He was subsequently given the task of capturing Moscow. In July 1941, his Army Group Center troops captured Minsk and, three weeks later, reached Smolensk. Bock was only 225 miles from Moscow when Adolf Hitler decided to divert some of his army to Leningrad and Kiev. It was not until October that Bock was able to resume his advance on Moscow.
Bad weather forced Bock to halt his advance on Moscow in December 1941. Hitler replaced Bock with Gunther von Kluge but, after only a month's rest, Bock was sent once again to the Soviet Union to take control of Army Group South after the death of Walther von Reichenau.