Zhukov Strikes Back: How the Red Army Finally Halted Hitler's 1941 Invasion
Hitler's 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union nearly succeeded until a counterattack, combined with a brutal winter led to ultimate victory for the USSR.
Here's What You Need to Know: The Soviets would push the Germans back, but they were far from destroyed.
Smolensk Russia, Headquarters, German Army Group Center (AGC), December 3, 1941; Army Group commander, 61-year-old Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock is a troubled man.
The day before, he had told his field army commanders who were attacking Moscow that the enemy was close to breaking. Today he wasn’t so sure. Today the Army Group’s 4th Army, directly west of Moscow, had gone over to the defensive. The army commander, 59-year-old Generalfeldmarschall Günther von Kluge, halted the attack because his troops were simply exhausted and could go no farther.