Hetzer38

Russ, thank you so much for sharing these fascinating photos and the information! Most people would never notice such errors as you have pointed out! What would you say, how far is it from "Dolgi Gully" (just behind the Landsers we see in photos 1 & 2) to the watertanks ? Cheers, Hetzer38. P.S. Could you please link the amazing "MK from the Red October factory July 2006"-photo? ...It's a bit big, you know!

Thank you very much for your post and the photo Russ! Thank you also very much for all your hard work and devotion for your Stalingrad-project! Simply amazing what you have achieved so far! By looking at the Rasteraufnahme der deutschen Luftwaffe vom Norden Stalingrads vom 26. Oktober 1942, I found the spot where the photos where made. Part of the original photo: Russ' aerial photo "merged" with bigger part of the original Luftwaffe-Rasteraufnahme: So the Landser on both photos ( 1, 2 ) were photographed on the southern slope of the Mamayev Kurgan, roughly 1200m (anyone in for a better guess?) away from the watertanks on the top... Cheers, Hetzer38. P.S. John, you've got mail!

Could you maybe upload one or two photos to imageshack, so more people could view them? Pretty please ? I trust you already saw these photos, but just to be sure: Vormarsch im Schutze einer Balka (Advance in the safety of a ravine) I believe the medic (Sani) in the lower left corner is the same one as in the photo you posted earlier. ( this one ) Nice "action-shot" here: Bombenabwurf über der chemischen Fabrik "Lazur" im Nordteil Stalingrads (bomb-throw over the chemical factory "Lazur" in the northern part of Stalingrad) Greetings, Hetzer38.

Yup, bogus. Anyway, anyone interested in actual battlefield investigation focussed on the effect of allied fighter-bombers / bombers against german AFVs / Soft skinned vehicles should read Ian Gooderson's "Air Power at the Battlefront"-case studies, London 1998. Detailed after-battle-investigation of the following areas: Roncey Pocket - La Baleine; Mortain Area; Falaise Pocket - 'Shambles' Area - 'Chase' Area; Ardennes Salient; ...Allied Fighter-Bomber claims vs destruction attributed to various weapons... (bombs, rockets, mg, destroyed by crew, abandoned, unknown cause) Surprisingly, none of the investigated knocked-out german tanks had .50 cal penetrations in it's belly... Cheers, Hetzer38. . . . - Michael Wittman [ February 12, 2007, 11:29 AM: Message edited by: Hetzer38 ]

That's indeed an informational treasure! Thank a lot to Russ Schulke for the info and the great photos and to you John for sharing the info! Gheers, Hetzer38.

"God damn it! We need some ammo!" (...three HE grenades left...) [Battle 4/5; Round 20/25+] Yup, that's 25 tank-kills (plus 17 infantry casualities) caused by Uffz Heuer's Pz IIIG. (6xBT-5s; 2xBT-7s; 6xT-26S; 2xT-26S M37; 2x OT-134 "Flamm"; 7xUnidentified Enemy Tank) That's 1/6 of the russian's tank losses in this operation! :cool: The russians must have lost 150+ tanks so far, and the few they have left are lurking around in the "forest of fire" (top right corner of the screenshot, east of point 311.5)... Hope I can present an AAR soon! BTW, a human russian player would have butchered me, there's no doubt about it! The russians have so much (some of it excellent, T-34s, KV-Is...) equipment, when put to good use the germans don't stand a chance. IMO, playing the AI (even with +2 Exp) is very likely to result in a german victory (like in reality), so let's just pretend the poor russian (AI) performance is due to poor leadership, bad communication and mechanical failures. Besides, that way I'm able to win despite my poor tactical decisions! Cheers, Hetzer38. [ February 11, 2007, 12:45 PM: Message edited by: Hetzer38 ]

Well, Babelfish certainly has it's flaws, but here's the translation of Chuikov's memoirs of his command post on MK: Hell, at least we get an idea of how Chuikov's CP on MK looked, a dirty hole in a ravine named Krylov's Shelter, (where they made the initial planning & stuff) and how the "control center" right on top of MK looked: an even dirtier hole in the ground plastered by fire, giving a panoramic view of the battlefield. BTW, Chuikov uses a nice term for the defense of Stalingrad in his memoirs, he calls it "the attacking defense". Edit: Well, yea, ****ty babelfish translation but interesting info and it definetly sounds like NO FUN AT ALL to move your hq around during a battle like this... Neperekopannogo, Hetzer38. [ February 09, 2007, 05:06 PM: Message edited by: Hetzer38 ]

Edit: Lol! Yea, good one! But - considering he survived all the other stuff - NO, Chui wouldn't have drowned. That guy was to tough to die in such an unspectacular way! I too find this whole theme very fascinating, I've spent the last two hours (or so) searching for more info - and it was fun! Edit-End. Here's another view of the top of the hill, taken in winter 1943. [ source ] Seems to be a Sturmgeschütz III B in front of the earth- and snow-covered water tanks... The next photo is captioned "Victorious flag at the apex of Mamaev the barrow". ( Babelfish-translation ) [ source ] . . . I've also found the (russian) Memoirs by Vasili Chuikov: Battle of a century - in which he describes his experiences during the Battle of Stalingrad. Maybe someone who's able to read russian language could have a look ? Or someone crazy enough would like to give it a try with Babelfish ? [...chapter 5 is about "Mamaev the barrow"...] Cheers, Hetzer38. [ February 09, 2007, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: Hetzer38 ]

Mmhh, lovely! Good to see another WIP by you! Cheers, Hetzer38.

