Rostov, Battle of

In World War II, German defeat November 1941 by Soviet forces in fighting for Rostov, a city on the River Don in the southern USSR close to the Sea of Azov; the first military setback in the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The battle resulted in the resignation of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt after a dispute with Hitler, a serious blow to the German Army.

In late 1941 Rostov was defended by the Soviet 9th Army against an attack by the German 1st Panzer Army under General Eward von Kleist but after a hard battle, the city was captured 21 November 1941. The River Don was frozen hard, and the Soviets were able to cross the ice and establish two bridgeheads to begin a counterattack, while other Soviet units moved to the flanks and began threatening the German supply lines. Von Rundstedt, Kleist's superior, ordered that the city be abandoned 29 November and Kleist fell back to a better defensive position. Hitler ordered von Rundstedt to cancel his orders to retire and stand firm, whereupon he resigned.