In March bad weather in the east grounded the Russian air force, and much needed supplies reached Model’s exhausted armies in the east. Further south Russian forces were massing, but Model gambled that the best form of defence was attack, and sent his armies on the offensive once again. Thanks to some provident weather and good luck, the offensive in the east gained its own momentum and the Russian armies were sent reeling.
In the north around the city of Leningrad German grenadiers were able to tighten the noose on the city, linking up with the Fins on the Finnish-Russian border, despite the attentions of the Russian air force, which pounded the German lines incessantly once the weather improved. Their action near lake Ladoga however had severe implications when Model released his panzers further south.
While Leningrad was besieged, the Russians belatedly launching an armoured counter offensive which had little impact on the dug in Germans, the Panzers of Army group north caught the Russians unawares, smashing a huge hole in their lines to the north of Novgorod. Model’s experienced veteran Generals pounced, pinning the Russian defenders on the front lines while the Panzers expertly moved around to the rear. By the 19th March the trap was sprung and two Russian divisions were surrounded and annihilated in the north. Stalin, enraged, ordered the execution of several Generals, and Marshall Yeremenko narrowly escaped with his life.
By the end of March the German offensive had run out of steam half way between Novgorod and Borovichi, but Hitler was none-the-less delighted. Model meanwhile knew that his lines were thin and his supply lines overextended. He considered asking the fuehrer for permission to dig in and go on the defensive, but then decided against it.
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