The Eastern FrontThe Eastern Front

Operation Barbarossa:Operation Barbarossa:Hitler’s Biggest MistakeHitler’s Biggest MistakeOperation Barbarossa:Operation Barbarossa:

Hitler’s Biggest MistakeHitler’s Biggest Mistake

Operation Operation BarbarossaBarbarossa

Why Attack Russia?Why Attack Russia?

• Hitler’s beliefs– Defeat Russia, eliminate Britain’s

last hope– Nazis could defeat Russia quickly

• Jewish-Bolshevik leadership & pitiful army

• Practical Reasons– Oil– Warm sea water port

•Caspian Sea

Invasion of RussiaInvasion of Russia

• June 22, 1941June 22, 1941• was suppose to happen in April• Mussolini needed help in Greece

– Hitler sent help

German Attack of RussiaGerman Attack of Russia

• largest army attack in world history – (1800 mile frontier)

• 3 German Army groups – (180 divisions) – Wehrmacht

• north to Leningrad• central to Moscow• south to Caucus Mountains (Stalingrad)

• 4 mil. Axis soldiers (3 mil. Germans)– 7,000 artillery pieces, 3200 aircraft

Operation Barbarossa: Operation Barbarossa: June 22, 1941June 22, 1941

Operation Barbarossa: Operation Barbarossa: June 22, 1941June 22, 1941

3,000,000 German soldiers.

3,400 tanks.

Germany’s Over-confidenceGermany’s Over-confidence

• Hitler underestimated Soviets – military-industry capability– its geography– its environment

• Soviet Forces– 160 divisions– 300 reserve divisions

•60% were peasants

Germany’s DemiseGermany’s Demise

• Germany was successful but,– Did not eliminate Soviet army– Soviet state did not collapse

• Germany not ready for Russian winter– - 40 degrees

• weapons, vehicles, and equipment were useless

• fuel coagulated• most faces frost-bite, repository diseases, or

froze to death

– erratic deliveries of food, fuel, and ammo b/c of out-stretched supply lines

Siege of Siege of LeningradLeningrad

Sept. 1941-Jan 1944Sept. 1941-Jan 1944

Why LeningradWhy Leningrad

• Ideology• former capital• Main base for

Soviet Baltic Fleet

• Economic potential

Siege of Leningrad

September 8, 1941September 8, 1941

• Leningrad under a state of siege by Germans– Stalin exiles 600,000 Volga area

ethnic Germans to Siberia•Possible Nazi-sympathizers

Survival of LeningradSurvival of Leningrad

• Lake Ladoga– Resupplied Leningrad

across frozen lake

• Dmitri Shostakovich– Leningrad Symphony – Symphony No. 7 in C Major

March on MoscowMarch on MoscowSept 1941 – Jan 1942Sept 1941 – Jan 1942

Massive EvacuationMassive Evacuation

• Industry and people were moved eastward– Ural Mountains

• Stop the Germans in the summer of 1941

• T34 Tank• Peasants built a huge moat around

Moscow– Tank traps

Battle of StalingradBattle of StalingradJuly 1942 – Feb. 1943July 1942 – Feb. 1943

Why?

• Did not need to but…• Industrial city on Volga River• Named after Stalin

• Type of Warfare?– Sniper warfare

Importance

• Soviet’s surround Germany– General Friedrich Von Paulus & 6th

Army surrender •300,000 Germans

• Significance– Turning Point of War in Europe

Battle of Stalingrad:Battle of Stalingrad:Winter of 1942-1943Winter of 1942-1943

Battle of Stalingrad:Battle of Stalingrad:Winter of 1942-1943Winter of 1942-1943

German Army Russian Army1,011,500 men 1,000,500 men

10,290 artillery guns

13,541 artillery guns

675 tanks 894 tanks

1,216 planes 1,115 planes

Battle of KurskBattle of KurskJuly 5-12 1943July 5-12 1943

• Greatest tank battle in WWII– Germany lost 18

panzer divisions

• Soviet’s defeat the Germans

Battle of KievBattle of KievAug. – Sept. 1941Aug. – Sept. 1941

Importance

• Germans capture Kiev– Largest encirclement of troops in

history (665,000)– Killed civilians

• Led to the resistance movement– partisans