Federal Law No. 32-FZ of March 13, 1995, defined a special day in the calendar of military holidays and memorable dates - the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of the beginning of the Soviet counteroffensive in the battle of Moscow in 1941. On December 5, the Red Army, on a wide front from Kalinin in the north to Yelets in the south, began an active phase of the counteroffensive, which led to the crushing defeat of the seemingly invincible Hitlerite armada.
This was the first defeat of the German-fascist forces, which until then were accustomed exclusively to marches and with smiles on their faces to pass through European capitals, to take cities with a swoop, first shower their inhabitants with a hail of aerial bombs, shooting from long-range guns if they "had the audacity" to resist to the then “bearers of democracy”. This happened with a variety of cities, but it did not work out that way with Moscow. And the "frost general" not invented by liberal historians, not the notorious "supply difficulties" stopped the huge army of Germany and the countries that were in vassal dependence on it. The Nazis were stopped by a heroic Soviet soldier in the broadest sense of the word - a soldier behind whom stood the people and the Fatherland. He fought to the death and deserved immortality, even if he fell then - in 41st, struck by a bullet or a fragment of the enemy.
As a result of the counteroffensive, the Nazis were thrown back from the Soviet capital, and their dreams of marching through Red Square remained frozen in ice and snow near Mozhaisk and Volokolamsk, Maloyaroslavets and Rzhev. The bravura songs of Nazi Germany lost their frank major, and in the Reich itself, for the first time, a note of doubt as to whether it was necessary … crosses with punched helmets pressed on them.
From the speech of I. V. Stalin:
The German invaders counted (…) on the weakness of the Red Army and the Red Fleet, believing that the German army and the German fleet would be able to overturn and disperse our army and our fleet from the very first blow, opening the way for unhindered advance into the interior of our country. But the Germans made a cruel mistake here too, overestimating their strength (…). Of course, our army and our navy are still young (…) they have not yet had time to become fully cadre, while they have in front of them a cadre fleet and a cadre army of the Germans, who have been waging the war for 2 years already. But, firstly, the morale of our army is higher than that of the German, for it defends its homeland from foreign invaders and believes in the rightness of its cause, while the German army is waging a war of conquest and robbing a foreign country, unable to believe even for a minute. in the rightness of his vile deed. There can be no doubt that the idea of defending our Fatherland, in the name of which our people are fighting, should and indeed does give rise to heroes in our army cementing the Red Army, while the idea of seizing and robbing a foreign country, in the name of which the Germans are actually waging a war, should give rise and indeed does give rise to professional robbers in the German army, deprived of any moral principles and corrupting the German army. (…)
And if these rabid imperialists and evil reactionaries still continue to disguise themselves as "nationalists" and "socialists", then they are doing this in order to deceive the people, fool simpletons and cover up their predatory imperialist essence with the flag of "nationalism" and "socialism".
By the beginning of December 1941, the overwhelming majority of foreign newspapers wrote off Moscow, exercising their predictions only as to whether the Germans would have time to take the city before Christmas (Catholic), or they would have to "linger" on the approaches to the capital of the USSR for another two or three weeks. ". However, the Moscow counterattack was delivered so suddenly and effectively that neither by Christmas, nor by any other special holiday, the feet of the Nazis were not in the capital. Although … Why not? They nevertheless passed … Then … Ahead of the watering machines, under escort, under the hated gazes of thousands of Muscovites who took to the streets to look at the "supermen" whom the Russian army broke their backs near Moscow, three times buried in Hitler's speeches and in the notes of a number of Western publications.
From the memorandum (spelling and punctuation of the source are preserved) of the commander (at that time) of the troops of the Western Front G. K. Zhukov dated November 30, 1941 (with a plan for the offensive of troops near Moscow) to the People's Commissar of Defense, Comrade Stalin:
A.3
The immediate task of blowing Klin-Solnechnogorsk and in the Istra direction to break the main enemy grouping on the right wing and attacking Uzlovaya and Mother of God (k) in the flank and rear of Guderian's group to defeat the enemy on the left wing of the armies of the Western Front.
A.4
In order to hold down the enemy forces on the rest of the front and deprive him of the ability to transfer troops 5, 33, 43, 49, 50, the front armies go on the offensive with limited missions.
P.5
The main aviation grouping (3/4) will be aimed at interaction with the right strike group and the rest - with the left-wing Lieutenant General Golikov.
The document bears a stroke of Stalin with the resolution "Agree".
Behind these seemingly simple and stingy phrases is, firstly, colossal training in terms of intensity, taking into account the state of affairs at the front, and secondly, the feat that, by definition, cannot be accommodated in any formulations.
In the early morning of December 5, the formations of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, and at about 14:00 (Moscow time) and formations of the right flank of the 5th Army, inflicted their striking blows on the enemy. This clearly violated the plans of the Nazis, since the German field marshal von Bak argued about the practical impossibility of concentrating Soviet troops to launch a counteroffensive.
At the time of the counter-offensive of the Red Army, the superiority of the Nazis in l / s was 1.7 million people against 1, 1 million for the Soviet formations, in tanks - 1170 against 774, in mortars and guns - 13, 5 thousand against 7652. The only force the segment where the USSR had the advantage was the air fleet: 1000 aircraft against 615 from the Nazis.
On December 6, the 1st shock, as well as the 13th, 20th and 30th armies, entered into action. On December 7 and 8, formations of the right flank and the center of the 16th Army and the operational group of Lieutenant General F. Kostenko, the left-flank formations of the 16th Army, the operational group of Lieutenant General P. Belov, as well as the 3rd and 50th I am an army. Fierce battles unfolded in the Istra, Klin, Yelets, Solnechnogorsk directions.
In the battle of Moscow, the German army lost about half a million soldiers and officers, no less than 1,250 tanks, 2,500 guns, and military vehicles.
From the materials of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation:
For valor and courage shown in battles, 40 units and formations were awarded the title of Guards, 36 thousand soldiers were awarded orders and medals, 187 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of the Russian Federation (later). The medal "For the Defense of Moscow" was awarded to over 1 million people (including about 381 thousand servicemen and about 639 thousand civilians). On May 8, 1965, Moscow was awarded the honorary title "Hero City".
