2011 marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle for Moscow on December 5th. For the first time since the invasion of Hitler's forces on June 22, the Soviet forces took on the offensive and pushed the Fascist army away from the heart of the country.

      The counter-attack of the Soviet forces started on December 5th and 6th. By the 8th, the Fascist commanders realised that they could soon be smashed and had to regroup. Against the odds, frost, and snow, the Soviet forces were pushing the invaders farther and farther away from Moscow and Moscow Region. By early February 1942 the Soviet commanders could already devise the plan for encircling and erasing the Centre group that was formed specially for the attack on Moscow.

      This was the first of several decisive battles in the course of the Great Patriotic War in Russia and the Second World War globally. Although it could not yet demoralise the aggressor, the success of the Moscow Battle ruined the plan of the famous Blitzkrieg that Hitler was hoping to also deploy against Russia. It also demonstrated the readiness of the country, ill prepared at the start of the war, to defend its independence and to fight against Fascism.

      Traditionally this day is celebrated in Russia with special TV and radio broadcasts. The recent criticism of the Soviet commanders for some ill-fated decisions usually avoids the Moscow Battle, since it was indeed one of the first turning points in the course of the Second World War.

      The Battle for Moscow is often commemorated at schools and special events. Children are taken to the Central Museum of Military Forces, to meet the veterans and to listen to special lectures.

      Read more: Battle for Moscow, Georgy Zhukov.

      Check out other Russian events on December 5th.