In July 1941, the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union was raging. Under the threat of "blitzkrieg", the German army captured the western barrier of the Soviet capital Moscow in one fell swoop, annihilating nearly 200,000 Soviet troops. Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group, to which the German Army Group Center belonged, further expanded its offensive, advancing to capture the small city of Yelnia, forming a salient on the front and becoming a tactical bridgehead threatening Moscow. The German high command then shifted the focus of the attack to Ukraine and Leningrad on the northern and southern fronts, while Army Group Center temporarily shifted to the defensive.
For the loss of the small city of Yelnia, the Soviet Supreme Commander Stalin was extremely anxious, and successively mobilized troops to counterattack Yelnya in order to eliminate this salient and stabilize the defense in the direction of Moscow. The Germans repeatedly fought with the Soviets in Yeltia and felt a great deal of pressure. Guderian, commander of the 2nd Panzer Group, believed that the Yelinian salient was more than 400 kilometers away from the rear base, that it was difficult to supply food and ammunition, and that there was no need for troops to suffer casualties here. Now that the main force of his own armored group was fighting south to Ukraine, there was no longer any strength to support Yelnya, so he proposed to the German General Staff to abandon Yelnya.
Halder, chief of the German General Staff, and Bock, commander of Army Group Center, exchanged views, believing that sooner or later the spearhead of the attack would turn to Moscow, and that the Yelinian salient, as a forward base for the German army, played a great role and could not be abandoned. This is all the more evidenced by the fact that the Soviets are now coming to fight continuously, and that holding the Yelinian salient can cause a serious disadvantage to the enemy. So they rejected Guderian's proposal.
During this period, Stalin personally ordered Zhukov, the former chief of the Soviet general staff, to be sent to the Central Front as commander of the Reserve Front. As soon as Zhukov arrived, he dispatched his troops, aiming directly at the Key Target threatening Moscow, the Yelnya Salient. This was the debut of the famous World War II general Zhukov in the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, and it was also the second decisive victory since the Battle of the Halaha River, which was of great personal significance to him.
In order to preserve the Yeliani salient, the Germans transferred 7 infantry divisions with a total strength of about 80,000 men. However, the main force of the armored forces of Army Group Center has been drawn to the north and south lines, and the remaining 3 armored divisions are resting due to heavy losses. That is, the Germans in the direction of Yelinia had no tank support. At this time, Zhukov had 9 infantry divisions and 1 tank division in his hands, with a total strength of more than 100,000 troops, and was supported by new "Katyusha" rockets, forming a certain advantage over the German army in the Yeliani region. Next, watch Zhukov's performance.
After a series of small tentative attacks, Zhukov commanded his forces in a decisive counterattack on 30 August. The Soviets, supported by tanks and artillery, launched a pincer assault from the north and south flanks in an attempt to cut off the protrusion in one fell swoop. Although the German army was inferior in terms of firepower, the quality of the soldiers was excellent, the combat experience was rich, and the firepower was fully developed by relying on the existing positions, which gave greater damage to the Soviet infantry and tanks. The two sides fought fiercely and the battle reached a stalemate.
At the critical moment, Zhukov showed his iron will and harsh style, gave the front-line troops a death order, threw all tanks into the attack, and the artillery suppressed the enemy with all his strength and resolutely fought. In this way, under the repeated impact of the Soviet "Katyusha" rocket artillery and the repeated attacks of infantry and tanks, the German army also suffered heavy casualties, and the defensive line was broken through one after another. The Soviets attacked the city of Yelinya in one fell swoop and quickly advanced deeper, and the Germans in the area were in danger of being surrounded and annihilated. Bock knew he could not hold on any longer, so he ordered his troops to retreat from the Yelinia area.
On 6 September, the Soviets triumphantly recaptured Yelnya and held a decent military parade into the city. In the epic blockbuster "The Defense of Moscow" in the 80s, this scene is described in great detail. The Battle of Yeyania was not too large, annihilating more than 20,000 German troops, while soviet combat casualties and non-combat attrition reached more than 30,000. However, this was the first battle-level victory achieved by the Soviet army since the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, and it had an exciting and important role. Zhukov, on the other hand, was more highly regarded by Stalin, and was successively sent to important battlefields to fight fires, rising step by step until he became the first general in World War II.