Yquotes.com

 

The troops of the Don Front at 4pm on February 2nd, 1943 completed the rout and destruction of the encircled group of enemy forces in Stalingrad. Twenty-two divisions have been destroyed or taken prisoner.
--
February 1943. Quoted in "Russia at War, 1941-1945" - Page 543 - by Alexander Werth - 1964

 

Konstantin Rokossovsky

» Konstantin Rokossovsky - all quotes »

Similar quotes

 

Conditions to the north of us, in the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts zone of action, and our offensive on Kharkov demands that we not lose time and we commit all forces so that we can draw off as many divisions as possible from Kharkov. And even if we do not draw them off, at least we will not give Manstein the ability to take any of his units from our part of the front. If we attract one or two German tank divisions - it will be the best contribution to the defeat of the enemy in the south.

 

Aleksandr Vasilevsky

 

Hitler was very upset by the heavy losses suffered by the parachute units, and came to the conclusion that their surprise value had passed. After that he often said to me: "The day of parachute troops is over." He would not believe reports that the British and Americans were developing airborne forces. The fact that none were used in the St. Nazaire and Dieppe raids confirmed his opinion. He said to me: 'There, you see! They are not raising such forces. I was right.' He only changed his mind after the Allied conquest of Sicily in 1943. Impressed by the way the Allies had used them there, he ordered an expansion of our own airborne forces. But that change of mind came too late - because by then you had command of the air, and airborne troops could not be effectively used in face of a superior air force.

 

Kurt Student

 

We suffered heavy casualties. Dozens of soldiers, commanders and commissars died bravely. Even with all those losses we could not help the forces of the Western Front. Konarmia's assault on Zamość turned into an isolated operation, doomed from the beginning. If I continued my attack towards Krasnystaw and Lublin, the Konarmia would have to face superior forces of the enemy and would most surely be destroyed.

 

Semyon Budyonny

 

If a segment of one's force is located where it is not sufficiently busy with the enemy, or if the troops are on the march - that is, idle - while the enemy is fighting, then these forces are being managed uneconomically. In this sense they are being wasted, which is even worse than using them inappropriately.

 

Carl von Clausewitz

 

While thinking when sober, our success at reaching our goals by using the First Baltic Front troops, the Memel operation, it can't be disregarded, that they [the troops] not only honorably accomplished their powerful strategic operation, but also an infusion of victory for the Soviet armed forces and an entrance into the final stages of the war.

 

Hovhannes Bagramyan