Best,Chapter 6:
From Wjasma to the Gates of Moscow
Advance in Mud and Rain
There was no more enemy to be seen far and wide in front of the 4. Armee and the 9. Armee after the fighting for Wjasma was over. As a result, Panzergruppe 4 advanced swiftly as far as Gshatsk and in the direction of Moscow. Its lead element, SS-Division “Reich,” was in front of the first Moscow defensive position on 14 October 1941. The defensive positions were in the area west of Moshajsk on either side of Borodino. The 10. Panzer-Division soon closed with SS-Division “Reich.”
The defensive positions extended for 300 kilometers from Kaluga to Kalinin and had been constructed after months of work by hundreds of thousands of workers. They employed the latest in modern defensive doctrine. The Russians were attempting to fight for the fate of their capital on historic territory and stop the German advance 100 kilometers outside of Moscow.
The defensive positions were penetrated on 16 October. Two days later, Moshajsk was taken. Panic broke out in Moscow when this was discovered. The populace — one hears tell of hundreds of thousands — fled the city. Plundering occurred. The government moved further east; only Stalin remained behind. Marshall Timoschenko, the “Hero of Jelnja,” was relieved of his command and replaced by Marshall Zhukow. Moscow and a large portion of the surrounding area were placed in a defensive posture. Elements of the Russian Far East Army were loaded on trains in Siberia. Moscow was threatened!
On 19 October, the 78. Infanterie-Division moved out from Wjasma. Snow was mixed with rain. Just getting to the highway caused problems; the intermingling of columns caused further ones. As a result, two divisions marched next to one another for the next few days: (Start page 96) The 78. Infanterie-Division on the right side of the highway, the 87. Infanterie-Division on the left side. The middle of the road surface was kept clear for oncoming traffic.
The weather worsened from day to day. The area south of Gshatsk was reached on 21 October. On 22 October the division got as far as the area around Jelnja (west of Moshajsk). The condition of the highway was so poor in some areas that even cross-country vehicles could barely get through. The formations left their vehicles and guns on the road during the night and took inadequate quarters in villages off the highway. During the afternoon of 22 October, the division radioed the following to the march groups:
Highway congested. Halt and find quarters. Report the status of the battalions. Wait for a new order for 23 October. Do not send messengers to pick up orders.
A radio message was sent to the headquarters of the VIII. Armee-Korps at 0900 hours on 23 October:
New congestion in Jelnja. Continued marches without comprehensive traffic regulation by the Panzergruppe impossible. Warning: do not put additional formations on the highway. Please stop immediately, otherwise resupply impossible.
The supply situation was serious. The shortages of fuel, the bad road conditions and the congestion on the highway all led to immense problems. Trucks that had been dispatched to Smolensk and Lhukowka several days previously had not yet returned. Rations were insufficient. Bread was only getting forward because the bakery company had borrowed fuel from non-divisional units.
The division reached the area around Moshajsk on 25 October. There it was finally able to turn north. It was hoped that at least the perpetual road congestion would stop. The roads became worse, however. In the vicinity of Jelnja the road surface on the highway had disintegrated. Many vehicles were hopelessly stuck. More and more vehicles piled p behind them so that, in the end, more than 1,400 vehicles of all types were incapable of moving. Thank God, the division was already east of that portion of the highway with its main body.
By evening, Infanterie-Regiment 195 had reached Rusa with its lead elements. Its trail party was at Watulino. Infanterie-Regiment 215 was in the area Woronzowo — Teterino. It was intended for Infanterie-Regiment 238 to close up during the night.
(Start page 97) Once again, it was Infanterie-Regiment 195 that made initial contact with the enemy. It was northeast of Moshajsk. That said, it was only weak forces that it encountered; the regiment was able to deal with them quickly. What was worse was that the road to Rusa was heavily mined. The bridges had obstacles on them and some had been blown up. The roads were gradually becoming bottomless.
Pionier-Bataillon 178 was called forward to build a bridge at Dolginina over the Iskona and to clear the stretch of road from Teterino to Rusa.
