Daily Factoids

Friedrich Paulus

On January 3, 1943 at Stalingrad, Generaloberst Friedrich Paulus visited the XIV Panzer Corps and the 44th Infantry Division.  The Luftwaffe airlifted 168.4 tons of supplies into the encirclement; on return flights, Luftwaffe aircraft evacuated 554 wounded German soldiers to airbases outside of the encirclement.   The army reported 403 total casualties for the day.  The army headquarters was located at the Gumrak Airfield.  (Stalingrad: The Death of the German Sixth Army on the Volga, 1942-1943)

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Hermann Hoth

Born March 12, 1921 in Schafflund in Schleswig-Holstein, Julius Hinrichsen joined the Waffen-SS on January 3, 1941 and first served in the assault gun detachment of the SS Totenkopf Division, fighting at the Demjansk Pocket, where he was wounded three times.  He was promoted to SS-Sturmmann on October 1, 1941.  After fifteen months at the front with the Totenkopf, he went on recuperation leave, reporting to Weimar-Buchenwald on October 8, 1942 for panzer training.  He then transferred to the Troop Training Grounds Bergen at Fallingbostel on December 8 for Tiger training, departing for Russia on January 24, 1943.  While in Fallingbostel, on January 13, 1943, he received the Iron Cross Second Class for his time at Demjansk.  Hinrichsen fought in Tiger 801/802 as the gunner in the 8th (Heavy) Company at Kharkov in February-March 1943, receiving the Panzer Battle Badge in Silver on March 27, 1943; he was promoted to SS-Rottenführer on April 1.  At Kursk, in the 4th Panzer Army under Hermann Hoth, Julius served as a gunner first on Tiger S01; the vehicle ran over an enemy anti-tank mine and was towed to the workshop repair company, where mechanics worked on the vehicle for six days.  Hinrichsen then served on Tiger S02 in the Headquarters Platoon.  (Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk: The Men of SS Panzer Regiments 1, 2 & 3 in Operation Citadel, July 5-15, 1943)