
Battle of Moscow
Fall and Winter of 1941
Furious that the German army had been unable to take Moscow,
"With amazement and disappointment, we discovered …
Hitler dismissed his commander-in-chief, General von Brauchitsch,
and took personal charge of the Wehrmacht.
that the beaten Russians seemed quite unaware that
as a military force they had ceased to exist."
- General Blumentritt
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"For decades, both popular and official historians in the West presented the Soviet-German struggle largely from the German point of view." - David Glantz
In 1942 the US Army had 500,000 men deployed overseas (Pacific and Caribbean).
The British army was in full retreat in North Africa. In Russia Hitler launched Operation Blau
with 2,000,000 troops towards Stalingrad and Caucasus defended by 1,800,000 Russian troops.
In September US strength in Europe reached 170,000 men, and the British army finally halted
the German advance in Egypt. The battle of Atlantic was raging. Germany was at the high-water mark of its military fortunes, and
USA and Britain's hope of a return to the European Continent remained but a dream.
The Battle for Moscow started in October 1941. The capture of Russia's capital, was seen by the German Supreme Command as vital to the success of 'Operation Barbarossa'. Hitler believed that once Moscow had been cut out of Russia, the whole Russia would collapse.
Percentages of Russian manufacturing:
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![]() Flag of Red Army
The Russian Army.
"For the Soviets, the 1930s was a decade of alternating hope and frustration. faced with growing political threats from Germany in the West and Japan in the East and the Western powers' equally disturbing apathy, the Soviet Union felt isolated on the international stage. Diplomatically Moscow promoted global disarmament, while internally it reformed, modernized, and expanded its military establishment." ( - David Glantz ) The mobilization of the local populations (women, old men, schoolchildren etc.) was conducted for the construction of the major defense lines. Nine sapper armies were formed, which consisted of 30 sapper brigades. The sapper armies were responsible for constructing strategic defense positions in the army's deep rear. These armies also served as a training base for army's engineers. Theoretically, Russian infantry divisions were supposed to deploy for combat in 2 echelons across frontage of 8-12 km. In practice, however, they formed single echelon formation with all three infantry regiments deployed abreast on frontages 12-20 km wide to depths of 3-5 km. The increasing strength of the army in late 1941 improved the defensive capabilities of infantry divisions. Despite these changes, however, infantry division's battle formation remained rather shallow in 1942. The division defended 12 km front, with two regiments in first echelon, and one in second echelon. To recognize the infantry divisions that distinguished themselves in combat, the headquarters awarded the guards infantry division designation to three of its infantry divisions. By 31 December 1941 it had awarded the designation of 1st through 10th Guards Infantry Divisions to the former 52nd, 64th, 78th, 100th, 107th, 120th, 127th, 153rd, 161st Infantry Division. With their 10,670 men and 36 guns (in Dec 1942) the guards divisions were stronger than their standard counterpart.
The Russian army relied heavily on 80,000 men (on paper at least) cavalry force, particularly in an offensive role.
The cavalry proved capable of operating effectively in difficult terrain and contributed significantly
to the Russian army's victory at Moscow. The Russian army employed a sizable number of armored train battalions and separate armored trains. Although these troops seemed anachronistic, the absence of an adequate road network more than justyfied their existence. The armored train battalion consisted of an armored locomotive, 2-3 armored railroad cars or armored gun platforms, and 2-3 armored command rail cars. Each train carried 1-2 anti-aircraft guns and 4-8 ani-aircraft machine guns.
"The Red Army had no equivalent to the panzer group or panzer army that could accomplish a large-scale, independent penetration mission into the enemy's rear echelons. ... the largest Soviet armored formation in 1941 was the mechanized corps, a rigid structure that contrasted unfavourable with the easily reorganized German motorized corps. Each motorized corps was centered around two tank divisions, each authorized 10,940 men and 375 tanks organized in two tank regiments, one motorized infantry regiment, and battalions of reconnaissance, anti-tank, anti-aircraft, engineer, and signal troops." ( - David Glantz )
Since Russian industry failed to produce a reliable armored car, the motorcycle was the vehicle of choice in most reconnaissance troops. The Russians used older and obsolete armored cars to form several armored car battalions in 1941. Motorcycles, however were not in short supply and STAVKA had 12 motorcycle regiments in its reserve.
The first months of the war [with Germany] saw major Russian defeats as German forces trapped hundreds of thousands of Red Army soldiers in vast encirclements, causing severe loss of tanks and artillery. The Red Army suffered heavy casualties as a result of poor levels of preparedness, whose primary causes were inadequate officers, as a result of the purges, disorganization as a result of a partially completed mobilization, and the reorganization the Army was undergoing.
