Post on 18-May-2015
The Russo-German The Russo-German WarWar
The
invasion of Russia 1941-45
Background
Non aggression Pact Hitler conquered all of the west 1939-40 Hitler sets his sights on Russia for more
raw materials and labor resources
Operation Barbarossa:Blitzkrieg in the East
June 22, 1941 3 Million German
soldiers and 3300 tanks cross the border
They face The Red Army, the world’s largest, 230 divisions of 14,000 men each along with 20,000 tanks
5,000 casualties per day!
Stalin’s reaction The “Man of Steel” has a
nervous breakdown Large portions of the
Soviet army are surrounded, cut off and destroyed.
Germans advance over 200 miles in the first week.
Stalin order’s a “scorched earth” policy
Germans reach Moscow by end of year (3 year siege)
“The People’s War” or “The Great Patriotic War”
The nature of the fighting Race war: German vs.
Slavs Both dictators cared
little about casualties. Brutal Laws of War are NOT
followed Atrocities by both sides Raping, pillaging, and
murder of civilian populations.
Einsatztruppen
SS Extermination squads
Followed the German army behind the lines.
Liquidated entire villages
Killed millions of Soviet citizens
Brutality of the Weather
Winter of 1941-42 Coldest in recent recorded
history
“Russia’s Secret Weapon” Germans were unprepared Oil froze in tanks and
cars. More deaths from
exposure than from enemy fire.
Offensive vs. Counter offensive
Throughout 1942 the Russian and German armies slug it out.
Germans still have the upper hand but suffer severely at the hands of the Red Army.
Germans reach the city of Stalingrad by the Fall 1942
Stalingrad: the Turning Point on the Eastern Front
German 6th Army is surrounded by the Red Army, Oct 1942
Germans hold out for 3 months.
They run out of food/ ammo and eventually 91,000 surrender in January 1943 (they started with 300,000!)
Germans Prisoners: Some would return home until 1955! Most
would die in Soviet gulags
The Germans fight a tactical retreat for the next two years.
By 1945 the Russians seek revenge as they enter Germany.