First of all, Stalingrad was different from all previous battles.
Chuikov "invented" Assault groups:
From the end of September Chuikov encouraged the regiments to form "storm groups" (i.e assault units) (Chuikov, 1963). It was these storm groups which formed the basis of the Soviet counter-attacks. They infiltrated between German positions, slipped into enemy held buildings, took them by assault, then entrenched to repulse the inevitable German counter-attack. Where possible a storm group would get within grenade throwing range (say 30 m) before launching their attack.
The composition of each storm group depended on available resources and the specific situations, but
they were usually based on a platoon of infantry (20-50 men), supported by two or three guns, one or two squads of sappers and chemical warfare men, and possibly tanks (Chuikov, 1963). Storm groups, particularly once the Germans were entrenched in the city, were often supported by larger detachments.
For example, the attack on the Railwaymen's House had three storm groups of 6-8 men each, supported by 82 other men.
The storm group was divided into assault group(s), reinforcement group(s), and reserve group(s) (Chuikov, 1963):
- Assault group(s): Their job was to break in and take the building. Each assault group had 6-8 men with with sub-machine-guns, 5-12 grenades each ('pocket artillery'), knives and sharpened spades; collectively these were always under a single commander.
- Reinforcement group(s): Once the commander of the assault groups signalled "We're in", the reinforcement groups would move in from different directions. Once inside they would capture firing positions, set up, then block any attempted enemy interference from outside. Given their role this group had machine guns, sub-machine guns, mortars, anti-tank rifles and guns, crow-bars, picks and explosives. They often included sappers and snipers. The reinforcement group(s) came under the command of the commander of the storm group. The machine gunners, anti-tank riflemen and mortar gunners entered the building first. Their assistants followed with ammunition and food for one day. The men occupied the centre and upper floors to cover the approaches to the building. Once established they occupied further firing points in front of and on the flanks of the building. When the building was in their possession they entrenched, adapted existing fortifications, built new ones, and dug communication trenches.
- Reserve group(s): These formed the basis of new assault groups, prevented enemy attacks from the flanks, and if necessary, blocked any counter-attacks.
Assaults were often conducted without a preliminary bombardment, the element of surprise being considered paramount (Chuikov, 1963). On the other hand, infantry guns and tanks - previously moved into hidden positions - were used at point blank range to destroy enemy posts. Chuikov describes how an storm group form the 45th Rifle Division (Sokolov) lugged a 122mm howitzer piecemeal into the Red October factory, assembled it, then blasted a breach into the area controlled by the Germans. Similarly the 39th Guards Rifle Division used a 203mm guns in the direct fire mode in the fighting at the Red October factory; in this case the range was 200-300 m. Anti-tank incendiary shells from the 45mm anti-tank gun were used to destroy simple German fortifications in buildings.
References
Beevor, A. (1999).
Stalingrad. Penguin.
Chuikov, V. I. (1963).
The Beginning of the Road: The story for the Battle for Stalingrad. Macgibbon and Kee.
Clark, A. (1965).
Barbarossa. Cassell.
Erickson, J. (1993).
The Road to Stalingrad: Stalin's war with Germany: Volume One. London: Weidenfeld.
Mark the bolded parts. And in this last bit is about the 45th Rifle Division (which didn't just have rifles...)
