March 1942

Eastern Front

The Soviets punch a corridor through to the 2nd Shock Army but can not free the starving army. Farther south, the fighting on the road to Demyansk continues as the Germans slowly progress toward the II and X Corps.

During March the Ostheer commits 2 panzer and 4 infantry divisions to the front, bringing its field strength to 21 panzer, 15 motorized and 127 infantry divisions. Since June 1941 the Panzerwaffe in the East has lost 3,486 tanks but has replaced just 873. The German tank strength stands at 1,503 vehicles.

During March the Ostheer loses 44,000 men killed.

The Red Army and Navy lose 675,315 killed and missing in action and 1,179,457 wounded during the first quarter of 1942. Soviet tank strength stands at 4,690 vehicles.

Soviet command raises the ADD (Long-Range Aviation). This is the bomber arm of the Soviet air force and is independent of the combat fronts. It is commanded by Golovanov.

In the north, the Volkhov Front is downgraded to an Operational Group under command of Khozin's Leningrad Front. Meretskov is given command of the 33rd Army and is made deputy commander of the West Front.

The fighting in the east between January and March 1942 witnesses a remarkable turn around in the fortunes of the two combatants. It is apparent that the Stalin offensive has failed to bring about the destruction of the German forces in the east. The dispersal of the Soviet strength from the center dilutes the weight of the blow, which could have resulted in the destruction of Army Group Center. Combined with this, since the frontwide offensive began, the Red Army loses in excess of 330,000 killed, 1,000 tanks and 1,000 artillery pieces destroyed and more importantly, the chance to destroy Army Group Center.

Since the Soviet counteroffensive before Moscow had begun, the Germans have lost 900,000 men, including 110,000 killed and missing and 268,000 wounded but in return have received only 450,000 reinforcements.

As spring took its grip on Russia, the opposing armies took the opportunity to reflect and rebuild. The Ostheer, so sure of victory in 1941, had entered 1942 on the back foot, fighting for its very survival in the face of fanatical Soviet attacks. The Red Army meanwhile had begun the long road towards victory. Stalin and the Higher Command were in the very early stages of mastery of the operational art, while the lower units remained unsophisticated. In contrast the German army operated with spirit and élan at its base but was uncoordinated at its head, led by a dictator who increasingly ignored the ability of his commanders. Such trends were to develop on both sides of the combat line as the year and the war progressed, each dictator still tasting defeat and victory in equal measure in the immediate future.