Hello, and thank you for listening to The History of World War II podcast, Episode

148, The March on Moscow, Part 2.

Last time Operation Typhoon Nazi Germany's quest to take Moscow had been launched.

Of course, Colonel General Guderian, aka Bast Heinz of the Second Panzer Group, had launched

his attack to the south two days earlier, and it was this force that had the Stavka worried.

Yet starting at the most northern point of Operation Typhoon, now that all the Germans

here were on the move, the Russians started reacting.

As General Hoth's third Panzer Group was able to, purposefully, hit the point where

Lukin's 19th Army and Comencos' 30th Army met, this caused confusion for the defenders,

as in who would take the defensive lead, which allowed the panzers to move forward some 10

kilometers or six miles during their initial thrust.

But determined to stop them before they could gain any serious momentum, Colonel General

Konev, commander of the Western Front, readyed his artillery counter-attack plans.

So had three rifle divisions, along with a motorized group put under Comenco, who was told

to blunt the German attack and turn it to the side.

It would be hoping too much for the attacking force to actually be destroyed.

Again, all the Russians had to do was to stop the Germans from reaching Moscow.

As for those facing off against Guderian, Colonel General Aramenco, commander of the

Breance Front to the south, withdrew a part of his front's forces to the Neurosa River,

about halfway between the Germans' starting point and the city of Aral, to block the

panzers from coming any further east.

But again, the Russians were moving too slow.

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