96 GERMANY TRIUMPHANT 1939–1941
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FINLAND
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BESSARABIA
Army Group
North
Army Group
Center
Leningrad Front
Volkhov Front
North-West Front
Kalinin Front
West Front
Bryansk Front South-West Front
South Front
Army Group
South
Vyshnniy Volochek
Novgorod
Leningrad
Staraya Russa
Kremenchuk
Stary Oskol
Alekseyevka
Velizh
Demidov
Bogoroditsk
Mtsensk
Bila Tserkva
Sevastopol
Voznesensk
Lysychansk
Izyum
Simferopol
Eupatoria
Chernobyl
Shumerlya
Berdyansk
Zhytomyr
Feodosiya
Mykolayiv
Voronezh
Mogilev
Smolensk
Vinnytsya
Cherkassy
Nelidovo
Demyansk
Korosten
Babruysk
Belgorod
Mariupol
Melitopol
Taganrog
Konotop
Balashov
Arzamas
Makeyevka
Moscow
Kishinev
Maloyaroslavets
Serpukhov
Kashira
Kherson
Barysaw
Bryansk
Brovary
Vyazma
Kharkov
Lokhvitsa
Odessa
Tikhvin
Zaborie
Poltava
Nizhyn
Chernigov
Gomel
Ryazan
Valuyki
Roslavl
Kaluga
Orsha
Narra
Mazyr
Rzhev
Yelets
Kerch
Kursk
Sumy
Kirov
Orel
Kalinin
Kiev
Tula
Rostov Kropotkin
Azov
Klin
Volokolamsk
Zaporozhye
German advance on Moscow,
Nov 15–Dec 5
German retreatMoscow fortifications
THE 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 surrounded
PROGRESS 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.
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German advance on Moscow, Oct 15–31Mozhaisk LineSoviet positions on the Mozhaisk Line
THE 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. KEY
German territory Sep 30German territory Nov 16German territory Dec 5
Soviet fronts (army groups)German army groupsMajor battles
TIMELINE^12345 SEP 1941
OCT
NOV
DEC
JAN 1942
Oct 15
Bryansk pocket
surrenders, but only 50,000 Soviet troops are captured;
the rest escape.
Oct 24
Kharkov, one
of the Soviet Union’s largest
industrial centers, is captured.
Oct 19
Vyazma pocket
surrenders; 670,000
Soviet prisoners
are taken.
Oct 27
Soviet
defenders abandon
Volokolamsk to
the Germans.
Nov 23
The Germans
capture and occupy Klin.
Oct 1941
Marshal Georgy Zhukov takes charge
of defenses; Moscow’s citizens build trenches and anti-tank moats around the city. Oct 15
Communist Party and government staff
evacuate to Kuibyshev; Stalin remains.
Oct 26
The Soviet
Dec 5 50th Army and civilian volunteers repel the German panzers from the outskirts of Tula.
The Soviet
49th and 50th Armies halt the German advance at Kashira.
Nov 3
Kursk
is captured.
US_096-097_German_adv_Moscow.indd 96 22/03/19 2:39 PM