IV.

The Surrender

A German panzer offensive from the south sought to break through to relieve the Sixth Army, but the Red Army repulsed this offensive on December 23. By January 26, 1943, further Soviet assaults split Paulus’s forces in two. The shattered German army fought on until January 31, when Paulus finally bowed to the inevitable and surrendered. By February 2 the remnants of his starving, diseased, and frostbitten army had given up. About 200,000 Axis forces were killed or wounded in the battle. The Red Army suffered about 1.1 million casualties, including about 485,000 killed.