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Defeating Germany
The path to defeating Germany was a long one. The interesting thing is that they helped in making this happen by some of the decisions they made.
Like who they would attack, and the way they did it. Sometimes they ignored things they should have seen, such as how far the attack had to go, and how long that would take. Then something simple, such as how the weather would have an impact.
The map below shows how things were after Germany and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) made an agreement to split up Poland. The red part with the hammer and cycle shows the part of Poland the U.S.S.R. got, and the grey part on the right of that was the rest of the U.S.S.R.
So...if Germany ever wanted to attack the U.S.S.R., which they did, they were close by.
Map showing how Poland was divided
German Invasion of Soviet Union
( Operation Barbarossa)
June 22nd, 1941
WHY did Hitler want to name this massive attack Barbarossa? It was to make Germans proud by going all the way back to the year 1152 and name the attack after a powerful man who became king in that year.
Frederick the First
King of Germany 1152-1190
Barbarossa means "red beard"
Can you see why he was called Barbarossa?
You know what it is when someone betrays you. They say they are your friend. You have worked together, and each benefited. You may not really trust each other, but you DID make the agreement to work together.
Then they spring their trap. They attack you when you really did not think there was even a chance of that happening.
That is what Hitler did to The Soviet Union. On June 22nd, 1941 it happened. The attack on the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, was launched (started).
That is what Hitler did to The Soviet Union. On June 22nd, 1941 it happened. The attack on the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, was launched (started).
German soldiers and tanks who launched the attack.
It involved over 4.5 million soldiers of the Axis powers(Germany, Italy, Romania). They invaded the Soviet Union (USSR) along a 21,800 mi front (line of battle). That is like crossing the U.S. 8 times. It is ALMOST the distance around the Earth (circumference).
Operation Barbarossa map
In addition to the large number of soldiers, it also involved 600,000 motor vehicles and 750,000 horses.
Horses pulling a German cannon
One of the first attacks
Goal:
The goal of the Germans in Operation Barbarossa was the quick conquest (defeat) of the European part (part in the west of the USSR) of the Soviet Union.
The Germans had won some huge victories and occupied some of the most important manufacturing areas of the country, most notably in the Ukraine.
Map of Ukraine
Luckily for the Soviet Union (USSR), many of the factories in this area had been taken apart and moved far away from the reach of the Germans.
Some of the worst examples of German brutality of the entire war happened in the city of Kiev in the Ukraine. 33,771 Jews were marched out of the city, stripped of all clothing, and shot in a huge ditch. It took only two days for the Germans to do this massacre.
Location of Massacre
The Germans won many other battles and pushed the Soviets back. However, all the time they were losing men and weapons that were hard to replace. On the other hand, the Soviets seemed to have a supply of new men and weapons that kept growing. In addition, once the Summer was over, weather changed quickly. It changed A LOT.
What the Germans did not plan on was heavy Winter weather starting as early as November 19th. Temperatures in the winter would drop lower than -70 degrees. That was so cold that an engine on a tank that was running would stop because it got too cold. Men not properly protected from the temperature would freeze to death in less than 15 minutes.
At the end of this first push into The Soviet Union (it came to an end in December 1941), the Soviet Army had pushed back the strongest attack of the German Army. Hitler had not won the victory he had expected, but the situation of the Soviet Union remained very weak and uncertain.
