69-559: Rzhev (Russian: Ржев , IPA: [ˈrʐɛf] ) is a town in Tver Oblast , Russia , located 49 kilometers (30 mi) southwest of Staritsa and 126 kilometers (78 mi) from Tver , on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga . It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River . Population: 61,982 ( 2010 Census ) ; 63,729 ( 2002 Census ) ; 69,808 ( 1989 Soviet census ) . Rzhev
138-577: A debated topic. American military historian, Colonel David M. Glantz claimed that Zhukov had to take the main responsibility in the tactical failure of this operation, and this was "the greatest defeat of Marshal Zhukov." In more detail, David Glantz asserted that Zhukov's command in this offensive was not careful, too ambitious, too clumsy and all these led to a disaster. However, Antony Beevor disagreed with Glantz's comment. According to Beevor, at that time Zhukov had to concentrate on Operation Uranus at Stalingrad, so he had little time to care about what
207-487: A high price for their victory at Rzhev, but the Germans were forced to withdraw from an important bridgehead which had enabled the Germans to threaten Moscow. The Germans, however, retreated to defensive positions that were as strong as the ones they held within the salients, contributing to the failure of Red Army offensives against Army Group Center in the summer of 1943. Losses for the entire series of operations around
276-632: A large number of tanks, the numbers of low quality, damaged and outdated ones were also large. In the Bryansk, Western and Kalinin Front, the proportion of low quality tanks was 69% and the rates of damaged tanks about 41-55%. All the above facts meant that the Red Army in the Rzhev area did not have adequate preparation in terms of equipment, weapons and logistics. The worst mistakes of the Red Army in 1942 at
345-816: A number of archeological sites. There is a local museum in Rzhev. As a highly controversial move, in 2013 the Joseph-Stalin Museum was opened in a building where Joseph Stalin had spent one night in 1943 while inspecting the troops. As of 2015, the museum did not have regular opening hours and was only open by appointment, trying to keep a low profile. Rzhev is twinned with: Former twin towns: Types of inhabited localities in Russia The classification system of inhabited localities in Russia and some other post-Soviet states has certain peculiarities compared with those in other countries. During
414-799: Is clear that medieval Rzhev was bitterly contested by three regional powers—the Novgorod Republic, the Principality of Smolensk , and the Grand Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal . Following the Mongol invasion , Rzhev passed to a lateral branch of the Smolensk dynasty, which made the town its capital. Later the princes divided the town in two parts, which are still called the Prince-Dmitry's Side and Prince-Theodor's Side. In
483-525: Is navigable, however, there is no passenger navigation. The Battles of Rzhev (Russian: Ржевская битва) were a series of Soviet operations in World War II between January 8, 1942, and March 31, 1943. Due to the high losses suffered by the Soviet Army, the campaign became known by veterans and historians as the "Rzhev Meat Grinder" ("Ржевская мясорубка", Rzhevskaya myasorubka ). Rzhev was home to
552-447: Is the hesitation in retreating from threatened sectors. As a results, many Soviet units were trapped in a notable number of "pockets" when the Germans counter-attacked. In these cases, only the troops of 11th Cavalry Corps and 6th Tank Corps managed to escape successfully. The escape of 33rd and 41st Army was conducted on time, but they failed to keep it secret and chose the wrong direction to move, leading to considerable casualties. And in
621-473: Is unclear if the salient was worth the loss of around 20 high quality divisions for offensive or defensive operations elsewhere in 1942. The abandonment of the salient was necessary in 1943 to create reserves for the front as a whole. But the reserves and the strength created were mostly used up in the costly offensive directed at Kursk in 1943 (Operation Citadel). This part of the Second World War
690-594: The 4th Airborne Corps in seven separate landing zones, five of them intended to cut major road and rail lines of communication to the Wehrmacht's 9th Army. In the aftermath of the Soviet winter counteroffensive of 1941–1942, substantial Soviet forces remained in the rear of the German Ninth Army. These forces maintained a hold on the primitive forested swamp region between Rzhev and Bely . On 2 July 1942,
759-458: The Battles of Rzhev and almost completely wiped out the population of the town. Almost no old architecture survived these battles. In honour of the people lost in the war, a statue was unveiled in Rzhev on June 30, 2020. Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko attended the unveiling, leaving roses at the base of the statue. Within the framework of administrative divisions , Rzhev serves as
