Last time we spoke about the collective German delusions on the eastern front. The German spear aimed at Tikhvin and Moscow, driven by hunger for a swift conquest, while the Soviets gathered courage from ruined cities and stubborn civilians who walked beside soldiers. Rasputitsa, a living mire, swallowed tanks and hope, turning advances into cautious skirmishes as fuel ran low and supply lines sagged. Stalin shuffled commanders like chessmen, swapping Khozin for Fedyuninsky to place a frontline fighter where danger burned hottest. Yet even as the 54th Army strained, the red line held at Sitomlia and along the Volkhov, a stubborn fortress against encroaching winter. The German center faltered first, then the wings, as the 259th and 288th fought to pin back armored columns near the Malaia Vishera. Finland’s cautious patience and Finland’s own war fatigue complicated a broader push, while Moscow worried about fuel, frost, and a gnawing sense that victory would depend as much on weather as on steel. This episode is the Tikvin at Last! Well hello there, welcome to the Eastern Front week by week podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800’s until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  A major Soviet counterattack hit the German vanguard on the Tikhvin front, with the objective of seizing Budogosh and then Gruzino. The northern shock group opened its assault on the 2nd, followed by the southern group on the 4th. In response, the 8th Panzer, moved up from its failed push toward Malaia Vishera, was shifted into the northern sector to meet the threat, while the 20th Motorized prepared to oppose the southern advance. Both Soviet offensives endured heavy artillery fire and Luftwaffe air strikes, and after a punishing bombardment, German mobile divisions mounted counterattacks that repulsed the attacks and drove the Soviets back. By November 6, both offensives were halted, and temperatures had plummeted to the point that rivers and streams across the region were freezing solid. The day before, Schmidt drew the 18th Motorised, the 12th Panzer, and the 8th Panzer into a concentrated push toward Tikhvin. This combined assault overwhelmed the 191st Rifle Division and brought German forces into Tikhvin on November 8. The German command claimed the offensive had yielded about 20,000 prisoners of war, along with the destruction or capture of 96 tanks and 179 artillery pieces. The Moscow–Ladoga railroad was severed, amplifying the pressure on Leningrad’s defenders and civilians. Yet Schmidt’s formations were worn down from their long advance and increasingly beset by winter. Temperatures ranged from -27 °C to -40 °C, taking a severe toll on soldiers and vehicles alike. Soldiers faced frostbite in mounting numbers, and some even froze to death, as the Wehrmacht’s meager winter uniforms sat in depots in Poland. Ammunition and fuel remained top priorities for train shipments, yet deliveries were still far short of demand. Cold-related casualties began to surpass combat losses for Army Group North. Weapons and vehicles suffered random failures from the freezing conditions, and the oil and lubricants the Germans relied on often froze solid. Theoretically the Germans had access to freeze proof petroleum, oil, and lubrication but either it was not issued or it did not work at the temperatures reached by th