Operation Barbarossa: Fall Rains (September 1941)

Figure 1.--Weather was a major factor in Barbarossa. It was not just the snow and cold that stopped the Wehrmacht in Russia. In fact, before the weather turned cold, it was the Fall rains that serious impaired the Panzers and supply operations. Of course the rains affected both the Soviets and Germans, but one of the great German advantages was mobility. Thus any weather that impaired mobility was a disadvantage tgo the Wehrmacht and its powerful Panzer spearheads. Here a Russian boy is begging. The photograph was taken by a soldier in the 10th Oz Division.
The Russian Winter is also credited with stopping the Wehrmacht drive on Moscow. It was undoubtedly a major factor, but in fact the German drive was slowed before Winter set in. Hitler's changing priorities had delayed the push on Moscow wahile the weather was still good. By the times Hitler ordered the final push on Moscow, the weather began changing. The Autumn rains and resulting mud turned Russian roads into quagmires. The Soviet Union had a very primitive road system. Few roads were paved. The Wehrmact found itself in a sea of mud. The Germans were advancing about 10 miles per day. The fall rains began in early Septmber. The resulting quagmireslowed the German advance to about 5 miles a day. The Germans, however, were only 150 miles from Moscow which was still in their grasp. The Red Army faced similar conditions, but the impact was most severe on the Wehrmacht. It was the Wehrmacht which had to move forward. More importantly the advantage the Germans held in mastery of Blitzkrieg was based on mobility. Without mobility the Wehrmacht's superiority over the Red Army was much reduced. Part of the rerason that the Red Army's resistance stiffened at this time was that the Wehrmacht's mobility was so reduced. There were many ramifications to the mud. It did not just slow the Wehrmacht, but had a huge impact on German equipment, wearing out motors, breaking drive trains and suspensions of motorized vehicles. While such details are not as dramatic as pitched battles, logistics are hugely important in warfare and this was especially true for German blitzkrieg operations. The impact on German vehicles is important because Germany did not have industrial base to rapidly replace the equipment in the long run and in the short run the adverse impact on motor vehicles further reduced German mobility.

Sources







HBC






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Created: 4:02 AM 4/4/2007
Last updated: 4:02 AM 4/4/2007