100 GERMANY TRIUMPHANT 1939–1941
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DniesterBugPripetDnieprrpeinDLakeLadogaLakeOnegaDonagloVDonetsCaucasusCRIMEABELORUSSIAIF
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Army GroupNorthLeningradFrontVolkhovFrontNorth-West FrontKalininFrontWest FrontBryansk FrontSouth-West FrontSouth FrontCrimean FrontAzov FlotillaBlack SeaFleetArmy GroupCenterArmy GroupSouthVyshnniy VolochekNovgorodLeningradMaladzyechnaNovorossiyskStaraya RussaNovozybkovStary OskolAlekseyevkaVelikiye LukiVelizhDemidovBogoroditsk
StalinogorskBila TserkvaSevastopolVoznesenskIzyumSimferopolEupatoriaKryvyy RihChernobylBerdyanskDzhankoyFeodosiyaMykolayivVoronezhMogilevSmolenskVitebskCherkassy
Demyansk NelidovoBabruyskBelgorodMariupolMelitopolTaganrogKonotopDonetskMoscowKishinevKhersonBarysawNikopol
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VyazmaKharkovLokhvitsaOdessaTikhvinZaborie PoltavaRyazan
ValuykiRoslavlKalugaMazyrRzhevYeletsMinskKerchKurskSumyTartuKirovOrelLugaKalininKievTulaRostovStalingradKlinESTONIAU
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Soviet counterattacks Jan–Feb 1942A RENEWED PUSHJANUARY–FEBRUARY 1942From January 7, the Soviets renewed their offensive against the Germans, hoping to push them westward and force them to squander their reserves before the spring came. The Soviet high command planned a pincer movement to envelop Vyazma, Rzhev, and Smolensk. Soviet tanks and ski battalions from the North-West and Kalinin Fronts pushed south and south-west toward Velikiye Luki and Demidov. The West Front squeezed the German salient at Rzhev from the east, but failed to re-capture Vyazma.2
Izyum salientTHE IZYUM SALIENT JANUARY 18–30, 1942In eastern Ukraine, the armies of the Soviet South Front breached German lines on the Donets River and drove 62 miles (100km) toward the rear of theGerman forces and their communications center at Kharkov. Lacking reserves and logistical support, the Soviets were forced back by the end of January into
a 38sq mile (100sq km) salient near Izyum, wherethey were at risk of being cut off.
4Soviet advance on IzyumDec 26, 1941GermanGeneral Guderian is relievedof his command after retreating from Tula.Feb 23, 1942StalinMOSCOW SAVEDSoviet actions between December 1941 and April 30, 1942 brought them gains that relieved the pressure on Moscow. Their advance also threatened German lines addresses the Soviet people, promising to defeat the “Hitlerite” invaders.
of communication at Kharkov, and won
a valuable toehold in Crimea. KEYGerman army groups Soviet fronts
(army groups)Territory held by
Soviet army, Dec 5, 1941Regained by Soviets by Jan 1, 1942Regained by Soviets
by April 30, 1942DEC 1941JAN 1942FEBMARMAYTIMELINE^12345APRTHE COUNTEROFFENSIVE BEGINS
DECEMBER 5–31, 1941On the night of December 5, the Soviets launched a huge counteroffensive. To drive the Germans back from Moscow, they concentrated on the salients
to the north-west and south-east of the city, and liberated Klin by December 15. The German general Guderian’s panzer group was nearly trapped near
Tula as the Soviets re-took the area, but managed to escape to Bryansk. By the end of the year, Moscow was out of immediate danger.1
Soviet counterattacks, Dec 1941German panzers
retreatGerman forces
in Rzhev-Vyazma
salientSoviet airborne
landings, Jan 1942German counterattacks, Mar 1942Encircled Soviet partisan resistancePARATROOPERS AND PARTISANS
JANUARY 18–APRIL 1, 1942In a bid to encircle German forces in the Rzhev-Vyazma salient and cut their lines of communication, Soviet paratroopers were dropped behind German forces holding Vyazma from January 18. Although supported by Soviet partisans in the area and troops of the Kalinin and West Fronts, the Soviet forces soon found themselves encircled and engaged in a bitter struggle to close off the rear of the salient.3
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