Hello, and thank you for listening to the history of World War II podcast, Episode 151,

Operation Typhoon, Part 2.

As November 1941 came to Western Russia, the Germans appraised their situation, both

technical and strategic.

The Vermark had achieved what neither Napoleon nor the Second Reich during World War I could.

Leningrad was surrounded to the Forest South, German troops were at the Crimea, and before

Moscow, only some 80 kilometers before Moscow, was the tip of Army Group Center's spear.

And yet it was November.

Now was the time of the Rasputista, the heavy rains, and prevailing mud.

Then would come the winter proper.

Already the invaders heavy guns and tanks were slowed down.

The soldiers could only imagine what the extreme drop in temperatures would bring next.

As for the Ranking Officers and those leading the three Army Groups, they had received

statistics of what had been lost to get this far, the price they had paid, and would

have to pay to go further east.

Yes, they could assemble what was left and continue on, but as they would be fighting

with less, and the Russians seemed more determined than ever to keep them back, the attackers

would logically lose more than they already had.

By November 1st, 1941, the German Army in the east had lost 686,000 men.

That was 20% of what they had started with, and had been given since June 22nd.

That left some 2.7 million men attacking Russia.

But as everyone knew, they, the Russians, had more.

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