Soviet Forces
By July 4, 1943, the defending Soviet forces had 1.3 million troops, 3,000 planes, 3,400 tanks, and 20,000 heavy guns prepared to fight, clearly outnumbering the Germans.
German command grossly underestimated the scale of the Soviet's counterattack and was taken by surprise on November 19, 1942. By size and tactic, Germany's Sixth Army was quickly overwhelmed by the Soviet offensive. This involved 500,000 Soviet troops, 900 tanks, and 1,400 aircraft. The entire German force (over 200,000 men) was encircled within 72 hours. Because of sordid living conditions, a ordinary Red Army soldier had a miserable life expectancy of 24 hours; an officer's expectancy was slightly longer, at 72 hours. |