The Battle of Moscow was fought between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the Second World War.It started on October 2, 1941, and continued until January 7, 1942. The groundbreaking outcome of the battle led to over 1.2 million casualties.Also known as Operation Typhoon by the Nazis, the Battle of Moscow was a major episode in the Second World War that led to the incapacitation of German forces at large. The battle to seize Russia and incorporate it under Nazi German rule continued for about three months and five days. Lack of reinforcements during the severe winter left the German troops exhausted, thereby forcing them to retreat.Soviet Union commanders, who were responsible for defending Russia from the clutches of Germany, included Marshal Georgy Zhukov and Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky. They led the Soviet army of about 1.2 million men, who were in possession of 7,600 guns and 545 aircraft.The German commanders responsible to carry out this mission, also called Operation Barbarossa, were Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, and Colonel General Heinz Guderian. About one million men formed the German Army, which attacked the Soviet Union. They owned about 14,000 guns and 549 aircraft.Hitler underestimated the Soviet Union and thought that the German troops could easily capture the heart of Russia, Moscow, within just four months. Although the Germans were defeated, initially they were successful to a great extent by encompassing and defeating the Soviet Union at Vyzama and Bryansk. They broke through the Mozhaisk defense line which was built to safeguard the western regions of Moscow.The entire Soviet Union came forward to secure Moscow, including more than 250,000 women, who successfully built anti-tank moats and trenches. According to Marshal Georgy Zhukov, Russian women did not require any mechanical help to move over 105 million cubic ft (3 million cubic m) of earth. Furthermore, Soviet armies blew up dams to initiate artificial floods in order to defend Moscow. More than 40 villages in Russia were flooded because of this. Also, the winter put things in favor of the Russians. It was the coldest winter and weather conditions deteriorated every day.German soldiers did not have enough supplies to fight the Soviet winter counter-offensive. Still, they did not lose hope about capturing Russia and continued with the fight with whatever supplies that remained. Keep reading to learn more gripping facts about the Battle of Moscow.If you are enjoying the read, then don’t forget to check out the Battle of the Atlantic facts and the Battle of the Coral Sea facts, here at Kidadl.History Of Battle Of MoscowThe invasion of Russia took place on June 22, 1941, with the initiation of Operation Barbarossa by the German troops. Initially, they thought of commencing the operation in the month of May but were delayed due to the ongoing campaigns of Greece and the Balkans. At first, they successfully defeated the Soviet forces at the Battle of Białystok-Minsk with the German army, which was led by Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. More than 340,000 Soviet troops were killed or captured. German troops encircled Soviet forces after entering the Smolensk city of western Russia and vanquished three Soviet armies. Despite such an enormous victory, German forces were delayed in their operation.Upon receiving direct orders from the Fuhrer, Bock reluctantly directed his forces to capture Kiev, the city in northern Ukraine along the Dnieper River. Hitler chose to shatter the economic base of the Soviet Union by occupying Leningrad and Caucasus oil fields. He engaged the mighty commander, Col. General Heinz Guderian’s Panzergruppe 2 in the operation. As a result, the time schedule for capturing Moscow was further delayed and winter rains commenced, thereby making the situation hostile for the German troops.Finally, on October 2, Bock launched Operation Typhoon to capture the Soviet capital before the start of the chilly winter of Russia. The plan to defeat the Soviet formations was strategically made by him. He employed three armies along with Panzer groups. Additionally, German forces involved the air fleet Luftflotte 2 of the Luftwaffe to attack the Soviet troops. This combined force comprised two million soldiers, 1,700 German tank guns, and about 14,000 pieces.While one of the German divisions aimed at capturing the Soviet Western Front, another German attack was targeted on Bryansk in the south. If both operations became successful, then the Germans could easily surround Moscow, thereby destroying entire Soviet armies and compelling the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, to surrender and sign a peace treaty with Germany.However, this plan could not get any success as the extensive Soviet defenses and harsh winter conditions took a huge toll on the German armies. The freezing German armies were heavily short on supplies of fuel and other necessary goods.Meanwhile, Soviet troops paraded past the frontline of the city of Moscow and started to construct a defense line. Citizens of the entire Soviet Union, including women, appointed themselves in constructing ramparts and moats around the city. German tank armies began to dominate Vyazma and captured four Soviet armies on October 10. Without losing hope, Soviet troops fought with all their might, thus slowing down the German forces. As a result, Bock was bound to divert his troops to restock their resources. During this defensive strike of the Soviet Union, the Germans fell back to the Mozhaisk defense line. Panzer forces led by Guderian were able to capture Orel and Bryansk on October 6.The Impact Of The Battle Of Moscow On GermanyThe heavy snowfall on October 7 hampered German operations. Taking advantage of this situation, Stalin ordered Zhukov to take up the charge of Moscow’s defense. Zhukov took the responsibility and prepared Soviet field armies on the Mozhaisk Defense Line.Although the Soviet Union was outnumbered, Zhukov’s master plan helped to defend Moscow from German clutches. He strategically deployed his armies at Volokolamsk, Mozhaisk, Kaluga, and Maloyaroslavets lines. As the German