6th Army's last attack on Stalingrad  (before the encircling of 6.Army

Shock troop units. - for a more detailed article about this last attack click here!

By the end of October 1942 the German advance in Stalingrad was almost stopped. Luftwaffe
General von Richthofen blamed Paulus that he didn't made any advantage of the Luftwaffe's
support he received. von Richthofen said that the infantry and the artillery were not used to
fight street battles and he sugested Paulus to fight with smaller "shock troop units".
Paulus refused. Von Richtofen contacted General Jeshonnek in Berlin and asked 
his friend to make Hitler see that Paulus would better fight with smaller units to destroy the last
Russian strongholds. The Germans already held 9/10th of the city. The last part to be captured
were a few Red Army strongholds in the industrial part of the city (northern part). The Russian
strongholds were situated in the huge factories. Hitler agreed and ordered Paulus to attack with 
smaller shock troop units. The "land" between the factories was attacked by newly formed battle 
groups of  the 71th, 79th, 100th, 295th, 305th, 398th Infantry Divisions and 14th and 24th 
Panzer Division. The strongholds in the factory were attacked by 4 extra battalions 
of Pioneers and the 389th Pioneer Battalion

The battalions, posted in Millerovo and Rossosj, "near" Voronezh, a city at the Don river, 
about 480 km or 300 miles west from Stalingrad, flew to Stalingrad on November 6th, 1942.
 50th*, 162th, 294th and 336th  Pioneer Battalion. Commanded by Chief of Pioneers,
Colonel Herbert Selle, the orders for Major Josef Linden were clear : cleaning up the
Russian strongeholds inside the factories and the major buildings around. 

Buildings : 
The Commissars's House (Red House) and the Chemnist Shop.

Factories :
Red October Factory, Barrikady Factory and the Tractor Factory. 

Hour Zero :
November 9th, 1942 at 09.00 am. (untill November 12th, 1942)

Results :
The Germans captured the both buildings and several parts of the factories. Some of them 
reached the Volga but it was clearly to them that it was a Pyrrhic victory.

Weapons : 
Flamethrowers, machine pistols, dynamite....

 Major Josef Linden 

Parts of the given orders :
For the Battlegroup of 305th Division and reinforcement Pioneer Battalion 162 :

1) The enemy, with powerful units, in Hall 4 (the Martinhofen Hall)
of the Red October factory, must be destroyed  November 11th (1942).

2) Reinforced Pioneer Battalion 162 must clean the hall complete by.....
and advance to the Volga.
....
8) Signal : White (each five minutes) : here we are
Red : Counterattack
Green : Demanding reinforcements

9) Fieldhospital : 50 meter north west of Hall 4

10) Battlegroup headquarters :
First : House between Hall 2 and 4
Second : after captured : Hall 4
....

Notes :

1) 50th was a  Panzer Pioneer Batttalion.
2) The 5 battalions were part of the 161st Division and 294th Division.
3) The attack was a 5 km wide front between Volchovstrojevskaj street and the Banni ravine.
4) Parts of the battalions were punished German soldiers,  tough guys doing "dirty" jobs
5) Colonel Herbert Selle was under command of General Erwin Jaenecke, General 
of Pioneers.
6) From the 5 Battalions, 3000 men, about 1000 died and most of the other were wounded. 
After the attack, Colonel Herbert Selle, reformed the 5 battalions into 1.