The logistics situation got worse and worse. The fuel still had not yet arrived. Portions of the division’s butcher company were immobilized in Moshajsk. Plans were made to curtail the bread rations. The rations trucks got and remained stuck. The divisional quartermaster moved to Makarowo (three kilometers north of Moshajsk) on 25 October.
The biannual “mud period” — before the start of winter and once again after its conclusion — reached its high point when the main body of the 78. Infanterie-Division marched between Moshajsk and Lokotnja. The road network became a bottomless pit as a result of the continuing rainfall that was mixed with snow. A muck covered the roads with a brown-gray broth on top. The vehicles ground their way through it. Every step took some effort. The guns sank in the mud up to their hubs. Everything got stuck. Tow vehicles didn’t help any more; neither did manpower. Many of the horses sank down into the mud exhausted; in the last few days they had not received any hay or oats. They chewed on tree bark and snapped at the straw on the roofs of the huts. The rations situation continued to deteriorate. It was not possible to advance past Rusa in motorized vehicles. The rations vehicles of Infanterie-Regiment 195 had been missing for days.
The march columns of the division were several normal march days behind. The road network was saturated with stuck motorized and horse-drawn vehicles and the bodies of horses. Only the Landser was able to move forward at a snail’s pace in the deep mud. How were we to continue in this situation? The division could only communicate with its elements by radio. The notes of the division operations officer in the war diary of October 1941 (Start page 98) give a picture of the incredible difficulties with which the formations of the division had to contend during that time. The situation also made command and control so difficult, that one can only be amazed that the entire division was finally able to reassemble again in the end.
The fact that the 78. Infanterie-Division was only not able to conduct offensive operations until the middle of November demonstrates more than anything else how every soldier gave his best through obstinacy and hardness during the weeks of the mud period to overcome the harsh weather.
Infanterie-Regiment 195 and the heavy weapons attached to it still had to undergo heavy fighting, however. The burden did not ease until Infanterie-Regiment 215 had closed up and brought them some relief. Infanterie-Regiment 238, which was marching at the end of the division, was unable to link up with the division at Rusa, despite the strenuous efforts of the regimental commander. In spite of a protest by the division, the regiment was impressed into the service of the VII. Armee-Korps north of the crossroads at Schelkowka and had to attack under the command of another formation. That was the last attack the regiment executed.
Restructuring
The division received a secret document from the German Army High Command in Wjasma. Its first paragraph read:
The division commander will choose one infantry regiment of the 78. Infanterie-Division to be deactivated. The 78. Infanterie-Division will receive a regiment from the 5. Infanterie-Division in its place.
The division decided to disband Infanterie-Regiment 238. All of its personnel and equipment (including horses and vehicles) were available to the division to replace shortfalls elsewhere.
Infanterie-Regiment 14, an active-army regiment, replaced Infanterie-Regiment 238.
One could do nothing to stop orders from higher headquarters. Other regiments suffered the same fate. Every regiment that received an order to disband had to take it hard, however.
The soldiers of Infanterie-Regiment 238 were loyal to their regiment, just as the personnel of Infanterie-Regiment 195, Infanterie-Regiment 215 and the newly arrived Infanterie-Regiment 14. The number 238 was to be stricken from the rolls of German infantry regiments. The members of that regiment had done their duty for two years under that number. They had been part of it since the first fighting at Drohjczyn and had bled for it. (Start page 99) Many comrades lost their lives for it. The members of Infanterie-Regiment 238 had grown close to one another and had maintained good relations with their sister regiments, with their dedicated artillery battalion (the II./Artillerie-Regiment 178) and with all of the other formations of the division. The regimental commander, Oberst S. , had been able to cultivate a good esprit de corps within the regiment; he was always willing to help and was very comradely. The regiment had a good reputation within the division; as a result, its deactivation was universally regretted.
The newly arrive Infanterie-Regiment 14 would be with the division until the bitter end; it was accepted among the ranks of the 78. Infanterie-Division as fellow comrades.
~D, the EviL
