Operation Wotan
- Wotan may also designate a part of German East Wall defensive line or a code name for a German radar project.
| Operation Wotan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II (Eastern Front) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
.svg){kind=small} Germany |
 Soviet Union | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Heinz Guderian Albert Kesselring Ewald von Kleist Erich Hoepner Maximilian von Weichs |
Andrei Yeremenko Andrey Vlasov | ||||||
Operation Wotan was a codename for the German tank operation with the goal of capturing Moscow during World War II, developed mainly by Hitler.[1] The name refers to Wotan, a Germanic god.
The operation was scheduled to be launched by Army Group South on September 9, 1941 and to last no more than eight weeks.[1] The date was established on August, 29 in declaration addressed to the OKH. The start was slowed down by initial Soviet attacks of Semyon Budyonny and Semyon Timoshenko. However, Guderian's tank units soon smashed the Soviet troops between Oryol and Kursk, forming a gap which was used by Kleist's 1st Panzer Group. It was decided to make the main strike towards the Dankov-Kasimov-Gorkiy direction, but it was changed by Albert Kesselring. The German troops experienced severe difficulties concerning the casualties and the subsequent frosts. An opportunity for a Soviet counter-offensive occurred shortly after.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kenneth Macksey The Hitler Options, London: Greenhill/Stackpole, 1995
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