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Operation Barbarossa (German: Unternehmen Barbarossa) was the codename for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that commenced on June 22, 1941. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [11][12] It was the largest military operation in WWII. Over 4. 5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along an 1,800 mile front. The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries [13] The operation was named after the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire, a leader of the Crusades in the 12th century. An emperor (from the Latin " Imperator " is a (male Monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an Empire or another type of Frederick I Barbarossa (1122 &ndash 10 June 1190) was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents Barbarossa was the major part of the war on the Eastern Front. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign The planning for operation Barbarossa took several years prior to June 1941; the clandestine preparations and the military operation itself lasted almost a year, from the Spring of 1941, through the Winter of 1941.
The operational goal of Operation Barbarossa was the rapid conquest of the European part of the Soviet Union, west of a line connecting the cities of Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan, often referred to as the A-A line (see the translation of Hitler's directive for details). The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Arkhangelsk (Арха́нгельск formerly called Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast Astrakhan (А́страхань Ästerxan Persian: حاجیترخان Haji-Tarkhan) is a major city in southern European Russia and The Arkhangelsk - Astrakhan line or A-A line was the proposed eastern border of the Nazi German empire At its conclusion in December 1941, the Red Army had repelled the strongest blow of the Wehrmacht. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 Hitler had not achieved the victory he had expected, but the situation of the Soviet Union remained critical. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Tactically the Germans had won some resounding victories and occupied some of the most important economic areas of the country, most notably in Ukraine. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. [14] Despite these successes, the Germans were pushed back from Moscow and were not able to mount an offensive simultaneously along the entire strategic Soviet-German front again. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of [15]
Then the failure of Barbarossa resulted in Hitler's demands for additional operations inside Russia, all of which eventually failed, such as continuation of the Siege of Leningrad,[16][17] Operation Nordlicht, and Battle of Stalingrad, among other battles on the occupied Russian territory. The Siege of Leningrad, also known as The Leningrad Blockade ( Russian: блокада Ленинграда ( transliteration: blokada Leningrada Operation Nordlicht ("Operation Northern Lights" refers to two German military operations during the World War II The Battle of Stalingrad is a commonly used name in English sources for several large operations by Germany and its allies and Soviet forces conducted with the [18][19][20][21][22]
The failure of Operation Barbarossa resulted in the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany and is considered a turning point for the Third Reich. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Most importantly, Operation Barbarossa opened up the Eastern Front, which ultimately became the biggest theater of war in the 20th century. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign Operation Barbarossa and the areas which fell under it became the site of some of the largest and most brutal battles, deadliest atrocities, terrible loss of life, and horrific conditions for Soviets and Germans alike - all of which influenced the course of both World War II and 20th Century history.
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German plans
German propaganda made claims that the Red Army was preparing to attack them, and their own assault was thus presented as a pre-emptive war. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Preemptive war (or a preemptive strike) is waged in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived inevitable offensive or Invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in Hitler's Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"), however, makes clear his intention of an invasion of the Soviet Union. Mein Kampf ( English: My Struggle/My Battle) is a book by Adolf Hitler. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 In his book, he made clear his belief that the German people needed Lebensraum ("living space", i. ( German for " habitat " or literally "living space" served as a major motivation for Nazi Germany 's territorial aggression e. land and raw materials), and that it should be found in the East. A raw material is something that is acted upon or used by Organisms, or by human labour or Industry, for use as a Building material to create some product It was the stated policy of the Nazis to kill, deport, or enslave the Russian and other Slavic populations, whom they considered inferior, and to repopulate the land with Germanic peoples. A policy is a deliberate plan of action to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome(s Deportation, not to be confused with Extradition, generally means the expulsion of someone from a place or Country. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another This policy was called the New Order and was laid out in detail in Goering's Green Folder. New Order ( Neuordnung) is the name used to denote the political economic and social system which the Nazis hoped to establish in Europe in the 1930s and In the Nuremberg Trials there was a document referred to as the "Green Folder" ofReichsmarshall Hermann Göring. The entire urban population was to be exterminated by starvation, thus creating an agricultural surplus to feed Germany and allowing their replacement by a German upper class. Starvation (also called inanition) is a severe reduction in Vitamin, Nutrient, and Energy intake and is the most extreme form of Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Is a concept in Sociology that refers to the group of people at the top of a Social hierarchy. The German Nazi-ideologist Alfred Rosenberg suggested that conquered Soviet territory should be administered in the following Reichskommissariates:
- Ostland (The Baltic countries and Belarus)
- Ukraine (Ukraine and adjacent territories),
- Kaukasus (Southern Russia and the Caucasus area),
- Moskau (Moscow metropolitan area and the rest of European Russia)
- Turkestan (Central Asian republics and territories)
During the Nuremberg Trials in 1946, Sir Hartley Shawcross announced that in March 1941 in addition to administrative divisions previously created the following divisions in Russian East were planned:
- Ural (Central and South Ural and nearest territories, created from planned East Russian European territorial reorganization),
- West Sibirien (Future West Siberia and Novosibirsk held lands),
- Nordland (Soviet Arctic areas: West Nordland (Russian European north coasts and Ost Nordland (Northwest Siberian north coasts))
Nazi policy aimed to destroy the Soviet Union as a political entity in accordance with the geopolitical Lebensraum idea ("Drang nach Osten") for the benefit of future "Aryan" generations in the centuries to come. An ideology is a set of beliefs aims and Ideas especially in politics (12 January 1893 16 October 1946 was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Reichskommissar (rendered as Commissionary of the Empire or as Reich - or Imperial Commissioner) in German history, was an official gubernatorial Reichskommissariat Ostland was the German name for the Nazi civil administration of part of the occupied Eastern territories of the Third Reich, occupied The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east The Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Ukraine Reich Commission was the civil administration of much of German-occupied Ukraine (which included adjacent areas of modern Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Reichskommissariat Kaukasus ( Caucasus in English was the name given to Nazi Germany 's theoretical political division and supposed civilian occupation regime in conquered Southern Federal District ( Russian: Ю́жный федера́льный о́круг tr The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East The Reichskommissariat Moskau was the proposed Nazi civilian regime in central and northern European Russia, during World War II, established by Führer Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large Metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central European Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe, comprising roughly 3960000 km² and spanning across 40% of Europe Turkestan (literally meaning "Land of the Turks" is a region in Central Asia, which today is largely inhabited by Turkic peoples. Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after Hartley William Shawcross Baron Shawcross, GBE, PC, KC ( 4 February 1902 &ndash 10 July 2003) was a British Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving History The city was founded in 1893 as the future site of the Trans-Siberian Railway bridge crossing the great Siberian river Ob, and was known as The Arctic is the Region around the Earth 's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving Geopolitics is the study that analyzes Geography, History and Social science with reference to Spatial politics and patterns at various scales "Drang nach Osten" is also a game in the " Europa " wargame series Aryan is an English word derived from the Sanskrit " Ārya " meaning "noble" or "honorable" Also the A-A Line would give Hitler's Nazi Empire reach to the Ural Mountains. The Arkhangelsk - Astrakhan line or A-A line was the proposed eastern border of the Nazi German empire
The Führer anticipated additional benefits:
- When the Soviet Union was defeated, the labor shortage in the German industry could be ended by the demobilization of many soldiers. In its narrowest definition a labor shortage is an economic condition in which there are insufficient qualified candidates (employees to fill the market-place demands Demob redirects here For the television series see Demob (TV series.
- Ukraine would be a reliable source of agriculture. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe.
- Having the Soviet Union as a source of slave labour would vastly improve Germany's geostrategic position. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another
- Defeat of the Soviet Union would further isolate the Allies, especially the United Kingdom. In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose
- The German economy needed access to more oil and controlling the Baku Oilfields would achieve this. Baku (Bakı sometimes known as Baqy, Baky, Baki or Bakü, is the capital the largest city and the largest port of Azerbaijan
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact had been signed shortly before the German and Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland It was ostensibly a non-aggression pact but secret protocols outlined an agreement between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union on the division of the border states between them. See also Non-aggression Pact (band A non-aggression pact is an international Treaty between two or more states agreeing to avoid war In a European context the term Border states policy, and Border states in a specific sense refer to attempts during the Interbellum to unite the countries that The pact surprised the world because of their mutual hostility and their opposed ideologies. An ideology is a set of beliefs aims and Ideas especially in politics As a result of this pact, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had reasonably strong diplomatic relations and were important trading partners. The Soviet Union supplied oil and raw materials to Germany, while Germany provided technology to the Soviet Union. Despite the pact, both sides remained strongly suspicious of each other's intentions, and as both sides began colliding with each other in Eastern Europe it appeared that conflict was inevitable.
Hitler had long wanted to conquer western Russia in order to exploit what he saw as its untermensch (subhuman) Slavic population. Untermensch ( German for under man, sub-man, sub-human; plural Untermenschen is a term from Nazi racial Ideology He had signed the pact simply for (mutual) short-term convenience. In addition to the territorial ambitions of both Hitler and Stalin, the contrasting ideologies of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union made an eventual conflict between them likely.
Stalin's reputation contributed both to the Nazis' justification of their assault and to their faith in success. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party During the late 1930s, Stalin had killed or incarcerated millions of citizens during the Great Purge, including large numbers of competent and experienced military officers and strategists, leaving the Red Army weakened and leaderless. Incarceration is the detention of a person in Jail or Prison. Great Purge (Большая чистка transliterated Bolshaya chistka) was a series of campaigns of Political repression and Persecution An officer is a member of an armed force who holds a position of authority The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Nazis often emphasized the brutality of the Soviet regime when targeting the Slavs with propaganda. The word regime (occasionally spelled " régime " particularly in older texts refers to a set of conditions most often of a Political nature Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people
| “ | We have only to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down | ” |
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—Adolf Hitler |
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Operation Barbarossa represented a northern assault towards Leningrad, a symbolic capturing of Moscow, and an economic strategy of seizing oil fields in the south, towards Ukraine. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Hitler and his generals disagreed on where Germany should focus its energies, and so Barbarossa was largely a compromise of these views. Hitler considered himself a political and military genius. A genius is a person of great Intelligence or remarkable abilities in a specific subject who shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect and/or ability especially In the course of planning Barbarossa during 1940 and 1941, in many discussions with his generals Hitler repeated his order: "Leningrad first, the Donetsk Basin second, Moscow third. "[11][23] Hitler was impatient to get on with his long-desired invasion of the east. He was convinced that Britain would sue for peace once the Germans triumphed in the Soviet Union, the real area of Germany's interests. General Franz Halder noted in his diaries that by destroying the Soviet Union, Germany would destroy Britain's hope for defeating Germany. Franz Ritter Halder ( June 30 1884 &ndash April 2 1972) was a German General and the head of the Army General
Hitler was also overconfident due to his rapid success in Western Europe, as well as the Red Army's ineptitude in the Winter War against Finland in 1939–40. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Winter War (Talvisota Советско-финляндская война - official Зимняя война - unofficial Vinterkriget began when the Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. He expected victory in a few months and did not prepare for a war lasting into the winter; his troops lacked adequate clothing and preparations for a longer campaign when they began their attack. The assumption that the Soviet Union would quickly capitulate would prove to be his undoing.
