ABSTRACT
The Fourth Panzer Army and the Sixth Army made contact ten miles west of Stalingrad, completing the ring. If the thrust to Stalingrad by the Sixth Army slowed down, Army Group A would be deep in the Caucasus with strong Russian forces still to the north. The Volga had been cut and Stalingrad neutralized. The beloved pincers maneuvers, the envelopment and sudden thrusts, became abstract and distant concepts in the ruins of Stalingrad. The prime consideration had to be the continued resistance at Stalingrad. Their modest proposals of a fluid defense which would have worn out the Russians have since become the foundation stone of the generals’ alternative strategy for the war in Russia. Since the strategy proved notably successful, this is an honor devoutly to be desired in Russian political life. Even if Paulus received permission to abandon the siege of Stalingrad and disengage the Sixth Army, he would have his problems.