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#1732771842759828-559: The Grand Duchy of Moscow . In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great , Rzhev was included into Ingermanlandia Governorate (since 1710 known as Saint Petersburg Governorate), and in 1727 Novgorod Governorate split off. In 1775, Tver Viceroyalty was formed from the lands which previously belonged to Moscow and Novgorod Governorates, and Rzhev was transferred to Tver Viceroyalty, which in 1796
897-486: The Nazi occupation and some nine thousand residents were shot, starved, or tortured to death in a concentration camp set up in the center of town. During this occupation, the general area of Rzhev, Sychyovka and Vyazma was the site of a set of major military operations between the Red Army and Nazi German military forces. These operations, which resulted in a great loss of civilian and military life, are commonly referred to as
966-578: The President of Russia Vladimir Putin on 8 October 2007, for "courage, endurance and mass heroism, exhibited by defenders of the city in the struggle for the freedom and independence of the Motherland". This act also caused heated debate and controversy. Many people believed that Rzhev should not be a "City of Military Glory" since it was the Germans who were "defenders of the city" against numerous and unsuccessful Soviet attacks. However, according to
1035-820: The Rzhev and Bakhmutovo air bases during the Cold War. Since 1918 the army base Sklad-40 is located in Rzhev. Rzhev contains 15 cultural heritage monuments of federal significance and additionally 72 objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. The federal monuments include the Church of John the Baptist (also known as the Okovtsy Church) built in the 19th century, monuments to soldiers and civilians fallen in World War II, as well as
1104-705: The Soviet time, each of the republics of the Soviet Union , including the Russian SFSR , had its own legislative documents dealing with classification of inhabited localities. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union , the task of developing and maintaining such classification in Russia was delegated to the federal subjects . While currently there are certain peculiarities to classifications used in many federal subjects, they are all still largely based on
1173-535: The Soviet winter counter-offensive of 1941 , and the Rzhev–Vyazma strategic offensive operation (8 January 1942 – 20 April 1942), German forces were pushed back from Moscow . As a result, a salient was formed along the front line in the direction of the capital, which became known as the Rzhev–Vyazma salient. It was strategically important for the German Army Group Centre due to
1242-413: The administrative center of Rzhevsky District , even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as Rzhev Okrug —an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts . As a municipal division , Rzhev Okrug is incorporated as Rzhev Urban Okrug . Sklad-40 is a microdistrict on the Soviet side ( ru:Советская сторона ) western part of
1311-512: The 11th Cavalry Corps to attack west of Rzhev, and penetrate deep into the western flank of Army Group Centre's 9th Army. This was achieved in January, and by the end of the month the cavalry corps found itself 110 km into the depth of the German flank. To eliminate this threat to the 9th Army's rear, the Germans had started Operation Seydlitz by 2 July. However, due to the nature of the terrain
1380-598: The Front commanders had to make occasional appeals for equipment. The serious lack of ammunition hampered Soviet efforts in neutralizing German strongpoints, leading to heavy casualties in the assaults. The lack of munitions did not only occur in the case of cannons and mortars, but also for small arms. During the "ammunitions famine" at Rzhev salient, on average, the Red Army only had 3 bullets for each rifle, 30 bullets for each submachine gun, 300 bullets for each light machine gun and 600 bullets for each heavy one. The "famine" of munitions in firearms and artillery pieces forced
1449-479: The German onslaught in 1941 . During the first half of 1942 the reserve sources of equipment were still inadequate. For example, during January and February 1942, the Western Front only received 55% of the needed 82 mm mortar rounds, 36% of needed 120 mm rounds and 44% of needed artillery munitions. On average, each artillery battery only had 2 rounds per day. The weapons deficit was so severe that
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#17327718427591518-501: The Germans suffered 40,000 casualties. According to German reports, which are still stored at the Storage Center of National Documents of Germany, from March 1942 to March 1943 the casualties of the 2nd, 4th, 9th, 2nd Panzer, 3rd Panzer and 4th Panzer Armies (the latter only having data from March to April 1942) amount to 162,713 killed, 35,650 missing, and 469,747 wounded. However, according to Gerasimova, German casualties in
1587-536: The Ninth Army under General Walter Model launched Operation Seydlitz to clear the Soviet forces out. The Germans first blocked the natural breakout route through the Obsha valley and then split the Soviet forces into two isolated pockets. The battle lasted eleven days and ended with the elimination of the encircled Soviet forces. The next Rzhev–Sychyovka offensive (25 November 1942 – 20 December 1942)
