Battle of Moscow: German memories

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

On December 5, 1941, a Soviet counteroffensive began near Moscow. Hitler's dreams of a successful blitzkrieg crumbled to dust. Soviet troops were advancing, severe frosts began, the Germans more and more often commemorated Napoleon …

G. Blumentrite

The memory of Napoleon's Great Army haunted us like a ghost. The book of memoirs of Napoleonic General Caulaincourt, which always lay on the desk of Field Marshal von Kluge, became his bible. There were more and more coincidences with the events of 1812. But these elusive omens paled in comparison with the period of mud, or, as it is called in Russia, the muddy road, which now pursued us like a plague. Now it was important for political leaders in Germany to understand that the days of the blitzkrieg were over. We were opposed by an army that was far superior in its fighting qualities to any other army we had ever encountered on the battlefield.

Hans-Ulrich Rudel

It's December and the thermometer has dropped below 40-50 degrees below zero. The clouds are floating low, the anti-aircraft guns are raging. We have reached the limit of our ability to fight. The bare essentials are missing. Cars are standing, transport is not working, there is no fuel and ammunition. The only mode of transport is sledges. Tragic scenes of retreat are becoming more frequent. We have very few aircraft left. At low temperatures, engines do not last long. If earlier, taking the initiative, we flew out to support our ground forces, now we are fighting to hold back the advancing Soviet troops.

Franz Friedrich Fyodor von Bock

The Russians managed to restore the combat effectiveness of the divisions that we had almost completely defeated in a surprisingly short time, brought up new divisions from Siberia, Iran and the Caucasus, and replaced the artillery lost at the early stage of the war with numerous missile launchers. Today, the army group is opposed by 24 divisions - mostly full strength - more than it was on November 15. The losses among the officers and non-commissioned officers are simply shocking. In percentage terms, they are much higher than the losses among the rank and file.

Steidle L

On December 5, strong air strikes began on the rear communications and initial areas, where until now one could feel safe. The Red Army launched a general offensive on a broad front, as a result of which German troops were driven back in places up to 400 kilometers. Several dozen of the most efficient German divisions were defeated. On both sides of the highway lay dead and frozen. This was the prologue to Stalingrad; the blitzkrieg finally failed.

Bauer Gunther

The wolf howl made us feel melancholy and foreboding. But even he was better than the howl of "Stalin's organ". This is how we called the secret weapon of the Russians, which they called themselves "Katyushas". The shells fired by these weapons were more like rockets. The incredible roar of explosions, flames - all this terribly frightened our soldiers. When Katyushas fired at us, our equipment was on fire, people were killed. However, fortunately, the Russians had few such installations and shells for them. Therefore, the damage caused by this weapon was not very noticeable. Its use gave rather a psychological effect. Speaking of the psychological impact on us, one cannot but mention Soviet propaganda. From time to time we heard the sounds of popular German songs amplified by loudspeakers, which aroused in us a longing for home comfort. This was followed by propaganda calls in German. They played on the fact that we were exhausted, hungry, and some of us had time to despair. The Russians urged us: “Surrender to the victorious Red Army, then you will return home immediately after the end of the war”, “Surrender! We have women for comfort and a lot of food waiting for you! " As a rule, these appeals only aroused anger in us. But there were also those few who were faint-hearted and on a dark night went over to the side of the Russians. I do not know their further fate, but judging by what happened in Germany after our defeat, I think that hardly any of the defectors received the promised benefits.

Otto Skorzeny

The Reich's war strategy was better, our generals had a stronger imagination. However, from the rank and file to the company commander, the Russians were our equals - courageous, resourceful, gifted camouflage masters. They fiercely resisted and were always ready to sacrifice their lives … Russian officers, from the division commander and below, were younger and more resolute than ours. From October 9 to December 5, the Reich division, the 10th Panzer Division and other units of the 16th Panzer Corps lost 40 percent of their staff. Six days later, when our positions were attacked by newly arrived Siberian divisions, our losses exceeded 75 percent.

See also: German soldiers about the Soviet. 1941 through the eyes of the Germans