Had
the
Battle
of
Stalingrad
been hampered
by unusual low temperatures in December 1942?
Posted: 23. December 2012
(Update 17 Jan.2013; Stalingrad January 1943) -graphics enlargeable-
The
final stage of the Battle of Stalingrad commenced on 23rd
November 1942. From the
roughly
200’000 Axis troops in the city only about 100’000 survived the
siege, and were taken as prisoners after surrendering on 31.Jan./2.
Feb. 1943. The monstrousness of the
Battle
is well known that is partly blamed for very wintry conditions. But
had the temperatures been very unusual in December 1942? Many
historical investigations assert this!
Fig.1,
East-Front at the end of December 1942
In
December 1942 the frost came late to
Stalingrad
, but on the 18th the sky cleared and the mercury dropped
to minus 25°C (New York Times, 27/Dec.42, pp. E1 & E4). Today
the daily average accounts for -4,7°C, the average low is -7,6°C (wikipedia).
Whether a reliable temperature record exists for this time period
could not be verified.
Available
are records from two cities about 600 km in the West of Stalingrad (Kharkov
&
Stalino;
Fig.2) showing a minimum of 19,7/10,5 T°C on the 17/18.Dec.. A
second cold period from the 26-29th December indicates a
minimum low -21°C. Compared with today the “average low” during
December in Kharkov and Stalino had
been about 4,5°C respectively 3,1°C lower only during the last two
weeks in 1942. This
deviation for merely two weeks can hardly be regarded as extreme,
and it is likely that the situation in
Stalingrad
, due to its further east-ward location, the temperature may have
deviated even less from average.
Fig.2
The
overall T°C conditions in the
Stalingrad
region during December 1942 is indicted in Fig. 3, and the anomaly
in Fig. 4. With some generalisations it can be said that the
December 1942 had been normal, if not even slightly warmer than
normal. Historians should show more constrain on talking about
‘unusual temperature’ conditions during the Battle of Stalingrad
in December 1942, or do more research in the first place.
Fig.3
|
Fig.4
|
Stalingrad
January 1943
UPDATE
17. Jan 2013
After
the moderate T°C means during December 1942, Stalingrad experienced
a very cold January 1943 (next two Fig. 5 + 6), which was
nevertheless much less severe as the previous three years, as
indicated in the second row below, showing January 1940, January
1941 & January 1942 (Fig. 7-9). .
|
|
Fig.
5, January
1943
|
Fig.
6, January
1943
|
|
|
|
Fig.
7, January
1940
|
Fig.
8, January
1941
|
Fig.
9, January
1942
|
Related
ISSUES __“Barbarossa” – June-Dec.1941: http://climate-ocean.com/images/Lect/_4_EN.pdf
__“Barbarossa” – Winter 1941/42: http://climate-ocean.com/images/Lect/_5_EN.pdf
|
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PPT-Presentation in 24
Slides
Worst
weather forecast ever finished Blitzkrieg on 5th December
1941!
How Hitler shot himself in the foot! Failure of meteorology;
a boon to mankind!
See
also: HERE and HERE
(without sub-text)
See also
Part 2 of Winter 1941/42
3rd
Extreme War Winter 1941/42 was predictable!
Naval
war caused weather that stopped Wehrmacht to reach
Moscow
!
HERE
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