107 - Victory for the Red Army! - WW2 - September 12, 1941

by Panzer
So they’re preparing for war?
Wow.
With whom?
What do you mean they’re not sure?
Wait, wait, wait.
But they think it’s going to happen?
Oh, they WANT it to happen.
No.
No, that is just weird.
Okay.
September 12, 1941
Since invading the USSR June 22nd, Germany
has taken enormous amounts of territory and prisoners.
The Soviet Red Army has still continued to fight, however, and this week something happens
that the Germans did not plan on- a Soviet victory.
I’m Indy Neidell; this is World War Two.
Last week, Romania halted its attacks on Odessa for the time being, Soviet attacks failed
against Heinz Guderian’s advancing Panzers, and the war was two years old.
There were also some successful Soviet attacks last week, though, against the Yelnya Salient.
Now, Georgy Zhukov had ordered Konstantin Rakutin’s 24th Army to start assaulting
the 5 divisions of the German 4th Army there August 17th.
Those first attacks failed after a few days, but Zhukov pressed Stavka to order more.
Meanwhile, Rakutin’s forces were beefed up to 10 divisions by the 23rd, including
two tank divisions and one motorized division.
Stavka ordered the attack renewed the 25th, with Rakutin to take the Yelnya bridgehead
and Pavel Kurochkin’s 43rd Army to take Roslavl.
Well, Rakutin attacked last week on the 30th and broke through the German forward lines
after extremely heavy fighting.
By the 4th, his northern and southern shock groups had enveloped the Germans and threatened
them with encirclement.
Because of all the other fighting on the line as we saw, the Germans couldn’t be reinforced
either, so AG Center didn’t really have much choice except a fighting retreat.
Last week on the 5th, the 19th Soviet rifle division penetrated into Yelnya, and now on
the 6th, with the help of 4 more rifle divisions, capture the city.
After that, Raktuin’s forces pursue the Germans across the Desna River and for 25
km, and by the 8th have reached the German defenses along the Ustrom and Striana Rivers
where they are finally halted.
Also on the 8th, after three weeks of offensive actions, the Red Army’s Western Front is
ordered to halt and go on the defensive.