Some German officers requested that Paulus defy Hitler's orders to stand fast and instead attempt to break out of the Stalingrad pocket.

Fourth Panzer Army continued to attempt to open a corridor to the Sixth Army between 18-19 December, but was unable to without the aid of forces inside the Stalingrad pocket.

From December until January 1943 he operated from within the Stalingrad pocket.

He was severely wounded and evacuated before the Stalingrad pocket collapsed.

The Germans are encircled, and efforts to relieve the Stalingrad pocket fail.

As head of the 384th Infantry Division, he was flown out of the Stalingrad pocket in December 1942, shortly before the division's destruction.

German forces within the Stalingrad pocket and directly outside were reorganized under Army Group Don, under the command of Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein.

The 4th Panzer Army continued its attempt to open a corridor to the 6th Army on 18-19 December, but was unable to do so without the aid of forces inside the Stalingrad pocket.

Meanwhile, planning also began for Operation Ring, which aimed at reducing German forces in the Stalingrad pocket.

Malinovsky's victory sealed the fate of 250,000 German and other Axis Powers soldiers trapped in the Stalingrad pocket.