German preparations
| “ | When Barbarossa commences, the world will hold its breath and make no comment. | ” |
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—Adolf Hitler |
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In preparation for the attack, Hitler moved 3. 2 million German soldiers and about 1 million Axis soldiers to the Soviet border, launched many aerial surveillance missions over Soviet territory, and stockpiled materiel in the East. Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information Materiel (from the French "matériel" for equipment or hardware related to the word Material) is a term used in English to refer to the The Soviets were still taken by surprise, mostly due to Stalin's belief that the Third Reich was unlikely to attack only two years after signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party The Soviet leader also believed that the Nazis would likely finish their war with Britain before opening a new front. He refused to believe repeated warnings from his intelligence services on the Nazi buildup, fearing the reports to be British misinformation designed to spark a war between the Nazis and the USSR. The German government also aided in this deception, telling Stalin that the troops were being moved to take them out of range of British bombers. The Germans also explained that they were trying to trick the British into thinking they were planning to attack the Soviet Union, while in fact the troops and supplies were being stockpiled for an invasion of Britain. As a result, Stalin's preparations against a possible German invasion in 1941 were half-hearted. The spy Dr. Richard Sorge gave Stalin the exact German launch date; Swedish cryptanalysts led by Arne Beurling also knew the date beforehand. Richard Sorge ( Russian: Рихард Зорге ( October 4, 1895 - November 7, 1944) is considered to have been the best Soviet Cryptanalysis (from the Greek kryptós, "hidden" and analýein, "to loosen" or "to untie" is the study of methods for Arne Carl-August Beurling ( February 3, 1905 - November 20, 1986) was a Mathematician and Professor of Mathematics
The Germans set up deception operations, from April 1941, to add substance to their claims that Britain was the real target: Operations Haifisch and Harpune. Operation Haifisch ( Shark) was a German codename for the cover operation against Great Britain in World War II, elaborated by In World War II, Operation Harpune was the major German deception plan of 1941 These simulated preparations in Norway, the Channel coast and Britain. There were supporting activities such as ship concentrations, reconnaissance flights and training exercises. Invasion plans were developed and some details were allowed to leak.
Hitler and his generals also researched into Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia. The French invasion of Russia in 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. At Hitler's insistence, the German High Command (OKW) began to develop a strategy to avoid repeating these mistakes. For other uses of OKW see OKW (disambiguation. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ( OKW) ( English: "High Command
The strategy Hitler and his generals agreed upon involved three separate army groups assigned to capture specific regions and cities of the Soviet Union. An army group is a Military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods The main German thrusts were conducted along historical invasion routes. Army Group North was assigned to march through the Baltics, into northern Russia, and either take or destroy the city of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). Army Group North ( Heeresgruppe Nord) was a strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the The Siege of Leningrad, also known as The Leningrad Blockade ( Russian: блокада Ленинграда ( transliteration: blokada Leningrada Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Army Group Center would advance to Smolensk and then Moscow, marching through what is now Belarus and the west-central regions of Russia proper. Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte was the name of two distinct German strategic Army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II Smolensk (Смоленск is a city in western Russia, located on the Dnieper River, the administrative centre of Smolensk Oblast. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Army Group South was to strike the heavily populated and agricultural heartland of Ukraine, taking Kiev before continuing eastward over the steppes of southern Russia all the way to the Volga and the oil-rich Caucasus. Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the In physical Geography, a steppe ( German, from степь - "a flat and arid land" степ - /stɛp/ тал - tal дала - /dɑlɑ/ pronounced The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East
Hitler, the OKW and the various high commands disagreed about what the main objectives should be. In the preparation for Barbarossa, most of the OKW argued for a straight thrust to Moscow, whereas Hitler kept asserting his intention to seize the resource-rich Ukraine and Baltics before concentrating on Moscow. An initial delay, which postponed the start of Barbarossa from mid-May to the end of June 1941, may have been insignificant, especially since the Russian muddy season came late that year. However, more time was lost at various critical moments as Hitler and the OKW suspended operations in order to argue about strategic objectives. A myth that Barbarossa was delayed by the Balkans campaigns has no basis in reality. Units involved in the Yugoslavia and Greece campaigns were in position in Poland and Romania well in time for Barbarossa.
Along with the strategic objectives, the Germans also decided to bring rear forces into the conquered territories to counter any partisan activity which they knew would erupt in the areas they controlled. The Soviet partisans were members of a Resistance movement which fought a Guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union This included units of the Waffen-SS and the Gestapo who specialized in crushing dissent and capturing and killing opponents. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" The ( contraction of ge heime Sta ats' po' lizei: "Secret State Police" was the official Secret police of Nazi Germany
Soviet preparations
In the 1940s, the Soviet Union was by no means a weak country. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Rapid Soviet industrialization in the 1930s had resulted in industrial output second only to that of the United States, and equal to that of Germany. Production of military equipment grew steadily, and in the pre-war years the economy became progressively more oriented toward military production. In the early 1930s, a very modern operational doctrine for the Red Army was developed and promulgated in the 1936 field regulations. Doctrine (Latin doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings quot or "instructions" taught principles or positions as the
| January 1, 1939 | June 22, 1941 | % increase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Divisions calculated | 131. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 5 | 316. 5 | 140. 7 |
| Personnel | 2,485,000 | 5,774,000 | 132. 4 |
| Guns and mortars | 55,800 | 117,600 | 110. 7 |
| Tanks | 21,100 | 25,700 | 21. 8 |
| Aircraft | 7,700 | 18,700 | 142. 8 |
In 1941, the Soviet armed forces in the western districts were outnumbered by their German counterparts, 4. 3 million Axis soldiers vs. 2. 6 million Soviet soldiers. The overall size of the Soviet armed forces in early July 1941, though, amounted to a little more than 5 million men, 2. 6 million in the west, 1. 8 million in the far east, with the rest being deployed or training elsewhere[25] , Moreover, on mobilization, as the war went on the Red Army gained steadily in strength. This article describes military mobilization For other meanings see Mobilization (disambiguation. While the strength of both sides varied, in general it is accurate to say that the 1941 campaign was fought with the Axis having slight numerical superiority in manpower at the front.
In some key weapons systems, however, the Soviet numerical advantage was considerable. In tanks, for example, the Red Army had a large superiority. The Red Army possessed 23,106 tanks,[26] of which about 12,782 were in the five Western Military Districts (three of which directly faced the German invasion front). However, maintenance and readiness standards were very poor; ammunition and radios were in short supply, and many units lacked the trucks needed for resupply beyond their basic fuel and ammunition loads.
Also, from 1938, the Soviets had partly dispersed their tanks to infantry divisions for infantry support, but after their experiences in the Winter War and their observation of German Blitzkrieg tactics against France, had begun to emulate the Germans and organize most of their armoured assets into large, fully mechanized divisions and corps. The Winter War (Talvisota Советско-финляндская война - official Зимняя война - unofficial Vinterkriget began when the This reorganization however was only part way through by the dawn of Barbarossa. [27] as not enough tanks were available to bring the mechanised corps up to organic strength.
The German Wehrmacht had about 5,200 tanks overall, of which 3,350 were committed to the invasion. Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 This yields a balance of immediately-available tanks of approximately 4:1 in the Red Army's favor. The best Soviet tank, the T-34, was the most modern in the world, and the KV series the best armoured. The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1941 to 1958 It is widely regarded as having been the world's best Tank when the Soviet Union The most advanced Soviet tank models, however, the T-34 and KV-1, were not available in large numbers early in the war, and only accounted for 7. The Kliment Voroshilov ( KV) Tanks were a series of Soviet Heavy tanks named after the Soviet defense commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov 2% of the total Soviet tank force. But while these 1,861 modern tanks were technically superior to the 1,404 German medium Panzer III and IV tanks, the Russians in 1941 still lacked the communications, training and experience to employ such weapons effectively. Panzer III is the common name of a Medium tank that was developed in the 1930s by Germany and used extensively in World War II. The Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a Medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively
The Soviet numerical advantage in heavy equipment was also more than offset by the greatly superior training and readiness of German forces. The Soviet officer corps and high command had been decimated by Stalin's Great Purge (1936–1938). Great Purge (Большая чистка transliterated Bolshaya chistka) was a series of campaigns of Political repression and Persecution Of 90 Generals arrested only six survived, of 180 divisional commanders only 36 survived, just seven out 57 Army Corps Commanders survived the purges. In total some 30,000 Red Army personnel were murdered,[28] while more were shipped to Siberia and were replaced with officers deemed more "politically reliable. Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving " Three of the five pre-war marshals and about two-thirds of the corps and division commanders were shot. Marshal of the Soviet Union ( Marshal Sovietskovo Soyuza Советского Союза'' was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. This often left younger, less well-trained officers in their places; for example, in 1941, seventy-five percent of Red Army officers had held their posts for less than one year. The average Soviet corps commander was 12 years younger than the average German division commander. These officers tended to be very reluctant to take the initiative and often lacked the training necessary for their jobs.
The number of aircraft was also heavily in the Soviets' favor. However, Soviet aircraft were largely obsolete, and Soviet artillery lacked modern fire control techniques. Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine [29] Most Soviet units were on a peacetime footing, explaining why aviation units had their aircraft parked in closely-bunched neat rows, rather than dispersed, making easy targets for the Luftwaffe in the first days of the conflict. In politics peacetime is defined as any period of time where there are no violent conflicts occurring Aviation refers to activities involving man-made flying devices ( Aircraft) including the people organizations and regulatory bodies involved with them ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Prior to the invasion the Red air force was forbidden to shoot down German reconnaissance aircraft despite hundreds of pre-war flights into Soviet airspace. The Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ВВС, Военно-воздушные силы ( Voenno-Vozdushnye Surveillance aircraft are military Aircraft used for monitoring enemy activity usually carrying no armament
The Russian war effort in the first phase of the Eastern front war was severely hampered by a shortage of modern aircraft. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign The Soviet fighter force was equipped with large numbers of obsolete aircraft, such as the I-15 biplane and the I-16. The Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ВВС, Военно-воздушные силы ( Voenno-Vozdushnye WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A biplane is a Fixed-wing aircraft with two main Wings The first powered heavier-than-air Aircraft, the Wright brothers' Wright Flyer WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout In 1941 the MiG-3, LaGG-3 and Yak-1 were just starting to roll off the production lines but were far inferior in all-round performance to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or later, the Fw 190, when it entered operations in September 1941. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Few aircraft had radios and those that were available were unencrypted and did not work reliably. Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. The poor performance of VVS (Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily, Soviet Air Force) during the Winter War with Finland had increased the Luftwaffe's confidence that the Soviets could be mastered. The Winter War (Talvisota Советско-финляндская война - official Зимняя война - unofficial Vinterkriget began when the The standard of flight training had been accelerated in preparation for a German attack that was expected to come in 1942 or later. But Russian pilot training was extremely poor. Order No 0362 of the People's Commissar of Defense dated 22 December 1940 ordered flight training to be accelerated and shortened. Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Incredibly, while the Soviets had 201 MiG-3s and 37 MiG-1s combat ready on 22 June 1941, only four pilots had been trained to handle these machines. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout [30]
The Red Army was dispersed and unprepared, and units were often separated and without transportation to concentrate prior to combat. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Although the Red Army had numerous, well-designed artillery pieces, some of the guns had no ammunition. Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which Artillery units often lacked transportation to move their guns. Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another Tank units were rarely well-equipped, and also lacked training and logistical support. Maintenance standards were very poor. Units were sent into combat with no arrangements for refuelling, ammunition resupply, or personnel replacement. Often, after a single engagement, units were destroyed or rendered ineffective. The Army was in the midst of reorganizing the armor units into large Tank Corps, adding to the disorganization.
As a result, although on paper the Red Army in 1941 seemed at least the equal of the German army, the reality in the field was far different; incompetent officers, as well as partial lack of equipment, insufficient motorised logistical support, and poor training placed the Red Army at a severe disadvantage. For example, throughout the early part of the campaign, the Red Army lost about six tanks for every German tank lost.
In the spring of 1941, Stalin's own intelligence services made regular and repeated warnings of an impending German attack. An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to the Information gathering (known in the context as " intelligence " However, Stalin chose to ignore these warnings. Although acknowledging the possibility of an attack in general and making significant preparations, he decided not to run the risk of provoking Hitler. He had fielded officers who were likely indeed to tell him only what he wanted to hear, so that he believed that the position of the Soviet Union in early 1941 was much stronger than it actually was. He also had an ill-founded confidence in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which had been signed just two years before. Last, he also suspected the British of trying to spread false rumours in order to trigger a war between Germany and the USSR. Consequently, the Soviet border troops were not put on full alert and were sometimes even forbidden to fire back without permission when attacked — though a partial alert was implemented on April 10 — they were simply not ready when the German attack came. Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama This may be the source of the argument cited below by Viktor Suvorov.
