Marshal Zhukov, the "number one military genius" in World War II, stormed Rzhev with his troops and encountered the "Lion of Defense" Model. He lost 100,000 troops and injured 230,000 in 25 days. He returned without success. Zhukov The only defeat in his military career.

Just when the 6th Army of Paulus (German general, promoted to marshal during World War II - my note) was besieged by the huge Soviet Red Army in Stalingrad, in the Rzhev salient, Mo The 9th Army of Del (German defensive warfare master, deeply trusted by Hitler, who repeatedly turned the tide and delayed the Nazis' demise, and was called Hitler's "firefighter" - my note) was also in danger of being annihilated. As early as September 26, 1942, Stalin formulated two counterattack plans, namely, to simultaneously carry out devastating strikes against the German 6th Army attacking Stalingrad and the German 9th Army defending Rzhev. The operation code names were " Operation Uranus" and "Operation Mars".

Rzhev is a city in the central and southern part of the Soviet Union, less than 200 kilometers away from the capital Moscow, and the 9th German Wehrmacht Army is entrenched in the Rzhev salient, which is 150 kilometers long from north to south and less than 100 kilometers wide from east to west. Like a slant ***, a sharp dagger for the Soviet Moscow defense line. This made Stalin feel like he was sitting on pins and needles, and ordered that this hidden danger must be eradicated and the German forces on the salient must be eradicated. General Zhukov, who was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Army due to his outstanding performance in the Battle of Moscow, was transferred from the Battle of Stalingrad despite his busy schedule and bravely assumed the command of the "Operation Mars" against Model.

Originally, although the Rzhev salient was important, Model, who had led the 9th Army to stay here for nearly a year, planned to abandon this important location at any time. He made several suggestions to Hitler, requesting to leave the salient, but was sternly rejected by the Führer. Hitler stubbornly believed that the 9th Army must be left alone in the Rzhev salient to carry out "shadow deterrence" against Moscow. Its political significance is extremely important. Moreover, due to the existence of the Model Army in the salient, the Soviet army had to keep a million troops on the Moscow front line and was therefore unable to reinforce the Soviet army in Ukraine, which was conducive to the German offensive on the southern front.

Model became the general commander of the 9th Army in January 1942. Prior to that, he served as the commander of the 3rd Armored Division of Guderian's 2nd Armored Cluster and became the vanguard in the encirclement and suppression of the Kiev Southwest Front. He commanded the 3rd Armored Division to boldly and quickly penetrate the encirclement at all costs to help Kilpono. The Southwestern Front of the Red Army sounded the death knell. The largest encirclement of Kiev in the history of human war was sealed by the 3rd Armored Division of Army Group Center and the 16th Armored Division of Army Group South. Before the confrontation with Zhukov's "Operation Mars", Model formed the miraculous "Model Cavalry Brigade" and annihilated the Soviet 39th Army that had infiltrated into the area south of Rzhev in one fell swoop. After eliminating the trouble, he could be in a good mood to deal with Zhukov's massive attack.

In the last few days of November 1942, "Uranus" and "Mars" flew together, and the two fierce offensives launched by the Soviet base camp started almost simultaneously. The pale cold light of "Uranus" reflected the 6th Army Commander Paulus had a gloomy face, while 9th Army Commander Model remained unmoved as the flames of Mars licked him. On November 25, 1942, the two "lifelong enemies" Zhukov and Model faced each other head-on for the first time. The terrifying "Rzhev Meat Grinder" began its bloody operation. The moon is gone, and the vegetation is destroyed. Model looked around his circular fortification position. The 22nd and 41st armies of the Soviet Kalinin Front had attacked the western part of the Rzhev salient, while the 20th and 31st armies of Konev's Western Front were attacking the Rzhev salient. To the east, the Soviet 20th Army even broke through the German defenses on the banks of the Wazuzha River and surrounded two German fortified villages on the west bank of the river. The second attack echelon composed of the 6th Tank Corps and the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps immediately advanced in depth, trying to cut off the lifeline of the Model Army, the Rzhev-Vyazma Railway.

Faced with a powerful enemy and the overwhelmingly superior Red Army, Model put on a fight-to-the-death stance. He shouted loudly - Collect every soldier who can fight and send them all to the forward position. Time It's life! Just at the critical moment, reinforcements sent by Marshal Kluge, commander of Army Group Center, arrived, which temporarily alleviated Model's shortage of troops. He could calmly command 6 armored divisions and 2 motorized divisions to resist Zhukov's attack. Paulus, the commander of the 6th Army who was trapped in Stalingrad, was not so lucky.

Once the defense was successful, Model's counterattack was quite astonishing. The 9th Armored Division quickly blocked the Soviet breakthrough and inserted into the enemy's position, causing chaos and then retreat of the Soviet army.

However, Zhukov, who was highly motivated, was unwilling to fail and ordered the 41st and 22nd armies to come back and penetrate the German forward defense line south of Berry along the left wing of the Rzhev salient. However, the strong German 41st Motorized Infantry Corps was Under the supervision of Army Commander General Joseph Halpe, the Red Army decisively blocked the Red Army's attempt to penetrate deep into the German defenses. It also received elite reinforcements from the "Grossdeutschland" Panzergrenadier Division. Very quickly, all Soviet attack routes were blocked. They were all blocked. This was a disgraceful act by the genius military strategist Zhukov, but it was overshadowed by the Soviet army's subsequent victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, and due to the heavy casualties suffered by the Soviet army in "Operation Mars", this battle Also named "Rzhev Meat Grinder". After 25 days of fighting, the Soviet army had 100,000 killed and 235,000 wounded, while the Germans only suffered 40,000 casualties. The Soviet army made the mistake of engaging in a fruitless fight to capture an isolated fortress, resulting in heavy casualties and failed efforts. "Operation Mars" can be said to be the only defeat in the military career of Marshal Zhukov, the "number one military genius" in World War II. It was also the most successful defensive battle in Marshal Model's military career. Therefore, Model is called the "Lion of Defense" in the military. ”.