96 GERMANY TRIUMPHANT 1939–1941
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BESSARABIAArmy GroupNorthArmy GroupCenterLeningrad FrontVolkhov FrontNorth-West FrontKalinin FrontWest FrontBryansk Front South-West FrontSouth FrontArmy GroupSouthVyshnniy VolochekNovgorodLeningradStaraya RussaKremenchukStary OskolAlekseyevkaVelizhDemidovBogoroditskMtsenskBila TserkvaSevastopolVoznesenskLysychanskIzyumSimferopolEupatoriaChernobylShumerlyaBerdyanskZhytomyrFeodosiyaMykolayivVoronezhMogilevSmolenskVinnytsyaCherkassyNelidovoDemyanskKorostenBabruyskBelgorodMariupolMelitopolTaganrogKonotopBalashovArzamasMakeyevkaMoscowKishinevMaloyaroslavetsSerpukhovKashiraKhersonBarysawBryanskBrovaryVyazmaKharkovLokhvitsaOdessaTikhvinZaboriePoltavaNizhynChernigovGomelRyazanValuykiRoslavlKalugaOrshaNarraMazyrRzhevYeletsKerchKurskSumyKirovOrelKalininKievTulaRostov KropotkinAzovKlinVolokolamskZaporozhyeGerman advance on Moscow,
Nov 15–Dec 5German retreatMoscow fortificationsTHE FINAL ADVANCE ON MOSCOW
NOVEMBER 15–DECEMBER 5, 1941As cold weather hardened the muddy ground, the Germans resumed their advance. They planned to close in on Moscow from the north near Klin, and from the south around Tula. Klin was captured after heavy fighting, but the advance past Tula was slowed by Soviet forces. As temperatures fell to -31°F (-35°C), the Germans’ weapons seized and their
tanks would not start, forcing them to withdraw
to more defensible positions.3
EARLY GERMAN SUCCESSES SEPTEMBER 30–OCTOBER 19, 1941The German advance on Moscow restarted
on September 30. Around two million troops were committed to the offensive. They faced Soviet forces ranged along a defensive line from Vyazma to Bryansk. The Germans drove forward, capturing Orel by October 3 and encircling three Soviet armies at Bryansk. Four more Soviet armies encircled at Vyazma surrendered by October 19, further opening the way to Moscow.1
German advance on Moscow, Sep 30–Oct 15Vyazma–Bryansk defensive lineSoviet troops surroundedPROGRESS SLOWS TO A HALT
OCTOBER 15–31, 1941By October 15, the Germans had reached the Mozhaisk Line, a roughly constructed set of Soviet defenses. They reached north to take Kalinin, after which the line collapsed under sustained attack. However, the Germans failed to capture the city of Tula, which lay on the route to Moscow, and by then were critically short on fuel, bogged down in the rain, and freezing in their summer uniforms. The German advance on Moscow was halted.2
German advance on Moscow, Oct 15–31Mozhaisk LineSoviet positions on the Mozhaisk LineTHE DRIVE FOR MOSCOWThe Germans made important gains
in autumn 1941, notably Kursk and the Crimea, but their advance on Moscow stalled as the Red Army solidified its positions and Soviet citizens began
to fight back. KEYGerman territory Sep 30German territory Nov 16German territory Dec 5Soviet fronts (army groups)German army groupsMajor battlesTIMELINE^12345 SEP 1941OCTNOVDECJAN 1942Oct 15Bryansk pocketsurrenders, but only 50,000 Soviet troops are captured;the rest escape.Oct 24Kharkov, oneof the Soviet Union’s largest
industrial centers, is captured.Oct 19Vyazma pocket
surrenders; 670,000Soviet prisonersare taken.Oct 27Sovietdefenders abandonVolokolamsk tothe Germans.Nov 23The Germanscapture and occupy Klin.Oct 1941Marshal Georgy Zhukov takes chargeof defenses; Moscow’s citizens build trenches and anti-tank moats around the city. Oct 15Communist Party and government staffevacuate to Kuibyshev; Stalin remains.Oct 26The SovietDec 5 50th Army and civilian volunteers repel the German panzers from the outskirts of Tula.The Soviet49th and 50th Armies halt the German advance at Kashira.Nov 3Kurskis captured.US_096-097_German_adv_Moscow.indd 96 22/03/19 2:39 PM