The German Advance Ends at the Gates of Moscow
On November 15, with the ground beginning to freeze, the Germans resumed their attacks on Moscow. A week later they were badly defeated south of the city by fresh troops from Siberia and the Far East. To the northeast, the 4th Panzer Army penetrated to within 15 miles of the Kremlin before Soviet forces and driving blizzards ground their advance to a halt. As the Germans had anticipated a quick campaign to conquer the Soviet Union, they were not prepared for winter warfare. Soon the cold and snow were causing more casualties than combat. Having successfully defended the capital, Soviet forces, commanded by General Georgiy Zhukov, launched a major counterattack on December 5, which succeeded in driving the Germans back 200 miles. This was the Wehrmacht's first significant retreat since the war had begun in 1939.
The Germans Strike Back
With the pressure on Moscow relieved, Stalin ordered a general counter offensive on January 2. Soviet forces pushed the Germans back nearly encircling Demyansk and threatening Smolensk and Bryansk. By mid-March the Germans had stabilized their lines and any chances of a major defeat were averted. As spring progressed, the Soviets prepared to launch a major offensive to retake Kharkov. Beginning with major attacks on both sides of the city in May, the Soviets quickly broke through the German lines. To contain the threat, the German Sixth Army attacked the base of the salient caused by the Soviet advance, successfully encircling the attackers. Trapped, the Soviets suffered 70,000 killed and 200,000 captured.
Lacking the manpower to remain on the offensive all along the Eastern Front, Hitler decided to focus German efforts in the south with the goal of taking the oil fields. Codenamed Operation Blue, this new offensive began on June 28, 1942, and caught the Soviets, who thought the Germans would renew their efforts around Moscow, by surprise. Advancing, the Germans were delayed by heavy fighting in Voronezh which allowed the Soviets to bring reinforcements south. Unlike the year before, the Soviets were fighting well and conducting organized retreats which prevented the scale of losses endured in 1941. Angered by a perceived lack of progress, Hitler divided Army Group South into two separate units, Army Group A and Army Group B. Possessing the majority of the armor, Army Group A was tasked with taking the oil fields, while Army Group B was ordered to take Stalingrad to protect the German flank.
The Tide Turns at Stalingrad
Prior to the arrival of German troops, the Luftwaffe began a massive bombing campaign against Stalingrad which reduced the city to rubble and killed over 40,000 civilians. Advancing, Army Group B reached the Volga River both north and south of the city by the end of August, forcing the Soviets to bring supplies and reinforcements across the river to defend the city. Shortly thereafter, Stalin dispatched Zhukov south to take command of the situation. On September 13, elements of the German Sixth Army entered Stalingrad's suburbs and within ten days arrived near the industrial heart of the city. Over the next several weeks German and Soviet forces engaged in savage street fighting in attempts to take control of the city. At one point, the average life expectancy of a Soviet soldier in Stalingrad was less than one day.
As the city devolved into a maelstrom of carnage, Zhukov began building up his forces on the city's flanks. On November 19, 1942, the Soviets launched Operation Uranus which struck and broke through the weakened German flanks around Stalingrad. Advancing quickly, they encircled the German Sixth Army in four days. Trapped, the Sixth Army's commander, General Friedrich Paulus, requested permission to attempt a breakout, but was refused by Hitler. In conjunction with Operation Uranus, the Soviets attacked Army Group Center near Moscow to prevent reinforcements being sent to Stalingrad. In mid-December Field Marshall Erich von Manstein organized a relief force to aid the beleaguered Sixth Army, but it was unable to breakthrough the Soviet lines. With no other choice, Paulus surrendered the remaining 91,000 men of the Sixth Army on February 2, 1943. In the fighting for Stalingrad over 2 million were killed or wounded.While the fighting raged at Stalingrad, Army Group A's drive to the Caucasus oil fields began to slow. German forces occupied the oil facilities north of the Caucasus Mountains, but found that the Soviets had destroyed them. Unable to find a way through the mountains, and with the situation at Stalingrad deteriorating, Army Group A began to withdraw towards Rostov.
Battle of Kursk
In the wake of Stalingrad, the Red Army launched eight winter offensives across the Don River basin. These were largely characterized by initial Soviet gains followed by strong German counterattacks. During one of these, the Germans were able to retake Kharkov. On July 4, 1943, once the spring rains had abated, the Germans launched a massive offensive designed to destroy the Soviet salient around Kursk. Aware of the German plans, the Soviets constructed an elaborate system of earthworks to defend the area. Attacking from the north and south at the salient's base, German forces met heavy resistance. In the south, they came close to achieving a breakthrough, but were beaten back near Prokhorovka in the largest tank battle of the war. Fighting from the defensive, the Soviets allowed the Germans to exhaust their resources and reserves.
Having won on the defensive, the Soviets launched a series of counteroffensives that drove the Germans back past their July 4 positions and led to the liberation of Kharkov and an advance to the Dnieper River. Retreating, the Germans attempted to form a new line along the river, but were unable to hold it as the Soviets began crossing in numerous places.
Previous: Blitzkrieg | World War II 101 | Next: North Africa, Sicily, & Italy