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Soviet Counteroffensive:
December 6, 1941 - April 30, 1942
As the German drive to capture Moscow faltered, the Soviets launched a
devastating counteroffensive that created a crisis in the German
military command.
The depleted German armed forces were ordered by Hitler to hold at all costs
and they attempted to do so. Soviet military operations expanded in scope as the
counteroffensive progressed. |
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Winter 1941-42 on the Eastern Front
After the German offensive toward Moscow was called off on December 5, 1941 the Soviets launch a counteroffensive that recovered substantial territory by the end of April 1942. Soviet forces, however, did
not achieve their strategic objectives and were relatively depleted by that time. German strength, meanwhile, was growing as was their confidence. |
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Operation Blue
The German losses sustained in the first year of warfare led to a less ambitious series of objectives being specified for the second summer campaign. Hitler's focus was on gaining
control of the resources in the Caucasus. After the campaign was underway,
the city of Stalingrad on the Volga became another objective. The extended left flank was eventually defended by relatively weak German allied
armed forces from Rumania, Hungary and Italy. |
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Approach to Stalingrad
By mid-August 1942, German armored forces were pressing the Soviet armies
defending the front before Stalingrad into the city itself. Panzers attached to 6th Army pushed east in
conjunction with 4th Panzer Army striking northward. |
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Battle of Stalingrad
As German armed forces pressed forward into the city of Stalingrad during September, they encountered increasingly effective resistance from the defending Soviet troops. Within Stalingrad, various complexes became battlegrounds. |
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Operation
Uranus:
November 19, 1942 - February 6, 1943
As the German 6th Army continued its battle of attrition to capture
Stalingrad, the Soviet military command prepared to launch a counteroffensive (Operation
Uranus) that aimed to encircle the German army fighting in
Stalingrad and bring about the collapse of southern wing of the German
front. |
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