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THE EASTERN FRONT
1941–1945
By: Emily Donovan
INTRODUCTION
 The Eastern front was a “war within a war” during World War II.
Basically, Germany tried to take over Russia during a series of
offensives.
THE EASTERN FRONT
 Also known as the Soviet-German war
 Russians called it the "Great Patriotic War"
 June 22, 1941 - May 9, 1945
 Biggest front of World War 2, 1000 miles
 German army suffered 80% of all casualties during
 Torture and executions were used by both sides
 Stalin orders “not a step back” which required a Russian rearguard to shoot any Soviet
soldier that tried to leave battle
 27 million Soviet soldiers and civilians and 4 million German troops lost their lives
WHY?
 Germany- wanted “living space”
 Fought to gain new territory for Germans in Eastern Europe
 Germans would live there, as the “Master Race“
 Previous inhabitants would be deported to Siberia or killed, a few
would become slaves
MAJOR BATTLES
 Operation Barbarossa
 Battle For Moscow
 Stalingrad
 Battle of Kursk
 Battle for Berlin
OPERATION BARBAROSSA
 Nazi Germany’s invasion of Russia on June 22nd 1941
 Barbarossa the largest military attack of World War Two
 117 German divisions, excluding Romanian and Hungarian units
 Russia -132 army divisions, including 34 armoured divisions
 Day 17 - 300,000 Russians had been captured
Operation Barbarossa
BATTLE FOR MOSCOW
 Winter 1941-42
 Soviet- counter offensive
 Started Dec 6, 1941
 German army stopped for the first time- Moscow
Soviet counter-offensive: Winter 1941
Battle of Moscow, Second Battle
of Kharkov, and Winter Campaign
of 1941–1942
STALINGRAD
 In mid-November of 1942 after a long period of successful takeovers,
Hitler decided it was time to make a move to take over Russia
 The German army started in the battle of Stalingrad with 200 000
soldiers and in February of 1943 with only 91 000 soldiers left German
Forces surrendered
 The bloodiest battle of World War 2, major defeat of German army
Stalingrad: Winter 1942
BATTLE OF KURSK
 July 5 - August 23, 1943
 German tanks prepare for a new attack on the Soviets-July 28,
1943
 Germany didn’t succeed. The Soviets had built defences
 Red Army now has the upper hand for the rest of the war
 Last German offensive battle in the East
Battle of Kursk July 5 - August 23, 1943
THE BATTLE OF BERLIN
 April- May 8 1945
 Soviet forces launched final offensive move toward Berlin
 April 25. –Germany surrounded Soviet forces link up with Americans attacking from
the west
 In Berlin itself, heavy fighting occurred
 April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler commits suicide
 Within days, Berlin falls to the Soviets
 The German armed forces surrender in the west on May 7 and in the east on May 9,
1945
 May 8, 1945, was proclaimed Victory Day in Europe
Soviet white camouflage uniform for Winter
Fighting from the ruins of
a factory, Stalingrad
Soviet -Red Army
Anti-tank gun crew
Shooting at German airplanes
Motorized artillery crossing river using a pontoon bridge
German Army
“Tank graveyard” around 2000 tanks were put to rest here
Anti Tank Gun
Germans advance on Stalingrad, 1942
SOURCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Eastern_Front_of_World_War_II

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/09/world-war-ii-the-eastern-front/100150/

http://www.history.co.uk/shows/soviet-storm-ww2-in-the-east/articles/history-of-the-eastern-front

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/648813/World-War-II/53583/The-Eastern-Front-October-1943-April-1944

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005186

http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsRussianFront.htm

http://gizmodo.com/5841516/not-a-step-back-images-from-world-war-2s-lawless-eastern-front

http://englishrussia.com/2011/09/20/the-eastern-front-of-ww-ii/

http://www.education.com/study-help/article/european-history-world-war-ii-eastern-western-front/

https://www.google.ca/#q=eastern+front+ww2+summary&safe=active&start=20

http://jmh.nbed.nb.ca/teacher/note/monday-december-2nd-2013

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/operation_barbarossa.htm

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/07/world-war-ii-operation-barbarossa/100112/