(For the Motherland)
The last two weeks of October saw the clear weather finally break. Both armies faced the problems brought by the sustained autumn rains and effectively all major combat operations ceased. However, the Axis armies seemed to suffer more, losing 120 AFVs, 33 aircraft and 49,000 men compared to Soviet losses of only a few tanks, 150 aircraft and 51,000 men.
The partisan war continued with a major strike against the German rail lines supply AGN
In the air, the Soviets took the opportunity to rest and refit key squadrons and to avoid attritional combat with the Luftwaffe [1].
On both land and in the air, Soviet planning was trying to balance two needs. First, it was assumed the Germans would make one last attempt to capture Moscow before winter set in. Second, there was a need to build up the capacity for a sustained Soviet offensive. At the least this had to relieve the pressure at Moscow and retake some of the major cities of the eastern Ukraine.
However, in the midst of these complex demands on the Stavka's staff, Stalin got drunk one night [2]
The challenge was not just the operational deployment of the Red Army. Behind the lines, Soviet industry was operating at reduced capacity and failing to meet the demands of rebuilding the Red Army.
In particular, armaments were in short supply. The lull in fighting had allowed a number of divisions to be pulled out the line to rest and reinforce, but the lack of artillery was a major problem. Few rifle divisions had more than 100 guns and Army level assets were equally diminished.
Despite the need to hold the current frontline, Stavka was slowly creating a reserve. The elite Siberian divisions were mostly pulled into reserve to form the core of the planned counter-offensive.
Elsewhere, the mobile formations were pulled into reserve and reallocated. Bryansk Front in particular gained 50 Army from the N Caucasus and 34 Army from Western Front. This gave it 3 armies largely consisting of cavalry and tank units (34, 43 and 50A). Around Voronezh a second mobile group was being gathered consisting of 6A (SW Front) and 51A (Southern Front). Equally, reinforcements were being allocated to SW Front in order to protect Voronezh and create the capacity for a later counteroffensive.
In part due to the rains, but also the depth of Soviet defences around Moscow, October had seen little movement in the front lines. In effect, the long front split into two sections.
In front of Moscow, Kalinin Front had yielded only 20 kms and its formations, together with the Moscow District had dug multiple defences guarding the city. To the north, NW Front had held the line of the Tveritsa and 55 Army had regained the west bank of the Moskva-Volga canal. Critically here, the bulk of the German armoured and motorised formations were locked into the front lines.
To the south of Moscow, Western Front had managed to regain some ground west of Tula and was well dug in along the Oka. To its immediate south, Leningrad and parts of Bryansk Front held the southerly approach to Tula. Here the German armour was in reserve and it was assumed they would strike at Tula-Kaluga. Here Soviet defensive tactics had shifted, the front lines were only lightly held but a strong secondary line had been set up some 15-20 kms to the rear. The primary goal was to avoid losing any more formations in encirclements.
The three Ukrainian Fronts were also organised to minimise the risk of encirclement while seeking to prevent any German attempts to cross the Don.
[1] – all the high morale, Yak 1, Pe 2, Il 2 squadron are resting. Around Moscow, there are a lot of Migs and Laggs, with the bulk of the VVS now in the south (hoping to catch the Luftwaffe off guard)
[2] Later scrutiny of the Central Committee records indicated that at much the same time as he had this cartoon drawn, him,
Voroshilov and Molotov found the key to the special Vodka stocks being kept for the triumpal entry of the Red Army into Berlin.
The text reads 'long live the gunners of the Red Army'. The myth of Stalin being at the front was a regular feature of Soviet propaganda and works on the Great Patriotic War in the period 1945-53.
