The Eastern Front Week by Week

Last time we spoke about Hitler seizing control. In early September 1942, German forces under Paulus and Hoth tightened their grip on Stalingrad despite mounting supply shortages. The Soviet 62nd and 64th Armies...

Last time we spoke about the beginning of the battle of Stalingrad. Between August 30 and September 5, 1942, Paulus's and Hoth's armies finally converged outside Stalingrad, reaching Gonchary on September 3rd—but the...

Last time we spoke about the race to the Volga. At dawn on August 23rd, Paulus's 16th Panzer Division tore forty kilometers across the steppe, smashing the Soviet 98th Rifle Division and reaching the Volga by nightfall...

Last time we spoke about the battles for the don bridgeheads. In mid-to-late August 1942, the fight for the Don River bend intensified as German forces pushed to secure crossings toward Stalingrad. Paulus's 14th Corps...

Last time we spoke about the securing of Maykop. In mid-August 1942, the Eastern Front churned with brutal momentum. At Stalingrad, Paulus's forces closed a ring around the Soviet 62nd Army even as Soviet command...

Last time we spoke about the continuation of the Rzhev meatgrinder. In early August 1942, the Eastern Front boiled at once on three axes. At Stalingrad, Hoth's panzers raced north from Kotelnikovo, mauling Chuikov's...

Last time we spoke about Order no. 227. In late July 1942, the Soviet Union faced military catastrophe. German forces drove relentlessly toward Stalingrad while advancing into the Caucasus, shattering morale across the...

Last time we spoke about directive 45. By late July 1942, German forces were advancing rapidly across southern Russia, seizing the Don River crossings and approaching Stalingrad. Yet despite impressive territorial...

Last time we spoke about the capture of Vlasov. In the second week of July 1942, Germany's Operation Clausewitz reached a critical juncture. German Panzer armies swept across Soviet territory, achieving dramatic...

Last time we spoke about Operation Clausewitz. Between July 5-11, 1942, the Soviet Union faced catastrophe on multiple fronts. German Operation Clausewitz (the renamed Fall Blau) continued its relentless advance against...

Last time we spoke about Operation Fall Blau I. On June 28th, 1942, the Germans launched Fall Blau with overwhelming force. The 48th Panzer Corps, spearheaded by the Grossdeutschland Division and 24th Panzer Division...

Last time we spoke about Operation Fridericus II. Around Leningrad, the 2nd Shock Army—already shattered by months of encirclement, starvation, and relentless German pressure—made its final desperate bid for survival...

Last time we spoke about fighting at Sevastopol. In mid-June 1942, the Soviet military faced cascading crises across multiple fronts. General Belov's cavalry corps attempted a desperate escape across the Warsaw highway...

Last time we spoke about Operation Wilhelm. In June 1942, the Wehrmacht prepared its massive Fall Blau (Case Blue) offensive in southern Russia. As prelude, Operation Wilhelm sought to eliminate a Soviet bulge near...

Last time we spoke about the barrage of Sevastopol. In late May 1942, Germany initiated Operation Störfang—an assault on the Soviet fortress of Sevastopol. German forces unleashed an unprecedented bombardment: 4,713...