"The front over the last few days has collapsed. All have abandoned their fate. No one knows where his regiment or his company is. Each man is left to himself.
I saw a crowd of our retreating soldiers, they were wearing a variety of uniforms with various items of clothing just to stay warm. Suddenly one of the soldiers dies into the snow. The others pass by. No comments.
Stalingrad is hell on earth. We attack daily. If we are able to take 20 meters in the morning, in the evening the Russians throw us back.
In 28 days we conquered Poland, and 28 days in Stalingrad, we only took several houses. In 38 days we conquered France, and in Stalingrad we only have a handful of streets.
Yes, here you have to thank God for every hour that you stay alive. Here, nobody will escape his destiny. The only thing that you can do is wait for your hour. An instant and horrible death to the underworld. Only a few, God's chosen lucky few, will safely survive the front at Stalingrad." – Herman Trapman, 2nd BN, 670 Inf. Reg. (Wehrmacht) 371st Inf. Division, Stalingrad, 24 Nov, 1942. #ww2 #reality #stayzero #zerofoxtrot