Enormous Soviet forces were massed behind the western border in case the Germans did attack. However, these forces were very vulnerable due to changes in the tactical doctrine of the Red Army. Military tactics ( Greek: Taktikē, the art of organizing an army are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating Military doctrine is the concise expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns major operations Battles and engagements It is a guide In 1938 it had adopted, on the instigation of General Pavlov, a standard linear defence tactic on a line with other nations. For other uses see Pavlov (disambiguation. Dmitry Grigorevich Pavlov (Дмитрий Григорьевич Павлов 1897- July 22, 1941 Infantry divisions, reinforced by an organic tank component, would be dug in to form heavily fortified zones. A division is a large Military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to thirty thousand soldiers Then came the shock of the Fall of France. In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries The French Army, considered the strongest in the world, was defeated in a mere six weeks. Soviet analysis of events, based on incomplete information, concluded that the collapse of the French was caused by a reliance on linear defence and a lack of armoured reserves.
The Soviets decided not to repeat these mistakes. Instead of digging in for linear defence, the infantry divisions would henceforth be concentrated in large formations. Most tanks would also be concentrated into 31 mechanised corps, each with over 1000 tanks - larger than an entire German panzer army (though only a few such corps had attained their nominal strength by June 22). Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Should the Germans attack, their armoured spearheads would be cut off and wiped out by the mechanised corps. These would then cooperate with the infantry armies to drive back the German infantry, vulnerable in its approach march. The Soviet left wing, in Ukraine, was to be enormously reinforced to be able to execute a strategic envelopment: after destroying German Army Group South it would swing north through Poland in the back of Army Groups Centre and North. With the complete annihilation of the encircled German Army thus made inevitable, a Red Army offensive into the rest of Europe would follow.
The Soviet offensive plans theory
Counter-arguments to the usual interpretation have been advanced by former GRU defector Viktor Suvorov, author of Icebreaker. GRU is the English transliteration of the Russian Acronym ГРУ, which stands for "Гла́вное Разве́дывательное Viktor Suvorov (Ви́ктор Суво́ров is the Pen name for Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun: Влади́мир Богда́нович Резу́н (born Icebreaker Who Started the Second World War?, by Viktor Suvorov ( Russian title Ledokol, Ледокол) is a documentary book which This book argues that Soviet ground forces were extremely well organized, and were mobilizing en masse all along the German-Soviet border for a Soviet invasion of Europe slated for Sunday July 6, 1941. Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The German Barbarossa, he claims, actually was a pre-emptive strike that capitalized on the massive Soviet troop concentrations immediately on the 1941 Nazi Germany's borders. Preemptive war (or a preemptive strike) is waged in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived inevitable offensive or Invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in Suvorov argues therefore that Soviet troop concentrations on Germany's borders were offensive in nature, not defensive as usually described. His interpretation has been thoroughly rejected by various respected historians, in particular David Glantz, and has not found much serious support among Western academic historians. David M Glantz (born 11 January 1942 in Port Chester, New York) is an American military historian and the editor of The Journal of
A study by Russian military historian Mikhail Meltyukhov (“Stalin's Missed Chance”) supports the claim that Soviet forces were concentrating in order to attack Germany. Mikhail Ivanovich Meltiukhov (also spelled Meltyukhov or Mel'tiuhov, Russian Михаил Иванович Мельтюхов mixʌ'il i'vʌnəviʨ mʲil'tʲuxəf Stalin's Missed Chance is a study by Russian military historian Mikhail Ivanovich Meltyukhov, author of several books and articles on Soviet military However, he rejects the statement that the German invasion was a pre-emptive strike: Meltyukhov believes both sides were preparing for the assault but neither believed in the possibility of an attack by the other side. Other Russian historians who support this thesis are Vladimir Nevezhin, Boris Sokolov and Valeri Danilov. Vladimir Nevezhin (Владимир Александрович Невежин is a Russian historian ( Doctor of History Sciences) is working as a professor in Valeri Danilov (also spelled Valeriy RussianВалерий Дмитриевич Данилов is a Russian military historian and a retired officer ( Colonel) In key points this argumentation is similar to the interpretation of German historians Werner Maser and Joachim Hoffmann. Joachim Hoffmann ( December 1, 1930, Königsberg, East Prussia &ndash February 8, 2002, Freiburg) was a [31]
The now published Zhukov proposal of May 15, 1941[32] called for a Soviet strike against Germany. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Thus the document suggested secret mobilisation and deploying Red Army troops next to the Western border, under the cover of training. This article describes military mobilization For other meanings see Mobilization (disambiguation. Although generally believed to be a mere draft disapproved of by Stalin,[33] the above mentioned historians have argued, that — given Stalin's concentration of power — the thesis of Soviet generals pursuing a line independent of Stalin's and composing an invasion plan must have been extremely improbable. Moreover, it is argued that the actual Soviet troops concentration was near the border, just like fuel depots and airfields. All of this was unsuitable for defensive operations. (Maser 1994: 376–378; Hoffmann 1999: 52–56)
Suvorov presents a piece of evidence favoring the theory of an impending Soviet attack: the maps and phrasebooks issued to Soviet troops. Military topographic maps, unlike other military supplies, are strictly local and cannot be used elsewhere than in the intended target. According to Suvorov, Soviets were issued with maps of Germany and German-occupied territory, and phrasebooks including questions about SA offices — SA offices were found only in German territory proper. In contrast, according to Suvorov, maps of Soviet territory were scarce. Notably, after the German attack, the officer responsible for maps, Lieutenant General M. K. Kudryavtsev was not punished by Stalin, who was known for extreme punishments after failures to obey his orders. According to Suvorov, this demonstrates that General Kudryavtsev was obeying the orders of Stalin, who simply did not expect a German attack.
However, none of this is conclusive evidence of Soviet plans for a strategic attack on Germany, especially since Soviet doctrine emphasised the offensive at the operational level, even if the country was strategically on the defensive.
| Germany and Allies | Soviet Union | Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Divisions | 166 | 190 | 0. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 87 : 1 |
| Personnel | 4,306,800 | 3,289,851 | 1. 3 : 1 |
| Guns and mortars | 42,601 | 59,787 | 0. 7 : 1 |
| Tanks (incl assault guns) | 4,171 | 15,687 | 0. An assault gun is a Gun or Howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armored chassis designed for use in the Direct fire 27 : 1 |
| Aircraft | 4,389[34] | 11, 537[35] | 0. 38 : 1 |
The invasion
Composition of the Axis forces
Halder as the Chief of General Staff OKH concentrated the following Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe forces for the operation:
Army Group North (Heeresgruppe Nord) (Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb) staged in East Prussia with (26 divisions):
- 16th Army (16. Mikhail Ivanovich Meltiukhov (also spelled Meltyukhov or Mel'tiuhov, Russian Михаил Иванович Мельтюхов mixʌ'il i'vʌnəviʨ mʲil'tʲuxəf Stalin's Missed Chance is a study by Russian military historian Mikhail Ivanovich Meltyukhov, author of several books and articles on Soviet military The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH was Germany 's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945 Army Group North ( Heeresgruppe Nord) was a strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb ( September 5, 1876 - April 29, 1956) was a German Field Marshal during World War II East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part Armee) (Ernst Busch)
- 4th Panzer Group (Panzergruppe 4) (Hoepner)
- 18th Army (18. Ernst Busch may refer to Ernst Busch (military (1885-1945 German field marshal Ernst Busch (actor (1900-1980 German singer and actor The 4th Panzer Army (German 4Panzer-Armee) was before being designated a full army the Panzer Group 4 ( Panzergruppe 4) a German Panzer Erich Hoepner ( September 14, 1886 &ndash August 8, 1944) was a German General in World War II. The 18th Army (German 18 Armee) was a World War II Field army. Armee) (Georg von Küchler)
- Air Fleet 1 (Luftflotte einz) (Alfred Keller)
Army Group Centre (Heeresgruppe Mitte) (Fedor von Bock) staged in Eastern Poland with (49 divisions):
- 4th Army (4. Georg Karl Friedrich Wilhelm von Küchler ( May 30 1881 &ndash May 25 1968) was a German Field marshal during Luftflotte 1 (Air Fleet 1 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. Alfred Keller ( 19 September 1882 &ndash 11 February 1974) was a General in the German Luftwaffe during the Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte was the name of two distinct German strategic Army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II Fedor von Bock ( December 3, 1880 &ndash May 4, 1945) was an officer in the German Military from 1898 to The 4th Army (4 Armee Oberkommando was a field army that fought in World War II. Armee) (Günther von Kluge)
- 2nd Panzer Group (Panzergruppe 2) (Guderian)
- 3rd Panzer Group (Panzergruppe 3) (Hoth)
- 9th Army (9. Günther “Hans” von Kluge ( October 30, 1882 – August 19, 1944) was a German military leader Panzergruppe 2 ( 2nd Panzer Group) was formed in November 1940 from the Panzergruppe Guderian and it was called by its commander general Heinz Guderian until The 3rd Panzer Army (3Panzerarmee was a German army that saw action during World War II. Planet overview The Rebel Alliance relocated to Hoth after their victory in the Battle of Yavin The 9th Army (9 Armee was a World War II field army The 9th Army was activated on May 15, 1940 with General Johannes Blaskowitz in command Armee) (Strauss)
- Air Fleet 2 (Luftflotte zwei) (Albert Kesselring)
Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd) (von Rundstedt) was staged in Southern Poland and Romania with (41 divisions):
- 17th Army (17. Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 - 16 July 1960 was a Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II. Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt ( December 12, 1875 - February 24, 1953) was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German The German Seventeenth Army (German 17 Armee) was a World War II Field army. Armee) (Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel)
- 1st Panzer Group (Panzergruppe 1) (von Kleist)
- 11th Army (Eugen Ritter von Schobert)
- Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia (CSIR) (Messe)
- 6th Army (6. Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel, ( 2 January, 1886 &ndash 30 August, 1944) was a German General and a member of the The Slovak Republic ( Slovak: Slovenská republika) was an independent national Slovak state which existed from 14 March 1939 The 1st Panzer Army (1Panzerarmee was a German Tank army that was a large armoured formation within the Wehrmacht Heer field forces during World War II Von Kleist is a Prussian noble family Notable members of this family include Ewald Jürgen Georg von Kleist (ca Eugen Ritter von Schobert ( March 13, 1883 &ndash September 12, 1941) was a German General who served in World The Italian participation in the Eastern Front of World War II began after the launch of Operation Barbarossa ( Unternehmen Barbarossa Giovanni Messe ( December 10, 1883 - December 19, 1968) was an Italian soldier politician and a distinguished Italian Field The 6th Army was a German Field army which saw action in World War I and World War II. Armee) (Walther von Reichenau)
- Romanian 3rd Army (Dumitrescu)
- Romanian 4th Army (Constantinescu)
- Hungarian "Fast Moving Army Corps" (Szombathelyi) known as the Korpat Gruppe in the Royal Hungarian Army. Walter von Reichenau ( October 8, 1884 &ndash January 17, 1942) was a German Generalfeldmarschall. The Romanian Third Army was a field army that fought as part of the German Army Group B during World War II, in Ukraine, Crimea, and Constantinescu (or Constantinesco, its Francisized version a common Romanian family name may refer to one of the following Alecu Constantinescu The " Fast Moving Army Corps " ( Gyorshadtest) was the most modern and best-equipped mechanized unit of the Hungarian Army at the beginning of World The " Fast Moving Army Corps " ( Gyorshadtest) was the most modern and best-equipped mechanized unit of the Hungarian Army at the beginning of World
- Air Fleet 4 (Luftflotte vier) (Alexander Löhr)
Staged from Norway a smaller group of forces consisted of:
- Army High Command Norway (Armee-Oberkommando Norwegen) (Nikolaus von Falkenhorst) with two Corps
- Air Fleet 5 (Luftflotte funf) (Stumpf)
Numerous smaller units from all over Nazi-occupied Europe, like the "Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism" (Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme), supported the German war effort. Luftflotte 4 (Air Fleet 4 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. Alexander Löhr ( 20 May 1885 &ndash 26 February 1947) was an Austrian Air Force ( Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte 21st Norwegian Army ( Armeeoberkommando Norwegen, abbr AOK Norwegen) was one of the two army echelon Headquarters controlling German troops in the far north Nikolaus von Falkenhorst ( January 17, 1885 &ndash June 18, 1968) was a German General who planned ' Operation Luftflotte 5 (Air Fleet 5 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. German–occupied Europe refers to the countries of Europe which were occupied by the Military forces of Nazi Germany at various times during The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchévisme or simply Légion
Composition of the Soviet Forces
At the beginning of the German Reich’s invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 the Red Army areas of responsibility in the European USSR were divided into four active Fronts. Deutsches Reich was the name for Germany from 1871 to 1945 in the German language. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya More Fronts would be formed within the overall responsibility of the three Strategic Directions commands which corresponded approximately to a German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) Army Group (Heeresgruppen) in terms of geographic area of operations. See also American theater of operations Theatres of Military Operations ( Russian: Театр военных действий (ТВД The Heer was the land forces component of the German armed forces ( Wehrmacht) from 1935 to 1945, which also included the Navy ( An army group is a Military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods An army group is a Military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods An area of operation s (AO is an operational area defined by the force commander for land air and naval forces conduct of combat and non-combat activities
On Zhukov's orders immediately following the invasion the Northern Front was formed from the Leningrad Military District, the North-Western Front from the Baltic Special Military District, the Western Front was formed from the Western Special Military District, and the Soviet Southwestern Front was formed from the Kiev Special Military District. The Northern Front (Северный фронт was a Front (military subdivision of the Red Army during the Second World War. The Leningrad Military District is a Military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The Northwestern Front was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. The Baltic Military District was a Military district of the Soviet armed forces formed briefly before the German invasion, and then reformed after World War See Western Front (disambiguation for other meanings Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World The Byelorussian Military District (alternative spelling Belorussian was a Military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. The Southwestern Front was a name given to a Front by the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War, by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist The Southwestern Front was a name given to a Front by the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War, by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist The Southern Front was created on the 25 June 1941 from the Odessa Military District. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Odessa Military District (Одесский военный округ was a Military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, active from around 1939 to the 1990s
The first Directions were established on 10 July 1941, with Voroshilov commanding the North-Western Strategic Direction, Timoshenko commanding the Western Strategic Direction, and Budyonny commanding the South-Western Strategic Direction. See also American theater of operations Theatres of Military Operations ( Russian: Театр военных действий (ТВД Tymoshenko (Тимошенко/(Тимошенко transliterated from Ukrainian spelled Tymoshenko, or Timochenko transliterated from Russian is a Surname See also American theater of operations Theatres of Military Operations ( Russian: Театр военных действий (ТВД Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny (also spelled Budennii Budenny Budyenny etc Russian: Семён Михайлович Будённый ( &ndash October 26, See also American theater of operations Theatres of Military Operations ( Russian: Театр военных действий (ТВД [37]
The forces of the North-Western Direction were:[38]
- The Northern Front was commanded by Colonel General Markian Michailovitch Popov bordered Finland and included the 14th Army, 7th Army, and the 23rd Army as well as smaller units subordinate to the Front commander. The Northern Front (Северный фронт was a Front (military subdivision of the Red Army during the Second World War. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. The Soviet Red Army 's 7th Army first saw action in the 1939-40 Winter War against Finland under Army General K The 23rd Army was a Field army of the Soviet Union 's Red Army.