"While Soviet Union did possess substantial military forces in the Far East and Caucasus, the limitations placed upon rail capacity by the industrial evacuation programme hindered the ability to transfer substantial forces westward. Furthermore, the impact of the 'Siberians' on Operation Typhoon had been exaggerated. Firstly, the 'Siberians' were neither a large nor battle-experienced cadre of winter-trained troops who arrived at the decisive moment to tip the balance. Rather, most 'Siberian' units were recently raised and lacked significant combat experience or winter training ... Secondly, the 'Siberians' did not appear en masse. Thirdly, very few of the divisions transferred from the Far east went to Moscow, of the 7 pre-war divisions sent westward, only 2 went to Moscow. The true Soviet 'miracle' in the Moscow campaign was STAVKA's ability to generate new - albeit untrained and poorly equipped - combat units. ( Forczyk - "Moscow 1941" p 27 )
State Committee of Defense
Headquarters of the Supreme Main Command of Armed Forces
General Staff of the Red Army
The defences around Moscow consisted of:
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A German capture of Moscow in 1941 would have knocked Russia out of the war. "As early as 20 September, Konev reported the German preparations for an offensive ... Only 45 of Konev's 4779 tanks were new models ... The available tanks and other weapons were widely dispersed, and a continuing shortage of motor vehicles gave the defenders far less maneuverability than the attackers. The mobility differential was immediately evident when operation Taiphun (Typhoon) began on 2 October." ( David Glantz - "When Titans clashed" p 79 )
"Between 22 and 28 September, Bock occupied himself with inspection tours of his reinforced Army Group Center. Accompanied by Kesselring, he flew several times over the Russian countryside, ranging far into enemy territory. On one occasion, Bock and Kesselring, guarded by fast fighter planes, flew over the city of Moscow. Bock saw that the Russians had erected formidable fortifications in a semicircular fashion in front of Moscow. ...
![]() Map: Deployment of troops before the battle of Moscow, September 29 - October 1
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German Offensive.
"The Germans followed a short artillery preparation with a dense smokescreen along the front, and they launched air strikes
that put the Western Front headquarters out of action temporarily. Although the Soviet troops held their forward defenses in most locations,
4th Panzer Group (Army) was able to advance along the weakly defended boundary between the Reserve and Briansk Fronts, enveloping the southern flank of 43rd Army.
Similarly, 3rd Panzer Group (Army) penetrated between the 19th and 30th Armies northwest of Viazma.
The two armored spearheads pressed forward, linking up at Viazma on 8 October.
The surviving elements of the Western and Reserve Fronts fell back to the next planned defensive line near Mozhaisk and Kaluga.
... German 9th and 4th Armies had great difficulty in containing this pocket in the face of repeated Soviet efforts to escape.
On the night of 12 to 13 October, at least two rifle (infantry) divisions broke out to the east through a swampy sector where German
armor could not maneuver. ... "By late October, the Wehrmacht and the Red Army resembled two punch-drunk boxers, staying precariously on their feet but rapidly losing the power to hurt each other. Like prizefighters with swollen eyes, they were unable to see their opponents with sufficient clarity to judge their relative endurance. In retrospect, the German forces had gone as far as possible for 1941 and needed to go into winter quarters. At the time, however, the STAVKA had to face the possibility that, once the first hard frost restored mobility, the invaders would be able to capture or at least encircle Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad, and Rostov." (David Glantz - "When Titans clashed" pp 81-82)
"In early November, Western Front intelligence analyst identified preparations for this encirclement, and Zhukov badgered
Stalin into aproving a whole series of spoiling attacks on advancing German forces, while other front
forces manned the prepared defenses covering the approaches to Moscow.
One such attack by Group Belov against Guderian's right flank, caught the German 112th Infantry Division with no anti-tank
weapons that were effective against the attacking T-34s.
The result was a panicked retreat by most of the division on 17 November, an event almost unprecedented in the
German Army.
"In the south, 2nd Panzer Army resumed the offensive on 18 November, after recovering from the brief panic caused by the Soviet attack of the previous day. ... Boldin's 50th Army, tenaciously defending the outskirts of Tula, launched counterattack after counterattack against Guderian's front and flank. With temperatures well below freezing and troops running out of fuel, ammunition, and functioning vehicles, the German advance slowly shuddered to a halt. Guderian repeatedly asked that the offensive be canceled, but no one in OKH had the authority to take such an action without Hitler's consent. Dogged Soviet defenses did as much to stop the Germans as did bad weather and poor supply lines." (David Glantz - "When Titans clashed" pp 85)
Russian Counteroffensive.
