Download or read book The Battle of Moscow 1941 1942 written by Soviet General Staff and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2015-06-19 with total page 477 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Battle of Moscow, 1941–1942: The Red Army’s Defensive Operations and Counteroffensive Along the Moscow Strategic Direction" is a detailed examination of one of the major turning points of World War II, as seen from the Soviet side. The Battle of Moscow marked the climax of Hitler’s “Operation Barbarossa,” which sought to destroy the Soviet Union in a single campaign and ensure German hegemony in Europe. The failure to do so condemned Germany to a prolonged war it could not win. This work originally appeared in 1943, under the title "Razgrom Nemetskikh Voisk pod Moskvoi" (The Rout of the German Forces Around Moscow). The work was produced by the Red Army General Staff’s military-historical section, which was charged with collecting and analyzing the war’s experience and disseminating it to the army’s higher echelons. This was a collective effort, featuring many different contributors, with Marshal Boris Mikhailovich Shaposhnikov, former chief of the Red Army General Staff and then head of the General Staff Academy, serving as general editor. The book is divided into three parts, each dealing with a specific phase of the battle. The first traces the Western Front’s defensive operations along the Moscow direction during Army Group Center’s final push toward the capital in November–December, 1941. The study pays particular attention to the Red Army’s resistance to the Germans’ attempts to outflank Moscow from the north. Equally important were the defensive operations to the south of Moscow, where the Germans sought to push forward their other encircling flank. The second part deals with the first phase of the Red Army’s counteroffensive, which was aimed at pushing back the German pincers and removing the immediate threat to Moscow. Here the Soviets were able to throw the Germans back and flatten both salients, particularly in the south, where they were able to make deep inroads into the enemy front to the west and northwest. The final section examines the further development of the counteroffensive until the end of January 1942. This section highlights the Soviet advance all along the front and their determined but unsuccessful attempts to cut off the Germans’ Rzhev–Vyaz’ma salient. It is from this point that the front essentially stabilized, after which events shifted to the south. This new translation into English makes available to a wider readership this valuable study.

Download or read book Retreat from Moscow written by David Stahel and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping and authoritative revisionist account of the German Winter Campaign of 1941–1942 Germany’s winter campaign of 1941–1942 is commonly seen as its first defeat. In Retreat from Moscow, a bold, gripping account of one of the seminal moments of World War II, David Stahel argues that instead it was its first strategic success in the East. The Soviet counteroffensive was in fact a Pyrrhic victory. Despite being pushed back from Moscow, the Wehrmacht lost far fewer men, frustrated its enemy’s strategy, and emerged in the spring unbroken and poised to recapture the initiative. Hitler’s strategic plan called for holding important Russian industrial cities, and the German army succeeded. The Soviets as of January 1942 aimed for nothing less than the destruction of Army Group Center, yet not a single German unit was ever destroyed. Lacking the professionalism, training, and experience of the Wehrmacht, the Red Army’s offensive attempting to break German lines in countless head-on assaults led to far more tactical defeats than victories. Using accounts from journals, memoirs, and wartime correspondence, Stahel takes us directly into the Wolf’s Lair to reveal a German command at war with itself as generals on the ground fought to maintain order and save their troops in the face of Hitler’s capricious, increasingly irrational directives. Excerpts from soldiers’ diaries and letters home paint a rich portrait of life and death on the front, where the men of the Ostheer battled frostbite nearly as deadly as Soviet artillery. With this latest installment of his pathbreaking series on the Eastern Front, David Stahel completes a military history of the highest order.

Download or read book Moscow 1941 written by Rodric Braithwaite and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2009-11-04 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1941 close to one million Russian soldiers died defending Moscow from German invasion–more causalities than that of the United States and Britain during all of World War II. Many of these soldiers were in fact not soldiers at all, but instead ordinary people who took up arms to defend their city. Students dropped their books for guns; released prisoners exchanged their freedom for battle; and women fought alongside men on the bloody, mud-covered frozen road to Moscow. By the time the United States entered the war the Germans were already retreating and a decisive victory had been won for the Allies. With extensive research into the lives of soldiers, politicians, writers, artists, workers, and children, Rodric Braithwaite creates a richly detailed narrative that captures this crucial moment. Moscow 1941 is a dramatic, unforgettable portrait of an often overlooked battle that changed the world.

