6th Army ( Wehrmacht ) The 6th Army was a designation for a German field army that saw action in World War II . The 6th Army is best known for fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad , during which it became the first entire German field army to be completely destroyed . After the battle of Stalingrad , approximately 107 , 800 soldiers of the 6th Army entered Soviet captivity ; only about 6 , 000 survived the captivity . Western campaigns . Originally numbered as the 10th Army , this combat unit was formed on 10 October 1939 with General Walther von Reichenau in command . Its primary mission was to guard the western defenses of Germany against British and French attacks during the Polish campaign . During the invasion of the Low Countries the 6th Army saw active service linking up with paratroopers and destroying fortifications at Eben Emael , Liège , and Namur during the Battle of Belgium . The 6th Army was then involved in the breakthrough of the Paris defences on 12 June 1940 , before acting as a northern flank for German forces along the Normandy coast during the closing stages of the Battle of France . Eastern campaign . The 6th Army began its involvement in the Russian Campaign as the spearhead of Army Group South . Shortly after being promoted to Field Marshal , von Reichenau died in an aircraft accident while being transported to a hospital after a heart attack in January 1942 . He was succeeded by his former chief of staff , " General der Panzertruppen " Friedrich Paulus . Paulus led the 6th Army to a major victory at the Second Battle of Kharkov during the spring of 1942 . This victory also sealed the 6th Army ' s destiny because it was selected by the OKH for the attack on Stalingrad . On 28 June 1942 , Army Group South began Operation Blau ; the German Army ' s summer offensive into southern Russia . The goals of the operation were to secure both the oil fields at Baku , Azerbaijan , and the city of Stalingrad on the river Volga to protect the forces advancing into the Caucasus . After two months , the 6th Army reached the outskirts of Stalingrad on 23 August . On the same day , over 1 , 000 aircraft of the " Luftwaffe " ' s Luftflotte 4 bombed the city , turning it into a massive inferno . Destroyed in a matter of hours , Stalingrad was now a charnel house ; defended by the weak Soviet 62nd Army under the command of General Vasily Chuikov . Despite having the initiative , the 6th Army failed to obtain a quick victory . The Red Army put up determined resistance , taking the fight to the rubble - clogged city streets . Though having almost complete air superiority over Stalingrad , and with more artillery pieces than the Soviets , progress was reduced to no more than several meters a day . Soviet casualties in the ghastly urban fighting were horrendous , while German casualties were just as appalling . Eventually , by mid November , the 62nd Army had been pushed to the banks of the Volga ; holding only three small bridgeheads along the riverfront . However , despite continued fighting , the 6th Army was unable to eliminate the remaining Soviet troops in Stalingrad in time . On 19 November , Operation Uranus , the massive attack by Soviet forces on the flanks of the German corridor between the Don and Volga rivers , began . The 6th Army ' s flanks were protected by Romanian troops , who were ill - equipped to deal with the attack . Very quickly , the Romanians were shattered , and on 23 November , the pincers of the attack met at Kalach - na - Donu . The 6th Army was encircled , and a major relief operation , which quickly failed , was undertaken by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein on 12 December . After an additional month of fighting , the 6th Army was almost destroyed . Paulus was promoted by Hitler to the rank of " Generalfeldmarschall " on 31 January 1943 , ostensibly in part because until that day no German Field Marshal had ever surrendered . In other words , Adolf Hitler expected Paulus to commit suicide , but Paulus soon surrendered to the Soviet forces , contrary to orders by his political chief . The remaining forces of the 6th Army , under the independent command of General Karl Strecker , surrendered two days later in the Tractor Factory , just to the north of the prominent hill Mamaev Kurgan . Although this was not the definitive end of the 6th Army , the Battle of Stalingrad was one of the worst military disasters in German history . For the first time , an entire German field army had been completely destroyed . Reformation – Battles in the East . During the last days of the Stalingrad encirclement , Hitler , in denial of events , had one man from every division in the 6th Army flown out in order to ' reconstitute ' a new 6th Army ( A . O . K . 6 ) . This new formation became active on 5 March 1943 , and was commanded by General Karl - Adolf Hollidt and based on Army Detachment Hollidt . It later fought in Ukraine and Romania as part of Army Group South and Army Group South Ukraine . The army was again largely destroyed in a large encirclement during the Iassy - Kishinev Operation , but this time the army HQ survived . The 6th Army was the only German army to be encircled and destroyed thrice ( including the final capitulation ) . Army Group Fretter - Pico . In October 1944 , under the command of General of Artillery Maximilian Fretter - Pico , the 6th Army encircled and destroyed three Soviet tank corps of Mobile Group Pliyev under the command of Issa Pliyev in the Battle of Debrecen . During this time , the 6th Army had the Hungarian Second Army placed under its command , and it was known as " Army Group Fretter - Pico " ( " Armeegruppe " Fretter - Pico " ) . Command passed to General der Panzertruppen Hermann Balck in December 1944 . In January 1945 , one of the 6th Army ' s subordinate units , the IX SS Mountain Corps , was encircled in Budapest . SS - Gruppenführer Herbert Otto Gille ' s IV SS Panzer Corps was transferred to the 6th Army ' s command and a relief attempt , codenamed Operation Konrad , was launched during the 46 - day long Siege of Budapest . Army Group Balck . After the failure of Konrad III , the 6th Army was made part of " Army Group Balck " ( " Armeegruppe Balck " ) . This army group fell back to the area near Lake Balaton . Several units , including the III Panzer Corps , were involved in Operation Spring Awakening , while the rest of the Sixth Army provided defence for the left flank of the offensive , in the region west Székesfehérvár . After the failure of the offensive , the Sixth Army held the line until a major Soviet offensive , the Vienna Operation on 15 March 1945 . This offensive tore a gap in the 6th Army between the IV SS Panzer Corps and the 3rd Hungarian Army ( subordinated to Balck ' s command ) , shattering the formation . By the end of March 1945 , the 6th Army was involved in a retreat towards Vienna . The shattered remnants of 6th Army surrendered to the Americans on 9 May 1945 . Commanders . The 6th Army was commanded by the " Oberkommando der 6 . Armee " ( AOK 6 ) ( English : " Supreme Command of the 6th Army " ) . Its commanders - in - chief were :