The German orders to capture of Moscow in October 1941 specified the use of 51 divisions, including 13 panzer divisions, to encircle the city. As the Germans closed in on the capital, the fighting got fiercer and more desperate. The delay of the German forces after Smolensk left little time for the drive to Moscow before the onset of winter. And while both German and Russian High Commands were well aware of this, nevertheless, "Operation Typhoon" went ahead as planned. The attack was costly and first bogged down in endless mud, making the roads impassable. Next, the offensive was literally "frozen in its tracks" when the harsh Soviet winter set in. The Germans were not provided with winter clothing, and their vehicles and equipment were similarly not prepared. Yet despite all this, they reached the western suburbs, barely 17 km from the Kremlin, but before they ever encircled the city Soviet reinforcements arrived. Some of these new Russian troops were Siberian divisions, equipped and trained for winter fighting. Can you capture Moscow in the face of the strengthening Red Army and the onset of the bitter Russian Winter?
