This week, seventy years ago, the German Wehrmacht began its assault on Tula.
    Tula is a 700 year old Russian city located 120 miles south of Moscow, on the Upa River. At the time it had a population of 272,000 and was an important weapons manufacturing center. Today it has a population of about 500,000 and is the capital of the Tula District - Tulskaya Oblast. The home of the great Russian author, Leo Tolstoy - Yasnaya Polyana (Clear Glade) - is located just outside the city, and is now a museum. During the battle for the city the house was occupied by the Germans and converted to a hospital.
    In 1941 Tula was the lynch-pin for the German effort to encircle the Soviet Capital.  The forces aiming for Tula were part of Colonel-General Heinz Guderian’s Second Panzerarmee, which constituted the southern half of a pincer movement aimed at surrounding the Soviet capital. Third and Fourth Panzergruppes, commanded by Hermann Hoth and Erich Hoeppner, respectively, constituted the northern part of the movement.  All were a part of Army Group Center, commanded by Field Marshal Fodor von Bock. Just about that time heavy rains came, turning the ground into mud, slowing the advance of the German mechanized forces, and increasing its fuel consumption by triple.
    Second Panzerarmee turned towards Tula on October 8, 1941. The first snow fell the day before. Also, the Panzers learned of the superiority of the Soviet T-34 tank. The best German tanks could only take a T-34 with a well placed shot in the rear.
    General Guderian was just about the best Panzer commander that the Germans had - and therefore, the best in the world. Before the war, he wrote “Achtung - Panzer!”  He wrote another book during the war and two more after it. His Panzers split the Allied armies during the French Campaign. If he hadn’t been restrained by his nervous superiors, the Allies might not have been able to secure the port at Dunkirk and evacuate the British Expeditionary Force. During the Campaign, he earned the sobriquet “Der Schnelle Heinz - Hurrying Heinz!”  Guderian understood the need for speed! He won the Iron Cross, First & Second Class, in World War I and again in the Polish Campaign. He was also awarded the Knight’s Cross at the conclusion of the Polish Campaign. On July 17, 1941, he was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross and promoted to Colonel-General.
    On October 23, 1941 Marshal Semyon Timoshenko was placed in charge of the defense of the area which includes Tula.  Marshal Timoshenko was named a Hero of the Soviet Union for pulling the Soviet fat out of the fire in the Winter War with Finland. In May of 1940, he, together with Grigory Kulik and Boris Shaposhnikov were named Marshals of the Soviet Union. From then, until war began, he and Marshal Shaposhnikov worked tirelessly to rebuild the Red Army for the struggle which they knew was coming.
    The next day Second Panzerarmee proceeded up the highway towards Tula from Orel. Orel, which means “eagle” in Russian, is located 224 miles south-southwest of Moscow. It had been captured on October 3. Today, it has a population of 317,000.
    Second Panzerarmee reached the outskirts of Tula on October 26. At that time Second Panzerarmee consisted of three Armeekorps - XXIV, XLIII & LIII - which included seven infantry, and three Panzer, divisions, plus the elite Grossdeutchland regiment. The corps were led by Generals Baron Geyr von Schweppenburg, Gotthard Heinrici and Weisenberger.
    On October 29, 1941 when General Guderian’s troops made a final push to take Tula, a combination of soft and muddy ground, severe cold in the evenings, inadequate clothing, general fatigue and the tenaciousness of the Soviet defenders defeated their effort. The Germans were two miles from the Soviet city. On November 1, the General called a halt to the assault. That same day, the first troops from Siberia took their place in the defenses of Moscow.
    Tula was defended by the following: 50th Army, commanded by Arkadii N. Ermakov; the Tula Workers’ Regiment; the 156th NKVD Rifle Regiment; and the 732 Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, aided by the city’s citizens organized by the city’s Defense Committee Chairman Vasilii G. Zhavoronkov, secretary of the district party committee. With the city virtually surrounded, Comrade Zhavoronkov had the citizens working feverishly digging anti-tank ditches and constructing defenses. Zhavoronkov  served as the Soviet Union’s trade minister after the war.
    On November 1, 1941 Marshal Shaposhnikov became Chief of Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces. He would, literally, work himself to death in defense of his country, and would not live to see the victory.
