Last time we spoke about the First Great Victory of the Red Army. German forces pushed toward Moscow and Rostov despite severe logistics: scarce trains, fuel, winter gear, and brutal Rasputitsa conditions. The Red Army, under Zhukov and Rokossovsky, resisted with fortified defenses, minefields, and deliberate countermeasures while STAVKA reshuffles command to keep pressure on the invaders and tie down their forces. A minor Soviet opening near Tikhvin stretched German lines; however, reinforcements and stubborn defense around key routes prevent a decisive breakthrough. In the north, German advances slow through forests and swamps, with mounting attrition from Soviet counterattacks and persistent Luftwaffe absence. Tank shortages and exhaustion plagued German units, prompting the emergence of improvised Tank Crew Battalions and a shift in operational risk. On the Soviet side, the Road of Life to Leningrad expanded with multiple convoys delivering supplies and a second road completed by late November, raising throughput to about 128 tons daily. By month’s end, German forces faced catastrophic attrition and growing talk of retreat, whereas STAVKA gained patience and prepared for revenge. This episode is Pushing the Germans Back 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.    What had started as a desperate attempt to push the Germans back from the gates of Moscow has become a full-throated effort to destroy Army Group Center. Ejecting the invaders had become Stalin’s priority. In his blind optimism, Stalin had evaluated the Wehrmacht as a spent force in the wake of Operation Typhoon’s failures. This week would prove that hypothesis false. Meanwhile, Hitler reshuffled his generals. Once-celebrated Wehrmacht heroes fell from grace as younger officers rose to take their places. In Army Group North, the German situation stabilized after the retreats from Tikhvin and Volkhov. Yet the Soviets planned to press their gains. The new Volkhov Front, under Meretskov, was reinforced from Stavka’s reserve. It was worth remembering that, when mentioning unit transfers, we were talking about movements of tens of thousands of men, sometimes hundreds of miles. These changes did not happen instantly. On the Eastern Front, they often took days or weeks to complete. There were occasions when all that was needed was a change at the top, and those adjustments could be made relatively quickly. The 26th Army, under Lieutenant General Sokolov, and the 59th Army, under Major General Galanin, were transferred to Meretskov’s command. They did not arrive in time for the planned offensive, but they provided the Volkhov Front with a solid backing force for future operations if needed. The orders for the planned offensive were signed on 17 December. Shaposhnikov’s order stated: Signed Stalin, Shaposhnikov “The Volkhov Front consisting of the 4th, 59th, 2nd Shock, and 52nd Armies will launch a general offensive to smash the enemy defending along the western bank of the Volkhov river and reach the Liuban-Cholovo station front with your armies main forces by the end of [left blank]. Subsequently, attacking to the northwest, encircle the enemy defending around Leningrad,  destroy and capture him in cooperation with