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In the late autumn of 1941, the sky in Moscow was overcast. This ancient city is facing its toughest test since World War II. The edge of Germany's blitzkrieg is already on the Kremlin, just 27 kilometers away.
However, just when victory seemed within reach, the god of fate played a trick on the Germans. The bitter cold came early, causing hundreds of thousands of German soldiers to freeze outside Moscow.
Many people wonder, knowing that the storm is coming, why can't these well-trained Germany elites cut down trees for warmth? Could it be that the earth-shattering reversal in the defense of Moscow was really due to weather factors? Not necessarily.
Let's take a look at the details of the Battle of Moscow, and you may understand why the defeat of the German army is a historical inevitability.
The Barbarossa Plan: German Ambitions and Illusions
On June 22, 1941, Germany suddenly tore up the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact and launched a military operation codenamed "Barbarossa". This plan was a concentrated expression of Hitler's ambition to quickly defeat the Soviet Union and open up "living space" for Germany in the East.
The idea of the Barbarossa Plan began in July 1940, when Hitler had just won victory on the Western Front. He believed that the Soviet Union was the last obstacle on the road to European hegemony for Germany, which must be removed as soon as possible.
The German General Staff developed an ambitious plan: to defeat the USSR in 4-6 weeks, to capture such important cities as Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev.
Hitler told his aides: "We just need to stretch out our hands and pick this ripe fruit." "To Hitler, the Soviet Union was like a crumbling edifice that could collapse with a single push.
To achieve this, the Germans amassed forces on an unprecedented scale.
More than 3 million troops, more than 3,000 aircraft, 3,600 tanks, and 600,000 motor vehicles were transferred to the Eastern Front. The large army was divided into three clusters: the northern cluster aimed at Leningrad, the central cluster aimed directly at Moscow, and the southern cluster aimed at Ukraine and the Caucasus.
The German offensive began with great momentum. They used the tactics of "blitzkrieg", in which armored forces quickly broke through the Soviet lines, while the air force destroyed a large number of Soviet airfields and supply lines. In the first weeks of the war, the Germans advanced 40 to 50 kilometers a day, capturing large swaths of Soviet territory.
However, the Germans soon encountered unexpected difficulties. Soviet resistance turned out to be more stubborn than expected. Despite the heavy losses suffered in the initial period of the war, the Soviet army did not collapse. Instead, they adopted a "defense in depth" strategy, constantly retreating, lengthening the German supply lines while conducting guerrilla warfare to harass the German rear.
The Germans also underestimated the industrial capacity of the Soviet Union. Before the outbreak of the war, the Soviet Union had relocated a large number of factories to a safe area east of the Ural Mountains. This allowed the USSR to continuously produce weapons and equipment to replenish losses at the front.
As the front advanced, the problem of the supply of the German army became more and more serious. In addition, the Germans faced serious intelligence failures.
In September 1941, the pace of the German offensive slowed down significantly. Despite the fact that they have captured large territories, including important cities such as Kiev and Minsk, Moscow and Leningrad are holding out.
German commanders began to realize that they might not be able to end the war before winter set in. Despite all the difficulties, Hitler persisted in the offensive. He believed that with a little more effort, Moscow would fall.
However, it turned out that this ambitious plan turned out to be just a fantasy in the end. With the departure of summer, the German army will face even more severe tests, and the prelude to the defense of Moscow is about to begin.
The Battle of Moscow: A Turning Point in Fate
As autumn approached, the German attack on Moscow became more and more urgent. On October 2, Hitler ordered an offensive operation, codenamed "Typhoon", vowing to take the heart of the Soviet Union in one fell swoop.
The Germans had gathered 1.8 million troops, more than 3,000 tanks and more than 2,000 planes, and the momentum was so great that it seemed to drown Moscow in a torrent of steel. At first, the German offensive was overwhelming. They soon captured Bryansk and Orel, and at one point advanced to the town of Istria, which was only 27 kilometers from Moscow.
Moscow was in a state of panic, and foreign embassies began to evacuate. The streets of the city are filled with anxiety and unease, and people are talking about when the Germans will invade the thousand-year-old capital.
At this critical moment, God made a move.
Struggle in the bitter cold: a nightmare for the Germans
In November 1941, a cold spell hit the outskirts of Moscow. Temperatures plummeted to minus 30 to 40 degrees Celsius, with cold winds howling and heavy snowfall. This sudden and extremely cold weather became a key factor in turning the tide of the war, and put the German army in an unprecedented predicament.
The equipment of the German army failed one after another in extremely cold weather. The engines of tanks and trucks do not start, the metal parts are deformed by the sudden drop in temperature, and the lubricating oil solidifies into lumps.
The fuel pipeline cracked, and the diesel crystallized at low temperatures, clogging the pipeline. The once formidable armored forces now stand silently in the middle of the snowy fields like cold metal graves.
The soldiers' personal weapons were also severely affected. The bolt of the rifle froze and could not fire properly. The cooling system of the machine gun failed, and after continuous firing it was prone to overheating and jamming.
The fuse of the grenade became extremely unstable and sometimes unexpectedly exploded prematurely. Some soldiers were unable to pull the trigger due to frozen fingers, and there were even strange incidents of frozen guns sticking to their hands.
The Germans were severely inadequate in winter clothing, and most of the soldiers trudged through the bitter cold wind in only thin uniforms. They tried to keep out the cold with newspapers, hay and even stolen curtains, but with little success.
Some soldiers stuffed horse manure into their boots in the hope of keeping warm, but this led to serious foot infections. Cases of frostbite have skyrocketed, and many people have lost their ears, noses, and fingers.
