Stalingrad-related PODs

Just got these ideas after watchin a Nat Geo 'Generals at War' episode last night- WI:
-Stalingard wasn't actually named after Stalin, but simply Volgograd ? would Hitler still have gone for the place without the symbolism of his arch-enemy's name ? how would von Paulus & the 6th Army have fared better had his panzers not been ordered into the rubble-strewn destroyed streets of Stalingrad ?
-the Germans had been better equipped for the winter ?
-the Germans had managed to push all the way to Chukov's landing stages on the banks of the Volga ?
-the German flanks hadn't been guarded by the inferior Hungarian & Romanian armies ?
-von Paulus decided to defy Hitler's orders in late Nov 1942 when the Red Army had begun encircling the 6th Army, & ordered his men, at the earliest opportunity, to break out as best as they could ?
 

Deleted member 1487

The best POD is that the Germans actually move quicker instead of dicking around before moving into the city. If they had been several days faster, which was entirely possible, as they stopped for some inconsequential reason I cannot remember off hand, the city was essentially unguarded and would have fallen by coup-de-main. This doesn't actually solve all of the problems, but not having to fight over the city and losing so many men means that they have more to defend with later. Now the primary reason the city was allowed to fall to the Soviet advance later on was the overextended formations in the Caucasus. Suppose that they had retreated a bit earlier, then the situation isn't nearly as ugly and the city could be evacuated.

The battle was the Germans' to lose, and there are several POD's that would work to lessent the blow. The name had nothing to do with why Hitler was so focused on capturing it. It really did have strategic value and allowed the Germans to focus Soviet resistance northward where they were relatively stronger instead of trying to cut off the Caucasus detachment.
 
While "Tsarityn" is going to get renamed something (and it could well be anything but StalinXYZ), even if Hitler stuck to the plan of sending fewer forces into the city and sending more into the Caucasus, I think all that would happen is Hitler gives no retreat orders in Maikop and other locations, while sputtering out before Baku.

The problem with Germany's forces being better equipped is that their lines were cut off by the Soviets--which makes things like FOOD unavailable. Rule better gear out, unless you are changing Operation Saturn.

If the Germans can push to the Volga, they've won a blasted remnant of a major city until they get cut off and screwed. Not having an opponent at the front may mean that the Germans can attempt a breakout, however.

Germany needed more men and it pushed the Romanians to supply it for Stalingrad. While Germany can probably scrounge up some more men by making political arrangments it would rather not, this change fundamentally rewrites the situation on the ground.

Von Paulus is probably able to break out, but he is going to be cashiered for his actions and probably demoted or sacked. Even in this case, the Soviets force a German withdrawal from Stalingrad and may extend the slice to cut off the forces in the Caucausus next.
 
the easy way the germans could take the city is to not send the 4th panzer army into a traffic jam around rostov... even kliest said they wherent needed and they choked the roads.
if 4th panzer army lead the way they could have taken the city quickley before the soviets could build up to defend it
the soviets actually planned to abandon the city in the begining and force the germans to overextend themselves and be vulnerable to a winter counter attack when they saw only the 6th army was moving into the city they decided to create verdun 2
it was a mixed blessing both sides lost hundreds of thousands of men
historians dont usually tout the soviet body count at stalin grad but their men could have been more useful later and elsewhere too
 
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