THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE IN THE SOUTHERN USSR IN 1941
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17072/2219-3111-2025-4-164-175Keywords:
Great Patriotic War, Wehrmacht, military geologists, influence of natural factors, Donbass, Northern Azov region, Northern Black Sea region, water resources, military strategy and tacticsAbstract
The reasons for Germany's defeat in the first year of the Great Patriotic War are often associated with the negative impact of weather conditions on the actions of the Wehrmacht. The authors studied the impact of natural factors on the military operations of the Wehrmacht in the southern direction of the Soviet-German front in 1941 in the Northern Black Sea region, Northern Azov region and Donbass. The study is based on documents from the funds of the Central Archives of the Ministry of Defense (hereinafter referred to as TsAMO RF) and the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States (hereinafter referred to as NARA). The main attention is paid to the activities of specialized units, primarily the military geological service of the German army. Comprehensive enemy activities in preparation for an offensive on the southwestern territories of the USSR are revealed. An analysis of the activities of the military geological service of the 11th Army demonstrated the enemy's ability to quickly respond to emerging crises of a natural nature, primarily water supply in the arid steppes. In Donbass, the enemy predicted a similar crisis and carried out a set of measures in advance to prevent it. An analysis of the conclusions of the military geological services of Army Group South allows us to identify two of the most important issues: water supply in the steppe and highly urbanized areas and the influence of loess soils on the cross-country ability of equipment. As a result, a conclusion was made about the readiness of the Wehrmacht to take into account and overcome natural obstacles within the framework of the initial campaign plans. This emphasizes the significant military-technical and organizational potential of the German army, which the Red Army successfully resisted.References
Артюхин Ю.В. От обороны Ейской военно-морской базы к боям за Новороссийск. О влия-нии природных процессов на высадку десанта // Место подвига – Новороссийск. Август 1942 – сентябрь 1943 – на левом фланге советско-германского фронта: материалы науч. конф. Новороссийск: Новорос. ист. музей-заповедник, 2014. С. 21‒27.
Афанасенко В.И., Кринко Е.Ф. 56-я армия в боях за Ростов. Первая победа Красной армии. Октябрь – декабрь 1941. М.: Центрполиграф, 2013. 316 с.
Афанасенко В.И., Кринко Е.Ф. Воздействие природных факторов на проведение десантных операций в Крыму в декабре 1941 – январе 1942 гг. // Наука Юга России. 2019. № 1. С. 94–104. DOI: 10.7868/S25000640190111. EDN: OJWRCA.
Гаврилов А.Г. Метеорологическое обеспечение Военно-воздушных сил Красной армии в годы Великой Отечественной войны (1941‒1945 гг.). М.: Ретрогидромет, 2025. 284 с.
Гальдер Ф. Военный дневник. Ежедневные записи начальника Генерального штаба сухо-путных войск 1939–1942 гг. Т. 3. Кн. 1 (22.6.1941–30.9.1941). М.: Воениздат, 1971. 408 с. Кн. 2 (1.10.1941 – 24.9.1942). М.: Воениздат, 1971. 368 с.
Корчагин Е.А. Водоснабжение войск в Великой Отечественной войне // Вестник МГСУ. 2020. Т. 15, № 5. С. 746–752. EDN: BYRKOT.
Кринко Е.Ф. «Погода была очень скверная». Роль природного фактора в боевых действиях в Крыму (1941‒1944 гг.) по воспоминаниям их участников // Российская история. 2021. № 3. С. 204–210. DOI: 10.31857/S086956870015474-2. EDN: ARSODL.
Матишов Г.Г., Афанасенко В.И., Кринко Е.Ф., Курбат Т.Г. Война. Юг. Перелом (лето 1942 – осень 1943 гг.). Ростов н/Д.: Изд-во ЮНЦ РАН, 2012. 284 с.
Матишов Г.Г., Афанасенко В.И., Кринко Е.Ф., Медведев М.В. Большая излучина Дона – место решающих сражений Великой Отечественной войны (1942–1943 гг.). Ростов н/Д.: Изд-во ЮНЦ РАН, 2016. 456 с.
Матишов Г.Г., Кринко Е.Ф., Артюхин Ю.В. Влияние природных факторов на ход и харак-тер боевых действий в большой излучине Дона во время Великой Отечественной войне // Вестник Юж. науч. центра. 2014. Т. 10, № 2. С. 83–92. EDN: SGZMQR.
Матишов Г.Г., Афанасенко В.И., Кринко Е.Ф. Миус-фронт в Великой Отечественной войне. 1941/1942 гг. 1943 г. 2-е изд., испр. и доп. Ростов н/Д.: Изд-во ЮНЦ РАН, 2011. 228 с.
Мессе Дж. Война на русском фронте. Итальянский экспедиционный корпус в России (К.С.И.Р.). М.: Книжный Мир, 2009. 288 с. ISBN: 978-5-8041-0306-5. EDN: QPJZCR.
Прямицын В.Н. Советская гидрометеорологическая служба и контрнаступление Красной армии под Сталинградом // Российская история. 2023. № 3. С. 33‒41. DOI: 10.31857/S2949124X23030045. EDN: EPQIEE.
Сидорчук Е.А. Роль и место топографического фактора в организации обороны Севасто-поля в 1941–1942 гг. // Вестник Брян. гос. ун-та. 2017. № 4(34). С. 127‒134. EDN: YLPYXI.
