System for dig stall recovery

A system for controlling operation of a work machine, comprising:

• a hydraulic system to provide power to operate a work tool of a work machine, the work tool including a boom, a stick, and a bucket combination;
• a plurality of sensors coupled to the stick and the bucket;
• and
• a controller coupled to the sensors and configured to detect, during a dig process, a stall or an impending stall of one or more of the stick and the bucket from information from the sensors, and configured to operate the work tool in a dig stall recovery mode when the stall or the impending stall is detected, and then to deactivate the recovery mode and continue the dig process until another stall or impending stall is detected or the dig process is complete, wherein the dig stall recovery mode includes commanding the boom to move upward in discrete boom up actions including boom pumping performed as multiple upward movements within a time window while at least one of the stick and the bucket continues the dig process.