Download or read book The German Campaign in Russia written by George E. Blau and published by . This book was released on 1955 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Battle For Moscow written by Albert Seaton and published by Da Capo Press, Incorporated. This book was released on 1993-10-21 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A German capture of Moscow in 1941 would have knocked Russia out of the war; a riveting narrative of this crucial battle by a British officer with a deep knowledge of the East European sources.

Download or read book The Battle for Moscow 1941 1942 written by Albert Seaton and published by . This book was released on 1971 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Greatest Battle written by Andrew Nagorski and published by Aurum Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘A new and beautifully researched account of what had been a poorly understood part of the war’ New York Review of Books ‘A fine diplomatic and military history, but its real triumph is in the voices of the survivors of the Battle of Moscow’ Washington Post The Battle for Moscow, which took place from September 1941 to April 1942, was the biggest battle of World War II – indeed, the biggest battle of all time. Seven million troops were involved. The combined losses of both sides amounted to 2.5 million men – 2 million on the Russian side. Even Stalingrad, immortalised in Antony Beevor’s classic work, involved half as many troops and less than half as many losses. But most of all, this battle turned the course of the whole war. Hitler had declared war on the Soviet Union, and hoped for a swift victory. Had Moscow fallen, Hitler might have won the war - but in the bitter winter the Soviet army held the Germans back. But Stalin committed huge strategic blunders - initially refusing to arm his troops after Hitler sent his troops east without winter clothing – and his reign of terror caused mass looting in Moscow and the flight of half its citizens. As a result the Soviets suppressed the full story of the battle, and only now have the secret archives been declassified for Andrew Nagorski to tell the full story. Anyone gripped and astounded by Stalingrad will find this an amazing account of privation and attrition on an unimaginable scale. Andrew Nagorski is a senor editor at Newsweek International. He served two tours as Moscow bureau chief, and won awards for his foreign reporting. He lives in New York.

Download or read book Air Battle for Moscow 1941 1942 written by Dmitry Degtev and published by Air World. This book was released on 2021-10-31 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of the aerial element of the Battle for Moscow between 1941 and 1942, known to the Germans as Operation Typhoon. In October 1941, Operation Typhoon and the battle for Moscow began. According to Hitler's plan, it was to be the ‘last offensive’, after which nothing could stop Germany from conquering Britain and the rest of Europe – but first he had to overcome the Soviets and especially their air force. Air Battle for Moscow is the first detailed description of one of the most vital, yet little known, air battles of the Second World War. The battle for Moscow opened with the flights of long-range reconnaissance aircraft, which photographed Moscow and the Kremlin. Then, on 22 July 1941, Operation Clara Zetkin, the Luftwaffe’s aerial assault on Moscow, began. But the Luftwaffe was opposed by the ‘Stalin's Falcons’, the elite 6th Air Defence Corps, which defended the Soviet capital with a determination which saw bitter duels to the death and horrendous casualties on both sides. The book presents new facts about this dramatic battle and describes in detail the actions of the aircrew on both sides. Yet this is not just the story or the air war. The authors also describe the lives of people during the war, of suppressed anti-Soviet opposition in Moscow, and of the bloodthirsty and inhuman actions of the Stalin regime. The book also tells of the fate of German pilots caught in Russian captivity, and the adventures of those who were able to survive and escape from the Russian executioners. Many myths concerning the battle are also challenged, such as the often-stated belief that Moscow’s anti-aircraft defenses were the most powerful in the world and that it was the Soviets who were the finest pilots. In this comprehensive account, details of losses, biographical outlines of the key individuals, analyses of the different aircraft and a full chronology of the battle are presented, as well as numerous exclusive photos, documents and drawings. But it is the stories of those who fought in the Battle for Moscow that, undeniably, have the greatest impact. The harrowing tales of death and survival in conditions that are almost beyond description demonstrate just how important this conflict was to both Russia and the Third Reich and, ultimately, to the outcome of the Second World War.

