Operation Barbarossa 22 June 1941 German Invasion of...
Transcript of Operation Barbarossa 22 June 1941 German Invasion of...
Operation Barbarossa
22 June 1941
German Invasion of Russia
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Three Million German Soldiers Attack
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From June – September Russians Suffer Horrendous Casualties• Estimated Two Million Dead*• Estimated Two Million Prisoners of War*
*Exact Statistics are Nearly Impossible to Determine!
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Stalin’s Reaction
Two weeks seclusion in his country home
Russian leadership paralyzed
Weak Response
Previous Intelligence
Sorge – Japan
Other embassy staff
His Future ?
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Invasion Force Included 600,000 Horses!
Approximately 10 – 15 % of German Army is actually Mechanized!
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Bielski Brothers
August 1941
Spring 1942 – Partisan Jewish
Group Established
1,250 in group
(150 armed)
German Reward 100,000 Marks
Overrun by Russians 1944
Survive War – Move to West
Israel
United States
Winter Halts All German Advances
By November 1941
• 35 – 40* Below Zero• Fires under tanks to
keep oil from freezing• Severe frostbite cases• Severe bodily hazards• Frozen food – Hot
meals frozen solid in seconds!
• Poor or non-existent winter clothing!
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Russia Dismantles Their Heavy Industry
Moves via Rail Factories to the East, Behind the Ural Mountains
German Invasion Threat is very Acute to the War Effort
Russian Survives / Expands War Effort Behind the Ural Mountains!
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Battle of Khalkin – Gol
General
Georgi Zhukov
Survived the 1938 Purges
Sent to the Far East Military
District in 1938
Japanese
expansion into
U.S.S.R. (Mongolia)
Defeats Japanese Incursions in Russia• May - August 1939• Tank Battle of Khalkin – Gol
• 500 Russian Tanks / 550 Russian Aircraft• Poor Japanese Logistics
• Lacked Sufficient Armor Forces• Russians Outnumbered
• Zhukov uses good Tactics / Strategy
Russians – 22,000 Casualties (*approx.)Japanese - 45,000 Casualties (*approx.)
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Russian Victory convinces the Japanese that Expansion into Russia is
not worth the effort.
Stalin still believes that the Japanese are a threat – leaves large
numbers of Russian Troops in the Far East.
Non-Aggression Pact with Japan. Japan turns attention to the
“weaker” western powers (USA / UK)
Did Stalin Know the Next Japanese Move??
Russian Counterattack – 28 November / 5 December – March 1942
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Stalin finally acknowledges that the Japanese are not a threat to Russia – Learns Japanese will attack the US!!! (Does not tell the US!!)
Zhukov sent to take over the Moscow Front
• Builds up Armies east of Moscow• Waits until the last German attack ends• Unleashes attacks that catch the Germans totally by surprise … they thought that the
Russian military was nearly “dead”.
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Stalin demands that all units on the front push back against the
Germans. Zhukov wanted to push back from Moscow. Future conflicts?
• Russians suffer heavy casualties
Germans pushed back from gates of Moscow, will never be this close
again
In Summary:
The First and Largest Mistake Hitler made in World War II (among others!)
• To invade Russia – led to a continuous series of errors!• Delay Invasion by One Month (Mussolini in Greece)• Plan for Grandiose operational Goals that were Unattainable• Under Equip Army (lack of winter clothing / equipment)• Failure to Capture Moscow• Establish Extended Supply Lines over Conquered Lands• Underestimate the Weather (Hitler fought in West in WWI)• Underestimate the Size / Vastness of Russia• Underestimate the Russian Military (Size / Leadership)
• General Officer Purges 1938• Poor Performance against the Finns
• Personal Views that the Russians / Slav’s were “Sub-Humans”
• Intelligence failure to gauge the Russian forces in the East
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