170 - Bigger Than Uranus? - Mars - WW2 - November 27 1942

by Panzer
Wait, wait, wait, wait!
Uranus, Mars, and then Saturn?
Wow, how many operations are the Soviets gonna launch?
What?
How many planets are there?
Huh. Uhm...
Does Pluto count?
1930!
Yeah okay. Okay. Yup
November 27, 1942
It's a familiar story this war- the mobile units surge ahead and break through the enemy's
lines, pincer movements and advancing infantry encircle the enemy troops by the hundreds
of thousands.
The Germans have done it quite a few times, and it happens again this week, only with
a twist- this time it's the Germans who are surrounded.
I'm Indy Neidell; this is World War Two.
Last week the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended, and the Japanese realized they cannot
afford the shipping losses they're taking supplying Guadalcanal; they'll focus for now
on Papua New Guinea.
The Allies advanced into Tunisia, but met some stiff German resistance there, there
was stiff resistance all week for the Germans in Stalingrad, but the big news was the beginning
of the huge Soviet counterattack near Stalingrad, Operation Uranus.
Before I talk about that, though I've got a side note.
I have not talked about Pavlov's House yet, and some of you have asked about it in the
comments.
I will talk about it now since Naumov is killed this week on the 24th.
Who's he?
I'll explain.
Pavlov's House has been a symbol to the men of the Soviet 62nd Army in Stalingrad of their
iron will to resist.
This building, which has at times even been cut off from the rest of the city's defenders,
is quite visible, so everyone has had an idea of what's been going on there.
Sergeant Jacob Pavlov's recon unit captured it September 27th.
The storming of the house, though really only a small scale action, was a good morale boost
for the Soviets, and the continued defense of it week after week after week has not only
been reported in the press, it has captured the public imagination.
It's also been written up in a lot of Stalingrad histories as a monumentally heroic stand,
for 58 days by only a couple dozen men.
But according to tank ace Anatoly Kozlov, and pretty seriously documented in Michael