In this extreme situation, heating became the most urgent need of the German army. However, they find themselves in a terrible predicament.
The Soviets retreated with a thorough scorched earth policy, burning all available wood and fuel. The Germans were in a desolate area, with the bark stripped of by the local population for food.
Even if sporadic trees are found, felling becomes a dangerous task. The tools of the Germans were extremely fragile in the extreme cold, and axes and saws could break with the slightest force.
Some soldiers tried to break branches with the butts of their guns, only to find that the butts became particularly fragile at low temperatures. To make matters worse, the physically exhausted soldiers often fainted from overwork during the felling process, and some even froze to death directly under the trees.
After successfully obtaining timber, the Germans were also faced with the problem of how to use it effectively. There was a lack of adequate stoves and firestarters, and many soldiers did not even know how to make a fire in the snow.
Some people tried to light fires with wet wood, but they could only watch as they emitted wisps of white smoke, and they were never able to ignite the flames. Some desperate soldiers ventured to set the gasoline barrels on fire, which led to serious fires and explosions.
Food shortages further exacerbated the plight of the German army. The long supply lines were nearly paralyzed by the bitter cold and the double blow of the Soviet partisans. The front-line troops had to survive on frozen crumbs and rotten horse meat.
There are records of some troops being forced to slaughter horses and dogs to satisfy their hunger, and there have even been horrific incidents of soldiers stealing the corpses of their comrades
At the same time, the Soviets showed remarkable adaptability. Not only were they equipped with thick cotton clothes and fur hats to protect them from the cold, but they also invented improvised snow camouflage suits.
Soviet engineers developed special low-temperature lubricants that allowed tanks and airplanes to work in extreme cold. They even used the ice and snow to build temporary airfields, which greatly improved the mobility of the air force.
The Soviets also skillfully turned the freezing weather into a tactical advantage. They often carried out raids at night, using white camouflage suits to approach German positions silently in the snow. While the Germans were huddled in makeshift shelters to keep warm, the Soviets launched heavy attacks, often catching them off guard.
To the despair of the German army, various diseases began to rage in the barracks. Due to poor sanitation and weakened immunity, diseases such as dysentery and typhus spread rapidly.
The situation is exacerbated by the lack of medical supplies, and many minor injuries are deteriorated by the lack of timely treatment and eventually become hors effective. According to statistics, in some units, the number of attritions due to illness even exceeded combat attrition.
Faced with this unprecedented predicament, German commanders began to realize that they grossly underestimated the might of the Russia winter.
However, Hitler still stubbornly ordered not to retreat, which further exacerbated the plight of the front-line troops. The morale of the army began to waver, and desertions and surrenders increased. Some soldiers even took the initiative to cut off their fingers in order to escape from this "white hell".
On December 5, Marshal Zhukov seized the fighter plane and commanded the Soviet army to launch a counterattack on all fronts. The Germans were defeated and suffered heavy losses under the severe cold and the Soviet attack. The once-invincible Germany Blitzkrieg suffered a fatal blow in the ice and snow of Moscow, thus opening the prelude to the reversal of the war.
Stalin and Zhukov: a conversation before the decisive battle
But looking back at the whole battle, weather was certainly the main factor in the defeat of the German army, but it was the determination of the Soviet Union that was more crucial.
As Germany approached Moscow, Stalin made a crucial decision that surprised everyone: hold on to Moscow and live with the city. This decision was like a shot in the arm and greatly boosted the morale of the Soviet military and civilians.
On November 7, Stalin held an unforgettable military parade on Red Square. The troops participating in the parade went directly to the front, demonstrating the determination of the Soviet people to defend their homeland to the death.
This parade was not only a silent declaration of war on the German army, but also a signal to the enemy that Moscow would not fall easily.
And at the most tense moment of the defense of Moscow, there was also a famous conversation. Marshal Zhukov proposed to retreat the command headquarters back a few kilometers in order to ensure the security of the chain of command.
However, Stalin categorically rejected this proposal. He said to Zhukov: "If you dare to withdraw, I will make up for it." "
Stalin knew that if Moscow was to fall, it would not only be a major military blow, but also a huge shock to the Soviet people.
Although Zhukov proposed a retreat out of military considerations, he also understood Stalin's determination. In this confrontation between the two, a consensus was finally reached: no matter what the cost, Moscow must be held. This decision had a decisive impact on the outcome of the war.
Stalin's perseverance, combined with the heroic fighting of the Soviet soldiers, turned the tide of the war. The Germans had to retreat in the bitter cold with heavy losses. By January 1942, the Soviets had pushed the Germans back 100 to 250 kilometers, completely removing the threat from Moscow.
Epilogue:
The Battle of Moscow was an important battle that changed the pattern of the world. In this life-and-death struggle, the Soviet military and civilians finally defeated the powerful Germany army with firm will and stubborn resistance. This victory not only saved Moscow, but also turned the tide of the war as a whole.
The Battle of Moscow will always be a shining chapter in the history of World War II, which not only recorded the tenacious survival of mankind under extreme conditions, but also demonstrated the great strength of solidarity and common resistance to aggression.
In the era of peace, we look back on this period of history, not to perpetuate historical contradictions, but to cherish the hard-won peace and be vigilant against the cruelty of war. What do you think differently about this?
Resources:
[1] Wei Qing. Life and Disasters,2015,(08):18-19.
[1] Zeng Tao. History Teaching(Middle School Edition),2008,(02):49.)
[1] Zhang Chao. Environment and Life,2011,(07):28-31.
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