THE BATTLE OF MOSCOW 1941-42: The Red Army's Defensive Operations and Counter-Offensive along the Moscow Strategic Direction

2-218200

Detailed examination of one of the major turning points of World War II, as seen from the Soviet side. 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. It 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. Pays particular attention to the Red Army's resistance to the Germans' attempts to outflank Moscow from the north. 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. 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. Contains 12 black and white maps.