1656-409: The Red Army and also his own faults in this period: Today, after reflecting the events of 1942, I see that I had many shortcomings in evaluating the situation at Vyazma. We overestimated ourselves and underestimated the enemies. The "walnut" there was much stronger than what we predicted. The Soviet Army suffered terribly from severe deficits in weapons and equipment due to the tremendous losses during
1725-404: The Rzhev battles are not mentioned such as the breakout of 1st Guard Cavalry Corps, the breakout of more than 17,000 remaining troops of 33rd Army during Operation Seydlitz, and the breakout of the 41st Army. According to Isayev, if the film of Pivovarov and the thesis of Gerasimova were true, many living people should have been recorded as KIA. The role of Zhukov in this infamous offensive is also
1794-429: The Rzhev salient from 1941 to 1943 are difficult to calculate. These operations cover an entire series of battles and defensive operations over a wide area involving many formations on both sides. For the whole series of Rzhev battles, the numbers are not clear. But, since the mobilized manpower of both sides was enormous and the fighting was violent, casualties would be expected to be very high. According to A. V. Isayev,
1863-597: The Rzhev salients lies in the coordination and cooperation between its Fronts and the control of Stavka towards them. During the offensives in January and February 1942, instead of establishing a centralized command and control with tight cooperation between the Fronts, the Soviet Stavka and I. V. Stalin let each Front carry out their own assault without notable cooperation between the Fronts. Such separated and uncooperative assaults failed to achieve their goals and lead to
1932-405: The Soviet army commanders, in many cases, to use tanks in the role of artillery; such inappropriate usage together with outdated military thinking (which did not pay enough attention to the assault role of tank forces) sharply reduced the effectiveness of the tank units, preventing them from conducting deep penetration into the German defensive line. For the tank forces, although the Soviet possessed
2001-401: The Soviet losses from January 1942 to March 1943 were 392,554 irrecoverable casualties (killed, missing, died before hospitalisation) and 768,233 sanitary (medical) casualties . The Soviet losses during the beginning period of 1942 (including "Operation Jupiter") were 272,320 irrecoverable and 504,569 sanitary; with 25.7% of the total manpower that participated in these battles being killed on
2070-500: The Soviets also started using tanks as a main assault force instead of a mere supporting tool for infantry. The Front commanders also got some important experience in commanding and coordinating a combined force. From May 1942, Soviet Fronts started to deploy their own air armies for supporting the land troops, reporting under the direct command of the Front commanders. Thus these commanders began to have some sort of full authority to use
2139-608: The air forces, except the long-ranged strategic bomber units which were still under direct command of the Soviet Stavka . After the "manpower crisis" of late 1941, in 1942 the Soviets had gathered enough strategic reserves, and they also began to pay more attention to developing them. In 1942 the Soviets managed to build 18 new reserve armies and resupply 9 others. At Rzhev, the army received 3 reserve armies and had 3 others resupplied. Of course, in this period, many Soviet units still had inadequate strength and equipment, but with
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2208-584: The battle for Rzhev–Vyazma are uncertain, and the commonly cited 350,000–400,000 range lacks substantiation and references to documentary sources. The number of soldiers that died during hospital treatment is still unknown. Before the war, Rzhev had more than 56,000 people, but when it was liberated on 3 March 1943, there were only 150 people remaining, plus 200 in the surrounding rural area. The inhabitants were transported to Germany and Eastern Europe. Out of 5,443 houses, only 297 remained. Material losses were estimated at 500 million rubles (1941 value). Vyazma
2277-511: The battlefield. According to V. V. Beshanov, the casualties of the July–September Rzhev offensive were 193,683 overall, and during Operation Mars the Soviets suffered 250,000 casualties with 800 tanks damaged or destroyed. Isayev provided a somewhat lower number: 70,340 irrecoverable and 145,300 sanitary casualties. Russian historian Svetlana Gerasimova states that the official Soviet casualty count of 1,324,823 men for
2346-577: The case of 11th Cavalry and 39th Army, the Stavka made a serious mistake when they planned to keep them in the Kholm-Zhirkovsky bridgehead for future attacks; however not only they failed to conduct any attacks but also they were surrounded and nearly destroyed during the Seydlitz operation . After the Soviet winter counter-offensive of 1941–42, the Germans were able to securely hold and defend
