Battle of Moscow, battle fought between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union from September 30, 1941 to January 7, 1942, during World War II. It was the climax of Nazi Germany’s Operation Barbarossa, and it ended the Germans’ intention to capture Moscow, which ultimately doomed the Third Reich.

　　The German advance on Moscow in September 1941 was soon in trouble because of atrocious weather conditions. The Germans were also shocked by the Soviet Union’s ability to keep bringing forward more reserves: over the course of the battle 75 fresh Soviet divisions arrived, with no reinforcements to the German attacking force. Although some Nazi officers thought Moscow was unattainable, they had no choice but to press forward, because they had to end the war before the fierce winter set in.

　　World War II Events keyboard_arrow_left

　　Holocaust 1933 - 1945

　　Invasion of Poland September 1, 1939 - October 5, 1939

　　Battle of the Atlantic September 3, 1939 - May 8, 1945

　　Dunkirk evacuation May 26, 1940 - June 4, 1940

　　North Africa campaigns June 1940 - May 13, 1943

　　Battle of Britain July 1940 - September 1940

　　Vichy France July 1940 - September 1944

　　the Blitz September 7, 1940 - May 11, 1941

　　Battle of Crete May 20, 1941 - June 1, 1941

　　Operation Barbarossa June 22, 1941

　　Battle of Moscow September 30, 1941 - January 7, 1942

　　Pearl Harbor attack December 7, 1941

　　Battle of Wake Island December 8, 1941 - December 23, 1941

　　Pacific War December 8, 1941 - September 2, 1945

　　Bataan Death March April 9, 1942

　　Kokoda Track Campaign July 1942 - January 1943

　　Battle of Stalingrad August 22, 1942 - February 2, 1943

　　Warsaw Ghetto Uprising April 19, 1943 - May 16, 1943

　　Operation Fortitude 1944

　　Normandy Invasion June 6, 1944 - July 9, 1944

　　Battle of Saipan June 15, 1944 - July 9, 1944

　　Operation Bagration June 23, 1944 - August 19, 1944

　　Cowra breakout August 5, 1944

　　Operation Market Garden September 17, 1944 - September 27, 1944

　　Battle of the Bulge December 16, 1944 - January 16, 1945

　　Yalta Conference February 4, 1945 - February 11, 1945

　　Battle of Iwo Jima February 19, 1945 - March 26, 1945

　　Battle for Castle Itter May 5, 1945

　　atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 6, 1945 - August 9, 1945 keyboard_arrow_right German troops managed to encircle large Soviet forces at Viazma in October, but the Soviets still fought on, delaying the Nazi advance. German soldiers pierced the improvised defense lines on the approaches to Moscow and reached within 15 miles (24 km) of the city—they could see the cupolas of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square in the distance. However, resistance kept stiffening. Joseph Stalin chose to stay in Moscow and appeared at the annual celebrations in Red Square, offering a morale boost to his people. Soon after, however, an SS tank division captured Borodino, close enough to Moscow that save for Stalin, who remained in Moscow until mid-November, the Soviet leadership evacuated to Kuybyshev (modern Samara) on the Volga River.

　　The Germans expanded the battlefront by bringing in a large Luftwaffe, or air force, contingent commanded by Wolfram von Richthofen, a cousin of the famed World War I ace Manfred von Richthofen. Opposing them was the elite Sixth Air Defense Corps, commanded by Ivan Klimov. Although the Soviets suffered heavy losses, which Klimov underreported to his superiors and Stalin, the intense aerial duels proved costly to the Germans as well, and with the arrival of inclement winter weather the air campaign abated.

　　In the late fall rainy season, German armored columns and supply trains were bogged down in mud, slowing the Wehrmacht’s advance. By early November, the German army, lacking winter clothing, suffered its first cases of frostbite, and soon Nazi soldiers had difficulty firing frozen guns. Although the armor could finally move forward on the icy ground, the German advance on Moscow halted on December 4. On December 5, Siberian troops newly transferred from the Chinese frontier attacked, many wearing the snow camouflage that the Germans would learn to fear. The Red Army had high hopes of this offensive, intending to encircle and destroy their attackers. They did not manage this, but they did drive back the Germans up to 155 miles (250 km) at some points. Nazi Germany had lost its chance for a quick victory. German losses during the Battle of Moscow totaled 250,000–400,000 dead or wounded, and the Red Army suffered 600,000–1,300,000 dead, wounded, or captured—that is, in a single battle the Russians suffered the number of deaths incurred during the entirety of World War II by the United States and the United Kingdom.

　　Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now Regrouping, many elements of the German forces at Moscow joined other Wehrmacht units and turned to what Adolf Hitler and his generals hoped would be a less formidable target, Stalingrad.