December 1941

Eastern Front

Solnechnogorsk falls to the 20th Army and Istra to the 16th Army. The retreating Germans blow the Istra Dam, flooding large areas and stopping the 16th Army dead. The 5th Army launches new attacks toward Ruza and Kolyubakovo, aimed at supporting the advance of the 16th Army.

The 50th Army renews its attacks south of Shchekino near Tula but with little success. Group Belov, operating in advance of the 10th Army, slices through the 2nd Panzer Army and advances south of Venev, entering Novomosskovsk. Stalinogorsk is also brought under heavy fire and falls later in the day. Zhukov orders Belov to swing southwest to pin down the 2nd Panzer Army in conjunction with the 50th Army. Belov is to puch south from Tula, while the 50th Army advances toward Plavsk. The 10th Army is alos to regroup to effect a wider encirclement at Plavsk.

Guderian is worried by the widening gap between the 2nd Panzer and 2nd Armies, realizing that if it is not closed there is the real danger that the Soviets will push forces through and effect a junction with those attacking north of Moscow, isolating Army Group Center.

The German 6th, 17th and 1st Panzer Armies fight bitter defensive battles to prevent the penetration of the Southwest Front into the Donvas and eastern Ukraine. The main weight of the Soviet attack fall upon the 1st Panzer Army on the line of the Mius but pressure is building up to the north as Timoshenko prepares to cross the Donets in force.

Hitler declares war upon America. For a nation already deeply committed to the war in Russia, this decision defies logic. Hitler voluntarily places Germany in a position of total disadvantage. With American resources at the disposal of the British, the future for Germany in the long term looks bleak. Had Hitler not declared war, it is likely that the United States will still not have entered the conflict in Europe, American opinion against any involvement in the war in Europe being divided.