Battle of Smolensk

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Article abstract: Type of action: Ground battle in World War II. Result: Delayed Nazi advance on Moscow.

On January 22, 1941, the Germans attacked Russia. By early July, Russian frontier armies were virtually decimated. Because of this situation, the State Defense Committee, consisting of Joseph Stalin and party heads, decided that the first priority was to hold the enemy in the center, the Smolensk-Moscow direction, in order to protect the capital.

On July 16, German generals Fedor von Bock and Heinz Guderian reached Smolensk, and the city quickly fell....

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