When, on 10 October 1941, the Germans arrived within sight of the Mozhaisk line west of Moscow, they encountered another defensive barrier manned by new Soviet forces. That same day, Georgy Zhukov was recalled from Leningrad to take charge of Moscow's defense, with Colonel General
Ivan Konev as his deputy.
[33] On 12 October, he ordered the concentration of all available forces on a strengthened Mozhaisk line, a move supported by Vasilevsky.
[34]
By 13 October 1941, the
Wehrmacht had reached the Mozhaisk defense line, a hastily constructed double set of fortifications protecting Moscow's western approaches that extended from
Kalinin towards
Volokolamsk and Kaluga. Despite recent reinforcements, only around 90,000 Soviet soldiers manned this line–far too few to stem the German advance.
[37][38] Given the limited resources available, Zhukov decided to concentrate his forces at four critical points: the
16th Army under Lieutenant General
Rokossovsky guarded
Volokolamsk,
Mozhaisk was defended by
5th Army under Major General
Govorov, the
43rd Army of Major General
Golubev defended
Maloyaroslavets, and the
49th Army under Lieutenant General
Zakharkin protected
Kaluga.
[39] The entire
Soviet Western Front—nearly destroyed after its encirclement near Vyazma—was being recreated almost from scratch.
[40]
On 13 October 1941 (15 October, according to other sources), the
Wehrmacht resumed its offensive. At first, the Germans attempted to bypass Soviet defenses by pushing northeast towards the weakly protected city of Kalinin and south towards Kaluga and Tula, capturing all except Tula by 14 October. Encouraged by these initial successes, the Germans launched a frontal assault against the fortified line, taking Mozhaisk and
Maloyaroslavets on 18 October,
Naro-Fominsk on 21 October, and
Volokolamsk on 27 October after intense fighting. Because of the increasing danger of flanking attacks, Zhukov was forced to fall back,
[23] withdrawing his forces east of the
Nara River.
[43]