2415-611: The city. Rzhev produces most of the cranes used in constructing apartment buildings and shopping malls in Moscow. The railway which connects Moscow and Riga runs through Rzhev. Another railway connecting Torzhok with Vyazma via Rzhev, crosses it from north to south. There is passenger railway traffic. The M9 highway connecting Moscow with Riga also passes Rzhev. Two other roads connect Rzhev with Tver via Staritsa and with Ostashkov via Selizharovo . There are also local roads with bus traffic originating from Rzhev. The Volga
2484-666: The data from the archives of the Russian Ministry of Defence , Isayev claimed that Igor Elkov's estimates were exaggerated, and claimed the casualties of the Soviet forces as below: Isayev also claimed that his estimates match the research of Colonel-General Grigoriy Krivosheyev , his superior at the Russian Military History Institute, which is considered the sole officially recognized source on Soviet casualties in WWII. Isayev also claims that
2553-520: The defence of Moscow in 1941. According to all these facts, Rzhev, Vyazma and many other cities have enough conditions to have the title "City of Military Glory," whether they were occupied or not. The Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier was unveiled by the presidents of Russia and Belarus on 30 June 2020. The statue was designed by sculptor Andrei Korobtsov and architect Konstantin Fomin and
2622-587: The earlier victory at the Battle of Stalingrad and create some advantages in the critical sector of the front. Their attacks threatened the flanks of Army Group Center and forced the Germans to divert the forces to these areas, therefore reducing the pressure on Moscow. During this time, the USSR's Army commanders began to concentrate their main forces at the critical zones to strengthen their position in these areas, or to muster enough power for their assaults. In addition,
2691-473: The electronic draft of Krivosheyev's research was stolen and illegally used by the hackers, hence these drafts were completely deleted from the Institute Website. According to Isayev the total Soviet casualties at Rzhev from January 1942 to March 1943 were 392,554 KIA and 768,233 WIA. The documentary by Pivovarov was also disparaged by Isayev; who stated that in this film, many important events of
2760-488: The four offensive operations against the Rzhev-Vyazma salient only accounts for approximately 8 out of the 15 months of fighting. Soviet operational losses from May–July and October–November 1942, and January–February 1943 are missing and not included in the official figure. Gerasimova states that with the inclusion of casualties from these seven months, and the official casualty figures of the four offensive operations,
2829-401: The front finally compelled the Germans to abandon the salient in order to free up reserves for the front as a whole. Defending the salient required 29 divisions. Its abandonment freed up 22 of those divisions and created a strategic reserve which allowed the Germans to stabilize the front and somewhat recover from massive losses at Stalingrad . German General Heinz Guderian had doubts about
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2898-505: The law, being occupied does not prevent a city from receiving this honorary title. As long as its citizens, military personnel and government officers paid a large contribution for the Great Patriotic War and expressed great heroism, bravery and patriotism in these contributions, that is enough. Furthermore, the fierce and heroic resistance of Soviet citizens at Rzhev not only occurred during the 1942–1943 period, but also during
2967-464: The mid-14th century, they had a hard time repelling attacks from Algirdas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Grand Princes of Tver, who bought all the villages around the town. Finally, they left for Moscow, where their descendants (the Rzhevsky family) have become comic characters of many a joke . In the meantime, the town was occupied for a short space by Tver, Poland-Lithuania , and finally by
3036-412: The more plentiful reserve force, they managed to somewhat maintain stable fighting capability and prevent the severe fluctuation in manpower. This enabled the Red Army to conduct active defenses and prepare for large-scaled offensives. As the second highest ranking member of the Stavka, Marshal Georgy Zhukov was one of the first Soviet military officers to admit and to make a strict self-criticism about
3105-411: The northeast of Smolensk Oblast and the south of Tver Oblast , in and around the salient surrounding Rzhev . Due to the high losses suffered by the Red Army, the campaign became known by veterans and historians as the " Rzhev Meat Grinder " (Russian: Ржевская мясорубка , romanized: Rzhevskaya myasorubka ). The major operations that were executed in this area of the front were: During
3174-532: The offensive to the German Army High Command as part of the plan to divert German forces from any relief of those trapped at Stalingrad. German forces in the salient were eventually withdrawn by Hitler during Operation Büffel to provide greater force for the German offensive operation at Kursk . Fighting in the area remained mostly static for 14 months. Losses and setbacks elsewhere along
