On 14 and 15 January, the Soviet 65th Army launched another offensive from the west, and soon broke through the German line on the Rossoshka River and captured the riverside stronghold of Baburkin. The Soviet infantry crossed the river, and the artillery followed closely. A large number of officers and men of the German 44th Infantry Division were cut off from retreat. Slightly to the south, the Soviet 21st Army stepped up its advance towards Pittomnik airfield. On the same day, Hitler added oak leaf decorations to Paulus's cross, hoping to exchange "honor" for loyalty and morale again. However, Paulus's army was on the verge of collapse, and the soldiers fled in all directions.
More seriously, the Germans began to surrender en masse in formation. On 15 January, in order to rescue the remnants of the 376th Division, which was isolated in the southwest corner, Paulus transferred a battalion (2nd Battalion of the 586th Regiment) from the 295th Division in the city of Stalingrad to Basalgino. However, after 15 days and nights of fierce fighting, the remaining 120 people of the battalion, led by the battalion commander, all laid down their weapons and surrendered to the Soviet 38th Division. The battalion commander declared to the Soviets that he was the first German commander to lead the battalion into surrender. Later, a battalion of the 305th Infantry Division also surrendered. The Soviet 57th Army took firm control of Basalgino on this day.
The entire western and southern fronts of the German army were irreparable. That night, the 6th Army reported that the combat effectiveness of the 29th and 3rd Motorized Divisions and the 376th and 297th Infantry Divisions had been extremely low.
Paulus still sought to retreat the remnants of the collapsed defensive line in the west and to establish a new defensive line in the east. Hampered by a terrible cold of -28 degrees Celsius (recorded on January 15) and wind and snow, the fleeing Germans and the pursuing Soviets were unable to move. A group of German soldiers dragged their cannons with their bare hands and walked for tens of kilometers in a row, without food or rest, and soon exhausted. Many died on the road, their eyes eaten by crows. Soviet planes continued to bombard and strafe, preventing the Germans from retreating.