- The North-Western Front was commanded by Colonel General Fyodor Kuznetsov defended the Baltic region and consisted of the 8th Army, 11th Army, and the 27th Army and other front troops(34 divisions). The Northwestern Front was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the The 8th Army was an Field army of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War.
- The Northern and Baltic Fleets
The forces of the Western Direction were:
- The Western Front was commanded by General Dmitri Grigoryevitch Pavlov had the 3rd Army, 4th Army, 10th Army and the Army Headquarters of the 13th Army which coordinated independent Front formations(45 divisions). The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - (Дважды Краснознамённый Балтийский флот was the Imperial later Soviet and is now the Russian Navy's The Western Front was a Front (military subdivision of the Soviet Army, one of the Soviet Army Fronts during the Second World War The 3rd Army was an important Soviet Red Army field formation during World War II. The 4th Army was a Soviet field army of World War II that served on the Eastern front of World War II and in the Caucasus during the Cold War
- The Pinsk Flotilla
The forces of the South-Western Direction consisted of:
- The South-Western Front was commanded by Colonel General Mikhail Petrovitch Kirponos was formed from the 5th Army, 6th Army, 12th Army and the 26th Army as well as a group of units under Strategic Direction command(45 divisions). The Southwestern Front was a name given to a Front by the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War, by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos (Михаил Петрович Кирпонос Михайло Петрович Кирпонос Mykhailo Petrovych Kyrponos) ( January 12 The 5th Red Banner Army was a Soviet field army of World War II, and is today a Russian Ground Forces formation in the Far East Military The 6th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army formed four times during World War II and active with the Russian Ground Forces up until 1998
- The Southern Front was commanded by General Ivan Vladimirovitch Tyulenev created on the 25 June 1941 from the 9th Independent Army and the 18th Army with 2nd and 18th Mechanized Corps in support(26 divisions). The Southern Front was a Front - a roughly Army group sized formation - of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The 9th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a Soviet military formation active from 1939 – 43 and then after the war from 1966 to 1989 The 18th Army of the Soviet Union 's Red Army was formed on 21 June 1941 on the basis of HQ Kharkov Military District and A mechanized corps was a Soviet armoured formation used since before the beginning of World War II.
- The Black Sea Fleet
Beside the Armies in the Fronts, there were a further six armies in the Western region of the USSR: 16th Army, 19th Army, 20th Army, 21st Army, 22nd Army and the 24th Army which formed, together with independent units, the Stavka Reserve Group of Armies which was later renamed the Reserve Front nominally under Stalin's direct command. The Black Sea Fleet (Черноморский Флот is a large sub-unit of the Russian (and formerly Soviet) Navy, operating in the Black Sea The Reserve Front was a Front (military subdivision of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party
Opening phase (June 22, 1941 - July 3, 1941)
At 3:15 am on June 22, 1941, the Axis attacked. The Battle of Raseiniai (23–27 June 1941 was a tank battle fought between the elements of the 4th Panzer Army and two Soviet Mechanized Corps in Lithuania The Battle of Brody ( other names used are Battle of Dubna Battle of Dubno Battle of Rovne Battle of Rovne-Brody etc Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries It is difficult to precisely pinpoint the strength of the opposing sides in this initial phase, as most German figures include reserves slated for the East but not yet committed, as well as several other issues of comparability between the German and USSR's figures. A reasonable estimate is that roughly three million Wehrmacht troops went into action on 22 June, and that they were facing slightly fewer Soviet troops in the border Military Districts. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Military districts are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army which are responsible for a certain area of territory The contribution of the German allies would generally only begin to make itself felt later in the campaign. The surprise was complete: Stavka, alarmed by reports that Wehrmacht units approached the border in battle deployment, had at 00:30 AM ordered to warn the border troops that war was imminent, only a small number of units were alerted in time. Stavka (Ставка was the term used to refer to command element of Armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history
The shock stemmed less from the timing of the attack than from the sheer number of Axis troops who struck into Soviet territory simultaneously. Aside from the roughly 3. 2 million German land forces engaged in, or earmarked for the Eastern Campaign, about 500,000 Romanian, Hungarian, Slovakian and Italian troops eventually accompanied the German forces, while the Army of Finland made a major contribution in the north. The Continuation War (Jatkosota Fortsättningskriget Советско-финская война ( 25 June 1941 &ndash 19 September 1944) The 250th Spanish "Blue" Infantry Division was an odd unit, representing neither an Axis or a Waffen-SS volunteer formation, but that of Spanish Nazis and sympathisers. The Blue Division (División Azul Blaue Division or 250 Infanterie-Division in the German Army, was a unit of Spanish volunteers The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron"
Reconnaissance units of the Luftwaffe worked at a frantic pace to plot troop concentration, supply dumps, and airfields, and mark them for destruction. The task of the Luftwaffe was to neutralise the Soviet Air Force. The Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ВВС, Военно-воздушные силы ( Voenno-Vozdushnye This was not achieved in the first days of operations, despite the Soviets having concentrated aircraft in huge groups on the permanent airfields rather than dispersing them on field landing strips, making them ideal targets. The Luftwaffe claimed to have destroyed 1,489 aircraft on the first day of operations. [39] Hermann Göring, Chief of the Luftwaffe distrusted the reports and ordered the figure checked. Hermann Wilhelm Göring (also spelled Goering) (12 January 1893 15 October 1946 was a German Politician, Military leader and a leading member Picking through the wreckages of Soviet airfields, the Luftwaffe's figures proved conservative, as over 2,000 destroyed Soviet aircraft were found. [40] The Luftwaffe had achieved temporary air superiority over all three sectors of the front, and would maintain it until the close of the year, largely due to the need by the Red Army Air Forces to manoeuvre in support of retreating ground troops. The Luftwaffe would now be able to devote large numbers of its Geschwader (See Luftwaffe Organization) to support the ground forces.
Army Group North
Opposite Heersgruppe Nord were two Soviet armies. Army Group North ( Heeresgruppe Nord) was a strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War The Wehrmacht OKH thrust the 4th Panzer Group, with a strength of 600 tanks, at the junction of the two Soviet armies in that sector. The 4th Panzer Group's objective was to cross the River Neman and River Dvina which were the two largest obstacles in the direction of advance towards Leningrad. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River On the first day, the tanks crossed the River Neman and penetrated 50 miles (80 km). Near Rasienai, the tanks were counterattacked by 300 Soviet tanks. It took four days for the Germans to encircle and destroy the Soviet armour. The Panzer Goups then crossed the River Dvina near Daugavpils. Daugavpils (daugavpils) is the second largest City in Latvia. The Germans were now within striking distance of Leningrad. However, due to their deteriorated supply situation, Hitler ordered the Panzer Groups to hold their position while the infantry formations caught up. The orders to hold would last over a week, giving time for the Soviets to build up a defence around Leningrad and along the bank of River Luga. Luga may refer to Luga Leningrad Oblast, a town in Leningrad Oblast Russia Luga (crater, a crater on Mars named after this
Army Group Centre
Opposite Heersgruppe Mitte were four Soviet armies: the 3rd, 4th, 10th and 11th Armies. Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte was the name of two distinct German strategic Army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II The 3rd Army was an important Soviet Red Army field formation during World War II. The 4th Army was a Soviet field army of World War II that served on the Eastern front of World War II and in the Caucasus during the Cold War The Soviet Armies occupied a salient which jutted into German occupied Polish territory with the Soviet salient's center at Bialystok. Salient Salients can be formed in a number of ways An attacker can produce a salient in the defender's line by either intentionally making a Pincer movement around the Białystok Lublin Voivodeship Białystok (also known by alternative names) is the largest City in northeastern Poland. Beyond Bialystok was Minsk, both the capital of Belorussia and a key railway junction. Minsk (Мінск mʲinsk Минск mʲinsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Niamiha rivers Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east A junction, in the context of Rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge The goals of the AG Center's two Panzer Groups was to meet at Minsk, denying an escape route to the Red Army from the salient. The 3rd Panzer Group broke through the junction of two Soviet Fronts in the North of the salient, and crossed the River Neman while the 2nd Panzer Group crossed the River Bug in the South. "Nieman" and "Niemen" redirects here For other uses see Neman and Nieman (disambiguation. While the Panzer Groups attacked, the Wehrmacht Army Group Centre infantry Armies struck at the salient, eventually encircling Soviet troops at Bialystok. Panzerwaffe ( German for "Armoured Force" or "Armoured Arm"
Moscow at first failed to grasp the dimensions of the catastrophe that had befallen the USSR. Marshall Timoshenko ordered all Soviet forces to launch a general counter-offensive, but with supply and ammunition dumps destroyed, and a complete collapse of communication, the uncoordinated attacks failed. Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (Семё́н Константи́нович Тимоше́нко Semën Konstantinovič Timošenko; &ndash March 31, 1970 Zhukov signed the infamous Directive of People's Commissariat of Defence No. 3 (he later claimed under pressure from Stalin), which demanded that the Red Army start an offensive: he commanded the troops “to encircle and destroy the enemy grouping near Suwałki and to seize the Suwałki region by the evening of June 26" and “to encircle and destroy the enemy grouping invading in Vladimir-Volynia and Brody direction” and even “to seize the Lublin region by the evening of 24. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Suwałki ( Lithuanian: Suvalkai, Yiddish: Suwałk; German: Suwalken and Sudauen between 1939-1944 is a town Lublin is the largest city in eastern Poland and the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 355954 6”[41] This manoeuvre failed and disorganised Red Army units, which were soon destroyed by the Wehrmacht forces. Further complicating the Soviet position, on 22 June the anti-Soviet June Uprising in Lithuania began, and on the next day an independent Lithuania was proclaimed. The Lithuanian 1941 independence was a brief period in the history of Lithuania between the first Soviet occupation, and the chaos immediately following Nazi Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the [42] An estimated 30,000 Lithuanian rebels engaged Soviet forces, joined by ethnic Lithuanians from the Red Army. As the Germans reached further north, armed resistance against the Soviets broke out in Estonia as well.
