October 1941

Eastern Front

At 0530 hours Army Group Center begins its offensive toward Moscow. Intense artillery fire and aerial attacks smash into the Soviet lines as the 4th and 9th Armies, with the 3rd and 4th Panzer Groups and the VIII Air Corps in support, attack the northern wing and center of the West Front. Furious battles erupt as the 30th and 19th Armies are shattered, their flanks cave in and are forces apart by the 9th Army and the 3rd Panzer Group. The LVI Panzer Corps pushes elements toward Vyazma and Kholm, while the XLI Panzer Corps advances upon Rzhev. After only a few hours, a 20-mile hole has been torn open between the 30th and 19th Armies. The Germans have massed a force of 12 divisions and more than 400 tanks agaisnt 4 Soviet divisions at the junction of the two armies. The 12 divisions of the 4th Army attack around Roslavl, hitting the 43rd Army whle the 4th Panzer Group smashes the junction of the 43rd and 24th Armies. By the end of the day, the 4th Army has advanced 24 miles and has struck the second echelon of the 33rd Army. Konev vainly attempts to counterattack, mounting artillery strikes and ground attacks.

To the south, the 2nd Panzer Group and the 2nd Army continue to attack the flanks of the Bryansk Front. Guderian forces the 13th Army away to the northeast, breaking the junction of the Bryansk and Southwest Fronts. The deterioration of their positions prompts Stalin to order Eremenko to restore his lines, the 49th Army being allocated as reinforcement around Bryansk. Eremenko suggests to Shaposhnikov that he adopt a flexible defense but he flatly refuses. Lelyushenko's I Guards Rifle Corps continues its march, being ordered to destroy the German forces on the road from Glukhov and Sevsk. The V Parachute Corps is also sent to support it.

The 17th and 6th Armies attack the northern wing of the Southwest Front, while Kleist's group plunges deep into the rear of the South Front. The 11th Army pushes the XXX Corps along the Azov coast, herding the South Front into the developing trap.

With the German offensive before Moscow clearly identified, the Stavka suspends all offensive action, only limited local attacks being continued. In the center, what reserves available are scraped together into a mobile group under the command of Gen Boldin.