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World War II: The Eastern Front Operation Barbarossa The Eastern Front • Hitler had strategic and ideological reasons for invading Russia – Strategically he knew that the Soviet Union and the US were critical to Britain’s willingness to keep fighting – He also felt he needed the agricultural and raw material resources of Eastern Russia Operation Barbarossa • Hitler based his plan on the assumption he could destroy the Soviet Union within one year • Critical to his success would be to catch and destroy the Soviet Army at the border areas • If that did not occur, the Russians could use their vast territory to trade space for time and cause the Germans huge logistical problems Operation Barbarossa • On June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded Russia in Operation Barbarossa • The operation encompassed a total troop strength of about 4 million men, making it the biggest single land operation ever • Benefiting from initial surprise, by the end of July Hitler had occupied a portion of Russia twice the size of France Operation Barbarossa: Battle of Moscow • With the Germans’ successes in the north and south, Hitler assumed that Stalin’s regime was on the verge of collapse • He authorized an advance on Moscow before the onset of winter • Already however the Germans were suffering from serious supply shortages Operation Barbarossa: Battle of Moscow • The Germans caught the Russians unprepared and made great advances • The Soviet Army seemed on the verge of collapse • At this point the weather broke and autumn rains turned the roads to mud Operation Barbarossa: Battle of Moscow • Despite dropping temperatures and critical supply shortages, the German high command pressed on with the attack • The German soldiers were still in summer uniforms and suffered terribly German soldier during the battle of Moscow Operation Barbarossa: Battle of Moscow • Stalin responded to the crisis by rushing his best commander, Georgi Zhukov, to defend Moscow • Zhukov waged a delaying defense in front of Moscow; the first time the Soviets took advantage of their ability to trade space for time • Zhukov’s plan was to allow the Germans to exhaust themselves and then go on the offensive Operation Barbarossa: Battle of Moscow • By Dec 4 the Germans had clawed their way to Moscow’s outskirts, but they could not continue – That night temperatures were -25 degrees Fahrenheit – One infantry regiment suffered 300 frostbite casualties – On Dec 6 the Soviets counterattacked Operation Barbarossa : Battle of Moscow • Rundstedt, the German commander of Army Group South, ordered a retreat and Hitler fired him • Hitler was in the midst of a high command crisis and lost confidence in his generals Field Marshall Walther von Reichenau Operation Barbarossa : Battle of Moscow • As the Russians pushed forward, Hitler refused to allow a retreat and relieved or court-martialed generals who did so • Hitler named himself commander-in-chief of the army • At this point, Moscow would not be taken Stalingrad • As spring 1942 approached, German commanders recommended remaining on the defensive but Hitler believed the Germans must destroy Soviet military potential before the American industrial power could come into play • Hitler developed a plan to capture Soviet oil – At first Hitler considered Stalingrad of little importance other than the fact that its capture might block the movement of petroleum up the Volga River Stalingrad • On June 28 the Germans launched their summer offensive • The Germans made good headway with one advance moving east toward Stalingrad and the Volga River and another moving south into the Caucasus Stalingrad • On Aug 24 the Germans attacked Stalingrad’s suburbs and began fighting their way into the city • The nature of the urban fighting favored the defenders and the Soviets mounted a stubborn defense Stalingrad • On Nov 19 the Soviets launched a massive counterattack north of Stalingrad • The Soviets encircled Stalingrad and Hitler ordered his commanders to stand fast anyway • By this point in the war, no one was willing to confront Hitler Stalingrad • All attempts to breakout or break through failed and on Feb 2 the Germans surrendered – Out of 250,000 soldiers trapped in the Stalingrad pocket, approximately 90,000 became prisoners – Barely 5,000 survived the war German POWs The Eastern Front • Ultimately enormous logistical shortcomings made Barbarossa a failure – Germany proved capable of fighting battles very well, but was less capable of fighting a war of prolonged duration • In the total four years of fighting on the Eastern Front, an estimated 4 million Axis and 9 million Russians were killed in battle • 20 million Soviet civilians were killed as a result of extermination campaigns against Jews, communists and partisans, casual massacres, reprisal killings, diseases, and (sometimes planned) starvation.