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Lot 509
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ANNOTATED GERMAN BATTLEFIELD MAP OF STALINGRAD, NOVEMBER 1942
ANNOTATED GERMAN BATTLEFIELD MAP OF STALINGRAD, NOVEMBER 1942
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Description:

ANNOTATED GERMAN BATTLEFIELD MAP OF STALINGRAD, NOVEMBER 1942
Very rare, original German ‘adversity' map of Stalingrad, 27 x 36 in., dated in blue indelible pencil '11/11/42' – near the height of the desperate German attempt to take Stalingrad which would ultimately end in a shattering defeat for Germany and its defeat in World War II. Reviewed and annotated during this pivotal month in Germany's greatest wartime defeat, it provides details about the German Army's movement at the time as well as strategic planning. This map was originally printed in June, 1942 in preparation for the August 23, 1942 attack, and is overprinted in purple to designate many intended targets including the railroad station, army camp, fuel stations, the aviation school, metallurgical plant, brickworks, a chemical factory, the Red Brigade armor factory, the Stalingrad Port, and the famous Stalingrad Tractor Factory, the site of the fiercest fighting in the battle and site of the city's ‘last stand' in early November 1942 before the turning point of the battle on November 19. Along with this, the map bears numerous emendations in blue and red indelible pencil, starting with the note ‘PzXIV' at top right and other troop and Panzergruppe numbers throughout. Most significantly there is a blue line indicating the German offensive all along the banks of the Volga, and to the right of it a red line showing the Soviet forces, all but driven into the river by this time. Blue arrows indicate points of weakness and places where the Germans intend to increase the pressure – most notably a Soviet holdout in a bay south of the Tractor Factory, where large blue arrows drawn in all directions suggest that day's intended advances. Interestingly, at top right there is a ‘break' this time in the blue offensive line northeast of Stalingrad and, ironically, this weakness would be exploited by Zhukov less than a week later, when this weakly-defended region would be the site of a surprise Russian attack. Many more fascinating handwritten notes, well-worthy of research! In the summer of 1942, the Germans made a huge push into southern Russia as part of a larger goal to secure the oilfields of Caucasus. Although the Germans overpowered the Red Army in both gun power and support from the Luftwaffe, as it moved into Stalingrad the fight became close with street-to-street within the ruined city, and, by November, a real stalemate had set in. With winter approaching and the Volga now frozen, the Red Army was pushed farther east and struggled with obtaining supplies. Most of the city was in German hands, but the Soviets still clung to the banks of the Volga River and stubbornly held pockets of resistance within areas of the rubble. Defeat seemed certain on October 14, when Russian troops were pressed so close to the Volga that even their supply crossings were coming under machine gun and artillery fire. However, by this time Germany was also overextended, her troops exhausted and dispirited by the onset of the brutal Soviet winter. The decisive turning point of the battle came on November 19, 1942 - just eight days after the date on this map - when the Soviets launched a massive counteroffensive: a deep-penetration maneuver with the goal of encircling the city and trapping the German 6th Army, the Third and Fourth Romanian Army, and portions of the Panzer Army inside. It was orchestrated by two spearheads, 50 miles north and 50 miles south of Stalingrad. Soviet forces attacked the northern flank of Axis on November 19, first routing the Third Romanian Army. The next day, and despite a German counterattack with the 29th Panzergrenadier Division, only the Romanian Cavalry stood between advancing Soviet forces and the Don River. Less than three days later, the northern and southern Soviet forces met at the town at Kalach, now weakly defended by exhausted, under-trained and unmotivated Romanian, Hungarian and Italian troops, and encircled some 290,000 Axis soldiers within the city's walls. Hitler refused the logical move to withdraw, and instead ordered Operation ‘Winter Storm' to airdrop supplies. Only a fraction of those needed arrived, however, and the Germans were left surrounded and isolated with no way to resupply or even break out. A second rescue attempt was also thwarted by yet another Hitler refusal to allow the army to withdraw to the West. The emboldened Soviets, able to move supplies over the ice and with the sense of victory at hand, closed in on the entrapped German Sixth Army, eventually surrounding it with seven armies. On Feb 1, the broken and beleaguered German army of just 91,000 frozen and starving men surrendered. Folds, otherwise near fine.

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November 29, 2023 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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