Sunday 26 October 1941

A soldier with a pack Reindeer, on slippery ice, near the tiny village of Nautsi, in northern Lapland, Finland, on October 26, 1941.

Eastern Front: The weather continues to be terrible all along the central section of the Eastern Front on 26 October 1941. There is still heavy fighting, but the Wehrmacht's vehicles are struggling in the Rasputitsa mud. In addition, the Red Army defenders are fighting ferociously, so the German infantry has trouble advancing without the support of the armor. The Wehrmacht's trucks are virtually immobile, and even the panzers have difficulty because their treads are not as wide as the Soviet tanks' treads. The Germans are hardly on the defensive, but in many areas, they are able to make at most only small advances.

Masha Bruskina, just out of high school in June 1941, with fellow resistance members shortly before hanging. She was a Belarusian Jewish member of the Minsk Resistance. The placard reads "We are the partisans who shot German troops." Bruskina, whose identity was covered up until 2009, is considered a national heroine. There now is a memorial plaque at the spot of her execution. Minsk, October 26, 1941.

One area where the Germans make good progress is on the southern axis of the Operation Typhoon advance on Moscow. There, General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army broke through the Soviet defenses at Mtsensk on the 24th by combing all of the army's panzers into one brigade and smashing through the defenses. Guderian's momentum continues today on the good road running north to Moscow. By the end of 26 October 1941, Guderian's panzers are halfway to Tula. The distance covered is an impressive 70 km advance in only a few days, possible largely because the Soviets have been focused n the western approaches and have not extended the Mozhaysk defensive line this far south. The Stavka now has remedied that oversight with Guderian about 200 km from the center of Moscow, and the panzers are forced to halt due to stiffening Red Army resistance from 50th Army and civilian volunteers. The Kremlin places Tula under a state of siege, which means the NKVD has carte blanche to stiffen the defenders' resolve using any means necessary - and Lavrentiy Beria has a lot of persuasive means at his disposal and an active imagination. By sheer force of will, inventiveness, and the timely concentration of his panzers, Guderian has created a threat to Moscow from the south. This has forced the Soviets to stretch out their defenses - a victory far more important than just the ground his forces have gained.

Major Günther Lützow, acting Kommodore of JG 51, shown with his plane which shows his 100 victories ca. 26 October 1941. Lützow was the second pilot to ever record 100 victories, a feat which he achieved on 24 October 1941.

The other major offensive on the northern portion of the main front is a Wehrmacht thrust toward Tikhvin. Tikhvin itself is not that significant as a city but is important to capture for several reasons. It sits astride the only remaining rail and road routes from Moscow to Leningrad (via Lake Ladoga), so if Tikhvin falls and the Germans can hold it, Leningrad is doomed. Pushing east above Moscow also offers the possibility of a deep encirclement of Moscow, which would doom it. The Germans also could head north from Tikhvin and link up with the Finns on the Svir River. Finally, Hitler himself has picked Tikhvin as the next Army Group North objective over the plans of his generals (who prefer the closer Volkhov), so its capture is a matter of prestige - always a major factor in the Wehrmacht.

Walter 'Gulle' Oesau (colorized). Oesau records his 100th victory on 26 October 1941, the third Luftwaffe pilot (and third pilot ever) to reach the centennial mark.

Given its sudden importance, the Red Army is shifting forces to protect Tikhvin and adjusting the commands in the area. General Fedyuninsky is a protege of Stalin's favorite general, Georgy Zhukov, so he is switched from command of the relatively dormant Leningrad front to command of the 54th Army which is directly defending Tikhvin. The commander of that army, General Mikhail Khozin, replaces Fedyuninsky in Leningrad. While at first glance this appears to be a demotion for Fedyuninsky, he is being moved to a sector in crisis in order to restore the situation. Thus, the transfer is a reflection of the high esteem in which Fedyuninsky is held in the Kremlin. Whether Fedyuninsky has the forces to hold Tikhvin, however, is very much in doubt.

Hauptmann (Captain) Gordon Mac Gollob upon his receipt of the Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub (Knight's cross with oak leaves) on 26 October 1941. Gollob, the Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 3, earned the decoration for his 85th victory.

Far to the south, things are proceeding well for the Wehrmacht. General von Manstein has almost cleared the Perekop Isthmus in the Crimea and is ready to break out toward the key port of Sevastopol. The German Sixth Army continues consolidating its hold on Kharkiv, while General Hoth's Seventeenth Army is eying Rostov-on-Don, the gateway to the Caucasus. The Germans are on the verge of massive success in the Army Group South sector which may finally justify the expansive projections of the spring - but only if the weather and the Red Army cooperate.

Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock awards Lt. Von Riedesel the EK I on 26 October 1941. Von Bock is holding an interim Field Marshal's baton. Even though von Bock has been a Field Marshal for well over a year at this point, the true Field Marshal batons are hand-crafted and take a lengthy amount of time to create. Many other generals were promoted to field marshal at the same time as von Bock, so production lagged behind.

October 1941

October 1, 1941: Germans and Finns Advance in USSR
October 2, 1941: Operation Typhoon Broadens
October 3, 1941: Air Battles Near Moscow
October 4, 1941: Stalin Contemplates Defeat
October 5, 1941: Hoth Goes South
October 6, 1941: First Snowfall After Dark
October 7, 1941: Stalin Gets Religion
October 8, 1941: FDR Promises Stalin Aid 
October 9, 1941: FDR Orders Atomic Bomb Research
October 10, 1941: Reichenau's Severity Order
October 11, 1941: Tank Panic in Moscow
October 12, 1941: Spanish Blue Division at the Front
October 13, 1941: Attack on Moscow
October 14, 1941: Germans Take Kalinin
October 15, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Odessa
October 16, 1941: Romanians Occupy Odessa
October 17, 1941: U-568 Torpedoes USS Kearny
October 18, 1941: Tojo Takes Tokyo
October 19, 1941: Germans Take Mozhaysk
October 20, 1941: Germans Attack Toward Tikhvin
October 21, 1941: Rasputitsa Hits Russia
October 22, 1941: Germans Into Moscow's Second Defensive Line
October 23, 1941: The Odessa Massacre
October 24, 1941: Guderian's Desperate Drive North
October 25, 1941: FDR Warns Hitler About Massacres
October 26, 1941: Guderian Drives Toward Tula
October 27, 1941: Manstein Busts Loose
October 28, 1941: Soviet Executions
October 29, 1941: Guderian Reaches Tula
October 30, 1941: Guderian Stopped at Tula
October 31, 1941: USS Reuben James Sunk
2020

Monday 20 October 1941

German tanks (a Panzer III in the foreground with a Panzer IV behind it, I'm not sure of the third vehicle but perhaps another Panzer III) of the 19th Panzer Division in northern Russia stuck in the mud on or about 20 October 1941. Note that these tanks have not been abandoned, as there is an officer poking his head out of the turret of the Panzer III.

Eastern Front: With most of the world's attention focused on the defense of Moscow on 20 October 1941, the Germans remind everyone that they are a threat all along the Eastern Front by launching a surprise attack east from the vicinity of Leningrad. Despite having lost his armored formations to Army Group Center for Operation Typhoon, the attack on Moscow, Army Group North commander Ritter von Leeb has been working on this attack for weeks. The main objective is the town of Tikhvin, a key Soviet road and rail junction.

At the end of a minesweeping patrol in the Clyde, sailors haul in the "sweep," 20 October 1941 (© IWM (A6186)).

This attack was originally planned to begin on 6 October but was called off pending the arrival of fresh divisions. While von Leeb wanted to attack in the direction of Volkhov, Hitler ordered him to aim his offensive a little further south, from the vicinity of Chudovo toward Tikhvin. Once that city was taken, von Leeb could turn north along the railroad tracks and take Volkhov. Thus, it was a slightly more ambitious plan than von Leeb had in mind.

"Men hauling in the "sweep" at the end of a patrol." This photo was taken during a minesweeping patrol in the Clyde operating out of Greenock, 20 October 1941. © IWM (A 6187).

Field Marshal von Leeb has General Rudolf Schmidt’s 39th Army Corps (motorized), composed of 8th and 12th Panzer and 18th and 20th Motorized, attack toward Tikhvin. They are supported by the I Army Corps (11th, 21st, 126th, and 254th Infantry Divisions under the command of General Hans-Kuno von Both). They are opposed by Leningrad Front, commanded by Soviet Col. Gen. Ivan Ivanovich Fedyuninsky. Fedyuninsky is a protege of Stalin's favorite general, Georgy Zhukov, and leads 70,000 troops supported by 97 tanks.

A photo that was taken during a minesweeping operation out of Greenock in the Clyde on 20 October 1941 (© IWM (A 6008)).

Tikhvin in 1941 is an unprepossessing town but a vital Soviet road and rail connection between Moscow and the shores of Lake Ladoga. The supplies sent through Tikhvin (and thence through Volkhov) are ferried across Lake Ladoga and are absolutely critical to sustaining it. Tikhvin is part of the "Road of Life" during World War II due to its peculiar importance to Leningrad's survival and also a status as an escape route for starving Leningrad inhabitants. Thus, Tikhvin is the key to Leningrad, and thus the Soviets are forced to defend it. If the Germans can take Tikhvin, they can starve Leningrad into submission.

