MOSCOW
December 4th, 1941

As luck would have it, the winter of 1941 was one of the worst this century while, in contrast, the winters of both
1940 and 1942 were very mild. Germany was ill-prepared for the onset of poor weather, in fact the decision to equip
army troops with winter clothing was not made until August. Nor was any provision made for the supply of mobile forces in bad weather. Only tracked vehicles were capable of hauling supplies through the quagmires which had once been Russian roads. There were precious few of these and in consequence the armoured formations which had performed so well in good weather were reduced to shadowy remnants of their former selves.
There were other difficulties confronting the German drive on Moscow. Chief among them were the time lost when large parts of Army Group Centre were sent south to assist in the capture of Kiev and the hesitation resulting from Hitler's indecision about the next major objective. By the time Moscow was finally settled on, and the mobile elements of Army Group Centre recalled, October had rolled around and the heavy rains had begun.
Operation 'Typhoon' was the name given to the German assault on Moscow. Throughout October and November, German forces ground their way ever closer to the Soviet capital, meeting ever stiffer resistance. By the end of November, the German advance had been halted, as much from exhaustion, lack of supplies and the bitter cold as from the Soviet defence. The Russian High Command (commonly referred to as STAVKA) had been carefully biding its time, building up a fresh reserve of experienced troops, many of them from Far Eastern stations. A counter-offensive was planned. General Vlasov's 20 Army would lead the way! Three divisions from General Hoepner's 4th Panzer Armee defended the section of front to be attacked by the first wave of Vlasov's 20 Army.
After 4 days of continuous fighting, the German line still held. The cost to both sides was tremendous. Just days later, a second wave, as well as pressure on other sections of the front, forced the Germans to withdraw. Moscow was safe... and never seriously threatened again.