1418
Illustration: The Battle of Smolensk
BattleBitter

· Day 19 of 1418

The Battle of Smolensk

Smolensk

months of fighting around Smolensk
2
months of fighting around Smolensk
first Guards divisions, 18 September 1941
4
first Guards divisions, 18 September 1941

For two months, fierce battles raged around Smolensk. The enemy planned to reach Moscow fast, but here its “lightning war” stalled for the first time. These battles gave birth to the Soviet Guards, the title given to the most steadfast divisions.

In early September, at Yelnya, Soviet troops for the first time in this war cut off a large bulge in the front and freed the town. On 18 September 1941 four divisions that had fought here became the first to be named “Guards”.

In those two months the enemy lost time it would badly miss later. The attack on Moscow had to wait until autumn, and autumn brought rain and frost.

See it on the map

Chapter 2 · July 1941

“Brothers and sisters!”

On 3 July Stalin spoke to the nation on the radio: “Brothers and sisters!” The enemy was driving deep into the country, but at Smolensk its “lightning war” stalled for the first time. Hundreds of thousands of people volunteered for the people's militia.