Yeah, it was the winter and the rain that favoured them at Moscow. Leningrad was held under siege for more than a year. But Germans could not enter. So that’s a plus for Russians. But everything else until Stalingrad was anything but retreat after a retreat with more than a million casualties after Operation Barbarossa began on the 22nd of June, 1941. They reached 2/3 of the distance to Moscow within days. Barbarossa was a huge success for Nazi Germany until it reached Leningrad and Moscow. Both cities were protected from being captured by Soviet war hero, Georgy Zhukov.
Soviet Red Army was helpless against Hitler’s SS Panzer divisions. They were trapped in between Panzer spearheads one after another killing or capturing hundreds of thousands of Red Army men. Some encirclements were so bad, they captured or killed more than 300,000 Soviet men in one encirclement. This is not to say they did not fight. They did a good fight. But Germans were better than them. In speed and armour. There’s no hiding of it.
Stalingrad
Germans were running out of men and resources. The front lines were thousands of kilometres away from their homeland when they were fighting for Stalingrad. Soviets have stopped retreating and turned them right into a street fight which Germans were never trained for. And then Georgy Zhukov came in with a plan like he did in Leningrad and Moscow. To attack on weaker Nazi flanks in Stalingrad front which are protected by Romanians. They were nothing like the Germans. Soviets tested Romanians before launching the counterattack and discovered they’ll fall within a few hours of fighting.
And it worked. In another two months, they’ve got a decisive victory over Stalingrad and it turned everything.
Well, Americans and British did a little help by opening another front in Western Africa. So Germans had to divert some aircraft from Stalingrad to Africa but they did not divert any men from the Eastern front.
Stalin
On the other hand, Stalin was “blunt” enough to ignore his own intel and British intel, not only once; but twice. The first time when operation Barbarossa is about to take place, the first attack on Russia heading Moscow and Leningrad. Then the operation Fau Blau towards Stalingrad and Caucuses oil fields. He thought the British were playing him on the first occasion and then on the second occasion, he thought it’s all the deception and the attack is elsewhere toward Moscow.
And there are claims Russians allowed Germans to come into Russia and then attacked them. It’s a plain lie and a cover-up to hide the damage and superiority of the Germans. Russian war stories have glorified their later victories and buried the defeats that happened before Stalingrad.
Georgy Zhukov
What Russians had in advantage is an endless supply of men, resources, land, muddy terrain and weather. And one good planner, Georgy Zhukov.
Zhukov was the brain behind every save the Soviets had. Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad and then later in the WW2 chasing Germans back to Berlin and finishing the whole battle of WW2 for good.
Aftermath of Zhukov
Even though this is not related to the main topic, I think this should be mentioned.
Zhukov has later led the Battle of Berlin at the end of the war and had promotions after promotions. He was not only the Supreme Military Commander, he became the military governor in Soviet-occupied land after the victory. Due to his huge popularity, Stalin was scared of him after the war hence stripped his status as Commander in Chief and transferred him to Odessa, far from any strategic importance. Then further transferred away to the Urals.
He has come back to the theatre back under Nikita Khrushchev as the minister of Defence. And again he was fallen under the suspicion of coming into power, and then removed from the foreground for good. Anyway, he’s got the chance to make his equestrian statue to Moscow Kremlin in 1995, long after his death in 1974.
References:
World War Two – Wikipedia
Battle of Stalingrad – Wikipedia
Stalingrad Counterattack Maps
World War Two – Youtube
Georgy Zhukov – Wikipedia