Eastern Front #8 Hitler’s Summer Triumph Turns Bitter

 

Last time we spoke about the Fall of Smolensk. The Wehrmacht, having swiftly advanced through the Soviet Union, aimed to open the path to Moscow. Under General Fedor von Bock, the Germans launched a major assault against Soviet defenses, led by Marshal Semyon Timoshenko. Despite early successes, German forces underestimated the resilience of the Soviet Army, which regrouped and mobilized hidden reserves. As the Luftwaffe dominated the skies, the Soviets, under General Vasily Vatutin, organized a counteroffensive. On July 15, intense combat erupted in Smolensk, with German troops steadily encircling the city. The Red Army, despite suffering heavy losses, showcased determination by relocating factories eastward and outproducing their enemies in tanks and aircraft. By July 16, Smolensk fell to the Germans, yet the battle revealed underlying vulnerabilities in the Wehrmacht. The fierce resistance from Soviet soldiers hinted at a critical turning point in the war. 

This episode is the Hitler’s Summer Triumph Turns Bitter

Well hello there, welcome to the Eastern Front week by week podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800’s until the end of the Pacific War in 1945. 

As July 1941 draws to a close, the Eastern Front plunges into a harrowing new chapter, characterized by escalating brutality, adaptive strategies, and profound exhaustion. Amidst this chaos, the Red Army grapples with staggering losses. Yet, while they are battered, they also begin to exhibit a remarkable capacity for strategic learning and resilience under relentless fire. Often overshadowed in discussions of the Eastern campaign, naval operations emerge as a crucial element in this conflict, unfolding across vital waterways such as the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and even the Arctic. These operations highlight the expansive and interconnected stakes of this monumental struggle. Key developments during this period include significant reorganizations within Soviet command, intense encirclement battles in Ukraine, and renewed offensives around the city of Smolensk, a strategically important location approximately 400 kilometers west of Moscow. Smolensk's position makes it a critical hub for transport and supply in the region, influencing the broader course of the war. As the fighting intensifies, the outcome of this encounter hangs in the balance. Both the Axis and Soviet forces are faced with mounting challenges amidst the chaotic escalation of warfare. 

The Eastern Front during World War II was predominantly a land and air conflict, a reality shaped largely by the vast and varied geography of the Soviet Union. The Luftwaffe was assigned a critical dual role in the Eastern Front: to establish complete control over the airspace by decimating the Soviet air force and to provide essential ground support for the army’s main operations. In the initial phase of the campaign, long-range air attacks targeting industrial centers in the distant Ural Mountains would not be prioritized; instead, these operations were planned to follow the completion of the mobile offensives. While it is commonly believed that Germany's navy, the Kriegsmarine, played a minimal role in the Eastern Front campaigns, this perception overlooks the nuanced involvement of naval forces. While the Kriegsmarine was a large, powerful, and professional force, its effectiveness was hampered by the need to divide its assets across multiple theaters of war. This limitation significantly restricted the number and size of ships that could be deployed in the Baltic Sea, particularly as the conflict intensified. At the onset of Operation Barbarossa on June 21, 1941, the German naval forces operating in the Baltic Sea comprised a modest yet effective fleet, including: 28 Schnellboote “fast attack boats”,5 submarines, 10 minelayers, primarily converted from passenger liners and ferries, 3 squadrons of M-class minesweepers, 3 squadrons of requisitioned minesweepers, which were often trawlers, 2 squadrons of R-boats “light coastal defense craft”, 2 squadrons of patrol boats, typically made up of trawlers, 3 Sperrbrecher “block ships designed to create obstacles”, 2 depot ships for minesweepers, a variety of naval tugs, transports, and auxiliary vessels. Later on in September 1941, Germany established the provisional Baltenfl