Советский Союз: географическое описание в 22 т. Украина. Общий обзор. М.: Мысль, 1969. 309 с.
Häusler H. Geographen im Zweiten Weltkrieg: Die “Forschungsstaffel z.b.V.” – Nutzung der Potenziale des Georaumes für militärische Zwecke // Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Geogra-phischen Gesellschaft. 2018. Bd. 160. S. 9–56.
Lejenäs H. The Severe Winter in Europe 1941‒42: The Large-scale Circulation, Cut-off Lows, and Blocking // Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 1989. Vol. 70, no. 3 (March). P. 271‒281.
Neumann, J., Flohn H. Great Historical Events That Were Significantly Affected by the Weath-er: Part 8, Germany's War on the Soviet Union, 1941‒45. I. Long-range Weather Forecasts for 1941‒42 and Climatological Studies // Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 1987. Vol. 68, no. 6 (June). P. 620‒630.
Rose E., Willing D. German Military Geologists and Geographers in World War II // Studies in Military Geography and Geology / eds. by D.R. Caldwell, J.E. and R.S. Harmon. Boston: Kluwer Academic Pub, 2004. P. 198–214.
References
Afanasenko, V. I., & Krinko, E. F. (2019). Impact of natural factors on landing operations in Crimea in Decem-ber 1941 – January 1942. Nauka Yuga Rossii, 1, 94–104.
Artyukhin, Yu. V. (2014). From the defense of the Yeisk naval base to the battles for Novorossiysk: On the in-fluence of natural processes on the landing of troops. In Mesto podviga – Novorossiysk. Avgust 1942 – sentyabr' 1943 – na levom flange sovetsko-germanskogo fronta [Place of the feat – Novorossiysk. August 1942 - September 1943 - on the left flank of the Soviet-German front] (pp. 21–27). Novorossiysk Historical Museum-Reserve.
Gavrilov, A. G. (2025). Meteorologicheskoe obespechenie Voenno-vozdushnykh sil Krasnoy armii v gody Ve-likoy Otechestvennoy voyny (1941-1945 gg.) [Meteorological support of the Red Army Air Forces during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)]. Retrohydromet.
Häusler, H. (2018). Geographers in the Second World War: The "Forschungsstaffel z.b.V." – Utilizing the Poten-tials of the Geo-Space for Military Purposes. Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Geographischen Gesellschaft, 160, 9–56.
Korchagin, E. A. (2020). Water supply of troops in the Great Patriotic War. Vestnik MGSU, 15(5), 746–752.
Krinko, E. F. (2021). “The weather was very bad”: The role of the natural factor in the hostilities in Crimea (1941-1944) according to the memoirs of their participants. Rossiyskaya istoriya, 3, 204–210.
Lejenäs, H. (1989). The severe winter in Europe 1941-42: The large-scale circulation, cut-off lows, and blocking. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 70(3), 271–281.
Matishov, G. G., Afanasenko, V. I., & Krinko, E. F. (2011). Mius-front v Velikoy Otechestvennoy voyne. 1941/1942 gg. 1943 g. [Mius front in the Great Patriotic War. 1941/1942. 1943]. SSC RAS Publishers.
Matishov, G. G., Afanasenko, V. I., Krinko, E. F., & Kurbat, T. G. (2012). Voyna. Yug. Perelom (leto 1942 – osen' 1943 gg.) [War. South. Turning point (summer 1942 – autumn 1943).]. SSC RAS Publishers.
Matishov, G. G., Afanasenko, V. I., Krinko, E. F., & Medvedev, M. V. (2016). Bol'shaya izluchina Dona – mesto reshayushchikh srazheniy Velikoy Otechestvennoy voyny (1942–1943 gg.) [The Great Bend of the Don – the Place of Decisive Battles of the Great Patriotic War (1942–1943)]. Publishing House of the Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Matishov, G. G., Krinko, E. F., & Artyukhin, Yu. V. (2014). The influence of natural factors on the course and nature of military operations in the great bend of the Don during the Great Patriotic War. Vestnik Yuzhnogo Nauchnogo Tsentra, 10(2), 83–92.
Messe, G. (2009). Voyna na russkom fronte. Ital'yanskiy ekspeditsionnyy korpus v Rossii (K.S.I.R.) [War on the Russian Front. Italian Expeditionary Force in Russia (K.S.I.R.)]. Knizhny Mir.
Neumann, J., & Flohn, H. (1987). Great historical events that were significantly affected by the weather: Part 8, Germany's war on the Soviet Union, 1941-45. I. Long-range weather forecasts for 1941-42 and climatological studies. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 68(6), 620–630.
Pryamitsyn, V. N. (2023). Soviet Hydrometeorological Service and the Red Army's Counteroffensive at Stalin-grad. Rossiyskaya istoriya, 3, 33–41.
Rose, E., & Willing, D. (2004). German military geologists and geographers in World War II. In D. R. Caldwell, J. E. Harmon, & R. S. Harmon (Eds.), Studies in military geography and geology (pp. 198–214). Kluwer Academ-ic Publishers.
Sidorchuk, E. A. (2017). The role and place of the topographic factor in the organization of the defense of Se-vastopol in 1941-1942. Vestnik Bryanskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, 4(34), 127–134.
Sovetskiy Soyuz: geograficheskoye opisaniye v 22 t. Ukraina. Obshchiy obzor [Soviet Union: Geographical de-scription in 22 vol. Ukraine. General overview]. (1969). Mysl'.
