The 1,050-kilometer frontage from Holm to Borkhov constituted the so-called "Western Strategic Direction" (or "Central Direction"), where the Red Army Kalinin, the Western Front, and the Moscow Defense Zone were deployed. The total strength of the army is 1,890,000 people. Its immediate enemies, from north to south, were the Holm salient "Fortress", which was held by the right wing of the German Army Group North, and the main force of Army Group Center, which was guarding the Lezhev-Vyazma salient: the 9th Army, the 3rd Panzer Army, and the 4th Army. Its right flank was the 47th Panzer Army of the German 2nd Panzer Army. In this theater of operations, the Germans deployed about 1 million army troops.
550 km from Borkhov to Novokkalitva, the Red Army's Bryansk and Voronezh Fronts were deployed. Further south, 850 km from Novokkalitva to Astrakhan, the Southwest, don and Stalingrad fronts were launched, totaling 1,747,000 men. The 1,400-kilometer front defended by these five Soviet fronts constituted the so-called "southwest strategic direction."
In front of the entire German "B" Army Group (2nd Army, Hungarian 2nd Army, Italian 8th Army, Romanian 3rd Army, 6th Army, 4th Panzer Army, Romanian 6th and 7th Army), and the 53rd and 35th Armies of the 2nd Panzer Army Group of Army Group Center (located on the left flank of the front line, covering the junction of B and Army Group Center). In this theater, 700,000 German Army soldiers and 500,000 Romanian, Italian and Hungarian troops were deployed, for a total of 1.2 million troops. Nearly half (more than 340788) of all German troops were concentrated in the long-held Stalingrad region.
The Red Army's Transcaucasian Front was deployed on the 1,000-kilometer front in the North Caucasus, with a total strength of 816,000 men. Fighting this was the German Army Group A. The army group was subordinate to the 1st Panzer Army, the 17th Army, a total of 27 divisions, about 500,000 army strength (Drough mixed units).