The Way It Was. . .

(The Way It Was. . .)

The pen-ultimate phase to the Battle of Stalingrad began on November 19th, 1942. Since the end of the previous August, the German Sixth Army had been investing the industrial city on the Volga and by the end of November, had secured some 90% of Stalingrad. That is when things began to wrong for the Ostheer (Eastern Army). The German thrust at Stalingrad and another towards the Caucus Mountains and the critical oil fields therein.

The fundamental problem the Germans had in November, 1942 was that the entire force was split and unable for mutual support. Flanks along the Don River were held by satellite armies from Hungary, Italy, and Romania and it were these formations that received the opening salvos from the Soviet offensive (Codenamed URANUS) which began November 19th, 1942.

That the Soviets were able to attack with such ferocity with so many armies that within a few days, the Sixth Army and a good portion of the Fourth Panzer Army became trapped in what became known as The Stalingrad Kessel (Cauldron)..Having lost any link to the outside and with no ability to re-supply, no food, no fuel or ammunition, except what could be supplied by air, the trapped Germans withered on the vine. A relief effort was attempted but it fell short of reaching the imprisoned Garrison. At the end of January, 1943, what remained of Sixth Army, once the largest formation in the East, only 9,000 survivors surrendered.

How could such a catastrophe have happened ? How could German intelligence have missed the build-up, of over a million men, a thousand tanks and almost a thousand combat aircraft all in a bridgehead on the Don, how was this allowed and why was this pocket not eliminated before the Soviet attack ? The man most responsible was the Army intelligence officer, Colonel Reinhard Gehlen and, as posterity indicates, he was bad at his job.

Today, like Stalingrad, Gaza City is becoming a Kessell of its own. Like the Stalingrad pocket that had to be reduced, and it took seven Soviet armies in Operation "RING" almost two and a half months before Sixth Amry was reduced, and in today's case, it is the reduction of Hamas. It is not likely that Hamas leadership would surrender in the same manner Sixth Army leadership had to but the terror group leadership is in Qatar, in case Shin Bet needs a vacation.

The Soviet offensive of November 19th achieved tactical surprise as did Hamas last October 7th. Like Gehlen's, there was an intelligence failure that failed to predict the Hamas raid. But this local tactical action is having strategic implications. The terror group will be eliminated from Gaza and also Hezbollah, when its time comes. That being said, Israeli national security and intelligence organizations like Shin Bet and indeed Mossad, need to examine this failure so that it cannot happen again. Such realizations came too late for Sixth Army. Fortunately, Israel has a reprieve.

And, that is the way it is.