re: Today is the 79th anniversary of the beginning of the bloodiest battle in human history

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I’m pretty sure those decisions were a result of top Nazi officials trying to placate an increasingly insane Hitler. They likely knew it was stupid but Hitler became hysterical during the 2nd half of the war and wouldn’t listen to anyone

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1. Hitler’s decision to take the city was his own. The city could have been bypassed to the South. The Germans didn’t need Stalingrad. All they needed was to cutoff river traffic south of Stalingrad.

2. OKH decision to place “allied” armies on the flanks of 6th Army was mostly due to a lack of options. The Italian, Hungarian, and Romanian armies were not capable of spearheading or really even taking an active role in a rapid mechanized advance, which was the main goal of Army Group South with their dive to the Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus. All the “allied” armies were seen capable of doing was securing 6th Army’s flanks as it approached and secured the city. But even this was beyond their capacity.

3. Goering’s claim of being able to supply 6th Army from the air was pure bullshite to try to impress Hitler. He knew they couldn’t come close to keeping 6th Army supplied.

4. Paulus’ decision to not breakout toward 4th Panzer Army in December was due to Hitler. Paulus was a trained General Staff officer. He knew a battlefield commander could countermand orders if the condition on the battlefield justified such action. But as 4th Panzer approached the city Paulus refused to move. Some of his subordinate officers had already staged forces in early December to where all that was needed was orders form Paulus to be given. He chose to stay and relegate his army to surrender roughly two months later.