World War II knows many significant victories and fateful events. But the battle of Moscow occupies a very special place in history. After all, it was here, under the walls of the White Stone, that the German army suffered its first serious defeat. Near Moscow, Hitler’s Blitzkrieg plan was practically buried, and the myth of the invincibility of the Third Reich’s army was debunked forever.
In general, the Moscow battle consisted of a complex set of battles and operations that unfolded over a vast territory and continued in the fall of 1941 and the winter of 1942.
More than two million people, two and a half thousand tanks, almost two thousand aircraft and more than twenty five thousand different military guns took part in these events on both sides of the front.
By the nature of the fighting, events near Moscow can be divided into two stages: defensive and offensive.
Moscow battle of 1941: defensive stage
In the fall of 41 years, Soviet troops were forced to leave Kiev, Smolensk, to retreat to Leningrad. Kharkov, Donetsk region, Crimea were under threat of capture. At the same time, German troops suffered huge losses of soldiers and military equipment, but, nevertheless, still had the offensive initiative and frantically rushed to the east.
In Hitler’s Headquarters, a special operation "Typhoon" was developed to seize the capital of the USSR. According to this operation, the city was subject to an absolute blockade so that not a single resident could leave it. This was followed by the complete destruction and flooding of Moscow. There should not have been any survivors. The ruins were supposed to be covered with sand, and on top of the monument put in honor of the invincible German army. It is significant that the stone for this monument was brought to Moscow along with military equipment.
At that time, three Soviet fronts were operating in the Moscow direction: the Western, Bryansk and Reserve. They were opposed by the German army of the Center group of more than a million soldiers. It concentrated more than half of the guns, tanks and aircraft of the total, which at that time had the Nazi army.
The Soviet army at that time had a much smaller stock of weapons, and its quality was worse. Therefore, at the defensive stage, Soviet troops had a very difficult time.
Mozhaisk and Volokolamsk directions were the shortest path to Moscow. It was there that the first fierce battles began for the approaches to the capital. Soviet soldiers showed truly heroic resistance. They compensated for the imbalance of forces with personal heroism. At the cost of their own lives, they strove not to let the enemy pass to the heart of the motherland.
A state of siege was declared in Moscow and its suburbs. Residents were preparing for the defense of their city.
Nevertheless, at the end of October 41, Commander Zhukov proposed a change of defense to a counteroffensive. The task of the Soviet troops was to defeat the enemy strike groups and eliminate the close threat to Moscow.
Moscow battle, winter of 1942: offensive phase
On December 6, the Red Army launched the first serious counterattack north and south of Moscow. The offensive strip turned around for 1000 kilometers - from Yelets to Kalinin. By December 9, our troops were able to push back the enemy by almost 40 kilometers. The Germans, although they possessed excellent weapons, were completely unprepared for battles in the harsh Russian winter and the invincible personal heroism of Soviet soldiers. The lack of reserve troops of the enemy also affected.
Hitler was forced to sign an order to transfer his troops to the defense regime, removing most of his generals from office and switching the supreme command to themselves. But he failed to reverse the situation at the front.
By the new 1942, German troops were driven back from Moscow for two hundred kilometers, Kalinin and Kaluga were freed from the Nazis. The immediate threat of the capture of Moscow was no longer.
The meaning of the Moscow battle
This event, undoubtedly, influenced the course of the Second World War, as the Battle of Moscow brought the first impressive victory to the Soviet troops. The capture of the capital would paralyze the whole country and entail the unconditional victory of Nazi Germany. And here, not only the psychological component played a role. In the Moscow region, many industrial and defense complexes were concentrated that worked throughout the war. It produced 70% of aircraft for the army, most of the shells.
After the enemy was repulsed from the walls of the capital, the morale of Soviet soldiers rose significantly. This enthusiasm and unconditional belief in victory later helped both in the battle of Kursk and near Stalingrad.
From a strategic point of view, the Battle of Moscow helped to defeat the best groupings of German troops - infantry and tank.
Soviet troops were significantly reorganized after this battle. Separate disparate units already tested in battles were combined into new divisions with confident and experienced commanders.
It was Moscow that became the Rubicon through which German troops could not cross in World War II.