In western Buru, fierce fighting continued. Several German Army Groups were still launching savage attacks against the Russian military's defensive lines. The Russian military, having suffered grievous losses, could now only rely on a few cities for defense. Even then, they were trapped within the German military's encirclement.
Smolensk, an important city in western Russia and Moscow's western gateway, housed the headquarters of the Russian Western Front Army. But now, Smolensk was surrounded by German Army Group B. The German 8th Armored Army Corps had advanced to within fifty kilometers east of Smolensk, putting on the appearance of preparing to launch an attack on Moscow.
Although the Russian military clearly knew that the German military was still two or three hundred kilometers from Moscow and could not possibly attack Moscow before eliminating the remnants of the Western Front Army, the Russian high command nevertheless dispatched additional troops to the outskirts of Moscow to ensure its safety. After all, it was Russia's capital, their heart. Once Moscow fell to the German military, the entirety of Buru might perish. Therefore, Moscow's security was of utmost importance and absolutely could not be allowed to fail.
The headquarters of German Army Group B had been established less than twenty kilometers from Smolensk. General Guderian had not remained with the 8th Armored Army Corps, because according to Operation Barbarossa, all the German military needed to do at this stage was capture Smolensk. After that, the entire army would have to shift to defense. Buru's winter was exceedingly cold. Although the German military had made extensive preparations before launching its offensive, no one knew whether they could endure such a bitter winter. Therefore, the German military's attack on Buru had, overall, adopted cautious tactics. It was not like the Führer in another time and space, who