January 25, 1943

To the Troops on the South-West, South, Don, North Caucasus, Voronezh, Kalinin, Volkhov and Leningrad Fronts

As a result of two months of offensive engagements, the Red Army has broken through the defences of the German-fascist troops on a wide front, routed 102 enemy divisions, captured over 200,000 prisoners, 13,000 guns and a large quantity of their war material, and advanced about 252 miles. Our troops have won an important victory. The offensive of our troops continues.

I congratulate the Red Army men, commanders and political workers of the South-Western, Southern, Don, North Caucasian, Voronezh, Kalinin, Volkhov and Leningrad fronts on their victory over the German-fascist invaders and their allies – the Rumanians, Italians and Hungarians – at Stalingrad, on the Don, in the North Caucasus, at Voronezh, in the Velikie Luki area and south of Lake Ladoga.

I thank the Command and the glorious troops who have routed the Hitlerite armies at the approaches to Stalingrad, who have broken the blockade of Leningrad and liberated from the German invaders the towns of Kantemirovka, Belovodsk, Morozovsky, Millerovo, Starobelsk, Kotelnikovo, Zimovniki, Elista, Salsk, Mozdok, Nalchik, Mineralniye Vody, Pyatigorsk, Stavropol, Armavir, Valuiki, Rossosh, Ostrogozhsk, Velikie Luki, Schluesselburg, Voronezh and many other towns and thousands of populated places. Forward to the rout of the German invaders and their expulsion from the boundaries of our Motherland! Moscow, Kremlin

January 25, 1943

J. Stalin

Supreme Commander-in-Chief