Counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow. The defeat of the German troops near Moscow

Underestimation of the enemy is always a big mistake even on the football field, not to mention the big war. Striving to gain the upper hand over the Soviet Union in the shortest possible time, having implemented the so-called blitzkrieg, the supreme command of Nazi Germany miscalculated. The first successes turned the head of the Wehrmacht: German troops near Moscow were almost at the end of summer, and, probably, Hitler already thought that it was a hat. But the capital was too much for him. This was one of those turning points that radically changed the course of the war and drew a victorious German march into a disgraceful flight, which ended in the suicide of the Fuhrer.

When the Earth was rotated backwards

And without that the Red Army, exhausted by battles and continuous retreat, was supposed to feel a breakdown, in the opinion of the Germans. However, the Nazis themselves are exhausted. No matter what losses the Soviet troops carried, they could not refuse courage. After the shock of the first days of the war, the Red Army fought desperately for every inch of its native land.

Heroic defense of cities (for example, the legendary Mogilev) - the best evidence of this. The ease with which the Germans advanced east was largely apparent. The losses were great, but the Wehrmacht believed that the defenders of Moscow are in an even more demoralized state. Despite the fact that by the beginning of the winter it became obvious that the front was stretched, the forces were scattered, the Germans still intended to launch an offensive near Moscow: the capture of the capital did not only mean a military one, but also a psychological one.

The Soviet government understood the risks, and it is obvious that the thought of following Kutuzov's example of burning the city and handing it over to the enemy-wandered in some minds, and quite aggressively. Back in early October, there was a plan for the destruction of the Moscow Metro: the station was supposed to be mined, the equipment was to be dismantled, the cars to be transported to the rear. October 15, the General Staff of Defense adopted a decree on the evacuation of the capital, and on the 16th for the first (and only) time in history did not open the Moscow metro. Ominous rumors spread throughout the city, part of the population succumbed to panic.

The order to destroy the subway was canceled only in the evening of October 16: Stalin decided to stay. In the meantime, the affairs at the front still went unimportantly. It was reported of the breakthroughs of the fascists, who met December 1941 near Moscow, and it seemed that the Wehrmacht was about to make the final effort and guarantee victory. In fact, it turned out otherwise. Not wishing to surrender, the USSR clung to every hummock. The front stretched for a thousand kilometers, and despite the fact that the main forces of the Germans were concentrated in the east (which is a sin to conceal, Europe did not resist too much), towards the end of the autumn it became clear that the USSR had failed to win the USSR.

Preparing for an offensive

Meanwhile , the Soviet command did not waste time and prepared a large-scale counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow. Even in the middle of autumn, in not favorable conditions, when tense battles were fought, the Supreme High Command found a way to form a reserve of a dozen armies and strengthen the already belligerent ones. At the same time, emphasis was placed on the fact that the new forces were not designed to defend themselves, but quite the contrary. They spent very economically, and the commanders received an unambiguous order to prepare their subordinates for battle in the conditions of the offensive.

By the end of the autumn it became obvious that the Wehrmacht was exhausted: the impetuous advance was drowned, and on some stretches of the front Soviet troops managed to inflict serious damage on the Nazis, forcing to forget about the imminent celebration of the capture of Moscow. Soviet formations began to pull themselves to the places from which they were supposed to act. The right and left flanks of the Western Front were strengthened, to which the leading role in the forthcoming operation was intended: thus, more than two-thirds of all aviation deployed outside Moscow was sent to help Zhukov.

Successful start of surgery

It was very important to determine the time when the counter-offensive of the Red Army began near Moscow, and it must be said that the Soviet command displayed a remarkable military talent in this matter. As they say, the general who is able to make decisions not only quickly, but also correctly is genius. In the beginning of winter, the circumstances developed as successfully as possible. The necessary line of defensive structures did not exist yet, and the corresponding command did not arrive (it will arrive, but only on December 8, when the counteroffensive of troops near Moscow continued for the third day and the precious time was hopelessly missed).

According to the plan for the operation, the Western Front was to inflict a series of blows to drop the enemy on the right and left flank (the directions of Solnechnogorsk, Istra, Klin, Bogoroditsk and Uzlovaya).

Connections of the South-Western Front were to advance on Elets, and if successful, develop it in the Orel direction. The third front involved in the operation, Kalininsky, received the combat mission to move in the direction of Mikulina and Turginovo with the prospect of being in the rear of the enemy.

The air forces also faced a difficult task: on the one hand, to support the counteroffensive of Soviet troops near Moscow, on the other - to protect the capital from bombing, which became familiar to the townspeople from the first day of the war. Important aviation intelligence was also assigned to aviation. In general, the Air Force played a colossal role in the operation, largely determining the outcome of the battle.

