The Battle Worse Than Stalingrad That Stalin Erased From History

Operation Mars: The Attack Stalin Erased from History

Discover the forgotten Soviet offensive of World War 2 that cost more lives than Stalingrad but was deliberately erased from history. In November 1942, while the world watched Stalingrad, Marshal Zhukov launched Operation Mars against the German Rzhev salient with over 670,000 men and 1,900 tanks. The operation failed catastrophically, and Stalin ordered it struck from all records.

This documentary examines the complete operation from November 25 to December 20, 1942, using declassified Soviet archives and German military records to reveal what really happened in the forests west of Moscow.

OPERATION DETAILS
Soviet Forces: 670,000 men, 1,900 tanks, 3,700 artillery pieces
German Forces: 236,000 men under General Walter Model
Soviet Casualties: Over 100,000 killed, wounded, or captured
Tank Losses: 1,700 Soviet tanks destroyed (60 percent of forces committed)
Duration: Three weeks of intensive combat
Result: Complete operational failure, later classified by Soviet authorities

KEY TOPICS COVERED
Why Zhukov never mentioned this battle in his memoirs
How German defenses defeated overwhelming Soviet superiority
The deliberate suppression of Operation Mars from Soviet historiography
First-person accounts from soldiers who fought in the operation
Strategic impact on the Eastern Front winter campaign
Post-Soviet revelation of classified military archives

HISTORICAL SOURCES
Primary research based on:
Soviet military archives (declassified 1990s)
German Ninth Army operational records
David Glantz "Zhukov's Greatest Defeat" (1999)
Russian Ministry of Defense archives
Veteran testimonies and correspondence
Wehrmacht unit histories and after-action reports

This educational documentary uses historical analysis to understand one of World War 2's most significant suppressed military operations and examines how totalitarian governments control historical narratives.

For educational purposes. Contains historical military content and discussion of wartime casualties.

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DISCLAIMER
This documentary presents historical facts from declassified military archives for educational purposes. All casualty figures and operational details are sourced from official military records. The content is intended for audiences interested in World War 2 military history and historical analysis.

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Music By:
'Decoherence' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au