October 1942

Eastern Front

The Red Army deploys 6,124,000 men with 77,000 artillery pieces and mortars, nearly 7,000 tanks and over 3,200 aircraft between 391 divisions, 247 rifle, tank and mechanized brigades, 15 tank and mechanized corps. The Stavka reserve has grown to 25 divisions, 7 rifle and tank brigades and 13 mechanized and tank corps.

During October the Stavka reinforced the Stalingrad axis with 10 rifle divisions, 6 rifle brigades, 3 tank, 1 mechanized and 2 cavalry corps, 1 tank and 20 artillery regiments.

Soviet forces are deployed along two main axes, the central, Smolensk axis and the southern Stalingrad axis. In the center, Soviet forces with the Kalinin and West Fronts and the Moscow Defense zone, number 1,900,000 men, 24,000 artillery pieces, 3,300 tanks and 1,100 aircraft, while on the Stalingrad axis the Don, Southwest and Stalingrad Fronts comprise 1,000,000 men, 15,000 artillery pieces, 1,400 tanks and 900 aircraft. This divers concentration clearly demonstrates that, despite the ferocity of the fighting in the south, the Soviet High Command still sees the central axis as their mani theater of operations.

The Germans activate 4 Luftwaffe field divisions during October. While the Luftwaffe divisions are numerically strong, they lack the training and combat experience and fare badly in action. At the end of the month the Germans deploy 20 panzer, 15 panzer-grenadier and 139 infantry divisions, the 3rd Motorized Division leaving the east. The Ostheer is short of 800,000 men. It loses a further 25,000 killed during October.

Allied strength on the eastern front stands at 27 Rumanian divisions, 12 Hungarian, 10 Italian divisions and 3 brigades, 1 Slovak, 1 Spanish and 16 Finnish divisions.