Chief of Staff of The OKH
After a short tour as Chief of Staff of Army Group D under General von Rundstedt he was promoted to General of the Infantry and simultaneously appointed Chief of Staff of the Army General Staff on September 24, 1942 as a replacement for Franz Halder. Hitler had been impressed by his optimistic and vigorous reports. Zeitzler was chosen though he was far from the top of the General Staff's list. It is probable that Hitler believed Zeitzler would be a more pliable and optimistic OKH chief than his immediate predecessor, Franz Halder. He was also thought to be a master of logistics, with solid organizational skills. Zeitzler was never considered a brilliant commander, though his performance at the head of the General Staff was very respectable. His drive and initiative was eventually paralyzed by Hitler's constant and increasingly unreasonable demands.
Zeitzler advocated the immediate breakout and withdrawal of General Paulus' Sixth Army after it had been surrounded in Stalingrad. After the war Zeitzler claimed that as soon as he saw what was happening he urged Hitler to permit the Sixth Army to withdraw from Stalingrad to the Don bend, where the broken front could be restored. The mere suggestion threw the Fuehrer into a tantrum. 'I won't leave the Volga! I won't go back from the Volga!' he shouted, and that was that. The Fuehrer personally ordered the Sixth Army to stand fast around Stalingrad: "Stalingrad simply must be held. It must be; it is a key position. By breaking traffic on the Volga at that spot, we cause the Russians the greatest difficulties."
Zeitzler was urged by his military colleagues to give the breakout order himself, but refused to act on his own, deferring to Hitler's authority as Commander-in-Chief. In a gesture of solidarity with the starved troops in Stalingrad, Zeitzler reduced his own rations to their level. After Zeitzler had lost 26 pounds in two weeks, Hitler (after being told by Martin Bormann of the diet) ordered him to stop the diet and return to normal rations. As Hitler refused to even consider the idea of withdrawal the German Sixth Army was eventually surrounded and annihilated.
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