Different German commander at Stalingrad?

Deleted member 1487

Just speculating. If Stalingrad had been taken in September, how would the supply situation look for Soviet forces further south in the Caucasus.

There was a minor rail line via Astrakhan and as it was the fighting meant that the Volga was blocked as it was, so Stalingrad was irrelevant to supply the Caucasus IOTL during the fight. Most of the supply IIRC came via the Caspian and Baku, plus over a rail line from Iran carrying LL supplies. Apparently 40% of the AFVs used by the Soviets in the Caucasus were LL models via Iran.
 
It would have resulted in something like this

I would assume the penetration to Stalingrad would be a bit thicker, I would hope at least. That corridor looks rather thin and easy to cut off.

However, if I'm looking at the arrows correctly the assumption in this situation is that the 62nd and 64th Armies would be trapped and destroyed in the steppe outside of Stalingrad?
 
I would assume the penetration to Stalingrad would be a bit thicker, I would hope at least. That corridor looks rather thin and easy to cut off.

It is, but AFAIK the Soviets don't really have anything in place outside of the pocket at that moment to break it.

Plus, the LW is still a force to be reckoned with at this point, making any offensive action out in the open extra problematic.

However, if I'm looking at the arrows correctly the assumption in this situation is that the 62nd and 64th Armies would be trapped and destroyed in the steppe outside of Stalingrad?
Precisely. Kinda like how most German formations were trapped just east of Berlin in '45
 
I would assume the penetration to Stalingrad would be a bit thicker, I would hope at least. That corridor looks rather thin and easy to cut off.


It's actually a fairly accurate description of what actually happened.

On 22.Aug XXXXVIII Pz.Korps of 4th PzA was located about 35km south of Stalingrad, while XIV Pz.Korps of 6th Army was located about 50km west of the city.

On the next day, while XXXXVIII Pz.Korps got stuck for several days, before finally breaking through and reaching the city on 1 September, XIV Pz.Korps advanced all the way to the Volga and northen outskirts of the city on that very day.
As a result, they were left defending a long thin corridor for about a week against heavy Soviet attacks - which is why Paulus was hesitant about sending troops southwards to link up with 4th Pz.A when the opportunity presented itself.
 
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