On June 27, 2nd and 3rd Panzer Groups met up at Minsk advancing 200 miles (300 km) into Soviet territory and a third of the way to Moscow. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden In the vast pocket between Minsk and the Polish border, the remnants of 32 Soviet Rifle, eight tank, and motorized, cavalry and artillery divisions were encircled.
Army Group South
Opposite Army Group South in Ukraine Soviet commanders had reacted quickly to the German attack. Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II. From the start, the invaders faced a determined resistance. Opposite the Germans in Ukraine were three Soviet armies, the 5th, 6th and 26th. The German infantry Armies struck at the junctions of these armies while The 1st Panzer Group drove its armored spearhead of 600 Tanks right through the Soviet 6th Army with the objective of capturing Brody. The Battle of Brody ( other names used are Battle of Dubna Battle of Dubno Battle of Rovne Battle of Rovne-Brody etc On June 26 five Soviet mechanized corps with over 1,000 tanks mounted a massive counter-attack on the 1st Panzer Group. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. A mechanized corps was a Soviet armoured formation used since before the beginning of World War II. The battle was among the fiercest of the invasion lasting over four days; in the end the Germans prevailed, though the Soviets inflicted heavy losses on the 1st Panzer Group.
With the failure of the Soviet counter-offensives, the last substantial Soviet tank forces in Western Ukraine had been committed, and the Red Army assumed a defensive posture, focusing on conducting a strategic withdrawal under severe pressure. By the end of the first week, all three German Army Groups had achieved major Campaign objectives. However, in the vast pocket around Minsk and Bialystok, the Soviets were still fighting; reducing the pocket was causing high German casualties and many Red Army troops were also managing to escape. Minsk (Мінск mʲinsk Минск mʲinsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Niamiha rivers On the final reduction of the encirclement, 290,000 Red Army troops were captured, with 1,500 guns and 2,500 tanks destroyed, but 250,000 Red Army troops managed to escape.
Middle phase (July 3, 1941 - October 2, 1941)
On July 3rd, Hitler finally gave the go-ahead for the Panzers to resume their drive east after the infantry divisions had caught up. However, a rainstorm typical of Russian summers slowed their progress and Russian defenses also stiffened. The delays gave the Soviets time to organize for a massive counterattack against Army Group Center. The ultimate objective of Army Group Center was the city of Smolensk, which commanded the road to Moscow. Smolensk (Смоленск is a city in western Russia, located on the Dnieper River, the administrative centre of Smolensk Oblast. Facing the Germans was an old Soviet defensive line held by six armies. On July 6th, the Soviets launched an attack with 700 tanks against the 3rd Panzer Army. The Germans defeated this counterattack using their overwhelming air superiority. The 2nd Panzer Army crossed the River Dnieper and closed on Smolensk from the south while the 3rd Panzer Army, after defeating the Soviet counter attack, closed in Smolensk from the north. Trapped between their pincers were three Soviet armies. On July 26th, the Panzer Groups closed the gap and 180,000 Red Army troops were captured. [43]
Four weeks into the campaign, the Germans realized they had grossly underestimated the strength of the Soviets. The German troops had run out of their initial supplies but still not attained the expected strategic freedom of movement. Operations were now slowed down to allow for a resupply; the delay was to be used to adapt the strategy to the new situation. Hitler had lost faith in battles of encirclement as large numbers of Soviet soldiers had continued to escape them and now believed he could defeat the Soviets by inflicting severe economic damage, depriving them from the industrial capacity to continue the war. That meant the seizure of the industrial center of Charkov, the Donets Basin and the oil fields of the Caucasus in the south and a speedy capture of Leningrad, a major center of military production, in the north. Kharkiv or Kharkov (Харків Харьков is the second largest city in Ukraine. Donets Basin, also known as Donbas or Donbass (Донецький басейн usually abbreviated to Донбас translit The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East He also wanted to link up with the Finns to the north.
The German generals vehemently argued instead for continuing the all-out drive toward Moscow. Besides the psychological importance of capturing the enemy's capital, the generals pointed out that Moscow was a major center of arms production and the center of the Soviet communications and transportation system. More importantly, intelligence reports indicated that the bulk of the Red Army was deployed near Moscow under Semyon Timoshenko for an all-out defense of the capital. Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (Семё́н Константи́нович Тимоше́нко Semën Konstantinovič Timošenko; &ndash March 31, 1970 However, Hitler was adamant, and issued an order to send Army Group Center's tanks to the north and south, temporarily halting the drive to Moscow By mid-July below the Pinsk Marshes, the Germans had come within a few miles of Kiev. The Pinsk Marshes (Пинские болота or Pripyat Marshes ( Pripet Marshes, Припятские болота are a vast territory of Wetlands Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the The 1st Panzer Army then went south while the German 17th Army struck east and in between the Germans trapped three Soviet armies near Uman. As the Germans eliminated the pocket, the tanks turned north and crossed the Dnieper. Meanwhile, the 2nd Panzer Army, diverted from Army Group Center, had crossed the River Desna with 2nd Army on its right flank. The two Panzer armies now trapped four Soviet armies and parts of two others.
For its final attack on Leningrad, the 4th Panzer Army was reinforced by tanks from Army Group Center. On August 8 the Panzers broke through the Soviet defenses and the German 16th Army attacked to the northeast, the 18th Army cleared Estonia and advanced to Lake Peipus. Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. By the end of August, 4th Panzer Army had penetrated to within 30 miles (50 km) of Leningrad. The Finns had pushed southeast on both sides of Lake Ladoga reaching the old Finnish-Soviet frontier.
At this stage Hitler ordered the final destruction of Leningrad with no prisoners taken, and on September 9 Army Group North began the final push which within ten days brought it within seven miles (11 km) of the city. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian However, the pace of advance over the last ten kilometers proved very slow and the casualties mounted. At this stage Hitler lost patience and ordered that Leningrad should not be stormed but starved into submission. He needed the tanks of Army Group North transferred to Army Group Center for an all-out drive to Moscow.
Before the attack on Moscow could begin, operations in Kiev needed to be finished. Half of Army Group Center had swung to the south in the back of the Kiev position, while Army Group South moved to the north from its Dniepr bridgehead. The encirclement of Soviet Forces in Kiev was achieved on September 16th. The encircled Soviets did not give up easily, and a savage battle ensued in which the Soviets were hammered with tanks, artillery and aerial bombardment. In the end, after ten days of vicious fighting, the Germans claimed over 600,000 Soviet soldiers captured but that was false, the German did capture 600,000 males between the ages of 15-70 but only 480,000 were soldiers out of which 180,000 broke out netting the Axis 300,000 Prisoners of war.
Final phase (October 2, 1941 - January 7, 1942)
_-_Eastern_Front_1941_06_to_1941_12.png/475px-Battle_of_Rostov_(1941)_-_Eastern_Front_1941_06_to_1941_12.png)
After Kiev, the Red Army no longer outnumbered the Germans and there were no more directly available trained reserves. The Battle of Moscow (Битва под Москвой Romanized: Bitva pod Moskvoy, Schlacht um Moskau is the name given by the Soviet historians to the two Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. To defend Moscow, Stalin could field 800,000 men in 83 divisions, but no more than 25 divisions were fully effective. Operation Typhoon, the drive to Moscow, began on October 2nd. The Battle of Moscow (Битва под Москвой Romanized: Bitva pod Moskvoy, Schlacht um Moskau is the name given by the Soviet historians to the two In front of Army Group Center was a series of elaborate defense lines, the first centered on Vyazma and the second on Mozhaisk.
The first blow took the Soviets completely by surprise as 2nd Panzer Army returning from the south took Orel which was 75 miles (121 km) south of the Soviet first main defence line. Three days later the Panzers pushed on Bryansk while 2nd Army attacked from the west. Bryansk01jpg|thumb|left|200px|Forest Museum in Bryansk]]Ziu-9 Bryansk 2056 Three Soviet armies were now encircled. To the north, the 3rd and 4th Panzer Armies attacked Vyazma, trapping another five Soviet armies. Vyazma (Вя́зьма Wiaźma is a town in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk and Moscow's first line of defence had been shattered. The pocket yielded 663,000 Soviet prisoners, bringing the tally since the start of the invasion to three million Soviet soldiers captured. The Soviets had only 90,000 men and 150 tanks left for the defense of Moscow.
On October 13 3rd Panzer Army penetrated to within 90 miles (140 km) of the capital. Events 54 - Nero ascends to the Roman throne 409 - Vandals and Alans crossed the Pyrenees Martial law was declared in Moscow. Almost from the beginning of Operation Typhoon the weather had deteriorated. Temperatures fell while there was a continued rainfall, turning the unmetalled road network into mud and steadily slowing the German advance on Moscow to as little as two miles (3 km) a day. The supply situation rapidly deteriorated. On October 31 the Germany Army High Command ordered a halt to Operation Typhoon while the armies were re-organized. Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse The pause gave the Soviets, who were in a far better supply situation due to the use of their rail network, time to reinforce, and in little over a month the Soviets organized eleven new armies which included 30 divisions of Siberian troops. These had been freed from the Soviet far east as Soviet intelligence had assured Stalin there was no longer a threat from the Japanese. Richard Sorge ( Russian: Рихард Зорге ( October 4, 1895 - November 7, 1944) is considered to have been the best Soviet With the Siberian forces would come over 1,000 tanks and 1,000 aircraft.
The Germans were nearing exhaustion, they also began to recall Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The French invasion of Russia in 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. General Günther Blumentritt noted in his diary:
They remembered what happened to Napoleon's Army. Günther Blumentritt ( February 10, 1897 &ndash October 12, 1967) was a German general during World War II Most of them began to re-read Caulaincourt's grim account of 1812. Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt 1st Duc de Vicence ( December 9, 1773 &ndash February 19, That had a weighty influence at this critical time in 1941. I can still see Von Kluge trudging through the mud from his sleeping quarters to his office and standing before the map with Caulaincourt's book in his hand. [44]
On November 15 with the ground hardening due to the cold weather, the Germans once again began the attack on Moscow. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Although the troops themselves were now able to advance again, there had been no delay allowed to improve the supply situation. Facing the Germans were six Soviet armies. The Germans intended to let 3rd and 4th Panzer Armies cross the Moscow Canal and envelop Moscow from the northeast. The Moscow Canal (Кана́л и́мени Москвы́ called Moscow-Volga Canal until the year 1947, is a Canal that connects the 2nd Panzer Army would attack Tula and then close in on Moscow from the south. As the Soviets reacted to the flanks, 4th Army would attack the center. In two weeks of desperate fighting, lacking sufficient fuel and ammunition, the Germans slowly crept towards Moscow. However, in the south, 2nd Panzer Army was being blocked. On November 22 Soviet Siberian units attacked the 2nd Panzer Army and inflicted a defeat on the Germans. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran However, 4th Panzer Army succeeded in crossing the Moscow canal and began the encirclement.