"The 29th and 31st Armies of Konev's newly formed Kalinin Front attacked from the northern side of the bulge. The following day, 30th and 1st Shock Armies
struck from positions north and south of Dmitrov on the Volga-Moscow Canal.
By noon of 7 December, advanced Soviet units were overruning the headquarters of LVI Panzer Corps outside Klin.
Thereafter Zhukov sent three additional armies (20th, 16th, and 5th) into the attack against the
southern side of the Klin Bulge, seeking to encircle all of 3rd Panzer Army as well as the XXXXVI Panzer Corps of 4th Panzer Army.
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Aftermath.
Both German and Russian losses have been a subject of debate. David Glantz in his book "When Titans Clashed", gives Russian casualties at 658,279 for the defense phase alone, plus 370,955 for the winter counteroffensive until Jan 7 1942. The Moscow Encyclopedia (publ. in 1997) gives 145,000 German and 900,000 Russian casualties for the defensive phase, and 103,000 German and 380,000 Russian casualties for the counteroffensive until Jan 7 1942. Debates have raged for decades among historians and military buffs over the turning point of the war on the eastern front. These debates have surfaced 3 candidates for the honor of being termend "turning point": At Moscow the Russian army inflicted an unprecedented defeat on the German army and prevented Hitler from achieving the objectives of campaign in the east. Germany could no longer defeat Russia on the terms originally set by Hitler. Stalingrad deprived the Germans of strategic initiative and proved that Germany could not win the war on any terms. Kursk confirmed that Germany would indeed lose the war. After Kursk Germany could not even pretend to hold the strategic initiative and the Russian army remained on the offensive throughout the rest of the war. At Kursk the Russians proved capable of contending successfully with World's most accomplished army.
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Light Machine Guns Heavy Machine Guns Anti-tank Rocket Launchers |
378 138 90 |
810 712 63 |
850 1,067 45 | |
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50mm Mortars 81mm Mortars 20mm Guns PAK Guns 75mm Howitzers 105mm Howitzers |
93 54 12 75 20 36 |
57 36 12 63 14 48 |
- 30 74 75 18 196 | |
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Men Motorized Transport Vehicles Horse-Drawn Transport Vehicles |
17,730 1,009 918 (4882 horses) |
16,400 2,800 - |
15,600 2,900 - | |
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Armored Command & Fighting Vehicles Tanks |
3 - |
82 - |
- 165 | |
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Infantry Battalion - - - small reconnaissance unit - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - machine gun company - - - PAK (motor.) company - - - light artillery company Infantry Battalion - - - small reconnaissance unit - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - machine gun company - - - PAK (motor.) company - - - light artillery company Infantry Battalion - - - small reconnaissance unit - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - machine gun company - - - PAK (motor.) company - - - light artillery company |
Infantry Battalion - - - reconnaissance troop - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - machine gun company - - - PAK (motor.) company - - - light artillery company Infantry Battalion - - - reconnaissance troop - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - machine gun company - - - PAK (motor.) company - - - light artillery company Infantry Battalion - - - reconnaissance troop - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - machine gun company - - - PAK (motor.) company - - - light artillery company |
Infantry Battalion - - - reconnaissance troop - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - machine gun company - - - PAK (motor.) company - - - light artillery company Infantry Battalion - - - reconnaissance troop - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - machine gun company - - - PAK (motor.) company - - - light artillery company Infantry Battalion - - - reconnaissance troop - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - machine gun company - - - PAK (motor.) company - - - light artillery company |
Light Artillery Battalion - - - battery - - - battery - - - battery Light Artillery Battalion - - - battery - - - battery - - - battery Light Artillery Battalion - - - battery - - - battery - - - battery Heavy Artillery Battalion - - - battery - - - battery - - - battery
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- - - anti-tank company - - - infantry howitzer company Infantry (Motor.) Battalion - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - machine gun company Infantry (Motor.) Battalion - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - machine gun company Infantry (Motor.) Battalion - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - machine gun company |
