December 6, 1941: On a front some 100 miles + wide, the Red Army, commanded by Georgi Zhukov looses a surprise offensive against Armeegruppe Center of the German Army [Field Marshal Fedor von Bock commanding]. The offensive begins when the Wehrmacht's drive on Moscow grinds to a halt, after two months of offensive action.
The German operation was initiated by Operation Typhun in early October. The Germans executed two major envelopments at Yazma and Bryansk, capturing hundreds of thousands of Red Army prisoners. Panzergruppe Hoth than developed an attack from the west in an easterly then southeasterly direction, while Panzergruppe Guderian attacked north west toward Tula, and the 4th Army attacked up the middle.
Operations were temporarily halted when rain and snow made what passed for roads impassable seas of mud. The Germans waited for the ground to freeze, proving, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. When the ground did freeze, it heralded one of the coldest winters of the century in Russia. The Germans were caught without winter uniforms, grease and hydraulic and lubricating fluids that froze their artillery pieces and tank guns, and caused delays, if not cancellation of air support. Coupled with a chaotic re-supply system [the Germans had to re-lay all the Russian railroad gage, and had a parts sytem that had to include parts for thousands of French "soft skinned" vehicles with Third Panzer Armee [Hoth] alone, the German Army shot is bolt 28 miles from the Kremlin.
The counter offensive initially routed the Germans. Several generals recommended withdrawal to far western Russia, but Hitler would have none of it. He ordered the German Army to stand and hold. He also relieved Brauchitsch, the Commander of the German Army, all three Armee Group commanders, Lieb [North], Bock
, Rundstedt [South], as well as Guderian [Second Panzer Armee] and others.
The German Army held, aided by Stalin's demand that the Red Army's offensive be widened, dispersing the offensive's power. But the losses were heavy, Hitler was now direct Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, and the German Army was now over 100 miles from the Soviet capital. They would never threaten it again. And the German Army's myth of invincibility was destroyed in the snows before Moscow on December, 6th, 1941 and the days that followed.
