111- An Open Road to Moscow! - WW2- October 10, 1941

by Panzer
What did the Soviet mugger say to Fedor von Bock?
Empty your pockets?
I don’t get it.
I’m fairly certain the Red Army generals Konev and Yeremenko have not seen Star Wars,
even though it does happen a long long time ago.
If they have, then this week they are both likely to echo the words of Admiral Akbar,
“It’s a trap!”
I’m Indy Neidell; this is World War Two.
Last week the Germans launched Operation Typhoon, their new drive on Moscow, which began with
immediate territorial gains.
The Japanese lost at Changsha, the Soviets began to evacuate Odessa, and the Allies met
and decided to send incredible amounts of supplies to the Soviets.
On the 5th German Quartermaster General Edouard Wagner writes of Operation Typhoon, “Our
impression is that the final great collapse is immediately ahead, and that tonight the
Kremlin is packing its bags.”
He writes about Hitler, “This time he is intervening- and one can say decisively- in
the operation, and so far he has been right every time.
The major victory in the south is his work alone.”
(Gilbert)
Another diary, that of Panzer Army Commander Heinz Guderian reports snow on October 6th.
It’s funny, because as John Keegan points out, it’s hard to know just now which would
be better, a long autumn or an early winter.
A long autumn will mean Germany trying to advance through roads turned into swamps by
the rains, which might not be possible, but an early winter- an early Russian winter-
will freeze the roads solid enough, but will bring blizzards and frostbite.
But whatever the weather turns out to be, can the Red Army formations that remain in
Europe hold on?
The losses have been multi-million in three and a half months- over 2 million soldiers
lost as POWs!
And that doesn’t even count the dead and wounded.
The Red Army that remains in European Russia has perhaps under a million men left in 90
divisions, with 770 tanks, and 364 planes (numbers from Keegan).
Hitler has 90 divisions in just AG Center, and that includes 14 panzer divisions and
8 motorized ones.
But the Soviets are not giving up.
As planned, as the Germans advance, Russian peasants set fire to the already-harvested
crops, blow up village buildings, and drive the animals away.
They will leave behind literally nothing but blackened earth for the Germans, and the Red
Army is really starting to fight back.