Download or read book The Drive on Moscow 1941 written by Niklas Zetterling and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How Nazi forces were driven back by the Soviets amid mud and freezing temperatures: “Excellent . . . well researched, fast paced and enjoyable to read.” —Military Review At the end of September 1941, more than a million German soldiers lined up along the frontline just 180 miles west of Moscow. They were well-trained, confident, and had good reasons to hope that the war in the East would be over with one last offensive. Facing them was an equally large Soviet force, but whose soldiers were neither as well-trained nor as confident. When the Germans struck, disaster soon befell the Soviet defenders. German panzer spearheads cut through enemy defenses and thrust deeply to encircle most of the Soviet soldiers on the approaches to Moscow. Within a few weeks, most of the Russian soldiers marched into captivity, where a grim fate awaited them. Despite the overwhelming initial German success, however, the Soviet capital did not fall. German combat units, as well as supply transport, were bogged down in mud caused by autumn rains. General Zhukov was called back to Moscow and given the desperate task to recreate defense lines west of Moscow. The mud allowed him time to accomplish this, and when the Germans again began to attack in November, they met stiffer resistance. Even so, they came perilously close to the capital, and if the vicissitudes of weather had cooperated, would have seized it. Though German units were also fighting desperately by now, the Soviet build-up soon exceeded their own. The Drive on Moscow, 1941 is based on numerous archival records, personal diaries, letters, and other sources. It recreates the battle from the perspective of the soldiers as well as the generals. The battle had a crucial role in the overall German strategy in the East, and its outcome reveals why the failure of the German assault on Moscow may well have been true turning point of World War II.

Download or read book Operation Typhoon written by David Stahel and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The launch of Operation Typhoon heralded the opening of one of the biggest German offensives of World War II. Indeed it is surpassed in scale only by the German operations to invade France and the Low Countries in May 1940 (Case Yellow) and the Soviet Union itself in June 1941 (Operation Barbarossa). Although the fighting on the Eastern Front is arguably best known for Hitler's 1942 offensive to reach and conquer the oil fields of southern Russia (Case Blue), culminating in the battle for Stalingrad, Army Group South's 1942 summer offensive involved only half the number of German troops employed for Operation Typhoon"--

Download or read book Fighting the Russians in Winter Three Case Studies written by A. F. Chew and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1981 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Greatest Battles in History written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-09-17 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the battle written by participants on both sides *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "We underestimated the enemy's strength, as well as his size and climate." - Heinz Guderian World War II was fought on a scale unlike anything before or since in human history, and the unfathomable casualty counts are attributable in large measure to the carnage inflicted between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during Hitler's invasion of Russia and Stalin's desperate defense. The invasion came in 1941 following a nonaggression pact signed between the two in 1939, which allowed Hitler to focus his attention on the west without having to worry about an attack from the eastern front. While Germany was focusing on the west, the Soviet Union sent large contingents of troops to the border region between the two countries, and Stalin's plan to take territory in Poland and the Baltic States angered Hitler. By 1940, Hitler viewed Stalin as a major threat and had made the decision to invade Russia: "In the course of this contest, Russia must be disposed of...Spring 1941. The quicker we smash Russia the better." While a legend exists today that Hitler's strategic fecklessness destroyed Germany's chances, despite the wise objections of the Wehrmacht general staff (OKW), the actual situation in 1941 resembled the precise reverse of this familiar historical trope. The historian Robert Forczyk argues convincingly that the Fuhrer retained his full strategic acumen in 1941, until he ill-advisedly adopted the suggestions of the OKW and diverted forces in a winter campaign to seize the Soviet capital, leading to the Battle of Moscow. The Third Reich's dictator initially viewed Moscow as a relatively trivial objective, only to be seized once the Red Army suffered defeat in detail. In fact, he planned a pause during the bitter Russian winter, conserving German strength for a fresh offensive in spring of 1942. Wisely, According to Chief of Operations Colonel Heusinger, Hitler manifested "an instinctive aversion to treading the same path as Napoleon [...] Moscow gives him a sinister feeling." Despite the obstructionism of the OKW General Staff - centered around Fedor von Bock, Franz Halder and Brauschitsch, who obsessed over taking Moscow and reacted to the Fuhrer's focus on the south with open rage and contempt - the southern offensive went ahead, securing another stunning victory over the Soviets and seizing the economically vital Donets Basin. In the meantime, Stalin immolated hundreds of thousands of his own soldiers in futile attacks against Army Group Center, holding the German front facing Moscow. Halder ultimately drafted the plan for Operation Typhoon, the October 1941 thrust towards Moscow, and Hitler showed considerable reluctance to agree to the attack, believing it best if the Germans suspended operations until spring. Halder and his OKW clique persisted, however, badgering the Fuhrer until Hitler imprudently yielded to their demands. The head of the Third Reich apparently succumbed to Halder's and Bock's importuning mostly due to unrestrained ebullience over the southern success. He felt that at this stage, "nothing could go wrong." In doing so, he forgot the keenly insightful precept of the 17th century samurai general Oda Nobunaga, who declared, "After a victory, tighten your helmet straps." Far from maintaining his focus, however, Hitler relaxed and let his guard down. His surrender to Halder's impractical plan signaled the beginning of an ominous reversal of Wehrmacht fortunes whose seeds sprouted at the Battle of Moscow. The Greatest Battles in History: The Battle of Moscow During World War II chronicles the operations that saw the Soviets push back the Nazis from their capital. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Battle of Moscow like never before.