On December 2 the 4th Panzer Army had penetrated to within 15 miles (24 km) of Moscow, but by then the first blizzards of the winter began. Events 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens 1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire The Wehrmacht was not equipped for winter warfare. Frostbite and disease caused more casualties than combat, and dead and wounded had already reached 155,000 in three weeks. Some divisions were now at fifty percent strength. The bitter cold also caused severe problems for their guns and equipment, and weather conditions grounded the Luftwaffe. ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Newly built up Soviet units near Moscow now numbered over 500,000 men and on December 5 they launched a massive counterattack which pushed the Germans back over 200 miles. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. The invasion of the USSR would cost the German Army over 250,000 dead and 500,000 wounded, the majority of whom became casualties after 1 October and an unknown number of Axis casualties such as Hungarians, Romanians and Waffen SS troops as well as co-belligerent Finns. Events 331 BC - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela.
Later events
It is sometimes argued that the fatal decision of the operation was the postponement from the original date of May 15 because Hitler wanted to intervene against an anti-German coup in Yugoslavia and Greek advances against Mussolini's occupation of Albania. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics. However, this was just one of the reasons for the postponement — the other was the late spring of 1941 in Russia, compounded by particularly rainy weather during June 1941 which made a number of roads in western parts of the Soviet Union impassable to heavy vehicles. During the campaign, Hitler ordered the main thrust toward Moscow to be diverted southward in order to help the southern army group capture Ukraine. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. This move delayed the assault on the Soviet capital, although it also helped to secure Army Group Center's southern flank. By the time they turned their sights on Moscow, the fierce resistance of the Red Army, assisted by the mud following the autumn rains and eventually the winter snowfall, brought their advance to a halt.
In addition, resistance by the Soviets, who proclaimed a Great Patriotic War in defence of the motherland, was much fiercer than the German command had expected. The term Great Patriotic War (Великая Отечественная война Velikaya Otechestvennaya Vojna) is used in Russia and some other The border fortress of Brest, Belarus illustrates that tenacity: attacked on the very first day of the German invasion, the fortress was expected to be captured by surprise within hours, but held out for weeks (Soviet propaganda later asserted that it held out for six weeks). The defence of Brest Fortress took place 22 June&mdash30 June 1941 [45] German logistics also became a major problem, as supply lines became very long and vulnerable to Soviet partisan attacks in the rear. Logistics is the management of the flow of Goods, Information and other resources including Energy and people between the point of origin and the point The Soviet partisans were members of a Resistance movement which fought a Guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union The Soviets carried out a scorched earth policy on some of the land they were forced to abandon in order to deny the Germans the use of food, fuel, and buildings.
Despite the setbacks, the Germans continued to advance, often destroying or surrounding whole armies of Soviet troops and forcing them to surrender. The battle for Kiev was especially brutal. Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the On September 19, Army Group South seized control of Kiev, and took 665,000 Soviets prisoner. Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Kiev was later awarded the title Hero City for its heroic defence. Hero City ( Russian: город-герой gorod-geroy, Ukrainian: Місто-герой Misto-heroy) is a Soviet Honorary
Army Group North, which was to conquer the Baltic countries and eventually Leningrad, advanced as far as the southern outskirts of Leningrad by August 1941. The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River There, fierce Soviet resistance stopped it. Since capturing the city seemed too costly, German command decided to starve the city to death by a blockade, starting the Siege of Leningrad. The Siege of Leningrad, also known as The Leningrad Blockade ( Russian: блокада Ленинграда ( transliteration: blokada Leningrada The city held out, despite several attempts by the Germans to break through its defenses, unrelenting air and artillery attacks, and severe shortages of food and fuel, until the Germans were driven back again from the city's approaches in early 1944. Leningrad was the first Soviet city to receive the title of 'Hero City'. Hero City ( Russian: город-герой gorod-geroy, Ukrainian: Місто-герой Misto-heroy) is a Soviet Honorary
In addition to the main attacks of Barbarossa, German forces occupied Finnish Petsamo in order to secure important nickel mines. They also launched the beginning of a series of attacks against Murmansk on June 28, 1941. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. That assault was known as Operation Silberfuchs. Operation Silver Fox ( Silberfuchs) was a joint German - Finnish military operation during World War II.
Causes of initial Soviet defeats
The Red army and air force were so badly defeated in 1941 chiefly because they were ill-prepared for the surprise attack by the armed forces of the Axis, which by 1941 were the most experienced and best-trained in the world. The Axis had a doctrine of mobility and annihilation, excellent communications, and the confidence that comes from repeated low-cost victories. The Soviet armed forces, by contrast, lacked leadership, training, and readiness. Much of Soviet planning assumed that no war would take place before 1942: thus the Axis attack came at a time when new organizations and promising, but untested, weapons were just beginning to trickle into operational units. And much of the Soviet Army in Europe was concentrated along the new western border of the Soviet Union, in former Polish territory which lacked significant defences, allowing many Soviet military units to be overrun and destroyed in the first weeks of war. Initially, many Soviet units were also hampered by Semyon Timoshenko's and Georgy Zhukov's prewar orders (demanded by Stalin) not to engage or to respond to provocations (followed by a similarly damaging first reaction from Moscow, an order to stand and fight, then counterattack; this left those military units vulnerable to German encirclements), by a lack of experienced officers, and by bureaucratic inertia. Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (Семё́н Константи́нович Тимоше́нко Semën Konstantinovič Timošenko; &ndash March 31, 1970 Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party
The initial tactical errors of the Soviets in the first few weeks of the Axis offensive proved catastrophic. Initially, the Red Army was fooled by a complete overestimation of its own capabilities. Instead of intercepting German armour, Soviet mechanised corps were ambushed and destroyed after Luftwaffe dive bombers inflicted heavy losses. ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Soviet tanks, poorly maintained and manned by inexperienced crews, suffered from an appalling rate of breakdowns. Lacks of spare parts and of trucks ensured a logistical collapse. The decision not to dig in the infantry divisions proved disastrous. Without tanks or sufficient motorisation, Soviet troops were incapable of waging mobile warfare against the Germans and their allies.
Stalin's orders to his troops not to retreat or surrender resulted in a return to static linear positions which German tanks easily breached, again quickly cutting supply lines and surrounding whole Soviet armies. Only later did Stalin allow his troops to retreat to the rear wherever possible and regroup, to mount a defence in depth or to counterattack. More than 2. 4 million Soviet troops had been taken prisoner by December, 1941, by which time German and Soviet forces were fighting almost in the suburbs of Moscow. Most of these captured Soviet troops were to die from exposure, starvation, disease, or willful mistreatment by the German regime.
Despite the failure of the Axis to achieve Barbarossa's initial goals, the huge Soviet losses caused a shift in Soviet propaganda. Before the onset of hostilities against Germany, the Soviet government had stated that its army was very strong. But, by the autumn of 1941, the Soviet line was that the Red Army had been weak, that there had not been enough time to prepare for war, and that the German attack had come as a surprise.
Viktor Suvorov gives an alternative explanation in his Icebreaker. Viktor Suvorov (Ви́ктор Суво́ров is the Pen name for Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun: Влади́мир Богда́нович Резу́н (born Icebreaker Who Started the Second World War?, by Viktor Suvorov ( Russian title Ledokol, Ледокол) is a documentary book which The larger and better equipped Soviet armed forces, according to Suvorov, were preparing their own surprise offensive against Axis forces, targeting especially their oil supplies in Romania: Suvorov's sources suggest that July 6, 1941 -- two weeks later than the actual German invasion -- had been set as the start of Soviet Operation "Thunderstorm". [46] Russian historian Boris Sokolov, exploring pre-war Soviet planning, also concluded that after the German invasion on June 22, 1941, the Red Army undertook counterattacks within the framework of the planned offensive and that the subsequent defensive operations of the Soviet Army, in view of the absence of pre-war defensive plans, were merely improvised:[47] hence the initial gigantic defeats.
Outcome
The climax of Operation Barbarossa came when Army Group Centre, already short on supplies because of the October mud, was ordered to advance on Moscow; forward units came within sight of the spires of the Kremlin in early December 1941. Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte was the name of two distinct German strategic Army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II The Moscow Kremlin ( Russian: Московский Кремль Moskovskiy Kreml) usually referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified Soviet troops, well supplied and reinforced by fresh divisions from Siberia, defended Moscow in the Battle of Moscow, and drove the Germans back as the winter advanced. The Battle of Khalkhyn Gol (бои на реке Халхин-Гол Халхын голын байлдаан Japanese ノモンハン事件 Nomonhan jiken --i The Battle of Moscow (Битва под Москвой Romanized: Bitva pod Moskvoy, Schlacht um Moskau is the name given by the Soviet historians to the two The bulk of the counter-offensive was directed at Army Group Center, which was closest to Moscow.
With no shelter, few supplies, inadequate winter clothing, chronic food shortages, and nowhere to go, German troops had no choice but to wait out the winter in the frozen wasteland. The Germans managed to avoid being routed by Soviet counterattacks but suffered heavy casualties from battle and exposure.
At the time, the seizure of Moscow was considered the key to victory for Germany. Historians currently debate whether or not loss of the Soviet capital would have caused the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Operation Barbarossa failed to achieve that goal. In December 1941, Germany joined Japan in declaring war against the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Within six months from the start of Operation Barbarossa, the strategic position of Germany had become desperate, since German military industries were unprepared for a long war.
The outcome of Operation Barbarossa was at least as detrimental to the Soviets as it was to the Germans, however. Although the Germans had failed to take Moscow outright, they held huge areas of the western Soviet Union, including the entire regions of what are now Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic states, plus parts of Russia proper west of Moscow. The Germans held up to 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 km²) of territory with over 75 million people at the end of 1941, and would go on to seize another 250,000 square miles (650,000 km²) before being forced to retreat after defeats at Stalingrad and Kursk. However, the occupied areas were not always properly controlled by the Germans and underground activity rapidly escalated. Wehrmacht occupation had been brutal from the start, due to directives issued by Hitler himself at the start of the operation, according to which Slavic peoples were considered an inferior race of untermenschen. Untermensch ( German for under man, sub-man, sub-human; plural Untermenschen is a term from Nazi racial Ideology This attitude immediately alienated much of the population from the Nazis, while in some areas at least (for example, Ukraine) it seems that some local people had been ready to consider the Germans as liberators helping them to get rid of Stalin. Anti-German partisan operations intensified when the Russian army units which had dissolved into the country's large uninhabited areas re-emerged as underground forces, which intensified under the repressive policies of the German armies. The Germans held on as stubbornly as possible in the face of Soviet counterattacks, resulting in huge casualties on both sides in many battles.
The war on the Eastern Front went on for four years. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign The death toll may never be established with any degree of certainty. The most recent western estimate of Soviet military deaths is 7 million that lost their lives either in combat or in Axis captivity. Soviet civilian deaths remain under contention, though roughly 20 million is a frequently cited figure. German military deaths are also not clarified to a large extent. The most recent German estimate (Rüdiger Overmans) concluded that about 4. 3 million Germans and a further 900,000 Axis forces lost their lives either in combat or in Soviet captivity. Operation Barbarossa is listed among the most lethal battles in world history.
The Soviet Union had not signed the Geneva Convention (1929). The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 See also Geneva Convention for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick in armies in the field (1929 The Geneva Convention (1929 However, a month after the German invasion in 1942, an offer was made for a reciprocal adherence to the Hague convention. The Hague Conventions were international treaties negotiated at the First and Second Peace Conferences at The Hague, Netherlands in 1899 and This 'note' was left unanswered by Third Reich officials. [48]
Causes of the failure of Operation Barbarossa
The grave situation in which the beleaguered German army found itself towards the end of 1941 was due to the increasing strength of the Red Army, compounded by a number of factors which in the short run severely restricted the effectiveness of the German forces. Chief among these were their overstretched deployment, a serious transport crisis affecting supply and movement and the eroded strength of most divisions. The infantry deficit that appeared by 1 September 1941 was never made good. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For the rest of the war in the Soviet Union, the Wehrmacht would be short of infantry and support services.