- - - anti-tank company - - - infantry howitzer company Infantry (Motor.) Battalion - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - machine gun company Infantry (Motor.) Battalion - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - machine gun company Infantry (Motor.) Battalion - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - infantry (motor.) company - - - machine gun company |
..... ? |
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Panzer Battalion - - - panzer company (5 PzKpfw IV, 10 PzKpfw I, II) - - - panzer company (5 PzKpfw III, 17 PzKpfw I, II) - - - panzer company (5 PzKpfw III, 17 PzKpfw I, II) Panzer Battalion - - - panzer company (5 PzKpfw IV, 10 PzKpfw I, II) - - - panzer company (5 PzKpfw III, 17 PzKpfw I, II) - - - panzer company (5 PzKpfw III, 17 PzKpfw I, II) |
Infantry (Motor.) Battalion Infantry (Motor.) Battalion |
Infantry (Motor.) Battalion Infantry (Motor.) Battalion |
Light Artillery Battalion - - - battery (4 105mm guns) - - - battery (4 105mm guns) - - - battery (4 105mm guns) Light Artillery Battalion - - - battery (4 105mm guns) - - - battery (4 105mm guns) - - - battery (4 105mm guns) Light Artillery Battalion - - - battery (4 105mm guns) - - - battery (4 105mm guns) - - - battery (4 105mm guns) Medium Artillery Battalion - - - battery (4 150mm guns) - - - battery (4 150mm guns) - - - battery (4 150mm guns) Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion - - - battery (4 105mm, 2 150 mm) - - - battery (4 105mm, 2 150 mm) - - - battery (4 105mm, 2 150 mm)
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and Howitzer Regiment |
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- - - cavalry reconnaissance unit - - - infantry reconnaissance unit - - - anti-tank company [6 4.5cm guns] Infantry Gun Battalion - - - [6 7.6cm guns, 4 12cm mortars] - - - [3 anti-aircraft MG] - - - [3 anti-aircraft heavy MG] Infantry Battalion - - - - - - anti-tank platoon [2 4.5cm guns] - - - machine gun company [12 Maxims] - - - mortar company [6 8.2cm mortars] - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company Infantry Battalion - - - - - - anti-tank platoon [2 4.5cm guns] - - - machine gun company [12 Maxims] - - - mortar company [6 8.2cm mortars] - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company Infantry Battalion - - - - - - anti-tank platoon [2 4.5cm guns] - - - machine gun company [12 Maxims] - - - mortar company [6 8.2cm mortars] - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company |
- - - cavalry reconnaissance unit - - - infantry reconnaissance unit - - - anti-tank company [6 4.5cm guns] Infantry Gun Battalion - - - [6 7.6cm guns, 4 12cm mortars] - - - [3 anti-aircraft MG] - - - [3 anti-aircraft heavy MG] Infantry Battalion - - - - - - anti-tank platoon [2 4.5cm guns] - - - machine gun company [12 Maxims] - - - mortar company [6 8.2cm mortars] - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company Infantry Battalion - - - - - - anti-tank platoon [2 4.5cm guns] - - - machine gun company [12 Maxims] - - - mortar company [6 8.2cm mortars] - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company Infantry Battalion - - - - - - anti-tank platoon [2 4.5cm guns] - - - machine gun company [12 Maxims] - - - mortar company [6 8.2cm mortars] - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company |
- - - cavalry reconnaissance unit - - - infantry reconnaissance unit - - - anti-tank company [6 4.5cm guns] Infantry Gun Battalion - - - [6 7.6cm guns, 4 12cm mortars] - - - [3 anti-aircraft MG] - - - [3 anti-aircraft heavy MG] Infantry Battalion - - - - - - anti-tank platoon [2 4.5cm guns] - - - machine gun company [12 Maxims] - - - mortar company [6 8.2cm mortars] - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company Infantry Battalion - - - - - - anti-tank platoon [2 4.5cm guns] - - - machine gun company [12 Maxims] - - - mortar company [6 8.2cm mortars] - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company Infantry Battalion - - - - - - anti-tank platoon [2 4.5cm guns] - - - machine gun company [12 Maxims] - - - mortar company [6 8.2cm mortars] - - - infantry company - - - infantry company - - - infantry company |
Artillery Battalion - - - battery [4 7.6cm guns] - - - battery [4 7.6cm guns] - - - battery [4 12.2cm howitzers] Artillery Battalion - - - battery [4 7.6cm guns] - - - battery [4 7.6cm guns] - - - battery [4 12.2cm howitzers]
Light Howitzer Battalion |
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1941 |
1941 |
1941 |
1944 |
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infantry regiments artillery regiment howitzer regiment mortar battalion guards-mortar battalion machine gun battalion reconnassaince battalion reconnassaince company anti-tank battalion anti-aircraft battalion anti-aircraft battery sapper battalion signal battalion auto-transport battalion auto-transport company light tank battalion |
3 1 1 - - - 1 - 1 1 - 1 1 1 - 1 |
3 1 - - - - - 1 - 1 - 1 1 - 1 - |
3 1 - 1-2 1 - - 1 1 - 1 1 1 - 1 - |
3 1 - - - - - 1 1 - - - 1 - 1 - |
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men |
14,483 |
10,859 |
11,626 |
11,706 |
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MILITARY HISTORY WEBSITES:
Napoleon, His Army and Enemies
Siebenjahringer Krieg 1756-1763