Although there was a steady stream of troops and strategic materials from the rear of the Soviet Union to Moscow, under the backward conditions of the time, even if they were transported day and night, the amount of replenishment in the short term was limited. ／／

You can imagine that with the combat effectiveness of the German army, and with an overwhelming advantage, if there was no weather, would it not be able to take Moscow? Taking a step back, even if Moscow cannot be taken for the time being, it is impossible for the Soviet army to counterattack and turn the situation around, at most it is in a stalemate like Leningrad.

It is safe to say that if there were another three weeks of dry, mild and sunny weather, the Germans would have invaded Moscow.

In fact, in early June, the weather suddenly changed, and the first snow fell in Moscow, almost a month earlier than usual, and it was very important to note that this month earlier had a very big impact on the German army, because the German army was unprepared. In mid-to-late June, there was a continuous autumn rain, and the rain weaved together, making the roads muddy.

The sudden turn for the worse weakened the German onslaught, which was halted by rain, snow and mud in the second and third weeks of July.

By the end of July, due to bad weather, the supply of supplies to the German army in the Typhoon campaign was interrupted, and Army Group South was at a standstill. Of the 500,000 trucks, 30 percent are too damaged beyond repair, another 40 percent are in need of major or complete overhauls, and only 30 percent are still in service. The central cluster needed at least 31 trains a day to deliver supplies to stay afloat, but only 16 trains were actually provided.

The German tanks could not start at all in the bitter cold, and had to use pickaxes to cut through the frozen ground around the vehicles and artillery bit by bit. Many vehicles and artillery pieces were damaged and unusable when trying to haul them out of the frozen ground. If you don't wear a cold cover, the vehicle's engine will freeze during driving.

When trucks and tanks stop halfway, they must be baked by a fire under the engine to prevent freezing. The liquid in the artillery garrison and auxiliary aircraft was solidified. For the same reason, machine guns and automatic rifles could not be used. The only thing that can be used is mortars.

The lenses of the optical sight and telescope appeared blurry and lost their effectiveness. Tracked vehicles without skid will slip on the ice and will not be able to move forward. German tanks had narrow tracks and poor tactical mobility when driving in soft snow. Due to poor diet, consumption of cold food, some people vomit after meals, and some people get stomach problems.

The troops were not provided with camouflage overalls and winter clothing. There were many troops who did not even have underwear and sturdy boots. Soldiers should travel in groups of at least two people so that they can observe each other for signs of frostbite. When the wounded fall, they die. It wasn't due to serious injuries. Rather, it is caused by blood loss, shock and frostbite.

Despite this, the Germans launched a stubborn attack, but due to the weather, they had little success.

On June 5th. A reconnaissance battalion of a German infantry division broke through to Khimki on the outskirts of Moscow. The top of the Kremlin can already be seen through telescopes. But the next day it was repulsed by the reinforcing Soviet troops. This was the closest the Germans had ever reached Moscow, and it was their first and last sight of the Kremlin.

When the temperature dropped to minus 20 degrees during the day, most of the German soldiers had not yet received winter clothing. When the cold weather arrived, the troops were still wearing summer clothes. Only one-tenth of the winter clothes were issued to the division. Hitler wanted to end the war with a single campaign, and then leave only 60 divisions, and the rest of the troops were all withdrawn to Germany. Therefore, he did not think it was necessary to distribute winter clothes 100 percent, and he even forbade to raise the issue of the general distribution of winter clothes, so as not to cause unease among the troops. At night, the temperature dropped to minus 30 degrees Celsius, and all the soldiers had to go back indoors for an hour after spending one hour outside to warm up their bodies and restore blood circulation.

Tens of thousands of German officers and soldiers were crippled by frost, and it was difficult for those who did not suffer severe frostbite to maintain any combat effectiveness. In the absence of supplies, horses were slaughtered in large numbers to feed their hunger, a direct consequence of which was that the lack of horses made it impossible to pull away all the artillery that required 14 horses to pull. They noted that the Soviet army towed artillery with tractors and, even though it lost most of its field artillery at the beginning of the war, still preserved a large number of medium and heavy artillery, and therefore significantly better equipped than itself.

By 8 June 1941, the 74 divisions of the German Central Cluster had lost their offensive capability due to bad weather and were forced to turn into a frontal defense with a width of more than 700 kilometers south of Kalinin, Kryukovo, and Tula to Yelets, and the troops were either exhausted or unable to move at all.

It is true that the Soviets encountered the same problems as the Germans in their movements, but the German Army Group Center was fighting on the other end of a thousand-mile-long line of communication, and the Soviets were barely forty miles from their main bases. Any condition that hinders movement is bound to benefit the defender.

For the Soviet army, the early and cold winter will not affect them too much. Because they had sufficient clothing and food, and the Soviet tanks, in the weather of minus 30 or 40 degrees, drove away.

Most importantly, the Soviet army was given extremely valuable respite due to the cessation of the German offensive. By the end of July, the Soviet High Command considered the situation to have stabilized and began to transfer back some units as reserves, so that they could rest and receive further training. The Soviets began to make great efforts to compensate for the heavy losses suffered in Vyazma and Bryansk in the first two weeks of July and to prepare for the next German offensive.

According to Soviet historical records, a large number of military vehicles departed from Tomsk, Omsk, Sverdlovsk, and Kuibyshev, traveling 500 to 600 miles a day, without changing the nose and crew on the way. In June and July, the Soviet High Command made a great deal of logistical preparations for the defense of Moscow, organizing a large number of carry-on companies, animal-powered carriers and sleds, because horses were far superior to wheeled motor vehicles in mud or soft snow. However, as a result of a good estimate of the difficulties caused by the inadequacy of transport and poor weather and terrain conditions, the forward troops were stockpiled with seven days' rations, six bases of fuel and three bases of ammunition.

And since June, a large number of aid supplies from Britain and the United States have also been sent to Moscow. The weather has tilted the scales of victory in favor of the USSR.

Up to this time, the reason why Germany had been able to achieve such brilliant results in the battles against the Poles, the French, the British, and the Soviet Army was entirely due to the fact that the German army had achieved great superiority in mobility and firepower through the concentrated use of tanks and tactical air force, and because of its good means of communication and bold command. Once mobility is lost, firepower is also lost, and the German tactical thinking of blitzkrieg is ineffective.

…… (To be continued.) )

PS: Acknowledgement:

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