Download or read book Moscow 1941 1942 Stalingrad written by and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Hitler versus Stalin The Eastern Front 1941 1942 written by Nik Cornish and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-06-30 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pictorial WWII history chronicles the epic drama of the Eastern Front, from Operation Barbarossa to the Battle of Moscow. The world was not prepared for the massive onslaught launched by Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union on June, 22nd, 1941. The scale of the invasion and the speed of the German advance forced the Red Army into a chaotic retreat toward Leningrad and Moscow as hundreds of thousands of soldiers were taken prisoner. But then came the Soviet’s equally astonishing response. Despite all the predictions, the Red Army stemmed the Wehrmacht’s advance, held the lines before Leningrad and Moscow, and mounted a counter-offensive that changed the course of the campaign and the outcome of the Second World War. These are the historic events that Nik Cornish portrays in this volume of rare wartime images portraying the war on the Eastern Front.

Download or read book The Battle for Moscow written by David Stahel and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-01-22 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major new account of Germany's drive on Moscow in November 1941, one of the key battles of World War II.

Download or read book Battle of Moscow 1941 1942 written by Hans von Greiffenberg and published by . This book was released on 1952 with total page 632 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Greatest Battle written by Andrew Nagorski and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-09-18 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bestselling first authoritative account of the first colossal World War II battle between Germany and the USSR—based on previously unavailable documents, this is the battle that decided the war, and the one that Stalin tried to cover up. The battle for Moscow was the biggest battle of World War II—the biggest battle of all time. And yet it is far less known than Stalingrad, which involved about half the number of troops. From the time Hitler launched his assault on Moscow on September 30, 1941, to April 20, 1942, seven million troops were engaged in this titanic struggle. The combined losses of both sides—those killed, taken prisoner, or severely wounded—were two and a half million, of which nearly two million were on the Soviet side. But the Soviet capital narrowly survived, and for the first time the German Blitzkrieg ended in failure. This shattered Hitler's dream of a swift victory over the Soviet Union and radically changed the course of the war. The full story of this epic battle has never been told because it undermines the sanitized Soviet accounts of the war, which portray Stalin as a military genius and his people as heroically united against the German invader. Stalin's blunders, incompetence, and brutality made it possible for German troops to approach the outskirts of Moscow. This triggered panic in the city—with looting, strikes, and outbreaks of previously unimaginable violence. About half the city's population fled. But Hitler's blunders would soon loom even larger: sending his troops to attack the Soviet Union without winter uniforms, insisting on an immediate German reign of terror, and refusing to heed his generals' pleas that he allow them to attack Moscow as quickly as possible. In the end, Hitler's mistakes trumped Stalin's mistakes. Drawing on declassified documents from Soviet archives, including files of the dreaded NKVD; on accounts of survivors and of children of top Soviet military and government officials; and on reports of Western diplomats and correspondents, The Greatest Battle finally illuminates the full story of a clash between two systems based on sheer terror and relentless slaughter. Even as Moscow's fate hung in the balance, the United States and Britain were discovering how wily a partner Stalin would turn out to be in the fight against Hitler—and how eager he was to push his demands for a postwar empire in Eastern Europe. In addition to chronicling the bloodshed, Andrew Nagorski takes the reader behind the scenes of the early negotiations between Hitler and Stalin, and then between Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill. This is a remarkable addition to the history of World War II.