Download 15_Operation Barbarossa

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15. Reading - Operation Barbarossa
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Mark Callagher
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Focus Questions
1. Why did Hitler decide to invade the Soviet Union?
2. Why did Hitler expect an easy victory?
3. What explains the stunning early successes of the German
attack?
4. What saved the Russians from defeat?
Hitler turns East
Nazi-Soviet Pact
At the start of 1941 Germany and the USSR
were still allies, bound together by the NaziSoviet Pact of 1939. But the two countries had
become allies only because it was convenient
for them both at that time.
Communism and Lebensraum
Hitler had always hated communism and also
desired to gain ‘lebensraum’ (living space) by
taking land from the USSR. So, despite the
Nazi-Soviet Pact, Hitler was already planning a
massive attack on the USSR’s western frontier.
<caption>Hitler with his Generals planning the attack on
the Soviet Union</caption>
Other reasons
Romanian Oil supplies
Germany needed a steady supply of
oil to maintain the German war
machine. Russia posed a constant
threat to Romanian oil supplies.
Russian Raw Materials
Russia had been selling Germany
both oil and grain since 1939. Hitler
was worried that Russia might cut the
supply at any time. A successful
invasion would prevent this.
<caption>Oil fields in Romania</caption>
Influence the British
Once Russia was defeated, Hitler also
believed that the British would be
forced to give up fighting and seek to
make peace with Germany.
Wrong Assumptions about Soviet
intentions
Hitler may have reasoned that the
Soviet Union was preparing to invade
Germany to expand its empire. This
incorrect assumption may also have
influenced his decision to invade.
Easy Victory?
The French had been defeated in six weeks and the Russian army was much weaker than the
French army
 Hitler had seen how the Red Army had struggled to defeat the Finns
 Russian tanks and planes were mostly out of date
 The Russian Military leadership had been purged since 1937
Most German generals agreed that Russia could be defeated quickly.
The Russian economy was also in a mess.
Hitler had said that:
“We have only to kick in the front door and the whole rotten Russian edifice will come
tumbling down”
In the USA, President Roosevelt was told:
“it will take Germany at least one month to defeat Russia, and not more than three
months”.
Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the German codename for Nazi
Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II, which
commenced on 22 June 1941.
Red Beard
The operation was named after the 12th century Roman Emperor
Frederick I. He was German and had tried to unite the Germanic
peoples. He had a long flowing red beard and so his people called
him Barbarossa (Red-Beard).
<caption>Statue of the Red bearded
Emperor Frederick
Barbarossa</caption>
German Preparations
In preparation for the attack, Hitler
moved 3.2 million men to the Soviet
border, launched many aerial
surveillance missions over Soviet
territory, and stockpiled vast amounts
of material in the East.
Yet the Soviets were still taken by
surprise. This has mostly to do with
Stalin’s unshakeable belief that the
Third Reich was unlikely to attack
only two years after signing the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
<caption>Deployment of forces before the invasion</caption>
Invasion Plan
<caption>Final invasion plan for Operation Barbarossa</caption>
Soviet Preparedness
Military Forces
In 1941 the Soviet armed forces
outnumbered their German
counterparts by a great margin.
Estimates are that the Soviet
Union had 4.5 million men in arms
at the inception of Operation
Barbarossa. It could field about
24,000 tanks against the German
3,350.
However, the Soviet numerical
advantage was more than offset
by the superior average quality of
German planes (and even tanks)
along with the much superior
training of German forces.
<caption>Soviet troops in preparation</caption>
Leadership
The Soviet officer corps and high command
had also been decimated by Stalin’s Great
Purge (1935–1938), during which almost all
experienced Red Army officers and generals
were executed or shipped to Siberia,
replaced with officers deemed more
“politically reliable”.
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, poor quality of
equipment, insufficient motorised logistical
support, and poor training placed the Red
Army at a severe disadvantage when facing
the Germans.
<caption>Soviet (Red Army) Soldiers</caption>
The Attack
On 22 June 1941, the Axis
Forces attacked. Germany
was also helped by her
eastern European allies –
Finland, Romania, Hungary
and Slovakia. Italian divisions
also took part in the invasion.
The operation encompassed
total troop strength of over
three million men and 3350
tanks, making it the biggest
single land operation ever.
The surprise was complete,
stemming less from the timing
of the attack than from the
sheer number of Axis troops
who struck into Soviet territory
all at once. Arrayed against
them were 4.5 million Red
Army troops.
<caption>A German Panzer Group advancing into the Soviet Union</caption>
Blitzkrieg Again
Germany used the Blitzkrieg (Lightening War) tactics which had been so successful in France. The
Luftwaffe and Panzer (Tank) Divisions went ahead causing havoc and paving the way for motorised
German troops to mop up.
<caption>The Luftwaffe on a bombing mission ahead of German troops</caption>
Early Successes
German troops
routed all before
them. The attack
was progressing
according to plan.
The advance had
a three pronged
attack
Army group North
advanced on
Leningrad.
Army group
Centre, with the
largest force,
