"The essays offer an unvarnished look at not only the severe fighting that characterized these months, but also the simple attempt to survive the rampant disease, malnourishment, and harsh winter on the steppe and in the ruins of Stalingrad."— Globe at War

In November 1942 – in a devastating counter-attack from outside the city – Soviet forces smashed the German siege and encircled Stalingrad, trapping some 290,000 soldiers of the 6th Army inside. For almost three months, during the harshest part of the Russian winter, the German troops endured atrocious conditions. Freezing cold and reliant on dwindling food supplies from Luftwaffe air drops, thousands died from starvation, frostbite or infection if not from the fighting itself. 

This important work reconstructs the grim fate of the 6th Army in full for the first time by examining the little-known story of the field hospitals and central dressing stations. The author has trawled through hundreds of previously unpublished reports, interviews, diaries and newspaper accounts to reveal the experiences of soldiers of all ranks, from simple soldiers to generals. 

The book includes first-hand accounts of soldiers who were wounded or fell ill and were flown out of the encirclement; as well as those who fought to the bitter end and were taken prisoner by the Soviets. They reflect on the severity of the fighting, and reveal the slowly ebbing hopes for survival. Together they provide an illuminating and tragic portrait of the appalling events at Stalingrad.

• Coverpage
• Titlepage
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Foreword by Roger Moorhouse
• Editor’s Introduction
• Preface
• Maps
• 1. GOTTFRIED VON BISMARCK: I Flew into the Pocket
• 2. MICHAEL DEIML: Last Flight into the Pocket
• 3. WILHELM EISING: Despatch Rider at Divisional HQ
• 4. ANDREAS ENGEL: An Impressive Experience
• 5. EITEL-HEINZ FENSKE: Sardine Tins in my Trousers
• 6. JOACHIM FEURICH: For Me the War Was Soon Over
• 7. ERICH FRANKE: My Escape from the Pocket on a Motorcycle
• 8. OTTO GEMÜNDEN: The Pilot Who Flew Me into the Pocket also Flew Me Out
• 9. WILHELM GEREKE: To the Last Round
• 10. JOSEF GOBLIRSCH: The Fight for Hill 102 and the Railway Station
• 11. DIETRICH GOLDBECK: The Last Days of the 160th Anti-tank Abteilung
• 12. GOTTFRIED GREVE: The End in the Northern Pocket
• 13. WILHELM GROSSE: Men from Supply in the Front Line
• 14. WERNER HALLE: Advancing to the South of Stalingrad
• 15. JOACHIM HEIL: I Flew into the Pocket Without Orders
• 16. KARL WILHELM HOFFMANN: Flying out the Wounded
• 17. GUSTAV KAMINSKI: At the Last Moment
• 18. FRIEDRICH WILHELM KLEMM: With the Last Aircraft from Stalingrad
• 19. WILLI KREISER: Taken Along as an Air-gunner
• 20. ARTHUR KRÜGER: The End of the Danzig Infantry Regiment
• 21. HANS KRUMFUSS: To the Bitter End
• 22. FRANZ KUMPF: As a Telephone Linesman at Stalingrad
• 23. HERBERT KUNTZ: My Last Flight into the Pocket
• 24. JOCHEN LÖSER: On the Northern Boundary
• 25. ERICH VON LOSSOW: Stalingrad Diary
• 26. GERT PFEIFFER: The Surrender of the Northern Pocket
• 27. PAUL PIEPER: I Did Not Believe I Would Be Saved
• 28. EBERHARD POHL: The Defensive Battle at Baburkin
• 29. FRIEDRICH RANDHAGEN: My Escape over the Don Bridges
• 30. FRANZ RECHBERGER: As a Runner at Stalingrad
• 31. JOSEF ROSNER: The Hell of Baburkin
• 32. OTTO SCHÄFER: Infantryman in the Most Forward Frontline
• 33. KARL H. SCHWARZ: The Final Days of XI Army Corps
• 34. HELMUT SPIETH: Back over the Don
• 35. HANS STAUDINGER: With the Luftwaffe Ground Staff
• 36. ADOLF VOSS: My Wound Saved My Life
• 37. HELMUT WALZ: Close Combat in the Tractor Factory
• 38. HELMUT WEGMANN: My Angel was a Female Russian Doctor
• 39. KARL WOLF: The Most Difficult Days of My Life