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.
Rafer Johnson, once the “World’s Greatest Athlete,” dies at age 86
Rafer Johnson, the winner of the 1960 Olympic decathlon gold medal, died on December 2, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Johnson was the African-American son of Texas farmworkers who rose to become the “World’s Greatest Athlete,” the unofficial title bestowed on the winner of the Olympic decathlon at a time when track and field stars received the adulation that today is bestowed on the professional football and basketball superstars.
Johnson embracing C. K. Yang at the conclusion of the decathlon in the Rome Olympics in 1960
The decathlon is a grueling two-day, 10-event sport that tests versatility, strength, speed and endurance that includes sprints, high hurdles, pole-vaulting, the high jump and broad jump, the javelin and discus throws, and the 1,500-meter run.