February 2
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The Soviet Government has announced the final defeat of the German 6th Army at the port of Stalingrad, in southern Russia. A statement late this evening said: "Our forces have now completed theliquidationof the German Fascist troops encircled in the area of Stalingrad. "The last centre of enemy resistance in the Stalingrad area has thus been crushed." The declaration brings to an end five months of heavy fighting for the city. The battle has been described as among the most terrible of the war so far. Another 45,000 German soldiers have been taken prisoner in the last two days, bringing the total in custody to over 90,000 officers and men. The prisoners are understood to be in an appalling condition after enduring months of starvation in temperatures down to -30. They are the remains of the 330,000-strong German force sent to take Stalingrad. The rest - about a quarter of a million men - have died, as many from illness, starvation and frostbite than from the fighting itself. The 6th Army has been trapped inside the city, completely surrounded by the Red Army, for almost three months during the harshest part of the Russian winter. They have had to rely totally on air drops by the Luftwaffe for food. Atrocious weather conditions have reduced the amount getting through to just 90 tonnes a day - less than a third of what they needed. The German commander of the 6th Army, Field-Marshal Friedrich Paulus, gave himself up two days ago. He had been in a hopeless position since early December, when a last-ditch rescue attempt was driven back by Soviet troops. He was given one earlier chance to surrender, on 8 January, by Soviet Regional Commander, Marshal Rokossovsky. But Hitler repeated his order to the 6th Army that surrender would not be contemplated, and two days later the final Soviet offensive began to flush the Germans out of Stalingrad. Paulus lost his last German-controlled airfield ten days later, on 22 January, and with it the last hope of any more regular supplies. By 29 January the desperately weak 6th Army was split into two pockets of men. The surrender of Field-Marshal Paulus brought the ordeal to an end for one of the groups. The defeat of the second remnant today closes at last one of the most horrific chapters of the war so far. He also made his first public commitment to release jailed ANC leader Nelson Mandela, but he did not specify a date. Many observers were surprised by the scope of the reforms - which included a return to press freedom and suspension of the death penalty - signalling a partial end to the 25-year-old state of emergency. Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: "He has taken my breath away". Mr Mandela's wife, Winnie, remained sceptical. She said: "We are not going to accept a bone without meat. The unbanning of the ANC, the South African Communist Party and the Pan-African Congress in the prevailing South African climate is simply a recipe for further problems." Other critics complained about the government's failure to completely lift the state of emergency, as the ban on TV and photographic coverage of unrest continues. Mr De Klerk explained this was precautionary so that the authorities could monitor the progress of the reforms. Speaking about the release of political prisoners, he said: "It does not signify in the least the approval or condoning of crimes of terrorism or crimes of violence committed under their banner." The Conservative opposition has demanded a referendum on the white reaction to the new measures. |