army successfully defeated the Kalinin in the north and Kaluga in the south, they were unable to get through Tula, which the Russian army defended mightily.On October 18, after several gains with the capturing of Mozhaisk and Maloyaroslavets, German senior officers realized their extensive losses and that they were lacking winter supplies for their soldiers. Despite such severe circumstances, another attempt was made on November 15, when Bock and Guderian directed the German armored groups to capture the north and the south lines of Moscow, respectively.Although the initial German progress to capture the Soviet territory was on spot, defensive Soviet attacks slowed them down to a great extent. Frustrated with both strategies, Bock called upon a frontal assault on December 1 at Naro-Fominsk. The Germans were able to reach only 5 mi (8 km) from Moscow and enter Khimki. They were forced to stop their operation after the temperature dropped to -50 F (-45 C) and the German soldiers did not receive any winter clothing.On the other hand, an ample amount of resources were handed to the Soviet Union by Siberia and other countries from the far east. This was the opportunity to overthrow the Germans from Moscow. Zhukov was able to unleash 58 Soviet divisions to strike back at German forces. Germans did not get enough time to set up a solid force against the Soviets, and were forced to get out of Kalinin on December 7. Soviet rifle divisions occupied the third Panzer army at Klin, after which they made an advancement to defend Rzhev, a town in Russia. General Konev, the Soviet Front Commander, tried to capture the army group center but this came to a halt owing to the strong opposition faced at Rzhev.The Outcome Of The Battle Of MoscowThe outcome of the Battle of Moscow is quite important as it proved to be fatal for the German armies as they were forced to leave Moscow. It was a turning point for the Russians. On December 16, the Soviet air force, along with numerous Soviet tanks, imposed several counter-attacks on German armies, causing them to lose about 155,000 men, 300 guns, and more than 800 tanks. While the Russians possessed 58 infantry and cavalry divisions, the Germans were alarmingly out of soldiers with very few in reserve even though they were extremely close to Moscow.On Stalin’s orders, Zhukov led his army to counter-attack the Germans from both the north and the south lines of Moscow. These attacks were successfully carried out by the Soviets on an extremely chilly winter night. The Fuhrer was furious upon receiving this news of the impact of these attacks. He ordered the transfer of more than 800,000 soldiers from the eastern front to western Europe. A large number of army commanders were also fired by him, including Bock, Rundstedt, and Leeb. The commander-in-chief of the army, Brauchitsch, was also dismissed.According to several records and Guderian’s memoirs, Hitler incorporated various inexperienced soldiers and commanders in the German attack operation on Russia, thus creating a huge sense of distrust among his prior officials. This decision ultimately resulted in the fall of Wehrmacht and Germany faced a tremendous defeat. The Battle of Moscow made it clear to the Germans that the Soviets were not easily giving up on their land. The overconfidence of Hitler, who underestimated the power of the Soviets, led to their fall.Casualties of both Germany and Soviet Russia in the battle of Moscow have remained a subject of debate. Different assumptions are put forth by different researchers regarding casualties and the timeline of the war. Also, contradicting information is provided in the books of John Erickson and Glantz. Ericson’s book, ‘Barbarossa: The Axis and the Allies’, gives us the information that there were 653,924 Soviet casualties from October 1941 to January 1942. However, the book of Glantz, ‘When Titans Clashed’, suggests the fact that 658,279 Soviet soldiers lost their lives in the defensive stage of the war, while 370,955 lost their lives during the offensive stage.Who won the Battle of Moscow and why?The Battle of Moscow was won by the Soviet Union, because of their courage and fierce prowess in war. Although the initial days of the war witnessed the shattering of the Soviet western fronts, they came out victorious at the end of the battle. Moreover, the harsh winter conditions of Russia took a huge toll on the German troops who were devoid of any warm clothes and food supply. All the citizens of the Soviet Union came together to take part in eliminating the German forces. More than 250,000 women took part in building trenches and moats to stop the invasion of the Germans, without the need for any mechanical pieces of equipment. Although the Russian men were much lower in number than the German armies, they sought various strategies and kept their patience to overcome the German forces.More than 340,000 Russian soldiers lost their lives at the very beginning of the war when they were maintaining a defense strategy against the German soldiers. Hitler lost to Russia and realized that it would not be an easy task to capture Russia. As an aftermath, the Stalin displayed overconfidence when he decided to further attack the Nazis. This time, the Russians were not able to beat the Nazis owing to the extraordinary tactical skills of the huge German army.Nevertheless, the victory of the Soviet Union during the Battle of Moscow marked the incredible Russian resistance against the invading German forces. In fact, it was the first time since June 1941 that the Russians were able to resist the might of the Germans and were capable to force them out of their land. It was the Red Army that killed the most German soldiers in World War II. Moscow was awarded the title and honor of ‘Hero City’ in the year 1965 which signified the victory of Russia against Germany. The soldiers and all the civilians who took part in the battle or were involved in any other way were given the Defense of Moscow medal, which was created in 1944.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! 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The Battle of Moscow was fought between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
