WI: The Germans decided to encircle and besiege Stalingrad?

Can you elaborate?

The Volga is an extremely wide river with extensive cliffs and marshes that make such a landing impossible. The Germans do not have the boats or engineering resources with which to stage such a crossing, and would have to spread out their forces wide to make a double entendre behind the city while preventing the Soviet forces from attacking out of it (and, of course, preventing the significant Russian forces still on the other side of the Volga outside of Stalingrad from attacking). This would leave them weak everywhere and strong nowhere.

When asking this sort of question, the first thing to consider is, "This clearly wasn't done IOTL, so why might that be?" There is almost always a good reason.
 
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I guess this would depend on the answer to the OP’s question?
Could they encircle Stalingrad? This means it does not Fall on the march, but the Germans dont just send soldiers into the meet grinder. If they succeed in the encirclement they would also likely eliminate the bridgeheads for Uranus and wouldn’t need that large a force in the city.
Eg, more towards Baku and the flasks?

If they encircle Stalingrad then 6th army is not then cooling it's heels convinently were Uranus falls - its encircling Stalingrad and Uranus in TTL takes this into account - again the Axis had zero conception that the Soviets were so strong and about to mug them - they thought they were winning and the prize was in sight!
 
If they encircle Stalingrad then 6th army is not then cooling it's heels convinently were Uranus falls - its encircling Stalingrad and Uranus in TTL takes this into account - again the Axis had zero conception that the Soviets were so strong and about to mug them - they thought they were winning and the prize was in sight!
In principle then Uranus is Breaking up the german bridgehead. So, Breaking the siege but doing that instead of the encirclement of the 6th army.
 
Substantial portions were recovered in the early weeks of 1943 so I don't think Manstein was able to do much with regards to scorched earth given the planting season had yet to happen. North Caucasus, however, was recovered in full in time for the aforementioned planting and thus probably explains why overall Soviet production only declined by 1% despite the Potato crop failures in the Ural region.

The Bread of Affliction: The Food Supply in the USSR during World War II, by William Moskoff -

"The central fact behind the increased importance of the collective farm market was the drastic drop in food production, especially in 1942 and 1943, and the diminished proportion that went to the civilians. In 1943 overall agricultural production was only 38 percent of the 1940 level. In 1943, however, the Red Army began to recapture agricultural areas of the Ukraine, Belorussia, and the Caucasus and by the next year, 1944, agricultural output had risen to 54 percent of the 1940 level. Not surprisingly, the collapse of the food economy led to astonishing increases in prices. The most rapid rate [Emphasis by author] of increase in prices took place in 1942 and began to taper off in mid-1943."

As you can see, the moment the Heer pushes the Soviets out of Ukraine and claim the Caucasus, the food situation begins to collapse; it is only halted due to the successes of the Soviet counter-offensives in the Winter, which reclaim much of the aforementioned territory. Without the reclamation, the situation would undoubtedly get worse and wasn't sustainable as is, given that starvation deaths were beginning to mount in '43 with production what it was.
On phone so I will be short. Only small parts of Eastern Ukraine was liberated in Early 1943 and after battle of Karkov Soviets were thrown back basically to Russian border I believe.
Lugansk was for example liberated in late February 1943 but Donetsk only in September 1943!

You are of course right with Caucasus. Kuban bridghead was held of course for a while.
 
In principle then Uranus is Breaking up the German bridgehead. So, Breaking the siege but doing that instead of the encirclement of the 6th army.

Uranus and Saturn are still a double envelopment - if the 6th Army has not suffered heavy losses in FIBUA then neither has the Russians defending the city who would be opposing them and efforts to resuply from the Eastern bank would be far less hazardous and therefore those forces will be stronger - and none of that desperate "when he dies pick up his rifle" nonesense so 6th Army has that extra force of a more intact 62nd army to contend with - not to mention the additional tanks etc that this would entail.

The large picture remains that Case Blue has strung the axis forces across nearly 400 miles - by Mid November and was seriously straining its logistics before Uranus and Saturn - those who tried to warn of this in the German high command had been sidelined or sacked i.e.

Also I have to question if 6th Army would be used to 'besiege' Stalingrad - surely it would be pushed further South East as part of the main thrust and 'lesser' axis forces would be used to 'mask' the city and prevent a breakout?
 
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