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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