3243-409: The offensives. Early 1942, the Red Army had just recovered from the disastrous losses during the late half of 1941, therefore it was still very weak. In every offensive, the aims and scale have to be correlative with the army's strength, but at the battles of Rzhev, the Soviet commanders demanded too much from their subordinates. Last but not least, another "palindromic disease" of the Red Army in 1942
3312-528: The okrugs were abolished, and the districts were subordinated directly to the oblast. On 29 January 1935 Kalinin Oblast was established, and Rzhev was transferred to Kalinin Oblast. In 1990, Kalinin Oblast was renamed Tver Oblast. During World War II , Rzhev was occupied by German troops from 14 October 1941 to 3 March 1943. More than one-sixth of the population was sent off to forced labor in Germany during
3381-463: The positions only due to losses elsewhere in the war and were able to withdraw from the salient with minimal losses. German operations in 1941 directed at Moscow lasted too late into the year. Rather than stabilize the front and create defensive positions, the Germans pushed their forces forward and left them poorly prepared for the Soviet winter counteroffensive. The losses in men and equipment to Army Group Centre were considerable. The Army group lacked
3450-503: The salient against a series of large Soviet offensives. The operations led to disproportionately high Soviet losses and tied down large numbers of Soviet troops. The defense of the Salient provided the Germans with a base from which they could launch a new offensive against Moscow at a future time. The defensive positions created by the Germans after the retreat from Moscow were well constructed and placed. The Germans eventually withdrew from
3519-562: The strategic aims of the later Operation Citadel , since the Germans had to abandon the strategically important Rzhev–Vyazma salient for gathering troops to attempt to take a much less valuable one at Kursk. The retreat of the Germans in Operation Büffel was tactically and militarily successful, but the abandonment of the "Rzhev–Vyazma pistol" was a strategic loss for Nazi Germany on the Eastern Front. The Soviet Army paid
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#17327718427593588-556: The strength to go back on the offensive in 1942. After the front stabilized, the German Army tied down enormous amounts of manpower in holding salients from which they did not intend to exploit. This reduced the amount of manpower the Germans could devote to operations elsewhere on the front. The Germans also used some of their best formations, such as 9th Army, in a strictly static defensive role. The Rzhev salient had value and tied down disproportionate numbers of Soviet troops, but it
3657-595: The supply route for the Soviet 22nd, 29th, and 39th Armies, which had attempted to enlarge the penetration, became difficult and they were encircled. The cutting of a major highway to Rzhev by the cavalry signalled the commencement of the Toropets–Kholm offensive. The offensive was conducted in late 1942. This offensive was conducted across the northern part of the Western Front against the Wehrmacht 's 16th Army and 9th Army. A Soviet airborne operation, conducted by
3726-486: The system used in the RSFSR. In all federal subjects, the inhabited localities are classified into two major categories: urban and rural. Further divisions of these categories vary slightly from one federal subject to another, but they all follow common trends described below. In 1957, the procedures for categorizing urban-type settlements were further refined. Multiple types of rural localities exist, some common through
3795-476: The threat it posed to Moscow, and was therefore heavily fortified and strongly defended. Initial Soviet forces committed by the Kalinin and Western Front included the 22nd , 29th , 30th , 31st , 39th of the former, and the 1st Shock , 5th , 10th , 16th , 20th , 33rd , 43rd , 49th , and 50th armies and three cavalry corps for the latter. The intent was for the 22nd, 29th, and 39th Armies supported by
3864-427: The total failure of the whole offensives. To make matters worse, on 19 January 1942 Stalin suddenly retook the 1st Shock Army from the Western Front with a "very nonsense" reason. That unreasonable act severely weakened the right wing of the Western Front and lead to the failure of the offensive at the area Olenino–Rzhev–Osuga. Further errors in the Soviet tactics and commands were the ambitious and unrealistic goals of
3933-535: The total losses approach 2,300,000 men. Retired German General Horst Grossmann did not provide the total casualties of the German side in his book Rzhev, the basement of the Eastern Front . According to his description, from 31 July to 9 August, one German battalion at the front line, after being exhausted in the violent battles, only had one commandant and 22 soldiers, and by 31 August there were battalions which had only one commandant and 12 soldiers (equal to one squad ). According to Grossmann, during Operation Mars,