Japanese battleship Yamato during its sea trials near Bungo Strait, 20 October 1941. It is the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleship in the world, displacing 72,000 tons at full load. Those are nine 46 cm (18.1-inch) main guns. The wreck of Yamato in the East China Sea was not discovered until 1982. There has been some discussion in Japan about raising the wreck (Yamato Museum in Kure).

Field Marshal von Leeb's attack begins in the early hours of 16 October. It is preceded by a brief artillery barrage and achieves complete surprise, as the Soviets are focused on Leningrad and Moscow, not the area in between. The order “Kompanie vorwarts" ("Troops forward!") is issued, and the main German assault led by General von Both's infantry hits between Gruzino and Kirishi. General Otto Sponheimer’s 21st Infantry Division quickly crosses the 300-meter wide Volkhov River at Gruzino, and by the end of the day is entirely on the east bank. At Kirishi, General Herbert von Böckmann’s 11th Infantry Division also gets across the Volkhov River without any problems. It is a smashing success and the leaders at both German bridgeheads plan to expand their firm grips on the east bank on the 17th.

German soldiers leading Serbian civilians out of the town of Kragujevac, Serbia on 20 October 1941. The roughly 2300 Serbian men were executed in a reprisal action. The people shot include about 300 boys taken from the First Boys High School, along with their 18 teachers. All were shot on the outskirts of town. In such actions, the Germans typically do not tell the victims what is in store for them, and they may have thought they were simply being deported.

Partisans: German occupation troops in Kragujevac, Serbia commit an atrocity against local civilians. They round up about 2300 men and boys and execute them on the outskirts of town. The Wehrmacht later issues the following statement:

The cowardly and treacherous surprise attacks on German soldiers during the previous week, on which occasion 10 German soldiers were killed and 26 wounded, had to be punished. For that reason, 100 people were shot for each killed German soldier, and for each wounded 50, mainly communists, bandits, and their siders, 2300 altogether. Every similar case, even if it only sabotage, will be dealt with the same severity. 

Chief of Local Command

This massacre is intended as a warning to other partisans in Serbia, of which there are many. There are many other such atrocities in the area during World War II, as the Serbians are hostile to German rule.

A rainy day in Amsterdam, New York (northwest of Albany), 20 October 1941 (photo by John Collier).

October 1941

October 1, 1941: Germans and Finns Advance in USSR
October 2, 1941: Operation Typhoon Broadens
October 3, 1941: Air Battles Near Moscow
October 4, 1941: Stalin Contemplates Defeat
October 5, 1941: Hoth Goes South
October 6, 1941: First Snowfall After Dark
October 7, 1941: Stalin Gets Religion
October 8, 1941: FDR Promises Stalin Aid 
October 9, 1941: FDR Orders Atomic Bomb Research
October 10, 1941: Reichenau's Severity Order
October 11, 1941: Tank Panic in Moscow
October 12, 1941: Spanish Blue Division at the Front
October 13, 1941: Attack on Moscow
October 14, 1941: Germans Take Kalinin
October 15, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Odessa
October 16, 1941: Romanians Occupy Odessa
October 17, 1941: U-568 Torpedoes USS Kearny
October 18, 1941: Tojo Takes Tokyo
October 19, 1941: Germans Take Mozhaysk
October 20, 1941: Germans Attack Toward Tikhvin
October 21, 1941: Rasputitsa Hits Russia
October 22, 1941: Germans Into Moscow's Second Defensive Line
October 23, 1941: The Odessa Massacre
October 24, 1941: Guderian's Desperate Drive North
October 25, 1941: FDR Warns Hitler About Massacres
October 26, 1941: Guderian Drives Toward Tula
October 27, 1941: Manstein Busts Loose
October 28, 1941: Soviet Executions
October 29, 1941: Guderian Reaches Tula
October 30, 1941: Guderian Stopped at Tula
October 31, 1941: USS Reuben James Sunk

2020

Saturday 13 September 1941

Georgy Zhukov.

Eastern Front: Throughout World War II, the Germans learn certain "tells" about Soviet intentions. For instance, when Soviet units suddenly stop using their radios and "go dark" in a certain sector, that invariably means they are about to launch an offensive there. Every army has such tendencies, though some are more subtle than others.

The presence of General (later Marshal) Georgy Zhukov in a sector was such a "tell." Zhukov was a close Stalin confidante and the hero of, among other things, the victory over the Japanese at Khalkin Gol in Manchukuo/Mongolia in August 1939. Whether or not Zhukov was a military genius, which he apparently was, he had Stalin's absolute backing and could count on whatever resources he required to achieve his ends. For the Germans, it was an ominous indication that the Soviets placed great importance on whatever was planned for that area.