    The 413th Rifle Division arrived from the Urals to reinforce the 50th Army on November 5. Two days later, Third Army, commanded by Iakov Grigorevich Kreizer and 50th Army, counter-attacked. The Soviets battled LIII Corps for ten days. They were finally thrown back with the loss of 3000 prisoners and many guns.
    On November 15th, the ground having frozen solid, and the Panzers once again having achieved their mobility, General Guderian’s Second Panzerarmee renewed its attack on Tula. With the temperature at -8 degrees F the cold was having an effect. The first cases of frostbite appeared. Lubricating oils froze solid, telescopic sights were rendered useless and metal parts like rifle bolts became brittle and broke.  It was the coldest winter in recorded history. And the soldiers still had no winter clothing. This attempt to take Tula was beaten back by 50th Army and by 49th Army, commanded by Ivan G. Zakharkin.
    A Soviet counterattack was launched, on November 18, by the fresh Siberian troops, equipped with T-34s, commanded by General Pavel A. Belov, near Venev causing heavy losses to the German 112th Infantry Division. Without antitank guns that could deal with the new Soviet tank, the German soldiers panicked, broke and ran.  Venev is a town, with a current population of 16,000, in the Tula Oblast, located on the Venyovka River.
    General Ermakov was relieved of command and court-martialed on November 22, after the Germans achieved some local successes, at Stalinogorsk (now Novomoskovsk). After a few months in prison, he was released, all was forgiven, and he was given another command. After his dismissal, command of 50th Army was given to Ivan V. Boldin, who retained it till the end of the war.
    Novomoskovsk is located in the Tula Oblast at the source of the Don River, about 200 miles south of Moscow. Before the war the city had a population of 79,000. Today, its population is 130,000.
    The 17th Panzer Division, commanded by Rudolf E. Licht, reached the outskirts of Kashira on November 25. Kashira is located on the Oka River, about 90 miles south of Moscow. Today, it has a population of about 40,000. On December 1st the Red Army launched a counterattack by: 1st Guards Cavalry Corps, commanded by General Belov; the 112th Tank Division, commanded by General Andrei L. Getman; and 415th Rifle Division, driving the Germans away from Kashira.  
    Second Panzerarmee, shifted its attempt to capture the city the following day, cutting the rail line and the Tula-Serpukhov highway. The next day, the Soviet 112th Tank Division counter-attacked and recovered the road and line. Meanwhile, the 167th Infantry Division crossed the Don River and surrounded fresh Siberian units, capturing 4000 and 42 guns. The temperature had dropped to -31 degrees F.
    By December 5, General Guderian had to admit failure and halted his Army’s offensive operations. The temperature was now -36 degrees F.  He recalled, “...The offensive on Moscow failed.  We underestimated the enemy strength, as well as his size and climate.  Fortunately, I stopped my troops on 5 December, otherwise the catastrophe would be unavoidable.”
    On December 6th the Red Army launched its surprise counter-attack. The opening artillery barrage was so heavy that an entire German division was obliterated. Three days later, Yelets was recaptured. It is a 750 year-old city located on the Sosna River - a tributary of the Don - southeast of Moscow, 100 miles south of Tula and today has a population of 120,000.
    The Soviet Southwestern Front relieved Tula on December 16. With fresh troops and tanks brought from the Far East in Siberia, the 10th Army, commanded by Filipp A. Golikov, moved against General Guderian’s Second Panzerarmee east of Tula. However, between December 17 and 22, the Luftwaffe destroyed 299 motor vehicles and 23 tanks, slowing the Red Army’s pursuit of the Germans. In 1961, General Golikov was named a Marshal of the Soviet Union.
    Field Marshal Günther von Kluge replaced Field Marshal von Bock on December 18, due to the latter’s “ill health.”  Army Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch was removed the next day and replaced by der Führer, himself.  On December 20, General Guderian flew to Hitler’s headquarters and for five hours vainly attempted to convince him to allow the withdrawal, previously authorized by Field Marshal von Brauchitsch, to prepared defensive positions, to continue. General Guderian was relieved on Christmas Day.
    Although almost surrounded and heavily pounded, Tula had held. It  was named a “Hero City” on December 7, 1976.

NEXT WEEK: THE REUBEN JAMES

Mr. Wimbrow writes from Ocean City, Maryland, where he practices law representing those persons accused of criminal and traffic offenses, and those persons who have suffered a personal injury through no fault of their own.