4002-472: The whole territory of Russia, some specific to certain federal subjects. The most common types include: Battles of Rzhev 1943 The Battles of Rzhev ( Russian : Ржевская битва , romanized : Rzhevskaya bitva ) were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between 8 January 1942 and 31 March 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II . The battles took place in
4071-473: The winter of 1941–1942, in these camps, about 300 people each day were killed by diseases, cold, starvation, torture and other causes. After the war, two mass graves were discovered in the area, each 4 by 100 m in area and in total containing an estimated 70,000 bodies, all of them unidentified. Germans also discovered and executed 8 local political leaders, 60 commissars and political instructors , and 117 Jews at Dulag camp 230. The Soviets managed to exploit
4140-403: Was actually the commander in charge of all the fronts at the Rzhev salient. Zhukov took part in the command at Rzhev only during its later periods as a "firefighter" who was solving the serious problems of the battlefield at that moment. Therefore, Beevor asserted that Glantz's comments about Zhukov's responsibility were incorrect. Rzhev was conferred the status of " City of Military Glory " by
4209-425: Was aired in Russia entitled Rzhev: Marshal Zhukov's Unknown Battle , which made no attempt to cover up the huge losses suffered by Soviet forces. As a consequence, there were public calls in Russia for the arrest of some of those involved in its production. In the movie, the casualties of Soviet forces are given as 433,000 KIA . The journalist Alina Makeyeva , in an article of Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper which
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#17327718427594278-423: Was also virtually destroyed during the war. In the city, two transit camps of Nazi Germany named Dulag No. 184 and Dulag No. 230 were established. Prisoners in these camps were Soviet soldiers and civilians from the area of Smolensk , Nelidovo , Rzhev, Zubtsov , Gzhatsk , and Sychyovka . According to German data collected by the Soviet counter-espionage agency SMERSH , 5,500 people died of their wounds. During
4347-475: Was codenamed Operation Mars. The operation consisted of several incremental offensive phases: This operation was nearly as heavy in losses for the Red Army as the first offensive, and also failed to reach its desired objectives, but the Red Army tied down German forces which may have otherwise been used to try to relieve the Stalingrad garrison . An NKVD double agent known as Heine provided information about
4416-577: Was founded in the Middle Ages and rivals Toropets as the oldest town in the region. Rzhevians usually point out that their town is mentioned in the Novgorod laws as early as 1019. Their neighbors from Toropets, on the other hand, give more credence to Rzhev's first mention in a major chronicle under 1216, when it was in possession of Mstislav the Bold , Prince of Toropets. Whatever the truth may be, it
4485-462: Was happening at Rzhev, which is questionable considering that Operation Uranus was planned by Andrei Yeremenko and Andrei Vasilevsky , and Zhukov played little to no part in it. The Russian authors Vladimir Chernov and Galina Green also disagreed with Glantz. They asserted that from 26 August 1942 Zhukov did not command the Western Front, and that from 29 August he was preoccupied with serious matters at Stalingrad. It has been asserted that Stalin
4554-399: Was poorly covered by Soviet military historiography , and what coverage exists occurred only after the dissolution of the Soviet Union , when historians gained access to relevant documents. Exact dates of particular battles, their names, outcomes, significance, and even losses have not been fully clarified and there are still many controversies about these topics. In 2009, a television movie
4623-501: Was published on 19 February 2009, wrote: "The number presented by the historian is too low. There must be more than one million Soviet soldiers and officers killed! Rzhev and its neighboring towns were completely destroyed."; however, Makeyeva could not present any proof. Journalist Elena Tokaryeva in her article which was published in the newspaper The Violin (Russia) on 26 February 2009 also claimed that more than 1,000,000 Soviet soldiers were killed at Rzhev. The number of casualties again
4692-472: Was raised with the claim of journalist Igor Elkov in his articled published in the Russian Weekly on 26 February 2009. Igor said: "The accurate number of casualties of both sides is still dubious. Recently, there are some opinions about from 1.3 to 1.5 million Soviet soldiers was killed. It may reach the number of 2 million". All this data was heavily criticized by historian A. V. Isayev. Referencing
4761-452: Was transformed to Tver Governorate . In 1775, Rzhevsky Uyezd was established, with the center in Rzhev. In the 18th century, local merchants, mainly of Old Believer confession, brought a great measure of prosperity to the town. On 12 July 1929, governorates and uyezds were abolished, and Rzhevsky District with the administrative center in the town of Rzhev was established. It belonged to Rzhev Okrug of Western Oblast . On August 1, 1930,
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