Relation of forces

Despite the fact that the strengthening of all three fronts involved in the operation was given the closest attention, the superiority of the Hitlerites was still evident. Soviet troops were inferior in both numbers and (especially) armaments.

At the disposal of the commanders of the offensive, there were six hundred thousand less personnel (1.7 for the fascists, 1.1 for the Red Army), 7.6 thousand guns and mortars against 13.5 thousand for Germans, 774 tanks against 1,17 thousand of the enemy. Excellence was only in aviation: German aircraft - 615, Soviet - 1000. But even in this barrel of honey there was a fly in the ointment, after all more than half (about 53%) of the Red Army aircraft were representatives of old, not too effective modifications.

The main blow was flanked by the German "Center". In the course of protracted battles, they were at the most disadvantageous position: almost from all sides surrounded by Soviet troops.

Unexpected blow

The main trump card was surprise: the beginning of the counterattack was completely unexpected for the enemy. I must say that preparations for the strike were conducted in the strictest secrecy, and the Germans did not have the means or the luck to find out the plans of the Soviet stakes.

Major military experts, both domestic and foreign, admit that the defeat of the German troops near Moscow was largely made possible thanks to the exceptionally successful launch of the operation. The exhausted enemy army was exhausted, it did not manage to consolidate itself. The configuration of the front line, in which the enemy's flanks were practically surrounded, gave the broadest opportunities for the Red Army - and she used them.

The first on December 5, in the early morning, struck a blow at the Kalinin Front, already the next day supported by the troops of the Western and South-Western. Initially, they moved slowly: experienced Germans managed to impose small fights for each fortified point on the opponents. The movement was hampered by snow drifts: it was worthwhile to retire from the beaten track, and it became very difficult to maneuver. Complicated also because the battle near Moscow in 1941-1942. Was the first major offensive operation of the Red Army: before that, Soviet fighters had acquired a completely opposite experience, not capable of serving as a help.

Nevertheless, the enemy hordes were discarded - albeit with a creak and at the cost of great sacrifices. On the first day of the fighting, some formations managed to cross the Volga and create a threat to the enemy's rear.

To develop success

The counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow began to rapidly increase the pace already on the second day after its inception. The 1st and 30th armies moved briskly towards Klin, the 20th pursued the enemy in the Solnechnogorsk direction, and the 16th in the Istrian direction. Even more successfully moved towards Tula. The 10th Army, with the support of cavalry and tanks, unexpectedly quickly attacked Stalinogorsk.

Such a rapid development of events made some confusion in the hitherto slender ranks of the enemy, which seemed invincible. Not expecting a clear resistance from the Soviet Union, Hitler was not ready to react quickly and correctly. The result was the defeat of the German troops near Moscow. Only on December 8 to the Fuhrer, as they say, it came to pass that the military successes of the enemy - a phenomenon not incidental and accidental, but carefully planned and well prepared. Directive No. 39, he ordered his valiant troops to move to a deaf defense on the entire Eastern Front.

The reason for the breakdown of far-reaching plans was the same legendary Russian winter, about which Napoleon could tell a lot of interesting things. Her offensive, Herr Adolf, for some reason called "premature," referred to difficulties in supply, because of which the battle near Moscow was not successful. To take offensive actions was prescribed only to Army Group "South", and even if the weather would be favorable. But in November 41st the frost did not reach 6 degrees, it became cold only in the beginning of December (there was a 28-degree frost), but, as they say, the field for all is the same. Yes, and to talk about the prematureness of the winter of December 5 is somehow not too correct.

On the valleys and on the hills

Meanwhile, the offensive continued, but his pace was not satisfied with the headquarters of the Supreme High Command. Then it was decided to pay less attention to the rear guard, who gave battles, to bypass the retreating German units and cause sudden strikes in the rear. The mobile detachments, specially formed in a number of armies, significantly increased efficiency: the counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow became much more successful. Now they did not rest against every fortified position, but they went around it and rushed forward, leaving the German rear guard in its own rear, where its fate had already been sealed.

For four days, from 6 to 10 December, the Soviet troops liberated almost fifty settlements. A lot of tanks, guns, cars and motorcycles were thrown by the enemy, retreating.

On December 13, the Soviet Information Bureau finally managed to say something pleasant to its citizens. The good news undoubtedly raised the fighting spirit of the Red Army and instilled hope for the civilian population of the country that followed its progress with bated breath.

Great success was the local victory near Kalinin, where the 31st Army was able to cut almost completely all the communication routes for the Nazis. When the 30th Army of the Western Front came very close to the river. Lame, the Germans left the city, fearful of encirclement.

Encouraged by the success, the Soviet troops so napoddali enemy that the retreat turned into a stampede: almost all the technology was in the hands of Soviet soldiers. December 16 Kalinin already controlled the Red Army.

