Operation Uranus Begins at Stalingrad

In Brief

Soviet forces launched Operation Uranus on November 19, 1942, opening a major counteroffensive around Stalingrad. The attack struck Axis forces on the flanks of the German army. The encirclement developed over subsequent days, changing the strategic situation. The operation's opening was not the surrender of the German Sixth Army, which came in 1943.

The First Blow Falls North of the City

On November 19, 1942, Soviet forces opened Operation Uranus against Axis positions northwest of Stalingrad. A second attack began from the south the next day. The offensives were designed to meet behind the German forces fighting in and around the city. This made the operation different from another effort to push a German unit out of a factory or street. Its target was the connection between the forces at Stalingrad and the roads and railways that kept them supplied. The opening day marks the start of the encirclement operation, not the day the ring was closed.

Why the Flanks Offered an Opening

The struggle inside Stalingrad had drawn German formations into a long and costly urban battle. Axis forces guarding the flanks included Romanian armies holding extensive sectors. Their equipment and reserves were insufficient to stop the concentrated Soviet attacks. This does not mean the defenders simply disappeared from the map. Some positions held or resisted before being broken or bypassed. The Soviet plan depended on applying force in selected areas, exploiting breakthroughs and moving rapidly enough to prevent opposing commanders from forming a new continuous line.

A Linkup Near Kalach

Soviet spearheads joined on November 23 in the area near Kalach, trapping the German Sixth Army and other Axis units. Encirclement changed the practical questions on both sides. The trapped troops needed food, ammunition and a means of evacuation. Soviet forces had to keep the ring closed while facing efforts to relieve the pocket. A line drawn around Stalingrad describes a result but not the work needed to maintain it. An airlift failed to supply the pocket adequately, and a German relief effort in December did not reach the trapped forces.

Why the Battle Continued

The surviving German forces surrendered in stages at the end of January and beginning of February 1943. Operation Uranus had changed their position decisively, but it had not ended combat in November. The distinction is important because the dramatic encirclement and the final surrender reflect different phases of the battle. On November 19, Soviet commanders began an offensive that shifted the problem from control of individual streets to the survival of a large force cut off from its normal support. The campaign demonstrated how battles fought in a city can be decided by operations far beyond its buildings.