-2- #523, December 8, 8 p.m. (SECTION ONE) from Moscow asking Lieutenant Colonel Park
and Major Henry to prepare a detailed narrative report on our inspection and our observations for
submission directly to G-2 of the army unless you direct otherwise.
     We entered the area reconquered in the present Russian offensive by which the city of
Stalingrad and an enemy force estimated at twenty divisions is now completely encircled by
crossing the Don River at Serafimovich.
     At that point Soviet officers designated to accompany us Colonel Alexander Rogov and
Lieutenant Colonel Onmotinov gave us the general outline of the area in which five red armies
made their initial attacks across the Don and the objectives of this first phase of their offensive.
The offensive opened and has maintained a southward encircling corridor or salient from 60 to
120 kilometers; width. We followed this corridor southward inspecting each point of major battle
operations and stopping for the first night at Zakharov.
     We next proceeded in a south easterly direction to the headquarters of the 21st Red army
spearhead of the attacking armies at Golubinskia. At these headquarters General Chistakov,
commander, and his staff