What if Hitler allowed his sixth army to withdraw from Stalingrad?

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    • What if Hitler allowed his sixth army to withdraw from Stalingrad?

      During the Battle of Stalingrad "The Axis forces on the flanks were overrun and the 6th Army was cut off and surrounded in the Stalingrad area. Adolf Hitler ordered that the army stay in Stalingrad and make no attempt to break out; instead, attempts were made to supply the army by air and to break the encirclement from the outside." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stalingrad
      The Battle of Stalingrad was considered the major turning point in the war in Europe, because it was the first large scale victory against the German's and The 6th army, which made up the majority of the Eastern Front, because of Hitler's order to the army to stand their ground in Stalingrad, the 6th army was nearly completely obliterated. This event forced Germany to send reinforcements from the western front. So, what would've happened if Hitler allowed the 6th army to retreat, thus preserving his largest fighting force in the south east. WHAT IF Hitler learned his mistake the first time, and proceeded to allow his generals to implement their own strategies. ?(

    • I respect your opinion, but I must disagree, Hitler's military generals, besides Doering, were military master minds who've attended the best military schools in Europe and were veterans of World War I. These types of leaders wouldn't risk such a large force in any future assault without a way for the majority of those troops to escape, in case of poor circumstances.

    • Soldjer325 wrote:

      Doering
      Do you mean Goering? He wasn't totally bad, he could at least see that WWII would destroy what they had built.

      Soldjer325 wrote:

      These types of leaders wouldn't risk such a large force in any future assault without a way for the majority of those troops to escape, in case of poor circumstances.
      They did! Look at the Panzer dash for the French coast in '40! It was the complete opposite of what Hitler wanted. In fact, they used a big chunk of their armies to trick the French, Brits, Belgians and Hollanders when they didn't have much army to spare.
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    • Germany would have resisted anything more on the eastern front, but would have also fallen.


      "I came, I saw, I conquered" Written in a report to Rome 47 B.C., after conquering Pharnaces at Zela in Asia Minor in just five days; as quoted in Life of Caesar by Plutarch; reported to have been inscribed on one of the decorated wagons in the Pontic triumph, in Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Julius, by Suetonius.


      "Alea iacta est" Gaius Julius Caesar.

    • It worked didn't it....? They wanted to be sure that the risks paid off. Goering had no prior military experience, or education. If it wasn't for his use of the Luftwaffe, the Battle of Britain, arguably would've been a success, and then Germany would've invaded the UK, and be out of the war by around 1942-43, without American intervention, with the US sending reinforcements, it would've been a gruelingly long war on the island nation. With the battle of Britain being a ground assault as well, the eastern front wouldn't be open, and Germany, Russia, and the United States would've some out as the three world powers, all opposed to one another.

      However that's not what this thread is about.
      So, I respect your opinion, but disagree with it, and lets just leave it at that, alright?

    • Soldjer325 wrote:

      Goering had no prior military experience, or education
      What?! This is from Wikipedia, Goering was a great military man!

      A veteran World War I fighter pilot ace, he was a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as the "Blue Max". He was the last commander of Jagdgeschwader 1, the fighter wing once led by "Red Baron" Manfred von Richthofen.
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    • I must disagree with you in some ways, he was a good pilot, but his tactic were flawed. Instead of focusing on one target and sending bombing runs until it was unusable, he had his planes hit a target only until it was out of action, and then moved to the next, which allowed the UK to repair the damages caused by the Luftwaffe, and after Britain's first air raid of Berlin, he was consumed by pride, and ordered raids on London instead of military targets.

    • Soldjer325 wrote:

      Instead of focusing on one target and sending bombing runs until it was unusable, he had his planes hit a target only until it was out of action, and then moved to the next, which allowed the UK to repair the damages caused by the Luftwaffe, and after Britain's first air raid of Berlin, he was consumed by pride, and ordered raids on London instead of military targets.
      Have you read the Battle of Britain by James Holland? The Battle of Britain failed for three reason:

      1. They fought the British
      2. Bad info, instead of attacking fighter command strips the attacked bomber and coastal command bases
      3. Hitler decided to attack the cities. It was Hitler, not Goering. Hitler was the supreme commander so his order negated Goerings.
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    • Soldjer325 wrote:

      I guess Germany could've advance in north a bit more, before being turned back at Moscow.
      Guderians tanks got to within 20 miles of Moscow through the mud after being held back...only to be turned around and be sent back to Kiev, where the people lauded the tank brigades as conquering heroes and saviours...because the populace rebelled when the Deaths Head Units began to round up their victims.

      And another interesting one...Guderian was ordered to stop his rout of the Allies at Dunkirk so Adolf Hitlers own brigade could get some of the 'Glory'.

      Hitler could not have one a chook raffle if he had rigged it...just sayin... :tumbleweed:

    • Tankenfurter wrote:

      And another interesting one...Guderian was ordered to stop his rout of the Allies at Dunkirk so Adolf Hitlers own brigade could get some of the 'Glory'.
      Not entirely true. Hitler ordered all to halt for one day because basically everyone had ignored his orders for the battle of France. Though this halt turned into a 3-day stop.

      Soldjer325 wrote:

      It was Goering's decision. Many sources support it
      James Hollands book, regarded as the best book on the BoB, says it was Hitler's. Not all sources are good, true or unbiased sources either.
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    • A better question would be what if Hitler simply stayed out of military affairs and stuck to the diplomacy and nationalistic sparking he was good at? List of mishaps caused by Hitler
      -the allowing of the British withdrawal at Dunkirk
      -the switching of targets in the Battle of London

      -ordered German advance to halt right before reaching Moscow, allowing the fortifying of the city and reinforcements (not sure the validity of this one, heard it from a professor but did not hear about it prior to
      -the all important encirclement at Stalingrad
      "A knight cannot save the world. They call certain methods of fighting good and others evil, acting as if there were some nobility to the battlefield."

      "Honor? Glory? There's no point in speaking to a killer who indulges in such nonsense."

      "It's a crime we call victory, paid for by the pain of the defeated"