176 - A Soviet Offensive Along the Entire Front? - WW2 - January 8th, 1943

So they had it for five months? Okay, so they must have gotten a lot of oil. No?

How come? Unreasonable expectations is putting it mildly? What’s putting it strongly then?

As untethered from reality as who was? Who’s Michael Jackson?

January 8, 1943 The German relief attack to reach

and rescue their encircled forces begins this week. You might be thinking, wait a sec, Winter

Storm to reach Stalingrad started in mid December, but this isn’t Stalingrad, this is Velikie Luki.

I’m Indy Neidell; this is World War Two.

Last week the Japanese decided that they will pull out of Guadalcanal.

Their Axis allies were also withdrawing from the Caucasus and also being pushed back north of it;

they were also still surrounded at Stalingrad and Velikie Luki,

so not a very strong beginning to 1943 for the Axis Powers.

However, Ivan Maslennikov’s offensive in the Caucasus that forced Ewald von Kleist

to withdraw the Axis forces to the Kuma River does continue this week, but seems to be slowing down.

Kleist’s forces defend that line for a few days before falling back to the Kalaus Line,

east of Armavir. Stavka is criticizing Maslennikov for his pursuit and for allowing Kleist to break

contact, but except for a couple Cavarly Corps, he doesn’t really have the force for a long pursuit.

Still, on the 2nd, the Soviets retake Mozdok, held by the Axis since August, and Malgobek,

and retake Nalchik the 5th. Today, the 8th, Soviet forces retake Zimovniki on the railway

line from Stalingrad to Novorossiysk, and this increases the threat to Kleist.

You know, Hermann Göring and Könti Öl had really promised an oil bonanza from taking

the Caucasus oilfields, but from when they took Maikop in mid-August to now they’ve only

extracted 1,000 tons or so total, and it looks like they’ll soon have to abandon that city.

Also, the oil that has been extracted has been used locally, none has gone back to Germany.

Estimates are that it would take until late 1943 to restore it to large scale production like over

50,000 tons a month, but you know, they’d have to hold the city until then. Another ‘also',

Josef Stalin has ordered new wells drilled in Urals oilfields,

so Soviet oil production has actually increased lately, despite losing Maikop for months.

One city that, like Maikop, was supposed to fall months ago and lead to other good

things is Stalingrad, but if you’re German then the struggle for it has only led to the bad.

In the last two weeks of 1942, Friedrich Paulus’ 6th Army, currently trapped in Stalingrad,

took 11,066 casualties. Add that to the 22,500 or so from the beginning of the

Soviet counteroffensive on November 21st until mid December, and that’s 33,000.

Army combat strength on December 18th was reported at just 28,200 men. Starting December 19th,

there were three new categories added to 6th army’s daily casualty reports- soldiers

frostbitten, soldiers dead from starvation or exhaustion, and those who died of disease.

Also starting December 19th, though, were Soviet plans to liquidate the Stalingrad Pocket-

Operation Ring. Stavka got Nikolai Voronov to coordinate attack plans for the coming year,

so NOW. It is no coincidence that Voronov is the Red Army’s senior artillery officer;

this time around they plan to rely on crushing artillery.