Take a look at this WIP screenie of Mamayev summit for CC3 Stalingrad series. Mamyev summit Doesn't look that bad! (O.k., the house-ruin doesn't really fit in...) There's also an already finished scenario showing Chuikov's HQ near the Tsaritsa river. Here you'll find a CC5 Stalingrad Mod scenario called "Mamayev", unfortunately I cannot download it...(can you?) [ February 09, 2007, 03:36 PM: Message edited by: Hetzer38 ]

Lol, yea, almost! Chuikov should know best where he was! [Also from The Stalingrad Academy of Street Fighting . ] *sigh* So we have five Chukov commad posts in the city during the battle ? Anybody more ? Cheers, Hetzer38. [ February 09, 2007, 05:30 AM: Message edited by: Hetzer38 ]

The info above and much more detailed info about the fighting can be found at the The Stalingrad Academy of Street Fighting . Fascinating stuff! Greetings, Hetzer38.

And here's the whole (Edit - well, not really) story about Chuikov's command HQs in Staligrad: So he moved his HQ three times (maybe even more often?), and John was right in saying that Chuikov had a command post (...for two days...) on MK! Damn! Now we have to find the other spot(s)as well! Cheers, Hetzer38. [ February 09, 2007, 03:33 PM: Message edited by: Hetzer38 ]

And - believe it or not - I even found a picture of it! Rodimtsev and Chuykov former HQ bunkers. Stalingrad, Autumn 1943. [same source as the first pic in my previous post.] Man, this is fun! Greetings, Hetzer38.

I found another goodie, a photo of the top of of Mamaev Hill after the battle. Top of Mamaev Hill ( water tanks). Arrow - first small memorial mark. Summer 1943. [Compare with the the two blue round structures on top of MK on the 3d image by Russ.] source: Russia and the Soviet Union in pictures 1900 > 2000 The watertanks seem to have been buried during the fighting, this photo claims to show part of the same spot after the battle in february 1943. Der hart umkämpfte Mamajew-Hügel, genannt "Höhe 102", nach den Kämpfen im Februar 1943. source: Privates Antiquariat Stalingrad Greetings, Hetzer38. [ February 19, 2007, 01:52 PM: Message edited by: Hetzer38 ]

Could well be, I'll try to find some more proof for this ! BTW, I just found the "Uber"-Stalingrad-photo! Rasteraufnahme der deutschen Luftwaffe vom Norden Stalingrads vom 26. Oktober 1942. This shows a brilliant aerial shot of the northern part of Stalingrad, including a fine view of MK and it's terraces on October 26th, 1942. Make sure to check out the rest of the site's photos too! (if you haven't already!) Greetings, Hetzer38.

Sorry for ruining your day Richie, but I thought it would be better to clear this up! Just to make it complete, I made another quick 'n dirty overlay with John's picture on another 3d pic by Russ. Original: Overlay: So, John's photo shows the northeastern slope of "hill 102", correct ? Best Regards, Hetzer.

Edit: Thank you very much for the clarification Melnibone and your thoughts about the matter Philippe! I made a quick 'n dirty overlay with Paint Shop Pro, and - well, see for yourself: Although both pics don't match exactly (cause of different viewing-angles), I think it's quite safe to say that Richie's aerial photo shows a part of the "Tennisschläger", and John Kettler's photo shows a part of the "Höhe 102" (Mamaev Hill). I agree that the heavy bombardment on Mamaev hill changed the landscape very drastically, but we don't know if the terracing was destroyed completly by just comparing Richie's and John's pictures. Best Regards, Hetzer. [ February 08, 2007, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: Hetzer38 ]

Sorry for my mistake ! Could you please mark the spot of the Mamayev Kurgan on one of the 3d photos ? I fear I'm completly confused without your help! Greetings, Hetzer.

Hmmm, there are roads, part of a railroad (?) and buildings in the second photo, in the first there's no sign of them. Looks more like some part of the tennis-racket to me! My guess is that you have photos of different places here. Greetings, Hetzer. [ February 08, 2007, 03:13 AM: Message edited by: Hetzer38 ]

Ja scheiss die Wand an! :eek: Unbelievable how many documents are out there - for free! Just downloaded a dozen pdfs, need more... Damn, I'll never have enough time for ALL OF THIS! Thank you so much Harry! Greetings, Hetzer.

Me too! Great source John, thank you very much for sharing! Damn, I need more free time! Greetings, Hetzer38.

Yea, bugger tv! Lovely Mod with gorgeous optoins! Vielen herzlichen Dank!

Just lovely! You know how to bring a smile to my face after a long day of hard work! Danke Mann!

Most interesting article ! Thanks a lot for sharing !