Katana VentraIP

Battle of Rzhev, summer 1942

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]

Heinrich von Vietinghoff

Heinrich von Vietinghoff

Ivan Konev

Ivan Konev

Walther Model

Walther Model

Georgy Zhukov

Georgy Zhukov

Burdick, Charles (1988). The Halder War Diary, 1939–1942. Presidio.  978-0891413028.

ISBN

Chaney, Otto Preston (1996). . University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806128078.

Zhukov

Forczyk, Robert (2006). . Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-017-8.

Moscow 1941: Hitler's First Defeat

Forczyk, Robert (2012). . Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-556-4.

Georgy Zhukov

Forczyk, Robert (2014). . Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-78159-008-9.

Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front 1941–1942: Schwerpunkt

Gerasimova, Svetlana (2013). . Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-908916-51-8.

The Rzhev Slaughterhouse

Glantz, David M. (1999a). Forgotten Battles of the German-Soviet War Vol. III.

Glantz, David M. (1999b). . University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-0944-4.

Zhukov's Greatest Defeat: The Red Army's Epic Disaster in Operation Mars, 1942

Gorbachevsky, Boris (2009). Through the Maelstrom: A Red Army Soldier's War on the Eastern Front, 1942–1945. University Press of Kansas.  978-0700616053.

ISBN

Jentz, Thomas L. (2004). Panzertruppen: Vol 1. . ISBN 978-0887409158.

Schiffer Publishing

Mikhin, Petr (2011). Guns Against the Reich: Memoirs of a Soviet Artillery Officer on the Eastern Front. Stackpole Books.  978-0811709088.

ISBN

Mitcham, Samuel W. (2000). The Panzer Legions. : Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3353-3.

Mechanicsburg

Mitcham, Samuel W. (2009). Men of Barbarossa: Commanders of the German Invasion of Russia, 1941. Philadelphia: Casemate Publishers.  978-1-935149-66-8.

ISBN

Newton, Steven H. (2005). Hitler's Commander: Field Marshal Walther Model, Hitler's Favorite General. Da Capo Press Inc.  978-0306813993.

ISBN

Ziemke, Earl F. (1987). Moscow to Stalingrad. Center of Military History, United States Army.  9780880292948.

ISBN

German 10 day casualty reports listed by Army

Articles about the Rzhez battles (Russian Text)

The battle for hill 200

Article On the 70th anniversary of the Pogorelov-Gorodyshchens'ka and Rzhev-Sychevsky operations in 1942. (Russian text)

Journal of hostilities – 16th Guards Rifle Division – 07/30/42 to 08/22/42