On 13 October the battle for Mozhaisk opened, and for five days Das Reich launched attack after attack to punch through the fanatical resistance. Panzers, Stukas, Nebelwerfers and every other weapon at the division's disposal had to be thrown into the battle to dislodge the Soviet troops, who were frantically trying to protect their capital. Waffen-SS assault guns now came into their own, providing vital firepower when the tanks of 10th Panzer Division were diverted to other tasks.

A slow, agonizing advance

By 19 October, Soviet defences had been smashed open and the SS division was ordered to swing south to protect the flank of Hoepner's panzers as they raced to outflank Moscow from the north. Mongolian infantry and waves of T-34s now tried to break into the SS lines. The division drove off the attacks and continued to push southeast for two days, clearing out a large section of the Moscow Line.

Das Reich's losses

In the final days of October, the German troops were temporarily cheered by a sudden rise in temperature. This was actually the worst thing that could have happened for the Germans. Soon all the snow had melted and the German panzers and trucks were axle-deep in mud. For nearly two weeks Hoepner's troops sat helplessly outside Moscow, unable to move forward or even bring up fresh supplies. At night Soviet troops and partisans launched relentless hit-and-run raids on the Germans, further sapping German strength and morale. The Das Reich men tried to restore their fighting power for the next phase of Operation Typhoon, but they had been badly battered in the past three weeks of intense fighting, losing more than 400 dead and 5000 wounded. This was almost a third of the division's total manpower, but a disproportionate number of these casualties were in its infantry regiments, which reduced some companies to fewer than 40 men fit for action (hardly any replacements had found their way to the front yet). The division's vehicles and heavy weapons were in an equally degraded state, and only a few replacements had been received to plug the extensive battle losses. More ominously, German supply columns were now regularly being destroyed by the partisan bands that were roaming in the huge forests behind Das Reich's sector. Ammunition stockpiles were running low, making it difficult for the SS troops to attack or even to hold off Soviet assaults that were now a daily occurrence.

The final lunge

When the temperature started to drop in the middle of November, the ground hardened, Hoepner's panzers raced forward and Guderian's tanks struck from the southwest to try to encircle Moscow. Das Reich was on Hoepner's right flank and spent three weeks fighting its way through a huge belt of minefields and field fortifications. Hundreds of thousands of Muscovites had been drafted to help dig these huge ramparts that Das Reich shed so much blood to seize. The 7th Panzer Division managed to punch a hole and got to within 39km (24 miles) of the Russian capital before being stopped by strong defences. The panzer crews even reported back that they could see the spires of the Kremlin during the brief period they held out across the Moscow-Volga canal that formed the city's last line of defence.

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