advanced on the
capital Moscow.
Army group South
advanced into the
Ukraine and also
covered the flank
of the Centre
army.
Scorched Earth
As German forces advanced Stalin ordered a “scorched
earth” policy for the Ukraine. This meant that when
retreating everything was to be destroyed and that
nothing was to be left behind for the advancing enemy.
“… all rolling stock must be evacuated, the
enemy must not be left a single engine, a
single railway car, not a single pound of grain
or gallon of fuel. The collective farmers must
drive off all their cattle and turn over their grain
to the safe keeping of the state authorities for
transportation to the rear. All valuable
property, including non-ferrous metals, grain
and fuel that cannot be withdrawn must be
destroyed without fail. In areas occupied by
the enemy, guerrilla units....must set fire to
forests, stores and transports.”
<caption>Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin</caption>
Switching Sides
Many former Soviet
Nationalities welcomed the
Germans and joined in the
fight against their former
Soviet oppressors.
Ukrainians had suffered a
severe man-made famine in
the early 1930’s caused by
Stalin’s inhumane policies.
Over five million had died of
famine caused by forced
Collectivisation policies.
<caption>Victims of the 1932-33 famine in the Ukraine</caption>
Advance on Moscow
As the main Army Group Centre advanced on
Moscow, German confidence in an impending
victory was high.
This German cartoon by Bogner appeared when
it seemed that Moscow would be captured.
Stalin is seen setting fire to the city; while he
retreats
<caption>Title: It is all in order. Caption: “The citizens of
Moscow are ready to go through fire for Stalin”</caption>
Change of Fortune
The German advance stalled within sight of
Moscow. The Red Army along with citizens
of Moscow rallied to defend the city against
the advancing Panzer divisions.
<caption>Moscow citizens digging tank traps to protect the
capital</caption>
Battle of Moscow
The battle for Moscow was intense. The
Germans never got closer than 20 miles from
the city centre, but the battle resulted in some
700,000 Red Army casualties and 250,000 Axis
ones.
<caption>Soviet troops at the Moscow front</caption>
Russian Winter
The Russian winter struck in November. It
was one of the fiercest winters in years.
Hitler had expected victory in a few months
and did not prepare for a war lasting into the
winter. It froze the petrol which stalled the
German panzers (tanks). German troops
froze having been issued with only summer
uniforms.
<caption>German troops struggling in the Russian
Winter</caption>
Soviet Counter Offensive
Stalin, relying on
intelligence that Japan
would not strike at the
USSR in the east,
brought his elite
Siberian troops to the
Moscow front to lead a
counterattack.
The German Army
was unprepared to
face the much better
winter equipped and
mobile Russian
troops. They were
forced into a costly
retreat.
<caption>Soviet troops dressed for the Russian winter</caption>
Digging in
The Russian counterattack eventually stalled with
both sides digging in to wait out the winter.
<caption>Land retaken by Soviet forces</caption>
Heading to disaster
It was to be the turning
point for the fortunes of
Hitler's Third Reich in that
the failure of Operation
Barbarossa arguably
resulted in the eventual
overall defeat of Nazi
Germany. The failure to
capture Moscow and
defeat Russia before
winter set in was costly.
Now instead of the quick
blitzkrieg tactics the
German Army would have
to dig in for a long war of
attrition.
The Eastern Front which
was opened by Operation
Barbarossa would become
the biggest theatre of war
in World War II, with some
of the largest and most
brutal battles, terrible loss
of life, and miserable
conditions for Russians
and Germans alike.
<caption>“To Russia” by Saul Steinberg (USA)</caption>
German atrocities revealed
With the retaking of
German held territory
by Soviet troops the
truth about what life
under the Nazi regime
would mean was
revealed.
<caption>The bodies of Soviet civilians killed by the Germans</caption>
Nazi Racism
The Nazis considered the Slavic
population of the Soviet Union to be
subhuman and wanted to enslave them.
<caption>A Soviet civilian about to be executed</caption>
Russian Prisoners of War
Russian prisoners were poorly treated by the Germans. As winter arrived many were left to freeze
or starve.
<caption>Starved Russian Prisoners of War</caption>
<caption>Dead Russian Prisoners of
War</caption>
Russian Partisans
Russians
civilians were
often hung
publicly to
discourage
other civilians
from continuing
to fight against
the German
occupying
army
<caption>A Russian Youth about to be hanged alongside a young woman</caption>
Summary

Hitler planned an attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941 because of his hatred of
communism and to secure Lebensraum and valuable resources such as oil.

Hitler and his generals expected a quick and decisive victory given the poor state of the
Soviet defences

Operation Barbarossa was launched on 22nd June with a three pronged attack by three Axis
Army groups (North, Centre, South). Nearly 8 million troops fought on both sides.

Germany made rapid advances into Soviet territory and were on the outskirts of Leningrad
and Moscow by November.

The fierce Soviet defence of Moscow helped stall the German advance until the early and
bitter Russian winter arrived.

Germany had been expecting a quick victory with its troops totally unprepared to fight
through the harsh winter conditions.

Russia launched a successful counter offensive regaining a lot of territory.

A stalemate resulted in which both sides waited out the Russian winter to do battle again in
the spring.