gain.
In view of the current situation the German High
Command ordered a new operation:
a. Troops in and about Stalingrad would adopt a hedgehog
position, as follows:
Facing north—the existing barrier line from the Don to the
Volga, about 40 miles long and also about 40 miles north of the
center of Stalingrad.
East—along the Volga, around a pocket held by the Russians in
the north part of Stalingrad, to the south edge of the city (in all
about 50 miles); thence south to north of Abganerova.
South—from north of Abganerova, northwesterly to east of
Richkov, about 40 miles.
West—on the east bank of the Don, around Russian bridgeheads
at Richkov and Kalach.
b. Strong forces astride the railroad north of Kotelnikov would
prevent any further enemy advance southwest from Abganerova, and
would continue the offensive against the Nebikov-Sadovoe line to
reopen a route to the hedgehog.
The dimensions of the Stalingrad hedgehog were on the
average 80 miles from north to south and 40 miles from east
to west. According to Russian G-2 reports, the garrison
consisted of 22 divisions with usual corps and army troops,
numbering in all anywhere from 300,00 to 400,000 men.
They were supposed to be on short rations. A German air
transport service operated to and from the hedgehog,
carrying in supplies and replacements and taking out the sick
and wounded. The Germans reorganized the troops within
the hedgehog: a minimum were detailed to hold the lines on
a strictly tactical defensive, and a mobile force was
organized to be available for offensives. It took some time to
arrange this, from which it is presumed that the Axis
disposition was forced on them and had not been foreseen.
On the 28th the Russian offensive came practically to a
halt, and the lines began to stabilize. Neither side claimed
any gains but both report repulsing counterattacks,
although not at the same places. The weather was not yet
very cold; it generally froze at night, but in the daytime it
sometimes rained and sometimes snowed.
On the 29th an Axis motorized and armored force passed
around the left of the Russians east of Sadovoe and on to
Tundotovo, getting into the Russian rear areas. It caused a
considerable disturbance in the Russian supply system. As
the Kalmuck Steppes are generally flat, what was really a
large raiding party could operate across country and was
hard to bring to battle. It did not alter the general situation,
but the Russian advance southwest of Abganerova stopped.
Instead the west flank was extended northwestward to
connect with the Russians near Richkov. This movement
completed the isolation of the Stalingrad hedgehog. The
Russians near Abganerova were facing both ways: the
interior group looked toward Stalingrad, and the outer one
fronted strong hostile forces north of Kotelnikov.