U.S. Navy Douglas TBD-1 Devastator aircraft of Torpedo Squadron 5 (VT-5) parked at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia (USA), on 13 September 1941. Beyond them are Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless planes of Bombing Squadron 5 (VB-5), with Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters and Vought SB2U Vindicator scout bombers further in the left background. These aircraft are from USS Yorktown (CV-5) (Official U.S. Navy photo 80-CF-55215-7 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command, US National Archives).

On 13 September 1941, Zhukhov flies into besieged Leningrad along with Major-Generals Ivan Ivanovich Fediuninsky and Mikhail Semenovich Khozin. As soon as he steps off the plane, Zhukov walks over to Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, himself one of the top Soviet commanders, and hands him a note from Stalin. It names Zhukov as Voroshilov's replacement:

Hand over the Front to him and come back by the same plane. Stalin.

And that was it. Zhukov was in command at Leningrad.

For the garrison of Leningrad, Zhukov arrives like the first icy winds of winter. He institutes the death penalty for dereliction of duty, orders immediate costly but effective counterattacks, and brings the scattered military and civilian forces available for the defense under a tight grip.

Zhukov sends General Fedyuninsky to the headquarters of the 42nd Army. Fedyuninsky finds General Ivanov, commander of the army, "sitting with his head in his hands, unable to even point out the location of his troops." Fedyuninsky reports this to Zhukov, who replies, "Take over the 42nd Army - and quick."

A German diver getting into the water to clear water from the harbor at Reval (Tallinn), the capital of Estonia (Dumm, Federal Archives Bild 146-2004-225).

Meanwhile, the Germans are still pressing in on Leningrad. Army Group North commander Field Marshal von Leeb is under orders to sends his panzer divisions south for the attack on Moscow, but he uses them today to tighten the grip on Leningrad. General George-Hans Reinhardt’s XLI corps (1st and 6th Panzer and 36th Motorized Divisions) and General Wilhelm von Chappius' 38th Army Corps (1st, 58th, 254th, and 291st Infantry Divisions) break through the Soviet line north of Krasnoe Sela. L Army Corps takes Krasnogvardiesk in conjunction with Reinhardt's troops.

While von Leeb does advance a bit closer to Leningrad, this does not really accomplish much. He has been ordered to blockade the city, not take it, and he already has done that. Von Leeb already is under orders to relinquish the panzers and send them south for the drive on Moscow. Small gains on the city's outskirts mean little. Using the armor in fierce attacks causes losses and wear and tear, and the panzers are already in bad shape after having had little downtime since Operation Barbarossa began on 22 June 1941. Thus, for no real benefit, von Leeb impairs the effectiveness of armor that might make a difference in the advance planned toward Moscow. This is typical behavior for the German generals, who tend to focus on their own army's affairs at the expense of the greater good of the German war effort.

Battle of the Baltic: Finnish capital ship Ilmarinen, participating in Operation Nordwind, hits a mine and sinks. There are 271 casualties or 7% of the entire Finnish naval arm. It is the costliest loss in the history of the Finnish Navy.

German Military: Luftwaffe ace Werner Mölders marries Luise Baldauf.

The wedding ceremony of Werner Mölders and Luise Baldauf. This is her second marriage, and she will give birth to their daughter Verena following his death in November. Luise passed away on 21 April 2011.

September 1, 1941: Two Years In
September 2, 1941: Germans Pushed Back at Yelnya
September 3, 1941: FDR Refuses to Meet with Japanese
September 4, 1941: Hitler Furious at Guderian
September 5, 1941: Germans Evacuate Yelnya
September 6, 1941: Japan Prepares for War
September 7, 1941: Hitler Orders Drive on Moscow
September 8, 1941: Leningrad Cut Off
September 9, 1941: Germans Attack Leningrad
September 10, 1941: Guderian Busts Loose
September 11, 1941: Convoy SC-42 Destruction
September 12, 1941: Starve Leningrad!
September 13, 1941: Zhukov at Leningrad
September 14, 1941: Germany's Growing Casualties
September 15, 1941: Sorge Warns Stalin Again
September 16, 1941: Soviets Encircled at Kiev
September 17, 1941: Iran Conquest Completed
September 18, 1941: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in Action
September 19, 1941: Germans Take Kiev
September 20, 1941: Death at Kiev
September 21, 1941: Raging Soviet Paranoia
September 22, 1941: Defense of Nickel Mines
September 23, 1941: Air Attacks on Leningrad
September 24, 1941: Japanese Spying Intensifies
September 25, 1941: Manstein at the Crimea
September 26, 1941: Kiev Pocket Eliminated
September 27, 1941: Massacre at Eišiškės
September 28, 1941: Ted Williams Hits .400
September 29, 1941: Babi Yar Massacre
September 30, 1941: Operation Typhoon Begins

2020