Tracing the history of the world with Andrey Sidorchik
In the fall of 1941, the leadership of the USSR was in a state of panic, alternating mass executions with caviar feasts, chaos reigned in Moscow, and the failure of the Wehrmacht was explained only by weather conditions. This is what the Western media write in the documents for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Moscow.
& # 39; Some horses died from sinking too deep into the & nbsp; mud & raquo;
The influential German Die Welt & nbsp; published a whole series of documents devoted to the events of 1941. How exactly the authors view this historic moment is clear from the headlines. An article by Sven Kellerhoff titled “78 Wehrmacht Divisions Supposed To Take Moscow, But They Were Prevented By Mudslides”. Florian Stark & # 39; s material has an equally flashy title: & nbsp; & quot; As Hitler's tanks rushed towards Moscow, Stalin was throwing feasts. & Quot ;.
Mr Kellerhoff at the start of the article, I must pay tribute to him, admits that the first months of the war cost Nazi Germany dearly: “ The German ground forces lost half a million killed and & nbsp; seriously injured, and & nbsp; that's one in three soldiers. & # 39; & # 39; The Germans also suffered heavy losses in material.
The historian goes on to describe Operation Typhoon. & mdash; & nbsp; a large-scale attack on the capital, as a result of which in the “ boilers '' over 680,000 Red Army soldiers were found near Viazma and Bryansk. What prevented, according to the author, from seizing Moscow?
“ Everything has changed in & nbsp; in the blink of an eye: the autumn rains have started, & mdash; & nbsp; says Mr. Kellerhoff. & nbsp; & mdash; & nbsp; And on the & nbsp; roads, along which the tanks were supposed to rush towards & nbsp; Moscow, there was no hard surface. Some horses have died from sinking too deep into the mud and hell. The change of weather allowed the Soviet troops to bring the location of their units in line with the now obvious objective of the Wehrmacht.
A problem for both sides
Not a word on the fierce resistance of the Soviet units surrounded by & mdash; & nbsp ;. There is not a word about the feat of the Podolsk cadets, who held back the enemy tanks, which were rushing towards Moscow. And in general, Mr. Kellerhoff does not mention the actions of the Red Army at this critical time.
Indeed, heavy rains, which fell for several days near Moscow in October 1941, deprived the troops of the possibility of moving quickly. But the Soviet command, which urgently needed to fill the gaps in the defense, faced the same problem, nothing less. And then it turned out that Soviet transport workers and logisticians could work in such conditions better than their German “colleagues”.
As for the thaw as a deterrent, it continued into the fall of 1941, but it didn't last long & nbsp; and quickly gave way to the cold, which, at least initially, turned out to be in the hands of the Germans. That's what is in his memories, Soldier & # 39; s Duty. wrote about it one of the future Victory Marshals Konstantin Rokossovsky : “ The cold chained the swamps, and now the German tank and the motorized formations & mdash; & nbsp; the main strike force of the enemy & mdash; & nbsp; got more freedom of action. We felt it right away. The enemy command began to use tanks off the roads. & # 39; & # 39;
“ Chaos reigned in the city. And Stalin had a blast. '
However, Sven Kellerhoff's article can still be considered relatively balanced compared to what Florian Stark treats readers.
The typhoon, with which the Wehrmacht wanted to take Moscow in the autumn of 1941, & mdash; & nbsp; writes Mr. Stark. & Nbsp; & mdash; & nbsp; Faced with a disorganized defense. Communication with headquarters was lost, chaos reigned in the city. And Stalin had a great time.
Stark begins his material by describing a banquet in honor of British and American representatives, which took place in the Kremlin in October 1941.
“ Stalin invited them to one of his typical celebrations with caviar, suckling pig, game and ice cream, as well as tons of brandy, vodka and wine, & mdash; & nbsp; writes the author. & mdash; In total, 32 toasts were brought & mdash; & nbsp; most of them on the impending victory over Nazi Germany. & # 39;
According to Stark, while Stalin was giving banquets, Soviet units were not prepared for the German offensive, resulting in encirclement and colossal losses. And then the author explains exactly what methods the Soviet leadership tried to use to combat the military catastrophe.
& # 39; Muscovites were regrouped in militias and work brigades & # 39;
“ The NKVD has started mass shootings, & mdash; & nbsp; says Die Welt material. & nbsp; & mdash; & nbsp; By & nbsp; 1942, nearly a million Red Army soldiers, suspected of failing to defend their positions until the last one, were sentenced by the field courts, 157,000 of them between them to death. & Nbsp; That's almost ten divisions. British historian Richard & nbsp; Overy: “ Stalin almost lost control of the capital, ceding it not to the 'German Wehrmacht', but to their terrorized people. & # 39; & # 39;
How, in Mr. Stark's opinion, was the crisis overcome? If you think the author of Die Welt had even one word to describe the courage and heroism of the Soviet people, then nothing like it.
“ Only the brutal use of NKVD troops has put an end to what is happening, & mdash; He writes. & nbsp; & mdash; & nbsp; To demonstrate his tenacity, Stalin organized, as usual, a parade in Red Square in honor of the anniversary of the & nbsp; October Revolution. & nbsp; During this time, Muscovites were herded into the militia and labor brigades and sent to the city to strengthen the defenses. But the Germans did not come. & # 39; & # 39;
That is, how did you not come? As Florian Stark writes, “ the lack of fuel and ammunition, but especially the onset of the rainy season, which turned the dirt roads into mud, halted the advance of the Wehrmacht during several weeks. & # 39; & # 39; >
There is a strong feeling that in Germany in 2021 documents on the Great Patriotic War are being created under the directives of the German Reich Minister of Public Education and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels , who skillfully attributed all Wehrmacht failures to mud, or frost, or bloody commissioners, who drove millions of brainless Soviets to bloodshed.
Perhaps this is why modern Western policy towards Russia is lame on both legs? After all, if you change the objective image to 'cranberries' then the reality encounter becomes very overwhelming at times.
German General Gunther Blumentritt , who directly participated in the battle for Moscow, described his results as follows: “ It was a turning point in our Eastern campaign & nbsp; & mdash; hopes to get Russia out of the war in 1941 & nbsp; g. failed at the very last minute. Now it was important for Germany's political leaders to understand that the days of the blitzkrieg were over. We were opposed to an army which, in its combat qualities, is far superior to any other armies we have ever encountered on the battlefield. & # 39; & # 39;
Eighty years later, in Germany, they prefer to write on horses sinking through the mud how Stalin feasted in the Kremlin.