Article about: This memorial commemorates the events of November 23, 1942, when the initial encirclement of German forces at Stalingrad was achieved. The Soviet counter-offensive, Operation Uranus, was lau
This memorial commemorates the events of November 23, 1942, when the initial encirclement of German forces at Stalingrad was achieved. The Soviet counter-offensive, Operation Uranus, was launched on November 19, when the Southwest Front and Don Front attacked the 3rd Romanian Army to the north of the city. On the following day, to the south, Stalingrad Front was launched against 4th Romanian Army. The poorly trained and supplied Romanians were in no state to withstand the attacks and quickly buckled, allowing the Soviets to stream into the wide open spaces in 6th and 4th Panzer Armies’ rear.
At about 4:00 pm on November 23rd, elements of Southwestern Front’s 4th Tank Corps and Stalingrad Front’s 4th Mechanised Corps linked near Kalach to form the initial encirclement.
"In all my years as a soldier, I have never seen men fight so hard." - SS Obergruppenfuhrer Wilhelm Bittrich - Arnhem
The monument was built in 1954 by the famed sculptor Evgeniy Vuchetich, whose other works include the Motherland Calls statue on Mamayev Kurgan in the heart of Volgograd and the Treptower Park Memorial in Berlin. It stands on an 11-metre-tall mound that was raised using soil extracted during the building of the Don-Volga Canal. The 17-metre-tall sculpture includes four figures: two infantrymen, a tanker and a cavalryman.
Nick
"In all my years as a soldier, I have never seen men fight so hard." - SS Obergruppenfuhrer Wilhelm Bittrich - Arnhem
Great photos! Love those monumental statues! And looks like you're on an excellent trip Nick, passing all those important places. Enjoy the trip and share as much photos as possible
A couple more photos from my visit to the Don River.
The memorial reads...
"Hero Pilots who fell outside the town of Kalach-on-Don"
"Pilots from the Air Army who died in battle 1942-1943... from the grateful Kalachevites 1942-1943"
"In all my years as a soldier, I have never seen men fight so hard." - SS Obergruppenfuhrer Wilhelm Bittrich - Arnhem
Cheers for sharing these pics Nick, really interesting, wow, that Don river looks wide, even more so in reality ! Have a great trip mate !
Regards
Paul
that was the back in the days when you could travel safely with out fear of the dreaded virus. the photos are great, thank you for sharing them with us!
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