ISBN: 9781156241349

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: … More...

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: German Democratic Republic Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 1 February 1957) was an officer in the German military from 1910 to 1943, attaining the rank of Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal) during World War II. He is best known for commanding the Sixth Army's assault on Stalingrad during Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: German Democratic Republic Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 1 February 1957) was an officer in the German military from 1910 to 1943, attaining the rank of Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal) during World War II. He is best known for commanding the Sixth Army's assault on Stalingrad during Operation Blue in 1942. The battle ended in disaster for Nazi Germany when approximately 270,000 soldiers of the Wehrmacht, Axis allies, and Hilfswillige were encircled and defeated in a massive Soviet counterattack in November 1942, with casualties reaching as high as 740,000. Paulus surrendered to Soviet forces in Stalingrad on 31 January 1943, a day after he was promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall by Adolf Hitler. Hitler expected Paulus to commit suicide, citing that there was no record of a German field marshal ever surrendering to enemy forces. While in Soviet captivity during the war he became a vocal critic of the Nazi regime and joined the Russian-sponsored National Committee for a Free Germany. He would not be released until 1953. Paulus was born in Breitenau, Hesse-Nassau, the son of a school teacher. He tried, unsuccessfully, to secure a cadetship in the Kaiserliche Marine, and briefly studied law at Marburg University. After leaving the university without a degree, he joined the 111th Infantry Regiment as an officer cadet in February 1910. He married Elena Rosetti-Solescu on 4 July 1912. When World War I began, Paulus's regiment was part of the thrust into France, and he saw action in the Vosges and around Arras in the autumn of 1914. After a leave of absence due to illness, he joined the Alpenkorps as a staff officer, serving in Macedonia, France, and Serbia. By the end of the war, he was a captain. After the Armisti. More: Books, , German-Commanders-At-The-Battle-Of-Stalingrad~~Books-Llc, , , , , , , , , , General Books LLC<