THE GERMAN ADVANCE ON MOSCOW 97
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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
Cherkasy
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
During Operation Barbarossa (see pp.90–91), the Germans considered Moscow less important than other strategic targets. The push on the capital was delayed by the advance into the Ukraine for resources—a source of dispute between Hitler and his generals—and recommenced only in late September 1941, by which time the heavy rains were turning the roads into quagmires. This, along with fuel shortages and a failure to replace damaged tanks, slowed German progress and sapped morale. Moreover, it seemed that despite the capture of millions of Red Army troops, the USSR had millions more in reserve. The Red Army was regularly replenished, and even joined by civilian
volunteers. By December 5, 1941, the Germans had failed to capture Moscow, and winter was upon them. Unprepared for the bitter cold and fatally overstretched against a determined Red Army, their casualties mounted. By Christmas that year, over 100,000 German soldiers had frostbite and over 250,000 had died.
In the south, meanwhile, the Germans had succeeded in taking
the Crimea, but their advance on the Caucasus was hampered, as in the north, by overstretched supply lines and exhausted troops. When Red Army soldiers recaptured Rostov at the end of November, they highlighted just how vulnerable the Germans really were.
THE GERMAN ADVANCE
ON MOSCOWAfter the success of Operation Barbarossa, Germany’s invasion of the USSR, Hitler launched Operation Typhoon, a renewed push on Moscow. He believed it would be
“the last, great, decisive battle of the war.” The campaign, however, ended in a retreat
that dealt a serious blow to Hitler’s plan to destroy the Soviet Union.
EVACUATION OF SOVIET INDUSTRIAL AREAS The German advance threatened Soviet industries producing vital ammunition (pictured above) and other war materiel.
In 1941, the Soviets began to evacuate
factories and their workforces to safety
in Siberia and beyond the Ural mountains. Over 1,500 large plants were relocated.
4
German advance in Crimea Sep 30–Nov 16
INTO THE CRIMEA
SEPTEMBER 30–NOVEMBER 16, 1941Operation Barbarossa had seen the Germans reach the neck of the Crimean Peninsula, and by
October 27 their 11th Army had taken control of the whole peninsula except Sevastopol and Kerch. The siege of Sevastopol lasted into July 1942, but Kerch was captured on November 16, providing Germany with another route into the Caucasus.
5
German advance
in the south,
Sep 30–Nov 29
German retreat
Soviet counterattackSoviet troops surrounded
THE BATTLE FOR ROSTOV SEPTEMBER 30–NOVEMBER 29, 1941In the south, the German Army continued to advance toward Rostov, prevailing against the Soviet 9th and 18th Armies to take the city on November 20. When the Soviets counterattacked a few days later, the German commander, Gerd von Rundstedt, ordered his exhausted troops to withdraw to Taganrog. Hitler relieved Rundstedt of his command but had to accept Germany’s first major retreat of the war.
Oct 30
The
Siege of
Sevastopol begins.
Oct 7
The Soviet 9th
and 18th Armies are defeated; more than
100,000 Soviet troops
are captured.
Nov 20
The Germans
capture Rostov, gateway to the Caucasus; it is retaken
by the Soviets on
November 29.
Oct 17
Taganrog falls
to the Germans.
Nov 16
The Germans capture Kerch.
◁
Winter battle
Soviet infantry launch an attack in December 1941. The German drive on Moscow became a retreat when it met with fierce Soviet resistance.
US_096-097_German_adv_Moscow.indd 97 19/03/19 5:39 PM