Secret: Did the cold save Moscow during World War II or were there other reasons?

Many people find it incredible that a large-scale war like the Moscow Defence War can be affected by the weather. However, a careful study of the history of the Soviet-German war will reveal that the role of weather is indeed very great. Russia's climate is notoriously cold, especially in the crucial two years of 194 1 and 1942.

? German soldiers deployed troops in the suburbs of Moscow.

1941On June 22nd, Nazi Germany and its allies invaded the Soviet Union, which surprised the Soviet Union and the leadership of the Soviet Red Army. The Germans used blitzkrieg tactics to quickly penetrate Soviet territory. Armored troops advanced in pincers, isolated first and then completely wiped out the Soviet army. German northern army group marched into Leningrad, southern army group conquered Ukraine and Caucasus highlands, and central army group marched into Moscow. The Germans who attacked the Soviet Union were divided into three army groups, the southern army group (commanded by paulus), the central army group (commanded by von Manstein) and the northern army group (commanded by guderian).

These three group armies were on a roll, occupying most of the European areas of the Soviet Union in just a few months. On the endless plains of the Soviet Union, the German Blitzkrieg once again exerted great power. In the first few months of the war, the Soviet Union lost more than 20,000 guns, about13,000 planes and17,000 tanks. The code name of Germany's attack on the Soviet capital is "Typhoon". Hitler planned to occupy Moscow within half a month and ordered the northern and southern army groups to support the central army group. The three group armies assembled 6.5438+0.8 million people and 6.5438+0.8 million tanks. The flat terrain of the Soviet Union made the Germans advance rapidly, and soon Moscow was trapped by Germany.

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The Soviet Union lost most of its equipment and soldiers in previous battles. In the end, there were only more than 600 thousand troops defending Moscow, and their equipment was far less than that of the Germans. The whole world thought that Moscow could not hold on, and the Soviet Union was going to die. The Soviet Union was ready to make a final attempt (later, many military experts thought that as long as Moscow fell, the Soviet Union would collapse, and Stalin himself thought so at that time).

165438+1On October 7, Stalin unexpectedly held a military parade in Red Square, and hundreds of thousands of Red Army troops went directly to the front after being reviewed. Stalin called on the people of Moscow, including women, to establish a military defense blockade and form militia against Moscow.

Just then, something terrible happened in Germany. Just as Hitler was about to win Moscow in one fell swoop, the winter in Russia came early and was surprisingly cold. It snowed heavily in Moscow, and the whole of moscow river was frozen like a road. Even the temperature in Rostov, southern Russia, is more than ten degrees below zero.

German soldiers were shivering with cold, and more than half of the German soldiers accustomed to the warm climate fell ill. German tanks have no experience in fighting in cold environment, so it is very difficult to start. Many tanks are directly laid on the ground and tied to the ice and snow on the ground. The German fighting capacity dropped rapidly, and Hitler was so angry that he cursed his beloved Manstein. For the Soviets who have lived in this land for more than a thousand years, cold is their best weapon. Soviets are used to fighting in cold conditions, and Soviet arsenals will consider climate factors when producing aircraft and tanks.

When the Soviet Union fought against the Germans, it was found that the Germans did not prepare warm materials at all, not even the most basic cotton-padded jackets, nor antifreeze and winter lubricating oil. As a result, the German tanks could not move, the plane could not rise into the air and the gun could not be fired. It seems that Hitler didn't want to spend the winter at all. Why does he think so? Because he felt that the Germans were fully capable of capturing Moscow before winter came. Hitler began to attack the Soviet Union in June, and it is estimated that the Soviet Union will be destroyed in three months, so Moscow can be occupied by the end of September at the latest. Unfortunately, the plan is not as good as the change. He ignored the Soviet Union's vast territory, large population and huge military potential, and he did not expect the Soviet Union's winter to come ahead of schedule.

At the beginning of 65438+February, the temperature plummeted again, reaching below MINUS 30 degrees Celsius. Germany has been very busy since 1939 attacked Poland. The Germans dragged their tired bodies and couldn't get in. There are hundreds of thousands of reports of soldiers' frostbite, and some soldiers fall directly in the snow. Soviet T-34 tanks can attack Germany as usual because of the air compression starter installed in the engine room. Many German tanks are lying on the ground waiting to be shelled. In addition, the special structure of T-34 tank crawler can ensure normal driving in the snow. Soviet tanks, which have always been looked down upon by Germany, have now become the killer of the Germans.

It is said that soldiers who rushed to the front can see the Red Square in Moscow through binoculars when they are quite close to Moscow, but the cold really makes victory out of reach. Marshal zhukov personally commanded the army to beat back many German attacks and began to carry out counter-attacks. The German Central Army was exhausted to the extreme, and the soldiers were full of anxiety. Hitler, who has always been arrogant, finally signed an order on February 5, 65438, demanding that Germany * * * enter the defense, which he thought could be aborted. Hitler didn't expect this failure to be the beginning of his bad luck.

From the month of 194 1, the Soviets launched a large-scale counterattack, and zhukov transferred some well-equipped troops back to Moscow from Siberia and the Far East, but reserved them for counterattack. The red army repelled the Germans 100 kilometers in one breath. By February 1942, the situation of defending Moscow became clear and the Germans could not support it significantly. Finally, in April of 1942, the Soviet Union completely drove the Germans out of Moscow, and the defense of Moscow won a perfect victory. The victory of the defending war in Moscow was the first great battle won by the Soviet Union after the war, and the successful defending war in the capital greatly increased the confidence of the Soviet people. Then, the Soviet Union was in full swing, and finally the Germans were completely driven out of Soviet territory at the beginning of 1945, and occupied the German capital Berlin in May of 1945.

Judging from the whole campaign, the cold really played an extremely important role. This is not the first time in Russian history that Russia has successfully defended its country because of the cold. 19 At the beginning of the world, Napoleon's fighters swept across the European continent, and Russia was not spared. 18 12 years, when Napoleon entered Russia, the severe cold caused more than two-fifths of the casualties of Napoleon's soldiers. Think about Russia's performance in previous wars and you will know how important cold is to Russians. Timoshenko of the former Soviet Union said, "Do you think we Russians will get cold? That's not true. 」