For educational purposes
Friedrich Paulus - a general fighting a losing battle. His name is inextricably linked to the devastating defeat at Stalingrad.
As commander of the Sixth Army he had no chance in the encircled Volga city area against the superior strength of the Red Army.
The situation of his more than 250,000 soldiers was hopeless.
But all attempts failed to wring out from Hitler the order finally to evacuate the encircled area and break out with his troops westward.
The dictator was firmly convinced to sacrifice rather the Sixth Army than to willingly surrender Stalingrad.
To the entrapped he radioed a cynical thanks for their "contribution to save the Western World".
Paulus knew that his appointment to field marshal shortly before the encirclement was the order for suicide. But he did not fulfill the wish of his commander-in-chief.
Paulus went into captivity. Only in the hour of defeat did he refuse to obey.
In January 1943 Friedrich Paulus became the first German field-marshal ever to surrender on the battlefield.
Having held Stalingrad for five months against all odds, he defied Hitler and led the remnants of Sixth Army into Russian captivity.
He then worked for the Soviets, calling on Germany to surrender.
