Battle of Rzhev, summer 1942

Battle of Rzhev
Part of the Battles of Rzhev on the Eastern Front of World War II

Red Army artillery being redeployed through the mud, October 1942
Date30 July – 1 October 1942
Location
Tver Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Result German victory
Belligerents
 Germany  Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler
Nazi Germany Günther von Kluge
Nazi Germany Walter Model
Nazi Germany Heinrich von Vietinghoff		 Soviet Union Joseph Stalin
Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov
Soviet Union Ivan Konev
Strength
As of 10 August 1942:
Men: 352,867 in total (Ration Strength)[1]
Tanks (initially): 321[2] [3]		 As of 30 July 1942:
Men: 486,000
Tanks: 1,715
Aircraft: 1,100
As of 5 September 1942:
Men: 334,808
Tanks: 412
Guns: 2,947[4]
Casualties and losses
70,000 +(see §7) 300,000 +(see §7)

The Battle of Rzhev in the summer of 1942 was part of a series of battles that lasted 15 months in the center of the Eastern Front. It is known in Soviet history of World War II as the first Rzhev–Sychyovka offensive operation, which was defined as spanning from 30 July to 23 August 1942. However, it is widely documented that the fighting continued undiminished into September and did not finally cease until the beginning of October 1942.[5] The Red Army suffered massive casualties for little gain during the fighting,[6] giving the battle a notoriety reflected in its sobriquet: "The Rzhev Meat Grinder".

Rzhev lies 140 miles (230 kilometres) west of Moscow and was captured by the German Wehrmacht in Operation Typhoon in the autumn of 1941, which took them to the gates of Moscow. When the Soviet counteroffensive drove them back, Rzhev became a cornerstone of the Germans' defense.[7] By mid-1942, the city stood at the apogee of a salient that protruded from the front lines, pointing in the general direction of Moscow. In July and August 1942, Stalin tasked two of his front commanders, General Georgy Zhukov (commanding the Western Front) and General Ivan Konev (commanding the Kalinin Front), to conduct an offensive to recapture Rzhev and strike a blow against Army Group Center that would push them away from Moscow. The attack would fall upon one of their main opponents of the winter battles, General Walter Model's 9th Army, which occupied the majority of the Rzhev salient.

The high losses and few gains made during the two-month struggle left a lasting impression on the Soviet soldiers who took part.[8] In October, the strategic balance in the centre of the Eastern Front remained essentially unchanged. However, the German army had also suffered grievous losses,[9] and whilst its defence had been tactically successful, it had achieved little more than maintaining the status quo.[6] And although the offensive failed, Zhukov was given another chance to crush the Rzhev salient soon afterwards.[10]

  1. ^ Aussenstelle OKH/Gen. Qu. Befehlsstelle Mitte/Qu 1. Zahlengrundlagen. Stärken von 10.8.1942. Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv (BA-MA) RH 3//182, fol. 345.
  2. ^ Jentz 2004, pp. 235–237: Total tanks possessed by 1st, 2nd, 5th and 20th Panzer Divisions, which belonged to the 9th Army, at the end of June early July.
  3. ^ Alfred Price, The Luftwaffe (World War II Data Book) as of 27 July 1942 (figure in brackets = operational) aircraft available to Luftwaffen Kommando Ost
  4. ^ Gerasimova 2013, pp. 77–78.
  5. ^ Gerasimova 2013, p. 87.
  6. ^ a b Gerasimova 2013, p. 168.
  7. ^ Forczyk 2006, p. 89.
  8. ^ Gerasimova 2013, pp. 96–99.
  9. ^ Glantz 1999b, p. 12.
  10. ^ Glantz 1999b, p. 18.