October 1941

Eastern Front

After continued heavy fighting, the 1,500 surviving Soviet soldiers on Saaremaa fall back to Hiiumaa Island.

Fierce fighting rages across the Moscow axis as the Germans deepen their pincer attacks around the West and Bryansk Fronts. The 4th Panzer Group captures Yukhnow and Mosalsk and the 4th Army takes Sukhinichi as the 43rd Army retreats. Koniev orders Boldin to block the German advance upon Vyazma from the north, while the 16th Army is to do so from the south. The 16th Army is to hand over its existing sector to the 20th Army and redeploy into the Vyazma sector by October 6.

The XXIV Panzer Corps moves upon Tula. However, the advance is hindered by an alarming lack of fuel, movement being stalled as the lead tanks run out of gasoline. The XLVIII Panzer Corps is in action on the southern wing, taking Rylsk while the XLVII captures Karachev.

With the front collapsing, Stavka orders the West, Reserve and Bryansk Fronts to begin withdrawing during the night. At 2300 hours the 31st and 32nd Armies are transferred to the West Front command. Stalin hastily summons an emergency session of the Stavka when news is received of strong German armored columns pushing from Yukhnow and decides upon the Mozhaisk line as the rallying point for the broken West Front. Koniev is ordered to fall back upon the Rzhev-Vyazma line and Budenny to a line Vedreniki-Mosalsk.

With his armies falling apart before the German attacks, Tyulenev is dismissed from command of the South Front, Cherevichenko being appointed in his place. Under his command are the 12th, 18th, 19th and 9th Armies. Cherevichenko orders his armies to block the German advance along the Azov coast by standing on a line Bolshoi Tokmak-Melitopol-Lake Molochnoe but this condemns them to encirclement as Kleist continues to advance largely unopposed toward the Azov coast.

Stuplnagel, commanding the German 17th Army, reports sick. On October 8 Gen Hoth will take over command of the 17th Army, and Reinhardt, commanding the XLI Panzer Corps, take over the 3rd Panzer Group.