Richard W. Harrison - The Battle of Moscow 1941-42: The Red Armys Defensive Operations and Counter Offensive along the Moscow Strategic Direction

The Battle of Moscow, 19411942: The Red Armys 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 Hitlers 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 Staffs military-historical section, which was charged with collecting and analyzing the wars experience and disseminating it to the armys 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 Fronts defensive operations along the Moscow direction during Army Group Centers final push toward the capital in NovemberDecember, 1941. The study pays particular attention to the Red Armys 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 Armys 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 RzhevVyazma 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.

Richard W. Harrison earned his undergraduate and masters degrees from Georgetown University, where he specialized in Russian area studies. In 1994 he earned his doctorate in War Studies from Kings College London. He also was an exchange student in the former Soviet Union and spent several years living and working in post-communist Russia.

Dr. Harrison has worked for the US Department of Defense as an investigator in Russia, dealing with cases involving POWs and MIAs. He has also taught Russian history and military history at college and university level, most recently at the US Military Academy at West Point.

Harrison is the author of two books dealing with the Red Armys theoretical development during the interwar period: The Russian Way of War: Operational Art, 19041940 (2001), and Architect of Soviet Victory in World War II: The Life and Theories of G.S. Isserson (2010). He has also authored a number of articles on topics in Soviet military history. He is currently working on a history of the Red Armys high commands during World War II and afterwards.

Dr. Harrison currently lives with his family near Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

THE BATTLE OF MOSCOW 19411942

The Red Armys Defensive Operations and Counteroffensive along the Moscow Strategic Direction

Soviet General Staff

Edited and translated by Richard W. Harrison

Helion & Company

Published in cooperation with the Association of the United States Army

Helion & Company Limited

26 Willow Road

Solihull

West Midlands

B91 1UE

Tel. 0121 705 3393

Fax 0121 711 4075

Email:

Website: www.helion.co.uk

Twitter:

Visit our blog http://blog.helion.co.uk/

Published by Helion & Company 2015, in cooperation with the Association of the United States Army

Designed and typeset by Bookcraft Ltd, Stroud, Gloucestershire

Cover designed by Euan Carter, Leicester ( www.euancarter.com )

Text and maps Association of the United States Army. English edition translated and edited by Richard W. Harrison. Maps drawn by David Rennie.

ISBN 978 1 910294 64 2

eISBN 978 1 912174 61 4

Mobi ISBN 978 1 912174 61 4

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written consent of Helion & Company Limited.

For details of other military history titles published by Helion & Company Limited contact the above address, or visit our website: http://www.helion.co.uk.

We always welcome receiving book proposals from prospective authors.

The Situation Along the Moscow Strategic Direction, October 12-November 15

The Withdrawal of the Western Fronts Right Flank in November, 1941

The Armies Defense of the Central Sector on November 16

The Withdrawal by the Fronts Left-Wing Forces in November and the Counterblow by the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps in December, 1941

The Germans November Offensive on Moscow in 1941

The Situation by December 6

The Situation to the North of Moscow on December 6 and the Western Front Commands Plan

The Offensive by the Right Wings Armies, December 6-25, 1941

The General Course of the Offensive by the Left-Wing Armies in the Tula Operation, December 7-18, 1941

The Overall Offensive by the Left-Wing Armies, December 18-25, 1941

The Western Fronts Counteroffensive in December, 1941

The Western Fronts Offensive in January, 1942

III/1.1 The correlation of forces on the Western Front as of November 16 1941 German forces

III/1.2 The correlation of forces on the Western Front as of November 16 1941 Red Army

III/2.1 Register of the concentration of the 1st Shock, 20th and 10th armies during the period November-December 6 1941

III/2.2 of troop movements by automobile

III/3.1 The correlation of forces as of November 16 German forces

III/3.2 The Correlation of forces as of November 16 Red Army

III/4.1 Correlation of combat forces along the Western Fronts central sector

III/7.1 Level of troop supply at the army and front depots as of November 12-15 1941

III/7.2 The expenditure of the most important types of ammunition, November 16-December 6 1941

III/7.3 Movement of supplies at the Front and Army field depots, November 16-December 6 1941

III/7.4 The condition of Front supplies of the most important fuel types from November 1-December 1 1941

III/8.1 Readiness of main defensive zones works, Mozhaisk Defense Line

III/8.2 Depth of the Moscow area defensive system

III/8.3 Construction of obstacles, December 1941

III/8.4 Enemy aircraft destroyed during raids on Moscow, October-December 1941

IV/1.1 The correlation of forces along the Western Front by December 6 1941 German Forces