Local successes in strategic victory

A month after the beginning of the offensive, on January 7, 1942, the Kalinin Front fronts reached Rzhev, Selizharovo and Zubtsov, taking a strategically advantageous position north of the troubled German group Center.

Successful were the actions of the Western Front, which, overcoming resistance, and sometimes very fierce, inexorably progressed. December 12, liberated Solnechnogorsk, the 15th - Wedge, the 20th - Volokolamsk.

The fighting spirit of the retreating parts left much to be desired. Apparently, not without reason, on December 16, Hitler found it necessary to supplement his own directive No. 39 with an order ordering him to defend himself with "fanatical persistence", to hold himself at any cost, and so on.

Whether the order worked, or the Germans came to their senses, but they managed to gain a foothold on the natural frontier on the rivers Lama and Ruza. All attempts to overcome resistance failed. The Red Army had to stop at what had been achieved and strengthen itself in the positions it had won.

The guerrillas helped tremendously, without which the victory near Moscow could be given much harder. They attacked the retreating Hitler units, destroyed German warehouses, conducted reconnaissance, obtaining the most valuable information.

From the left wing of the Western Front army launched a large-scale offensive in the direction of Kaluga - the most important transportation hub. It is clear that such an outcome did not suit the Germans. The command of the "Center" made a decision to gain a foothold on the Oka and hold the line at any cost, as, indeed, the beloved Fuehrer ordered.

Exemption from occupation

Zhukov understood perfectly well how events would develop, therefore he ordered to pursue the enemy, not allowing him to rest and gain a foothold. During the fulfillment of the combat mission, the 49th Army, having overcome the resistance of the Hitlerites, took Tarusa on December 19. It did not happen all at once - we even had to suddenly strike from the rear.

Meanwhile, the 50th Army moved to Kaluga. The advanced mobile detachment broke into the city on December 21, but the Germans turned out to be no shit. Only nine days later, on December 30, Kaluga was liberated by the joint efforts of the 49th and 50th armies.

By January 8, Kozelsk, Belev, Meshchovsk and hundreds of other smaller settlements were liberated. Parts of the Red Army fearlessly forced Oka. The Battle of Moscow (1942) was won. True, there were still years and years of war ahead.

The soldiers who fought in the armies of the South-Western Front did not lose the honor of the uniform. Ten days after the start of the operation, they advanced a hundred kilometers to the west and reached the bank of the river. Xenia, capturing hundreds of enemy units of military equipment. Almost four hundred cities and villages (including Yelets and Efremov), got rid of the occupation.

Of course, the Germans did not intend to surrender. Nevertheless, on December 26 they left Naro-Fomisk, on the 28th - Balabanovo, January 2 - Maloyaroslavets, and on the 4th - Borovsk.

The outcome and significance of the battle

By January 8, 1942, the battle near Moscow, in short, was won, and won brilliantly. The troops reached the lines of Selizharovo-Ruza-Mtsensk and drove the Germans an average of 200 kilometers from Moscow. As a result of the operation, over a thousand settlements were liberated, the encirclement of Tula became impossible. For a month, during which the battle continued near Moscow, the Germans suffered huge losses - almost two hundred thousand people of personnel (168 thousand only ground forces). 11 tank and more than twenty infantry divisions were defeated.

An important condition for success was the good coordination of the actions of the three fronts and support from the air force - here the command showed talent and excellent training.

Soviet soldiers became extremely clear that the rumors about the "invincibility" of the Hitlerite army, which brought almost all of Europe to its knees, is nothing more than a myth. That German tanks "burn for a sweet soul," and soldiers are able to retreat with the same "commendable" swiftness.

Of course, it was very important that the enemy failed to capture the capital of the state. Moscow during the war years (and not only) was not just a city, but also a symbol of the fortitude of the Soviet state.

The successes of the Soviet forces forced the allies of the USSR to become more active. Let the second front open only in 1944, it is hardly fair to say that technical and other assistance was superfluous.

But the potential helpers of the Third Reich Hitler's defeat near Moscow, on the contrary, made him wait for a while: some sources assert that Turkey and Japan, in the event of the capture of Moscow, were ready to openly enter the war against the USSR. After the crushing fiasco that the Germans suffered, the cunning allies hid, preferring to refrain from active action.

The significance of the counteroffensive can not be overemphasized: first, it was the first large-scale offensive operation of the Red Army. From a strategic and psychological point of view, this was a big breakthrough. Many military historians believe that it is the battle near Moscow that is brief, but capacitively, it can be called the "turning point of the war," which predetermined its outcome. At last, millions of people of the continent had a hope.

But most importantly, the victory instilled confidence in the hearts of the soldiers themselves. They finally saw that they could really resist the Germans. And not just to keep positions, and to conquer lost territories.