Description:

GEN. FRANZ HALDER'S MAP OF THE START OF THE VYAZMA ENCIRCLEMENT
An important hand-drawn situation map from the personal files of German Gen. FRANZ HALDER (1884–1972) documenting the early October, 1941 effort by German Infantry Reg. 215 German to entrap a large Red Army force at Vyazma ultimately taking over 600,000 Russian prisoners. The map was executed using india ink, blue ink (representing German forces) and red ink (indicating Soviet lines) on coated map paper, 1p. 4to. in size. The drawing is titled: 'Skizze 2 – I.R. 215 am 7. u. 8.10.41' ('Sketch 2 – Infantry Regiment 215 on 7–8 October 1941'), drawn on a scale of 1:150,000 with a 0–7 km bar at bottom. The map shows marshy stretches and the road-and-stream corridor between Dorogobuzh and Yukhnov. Villages include Volovchok, Shakovo, Abonino, Semenya, Ilinka, Klin, Novoselki, Gadina, Bol. Kapitla (right), and the northern cluster around Tselebino / Tsoborovo / Isakino leading toward the Yukhnov road. Bridges, mills, and fords are also sketched along the route. A blue northbound axis shows I.R. 215 pushing up the corridor, along with strongpoint positions. Neighboring formations appear at the edges, including 268. I.D. (south-west), 78. I.D. (south), and A.A. 198 (recon) on the right. Times are also entered showing the evolution of the battle. Soviet countermoves and defensive points are shown, especially notable at around Gavryakovo, Semenya–Ilinka, and the approaches to the northern road junctions. This regimental situation map (including the prior days' waypoints) plots hour-by-hour German progress plus night counterattacks that tried to slow the German column as adjacent divisions (268th, 78th) secured the flanks. It vividly captures the tempo of operations just as the Vyazma encirclement was forming, and preserves the on-the-day understanding of the fight, providing evidence for reconstructing the regiment's route and pace. A rare, contemporaneous battlefield snapshot, valuable for reconstructing how the Vyazma encirclement was closed from the infantry's perspective.

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April 21, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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