The battle of Stalingrad is well known in itself. In this conflict where street fighting was the norm, the Engineer played a de facto important role. Having pushed the Soviets to the eastern edge of the city, the head of the German 6th Army, General Paulus, considered that one more attempt was enough to crush the last Soviet islands of resistance in the city named after Stalin.
This attack would begin on November 11, 1942 under the code name "Hubertus". The attack had already been announced by Hitler in a radio message on November 8. When his speech was delivered, the forces of the 6th Army controlled 90% of the destroyed city. But the factory sector was controlled by the Soviets. The "Red October" factory was defended by the remnants of the Soviet 39th Rifle Division (MTF), which was covered on the left by the 284th MTF. A small part of the "Red Roadblock" factory was occupied by remnants of the Soviet 138th, 308th and 244th MTF.
The workers' housing in the area of the factory was defended by the 768th Regiment of the 138th MTF. Finally, remnants of the 284th MTF and the 9th and 38th Motorized Brigades were defending the "Lazur" chemical factory. Opposite, the Germans extended the also strained 71st, 76th, 7th, 95th, 305th and 389th Infantry Divisions (MP) and the 100th Hunter Division (MK), with the reinforcement of the 14th, 16th, and 24th Panzer Divisions (MPa).
However, the German divisions remained a shadow of their former selves and were unable to engage in a new series of fierce street battles to drive the Soviets from the last pockets of resistance in the city. Although it had been decided to reinforce the 6th Army with 10 battalions of Turkish troops from the Caucasus, there were serious doubts about their combat value. Besides, these battalions would not reach Stalingrad before the end of December.
The pioneers are coming
Thus, at the suggestion of General Zeisler, Chief of Staff of the German Army High Command (OKH), it was decided to immediately send Engineer battalions to Stalingrad, which would form the spearhead of the new attack. The decision was not without logic. The pioneers were highly trained in the use of explosives and in the breaching of fortifications, and were therefore ideal material for an attack which would be conducted almost under trench warfare conditions.
Leading the seven battalions assembled for the attack was Major Linden, then commander of the Sixth Army's 672nd Engineer Battalion. Based on the orders he received from the 6th Army Chief of Engineers, Colonel Zele, Linden was to capture the chemical plant and the Red Barrage plant in the first phase.
For this purpose, the 50th Motorized Engineer Battalion of the 22nd MP, the 162nd Engineer Battalion of the 62nd MP, the 294th Engineer Battalion of the 294th MP, the 305th Engineer Battalion of the 305th MP, the 336th Engineer Battalion of the 336th MP, the 389th Engineer Battalion and the 41st and 45th Engineer Battalions of the Army's 604th Engineer Regiment.
Theoretically these battalions extended over 4,800 men. But in reality only 1,753 men of five Engineer battalions were thrown into the attack, as the battalions were reduced in composition due to casualties, while others were deployed far from Stalingrad and could not get to the city in time.
Along with the pioneers, Paulus ordered the formation of 10 battle groups from all of his divisions which were placed under the command of Lt. General von Seidlitz-Kurtzbach. Linden, before the attack, made a personal reconnaissance and immediately realized the difficulties of the undertaking. He then contacted Zeidlich-Kurzbach and proposed a concerted attack by his vanguards against the Soviet strongholds, one after the other. His proposal was accepted.
The attack is launched
Over the next few days, Linden and his staff continued reconnaissance and came up with the final plan of attack, after being informed that they would be reinforced with assault guns and two more pioneer companies of the 635th Engineer Battalion.
So he decided to attack with the 50th, 294th, 305th and 336th Engineer battalions on a front of 2,500 m in the sector of the 305th MP, while the remaining pioneers would attack directly towards the Volga. Pioneers would blow up Soviet positions or breach them using explosives which would wipe out the battle formations that would follow. The final objective of the Germans was to reach the left bank of the Volga, conquering the city.
Shortly after midnight, as November 11 began, the German assault divisions were taking up positions as quietly as possible. In the previous two days the Soviets had launched small-scale reconnaissance strikes and probably knew that another German attack was imminent. Loaded with weapons, tools and explosives, the pioneers waited in their positions, confident that they would overwhelm their opponents when an explosion was heard. A pioneer fell into Soviet sabotage and he, along with 18 other colleagues, was exiled.
