1975 Soviet Russian Map of the Battle of Moscow during World War II

This is a 1975 General Directorate of Geodosy and Cartography of the Council of the USSR (Главное управление геодезии и картографии при Совете Министров СССР) map of the Battle of Moscow in 1941. A large educational propaganda broadside, maps of two separate engagements are presented: the large central map highlights the Soviet defense of Moscow which halted the German blitzkrieg across the Russian steppes presented in the smaller map along the left side. A key explaining the various notations employed on both maps is situated along the bottom border at center and identifies the symbols used to mark actions of both Nazi and Soviet troops, battle lines on given days, and the dates when individual villages and towns fell to the invading Germans and then were liberated by the advancing Soviets. Both Nazi and Soviet tank positions are marked, as are Soviet airborne operations and the activities of both the Soviet Air Force and the German Air Force. Statistics concerning both the Nazi advance on Moscow and the subsequent Soviet counterattack are provided in large infographic sections which overlay photographs: one depicting antitank artillery and the other Katyusha rocket launcher. An illustration of a celebrated Soviet propaganda poster stating ‘Let’s Make a Stand for Moscow!’ is included in the upper left superimposed over the front page of an issue of Pravda, the Russian state newspaper.

Operation Barbarossa and the Battle of Moscow

Hitler and Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 and advanced on three fronts. The plan called for the capture of Moscow within the first four months of the invasion, but the capture of the Soviet capital city was not seen as the top priority objective by Hitler. Nonetheless, by the end of July, the German Army Group Center had crossed the Dnieper River and was on a path toward Moscow. Even while advancing on three fronts, the Wehrmacht continued to win battles against the Soviet army, breaking through defensive line after defensive line, but by mid-October the German army was worn out. The highly mechanized German advance was also hindered by thick mud, which bogged down their tanks and trucks. By mid-November, however, the ground had finally frozen, and the German army was ready to resume the offensive. The Germans advanced from the north, south and west of Moscow, and eventually reached a point 19 miles away from the Kremlin, but that was as far as the Wehrmacht managed. The Soviets launched a massive counteroffensive on December 5, 1941, and successfully pushed the Wehrmacht back in all three sectors, but some of these lines would hold for the next two years.

Publication History and Census

This map was created for and published by the General Directorate of Geodosy and Cartography of the Council of the USSR in 1975. We have been unable to locate any institutional holdings and are only aware of one other instance when this map has appeared on the private market.