Parallels have been drawn with Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The French invasion of Russia in 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars.
Underestimated Soviet potential
German war planners grossly underestimated the mobilisation potential of the Red Army: its primary mobilisation size (i. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya e. the total of already trained units that could be put on a war-footing in short time) was about twice as large as they had expected. By early August, new armies had taken the place of the destroyed ones. This fact alone implied the failure of Operation Barbarossa, for the Germans now had to limit their operations for a month to bring up new supplies, leaving only six weeks to complete the battle before the start of the mud season, an impossible task. On the other hand, the Red Army proved capable of replacing its huge losses in a timely fashion, and was not destroyed as a coherent force. When the divisions consisting of conscripts trained before the war were destroyed, they were replaced by new ones, on average about half a million men being drafted each month for the duration of the war. The Soviets also proved very skilled in raising and training many new armies from the different ethnic populations of the far flung republics. It was this Soviet ability to mobilise vast (if often badly trained and equipped) forces within a short time and on a continual basis which allowed the Soviet Union to survive the critical first six months of the war, and the grave underestimation of this capacity which rendered German planning unrealistic.
In addition, data collected by Soviet intelligence excluded the possibility of a war with Japan, which allowed the Soviets to transfer forces from the Far East to the European theatre. Richard Sorge ( Russian: Рихард Зорге ( October 4, 1895 - November 7, 1944) is considered to have been the best Soviet
The German High Command grossly underestimated the effective control the central Soviet government exercised. The German High Command incorrectly believed the Soviet government was ineffective. The Germans based their hopes of quick victory on the belief the Soviet communist system was like a rotten structure which would collapse from a hard blow. In fact, the Soviet system proved resilient and surprisingly adaptable. In the face of early crushing defeats, the Soviets managed to dismantle entire industries threatened by the German advance. These critical factories, along with their skilled workers, were transported by rail to secure locations beyond the reach of the German army. Despite the loss of raw materials and the chaos of an invasion, the Soviets managed to build new factories in sufficient numbers to allow the mass production of needed war machines. The Soviet government was never in danger of collapse and remained at all times in tight control of the Soviet war effort.
The Germans treated Soviet prisoners with brutality and exhibited cruelty toward overrun Soviet populations. The effect of this treatment instilled a deep hatred in the hearts and minds of the Soviet citizens. Hatred of the Germans enabled the Soviet government to extract a level of sacrifice from the Soviet population unheard of in Western nations.
The Germans underestimated the Soviet people as well. The German high command viewed the Soviet soldiers as incompetent and considered the average citizen as an inferior human being. German soldiers were stunned by the ferocity with which the Red Army fought. German planners were amazed at the level of suffering the Soviet citizens could endure and still work and fight.
A further element in the German defeat is the underestimation of Soviet technical capacity. While Soviet equipment at the beginning of the war was vastly inferior to the technically advanced German equipment, this gap was made up for as more advanced designs reached production. While the average Soviet conscript remained woefully under-equipped, Soviet weapons, such as a the PPSh series submachine guns, and the T-34, proved more than a match for their German counterparts. The PPSh-41 ( P istolet- P ulemyot Sh pagina; Пистолет-пулемёт Шпагина; Shpagin Machine Pistol; nicknamed The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1941 to 1958 It is widely regarded as having been the world's best Tank when the Soviet Union The T-34 tank in particular was a huge distinguishing factor between the early campaign and later Soviet counter-offensives.
Faults of logistical planning
The start of the war, in the dry summer, was the most favorable for the Germans, as they took the Soviets by surprise and destroyed a large part of the Soviet army in the first weeks. When favorable weather conditions gave way to the harsh conditions of the fall and winter and the Soviet Army recovered, the German offensive began to falter. The German army could not be sufficiently supplied for prolonged combat; indeed there was simply not enough fuel available to let the whole of the army reach its intended objectives.
This was well understood by the German supply units even before the operation, but their warnings were disregarded. [49] The entire German plan was based on the premise that within five weeks the German troops would have attained full strategic freedom due to a complete collapse of the Red Army. Only then would it have been possible to divert necessary logistic support to the fuel requirements of the few mobile units needed to occupy the defeated state.
German infantry and tanks stormed 300 miles (500 km) ahead in the first week, but their supply lines struggled to keep up. Russian railroads could at first not be used due to a difference in railway gauges, until a sufficient supply of trains was seized. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. The railroad tracks and convoys of slow-moving vehicles were also favorite targets of Soviet partisans, although partisan activity was still low in 1941. The Soviet partisans were members of a Resistance movement which fought a Guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union Lack of supplies significantly slowed down the blitzkrieg. Blitzkrieg (German for "lightning war" is a popular name for an Offensive operational-level Military doctrine which involves an initial
The German logistical planning also seriously overestimated the condition of the Soviet transportation network. The road and railway network of former Eastern Poland was well known, but beyond that information was limited. Roads that looked impressive on maps turned out to be just mere dust roads or were only in the planning stages. [49]
Weather
A paper published by the U. S. Army's Combat Studies Institute in 1981 concluded that Hitler's plans miscarried before the onset of severe winter weather. He was so confident of quick victory that he did not prepare for even the possibility of winter warfare in the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, his eastern army suffered more than 734,000 casualties (about 23 percent of its average strength of 3,200,000 troops) during the first five months of the invasion, and on 27 November 1941, General Eduard Wagner, the Quartermaster General of the German Army, reported that "We are at the end of our resources in both personnel and material. We are about to be confronted with the dangers of deep winter. "[50]
The German forces were not prepared to deal with harsh weather and the poor road network of the USSR. In autumn, the terrain slowed the Wehrmacht’s progress. Few roads were paved. The ground in the USSR was very loose sand in the summer, sticky muck in the autumn, and heavy snow during the winter. The German tanks had narrow treads with little traction and poor flotation in mud. In contrast, the new generation of Soviet tanks such as the T-34 and KV had wider tracks and were far more mobile in these conditions. The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1941 to 1958 It is widely regarded as having been the world's best Tank when the Soviet Union The Kliment Voroshilov ( KV) Tanks were a series of Soviet Heavy tanks named after the Soviet defense commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov The 600,000 large western European horses the Germans used for supply and artillery movement did not cope well with this weather. The small ponies used by the Red Army were much better adapted to this climate and could even scrape the icy ground with their hooves to dig up the weeds beneath.
German troops were mostly unprepared for the harsh weather changes in the autumn and winter of 1941. Equipment had been prepared for such winter conditions, but the ability to move it up front over the severely overstrained transport network did not exist. Consequently, the troops were not equipped with adequate cold-weather gear, and some soldiers had to pack newspapers into their jackets to stay warm while temperatures dropped to record levels of at least -30 °C (-22 °F). To operate furnaces and heaters, the Germans also burned precious fuel that was difficult to re-supply. Soviet soldiers often had warm, quilted uniforms, felt-lined boots, and fur hats.
Some German weapons malfunctioned in the cold. Lubricating oils were unsuitable for extreme cold, resulting in engine malfunction and misfiring weapons. To load shells into a tank’s main gun, frozen grease had to be chipped off with a knife. Soviet units faced less severe problems due to their experience with cold weather. Aircraft were supplied with insulating blankets to keep their engines warm while parked. Lighter-weight oil was used.
A common myth is that the combination of deep mud, followed by snow, stopped all military movement in the harsh Russian winter. In fact, military operations were slowed by these factors, but much more so on the German side than on the Soviet side. The Soviet December 1941 counteroffensive advanced up to 100 miles (160 km) in some sectors, demonstrating that mobile warfare was still possible under winter conditions.
When the severe winter began, Hitler became fearful of a repeat of Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Moscow, and quickly ordered the German forces to hold their ground defiantly wherever possible in the face of Soviet counterattacks. This became known as the "stand or die" order. This prevented the Germans from being routed, but resulted in heavy casualties from battle and cold.
Aftermath
Stalin deported German POWs to labour camps. Ethnic groups were also deported en masse to the east. Examples include: in September 1941, 439,000 Volga Germans (as well as more than 300,000 other Germans from various locations) were deported mainly to Kazakhstan as their autonomous republic was abolished by Stalin's decree; in May 1944, 182,000 Crimean Tatars were deported from the Crimea to Uzbekistan; and the complete deportation of Chechens (393,000) and Ingushs (91,000) to Kazakhstan took place in 1944 (see Population transfer in the Soviet Union). The Volga Germans (Wolgadeutsche or Russlanddeutsche) were Ethnic Germans living along the Volga River in the region of southern European Russia Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the The Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ( German: Autonome Sozialistische Sowjetrepublik der Wolgadeutschen, abbreviated A Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party Crimean Tatars (sg Qırımtatar, pl Qırımtatarlar) or Crimeans (sg Crimea (kraɪˈmiːə or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Крим Автономна Республіка Крим Avtonomna Respublika Krym; Крым Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi or Ўзбекистон Республикаси is a doubly Chechens ( Chechen: Hохчи / Noxçi) constitute the largest native Ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region The Ingush ( Ingush: Галгай "Ghalghay" are an Ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian Population transfer in the Soviet Union may be classified into the following broad categories deportations of " Anti-Soviet " categories of population often classified
Germany's inability to achieve victory over the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa opened up the possibility for Soviet counterattacks to retake lost land and attack further into Germany proper. Starting in mid-1944, the overwhelming success in Operation Bagration and the quick victory in the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive led to an unbroken string of Soviet gains and unsupportable losses for the German forces. Operation Bagration (Oперация Багратион Operatsiya Bagration) was the Codename for the Soviet 1944 Belorussian Strategic Germany would never again mount a successful attack on the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa's failure paved the way for Soviet forces to fight all the way to Berlin, cementing the ultimate fall of Nazism and Germany's defeat in World War II.
See also
- Eastern Front (World War II)
- Timeline of the Eastern Front of World War II
- Siege of Leningrad - the siege began in 1941 and was ended in 1944. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign Below is the timeline of the events of the Eastern Front of World War II, the conflict between the Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union from 1941 The Siege of Leningrad, also known as The Leningrad Blockade ( Russian: блокада Ленинграда ( transliteration: blokada Leningrada
- Continuation War – the war at Finnish front
- Operation Silberfuchs – the attack on the Soviet Arctic
- Molotov Line – An incomplete Soviet defence line at the start of Operation Barbarossa
- Operation Nordlicht – Summer of 1942 was another major attack against besieged Leningrad
- Operation Blaufuchs – German–Finnish general operational plans
- Captured Tanks and Armoured cars for German use in Russian Front
- Captured German equipment in Soviet use in Eastern front
- Pobediteli – Russian project celebrating the 60th anniversary of World War II
- The Battle of Russia – film from the Why We Fight propaganda film series
Notes
- ^ Bergström, p130
- ^ Bergström 2007, p. The Continuation War (Jatkosota Fortsättningskriget Советско-финская война ( 25 June 1941 &ndash 19 September 1944) Operation Silver Fox ( Silberfuchs) was a joint German - Finnish military operation during World War II. The so-called Molotov Line was a system of Fortifications built by the Soviet Union in the years 1940&ndash1941 along its new western border after it annexed the Baltic Operation Nordlicht ("Operation Northern Lights" refers to two German military operations during the World War II The Siege of Leningrad, also known as The Leningrad Blockade ( Russian: блокада Ленинграда ( transliteration: blokada Leningrada Operation Silver Fox ( Silberfuchs) was a joint German - Finnish military operation during World War II. Captured Tanks and armoured cars (Beutepanzer in German use on the Russian Front List of some captured equipment used by the German forces on the Russian front and others During World War II losses of major items of equipment were substantial in many battles Pobediteli ( Победители) is a free and non-profit Russian project celebrating the 60th anniversary of World War II, with the goal of congratulating The Battle of Russia was the fifth film of Frank Capra 's Why We Fight Propaganda film series Why We Fight is a series of seven Propaganda films commissioned by the United States government during World War II to demonstrate to 131-2: Uses Soviet Record Archives including the Rosvoyentsentr, Moscow; Russian Aviation Research Trust; Russian Central Military Archive TsAMO, Podolsk; Monino Air Force Museum, Moscow.