This was the ominous beginning of the attack. However, at 03.30 the German artillery started firing against the Soviet positions of the 138th MTF. All of the available guns of the German LI Army Corps (SS) were placed on a front of only 3 km a few meters in front of the ready-to-escape pioneers. The Soviets responded in kind by turning the ruined field into a veritable hell.
After two hours the pioneers, supported by infantry, set out. The battle was fierce. In some places the Germans managed to advance only 30 m. existing heavy losses. At another point they managed to break through the Soviet defenses and reach the banks of the Volga. The pioneers of the 305th Battalion had made good progress. However the infantry that should have covered them were pinned down by the Soviets and soon the German pioneers were fighting for their lives, being attacked on both exposed flanks of the battalion. However, the experienced Germans were not disappointed and counterattacked with a five-man team with a flamethrower.
After blowing up the barriers, these five men cleared the area, room by room, burning their opponents with the flamethrower. Gradually the infantry arrived and the Soviets were pushed back. However, it was not possible to continue the attack to the Volga, as Soviet forces were covering with fire the 200 m that separated the Germans from the great river. The attack by the 50th Motorized Engineer Battalion was less successful and stalled. The 336th Engineer Battalion managed to gain ground, but was forced to abandon it as it was not adequately supported.
On the banks of the Volga
The 162nd and 389th Engineer Battalions reached the Volga, but were unable to continue the clearing. The 79th MP sector was attacked by two Engineer battalions who managed to penetrate behind the "Red October" factory and reach the Volga, trapping around 2,000 Soviets in the ruins of the factory. Major Linden gathering the various reports realized that the attack was not progressing as well as he had expected. This was due to the fact that his pioneers, loaded with explosives and tools, did not carry sufficient ammunition, with all that this entailed.
Also the infantry did not support or feed as well as they should have the pioneers, who were fighting in an environment that completely favored the defending Soviets. Linden requested infantry reinforcements but the command refused them. So the attack continued in the same way the next day, November 12th. The 50th Motorized Engineer Battalion resumed its attack and, although suffering very heavy casualties, cleared the Soviets in its sector with flamethrowers, grenades and petrol canisters.
To the south, the German 38th Infantry Division, supported by the 294th Engineer Battalion, reached the Volga, gaining a zone of ground about 500 m wide. In the evening Linden proceeded to redeploy his forces, reinforcing the 578th Fighter Group (578th Grenadier Regiment, 50th Motorized Engineer Battalion) with the 162nd Engineer Battalion. The German attack developed into room-to-room hand-to-hand combat in building 81. The Germans prevailed and the 162nd Engineer Battalion reached the Volga, behind the "Red Roadblock" factory.
Instead the attack of the 336th Engineer Battalion was intercepted almost immediately. Other Engineer divisions completely cleared the Red October factory. Strong Soviet counterattacks were repulsed. With the Germans having gained parts of the west bank of the Volga, the battle would be won or lost by their ability to hold there, cutting off the city's remaining Soviet defenders, who nevertheless continued to fight to the last. The next day, November 14, the Germans repeated the attacks and succeeded in completely occupying the "Red Barrier" factory with grenades and flamethrowers, but losing 60% of their men. To the south the 294th Engineer Battalion repulsed fierce Soviet counterattacks without support.
The final, fruitless, attempt
The 50th Motorized Engineer Battalion also continued the attack making slow but steady progress. The pioneer successes caused excitement on the German side, with the 6th Army now taking Stalingrad for granted as the Soviet forces in the city had been reduced to a series of moribund pockets. However, reinforcements arrived on the Soviet side. At the same time, however, the big counterattack was being prepared with the aim of encircling the German 6th Army.
In the meantime Major Linden again reorganized his forces with a view to the final clearing of the city. However the German attack did not proceed as, as mentioned, the Soviets had been reinforced while the Germans had not. November 16th passed uneventfully, with the Germans pushing ever more feebly through exhaustion and casualties. Despite this, the 24th Infantry Division supported by the 389th Engineer Battalion managed to literally reach the banks of the Volga. But he got stuck there.
Over the next two days Linden attempted to reorganize his forces and continue the attack, but without achieving his final objective. In the early hours of November 19, as they were preparing another offensive attempt, the Germans were surprised by the sound of thousands of cannons that they placed on both sides of the city. The great counterattack of the Red Army aimed at encircling the German 6th Army had begun. In the coming months the German pioneers and their colleagues of the other arms would not be fighting for victory but for their survival.