- ^ a b About the German Invasion of the Soviet Union
- ^ Boog, H, Germany and the Second World War, VoI. 4: The Attack on the Soviet Union (Oxford, 1994)
- ^ Bergström 2007, p 118
- ^ Krivosheev, G. F, 1997, p. 96. Documented losses only
- ^ THE TREATMENT OF SOVIET POWS: STARVATION, DISEASE, AND SHOOTINGS, JUNE 1941- JANUARY 1942
- ^ Bergström, p117
- ^ Krivosheyev, G. 1993
- ^ Note: Soviet aircraft losses include all causes
- ^ a b Higgins, Trumbull (1966). Hitler and Russia. The Macmillan Company, pp. 11 - 59, 98 -151.
- ^ Bryan I. Fugate. Strategy and tactics on the Eastern Front, 1941. Novato: Presidio Press, 1984.
- ^ World War II Chronicle, 2007. Legacy/ Publications International, Ltd. Page 146.
- ^ A.J.P Taylor & Colonel D. Alan John Percival Taylor ( March 25, 1906 – September 7, 1990) was a renowned English Historian of the 20th century M Proektor, p106
- ^ A.J.P Taylor & Colonel D. Alan John Percival Taylor ( March 25, 1906 – September 7, 1990) was a renowned English Historian of the 20th century M Proektor 1974, p. 107
- ^ Simonov, Konstantin (1979). Records of talks with Georgi Zhukov, 1965–1966. Hrono.
- ^ Life and Death in Besieged Leningrad, 1941–44 (Studies in Russian and Eastern European History), edited by John Barber and Andrei Dzeniskevich. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005 (hardcover, ISBN 1-4039-0142-2).
- ^ The siege of Leningrad. By Alan Wykes. Ballantines Illustrated History of WWII, 3rd edition, 1972. Pages 9-61, and, Scorched Earth. (pages 205 - 240) By Paul Carell. Schiffer Military History, 1994. ISBN 0-88740-598-3 and, Finland in the Second World War. Between Germany and Russia. Palgrave. 2002. (pp. 90 - 141)
- ^ Military-Topographic Directorate, maps No. 194, 196, Officer's Atlas. General Staff USSR. 1947. Атлас Офицера. Генеральный штаб вооруженных сил ССР. М. , Военно-топографическоее управление,- 1947. Листы 194, 196
- ^ Russia's War: A History of the Soviet Effort: 1941-1945 ISBN 0-14-027169-4 by Richard Overy Page 91
- ^ The World War II. Desk Reference. Eisenhower Center Director Douglas Brinkley. Editor Mickael E. Haskey. Grand Central Press, Stonesong Press, HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN0-06-052651-3. Page 210.
- ^ Siege of Leningrad. Encyclopedia Britannica. [1]
- ^ Bryan I. Fugate. Operation Barbarossa. Strategy and tactics on the Eastern Front, 1941. Novato: Presidio Press, 1984.
- ^ Meltyukhov 2000:446 Table composed by the author according to: История второй мировой войны. Т. 4. С. 18; 50 лет Вооруженных Сил СССР. М. , 1968. С. 201; Советская военная энциклопедия. T. I. M. , 1976, С. 56; Боевой и численный состав Вооруженных Сил СССР в период Великой Отечественной войны (1941–1945 гг. ). Статистический сборник № 1 (22 июня 1941 г. ). М. , 1994. С. 10–12; РГАСПИ. Ф. 71. Оп. 25. Д. 4134. Л. 1–8; Д. 5139. Л. 1; РГВА. Ф. 29. Оп. 46. Д. 272. Л. 20–21; учтены пограничные и внутренние войска: Пограничные войска СССР в годы Второй мировой войны, 1939–1945. М. , 1995. С. 390–400; РГВА. Ф. 38261. Оп. 1. Д. 255. Л. 175–177, 340–349; Ф. 38650. Оп. 1. Д. 617. Л. 258–260; Ф. 38262. Оп. 1, Д. 41. Л. 83–84; РГАЭ. Ф. 1562. Оп. 329. Д. 277. Л. 1–46, 62, 139; Д. 282. Л. 3–44.
- ^ A. J. P Taylor & D. M Proektor,p98
- ^ N. P. Zolotov and S. I. Isayev, "Boyegotovy byli. . . ", Voenno-Istorichesskiy Zhurnal, N° 11: 1993, p. 77
- ^ The Russian Front by James F. Dunnigan, Arms & Armour Press 1978, p 82, 88 ISBN 0-85368-152-X
- ^ Rayfield 2004, p. James F Dunnigan (born 8 August 1943) is an author and Wargame designer currently living in New York City, notable for his matter-of-fact approach 315.
- ^ Dunnigan, Russian Front, pp 93-94
- ^ Bergström, p11-12
- ^ Bellamy 2007, p. 115.
- ^ Russian original
- ^ As e. g David Glantz has claimed: Although Defense Commissar S. K. Timoshenko initialed the proposal, there is no evidence either that Stalin saw it or acted upon it. [2]
- ^ Bergström 2007, p. 130:Uses figures from German archives. Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv, Frieburg; Luftfahrtmuseum, Hannover-Laatzen; WASt Deutsche Dienststelle, Berlin
- ^ Bergström 2007, p. 131-2: Uses Soviet Record Archives including the Rosvoyentsentr, Moscow; Russian Aviation Research Trust; Russian Central Military Archive TsAMO, Podolsk; Monino Air Force Museum, Moscow.
- ^ Meltyukhov 2000, (electronic version)
- ^ Keith E. Bonn (ed. ), Slaughterhouse: Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005, p. 299
- ^ [[John Erickson (historian)|]], The Road to Stalingrad, Cassel Military Paperbacks, 2003 edition, p. 172
- ^ Bergström, p20
- ^ Bergström, p20
- ^ as cited by Suvorov: http://militera.lib.ru/research/suvorov7/12.html
- ^ (Lithuanian) Gediminas Zemlickas. Pasaulyje—kaip savo namuose, Mokslo Lietuva, 11 February 1998, No. 3 (161)
- ^ According to http://www.soldat.ru/doc/casualties/book/chapter5_13_08.html based on German sources (see site reference page)
- ^ A. Clark 1995, p. 165.
- ^ A Day By Day Diary of WWII. Retrieved on 2006-06-13. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for See also Charles Messenger, The Chronological Atlas of World War Two (New York: Macmillan Publishing 1989), p. 63.
- ^ В. Суворов ', гл. 33 (online text)
- ^ Б. В. Соколов Правда о Великой Отечественной войне (Сборник статей). —СПб. : Алетейя, 1999 (online text)
- ^ Beevor, Stalingrad. Penguin 2001 ISBN 0141001313 p60
- ^ a b van Creveld, Martin. Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton Cambridge, 1977. Martin van Creveld (born 5 March 1946 is an Israeli military historian and theorist ISBN 0-421-29793-1
- ^ CSI. Retrieved on 2006-04-04. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I.
Further reading
- Bellamy, Christopher (2007). Absolute War: Soviet Russia in World War Two. Knopf Publishers. ISBN 978-0-3754-1086-4
- Bergstrom, Christer (2007). Barbarossa - The Air Battle: July-December 1941. London: Chervron/Ian Allen. ISBN 978-1-85780-270-2.
- Clark, Alan. Barbarossa: The Russian–German Conflict, 1941–45. New York: Willam Morrow & Co. , 1965.
- Erickson, John. John R Erickson (b April 171929 South Shields, Eng &ndash d Feb The Road to Stalingrad. London: Cassell Military, 2003 (paperback, ISBN 0304365416).
- Erickson, John and Dilks, David eds. Barbarossa: The Axis and the Allies. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1994 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7486-0504-5); 1998 (paperback, ISBN 0-7486-1111-8).
- Förster, Jürgen; Mawdsley, Evan. "Hitler and Stalin in Perspective: Secret Speeches on the Eve of Barbarossa", War in History, Vol. 11, Issue 1. (2004), pp. 61–103.
- Farrell, Brian P. "Yes, Prime Minister: Barbarossa, Whipcord, and the Basis of British Grand Strategy, Autumn 1941", The Journal of Military History, Vol. 57, No. 4. (1993), pp. 599–625.
- Glantz, David M. Barbarossa: Hitler's invasion of Russia, 1941. David M Glantz (born 11 January 1942 in Port Chester, New York) is an American military historian and the editor of The Journal of Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus, 2001 (paperback, ISBN 0-7524-1979-X).
- Glantz, David M. Stumbling Colossus: The Red Army on the Eve of World War. Lawrence, KA: University Press of Kansas, 1998 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7006-0879-6).
- Glantz, David M. Colossus Reborn: the Red Army at War, 1941–1943. Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2005 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7006-1353-6).
- Gorodetsky, Gabriel Grand Delusion: Stalin and the German Invasion of Russia. New Haven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 2001 (paperback, ISBN 0300084595).
- Hoffmann, Joachim. Joachim Hoffmann ( December 1, 1930, Königsberg, East Prussia &ndash February 8, 2002, Freiburg) was a Stalin's War of Extermination. Capshaw, AL: Theses & Dissertations Press, 2001 (hardcover, ISBN 0-9679856-8-4).
- Kershaw, Robert J. War Without Garlands: Operation Barbarossa, 1941/42. Shepperton: Ian Allan, 2000 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7110-2734-X).
- Kirchubel, Robert. Operation Barbarossa 1941 (1): Army Group South. Oxford: Osprey, 2003 (paperback, ISBN 1-84176-697-6).
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- Koch, H. W. "Hitler's 'Programme' and the Genesis of Operation 'Barbarossa'", The Historical Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4. (1983), pp. 891–920.
- Latimer, Jon, Deception in War, London: John Murray, 2001
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- Rayfield, Donald. Stalin and his Hangmen,London, Penguin Books, 2004, ISBN 0-141-00375-8
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- van Creveld, Martin. Martin van Creveld (born 5 March 1946 is an Israeli military historian and theorist Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977. ISBN 0-421-29793-1
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- Wegner, Bernd ed. From Peace to War: Germany, Soviet Russia, and the World, 1939–1941 Providence, RI: Berghahn Books, 1997 (hardcover, ISBN 1-57181-882-0).
- Reviewed by Peter Konecny, Canadian Journal of History, Vol. 34 Issue 2. (Aug. , 1999) pp. 288–290.
- Wieczynski, Joseph L. ; Fox, J. P. "Operation Barbarossa: The German Attack on The Soviet Union, June 22, 1941", The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Not to be confused with "Slavonic and East European Review 74, No. 2. (1996), pp. 344–346.
- Ziemke, Earl F. Moscow to Stalingrad: Decision in the East. Washington DC: U. S. Army Center of Military History, 1987; New York: Military Heritage Press, 1988 (hardcover, ISBN 0880292946).
- Ziemke, Earl F. Stalingrad to Berlin: The German Defeat in the East. Washington DC: U. S. Army Center of Military History, 1966; Honolulu, HA: University Press of the Pacific, 2003 (paperback, ISBN 1410204146).
- Мельтюхов, М. И. Упущенный шанс Сталина. Советский Союз и борьба за Европу: 1939–1941 (Документы, факты, суждения). Москва: Вече, 2000.
- Суворов, В. Последняя республика: Почему Советский Союз проиграл Вторую Мировую войну. Москва: AST, 2003 (hardcover, ISBN 5170078765).
- lt. Kolobanov and KV-2. Notable engagements of KV series against outnumbering enemy forces: http://wio.ru/tank/ww2tank.htm
External links
- Relationship between the campaigns in the Balkans and the invasion of Russia and associated timeline on a US Army website
- Multimedia map—Covers the invasion of Russia including Operation Barbarossa
- Operation Barbarossa—Detailed analysis of the operation by author Bevin Alexander. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities.
- Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Current Intelligence. The Soviet History of World War II, 28 October 1959.
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