Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa Hitler breaks the Non-Aggression Pact and invades Russia

Hitler Turns East • Hitler believed that the Blitzkrieg tactics employed against the other European countries could not be used as successfully against the Soviet Union • He conceded that due to its enormous size, the Soviet Union would take longer than other countries to occupy • He was confident it could still be achieved during the summer months of 1941.

The Soviet Response • Joseph Stalin believed that Germany would not invade the Soviet Union until Britain and France had been conquered • Some of his closest advisers began to argue that 1941 would be a much more likely date • The surrender of France in June, 1940, cast doubts on Stalin's calculations.

The Soviet Response • Stalin knew that if Adolf Hitler did not attack the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941 he would have to wait until 1942 • No one, not even someone as rash as Hitler, would invade the Soviet Union in the winter

The Plan for Invasion • The plan was for the invasion of the Soviet Union to start on the 15th May, 1941 • Hitler believed that this would give the German Army enough time to take control of the country before the harsh Soviet winter set in • General Friedrich Paulus planned the invasion

The Plan for Invasion • His main strategy was to make sure that after the invasion the Red Army did not retreat into the interior • For the campaign to be successful he argued for battles of encirclement • He argued the main objective should be to capture Moscow

Stalin Hears About The Invasion • Information on the proposed invasion came to Stalin from various sources. • Winston Churchill sent a message to Stalin in April, 1941, explaining how German troop movements suggested that they were about to attack the Soviet Union • Stalin was still suspicious of the British and thought that Churchill was trying to trick him into declaring war on Germany

The Attack Starts • On 21st June, 1941, a German sergeant deserted to the Soviet forces • He informed them that the German Army would attack at dawn the following morning • Stalin was reluctant to believe the soldier's story and it was not until the German attack that he finally accepted that his attempts to avoid war with Germany had failed

The German Force • The German forces, made up of three million men and 3,400 tanks, advanced in three groups; • The north group headed for Leningrad • The centre group for Moscow • The southern forces into the Ukraine

Initial German Success • Within six days, the German Army had captured Minsk • General Demitry Pavlov, the man responsible for defending Minsk, and two of his senior generals were recalled to Moscow and were shot for incompetence • In future, Soviet commanders thought twice about surrendering or retreating

Initial German Success • Terrified of both Stalin and Hitler, the Soviet people had no option but to fight until they were killed • The first few months of the war was disastrous for the Soviet Union • The German northern forces surrounded Leningrad while the centre group made steady progress towards Moscow • German forces had also made deep inroads into the Ukraine

Initial German Success • Kiev was under siege and Stalin's Chief of Staff suggested that the troops defending the capital of the Ukraine should be withdrawn, enabling them to take up strong defensive positions further east • Stalin insisted that the troops stayed and by the time Kiev was taken, the casualties were extremely high • It was the largest defeat experienced by the red army in its history • However, the strong resistance put up at Kiev, delayed the attack on Moscow

The Soviets Fight Back • It was now September and winter was fast approaching • As German troops moved deeper into the Soviet Union, supply lines became longer • Joseph Stalin gave instructions that when forced to withdraw, the Red Army should destroy anything that could be of use to the enemy • The scorched earth policy and the formation of guerrilla units behind the German front lines, created severe problems for the German war machine

The Battle of Moscow • By October, 1941, German troops were only fifteen miles outside Moscow • Orders were given for a mass evacuation of the city • Two million people left Moscow and headed east

The Battle of Moscow • Stalin rallied morale by staying in Moscow in a bomb-proof air raid shelter positioned under the Kremlin • All major decisions made by his commanders had to be cleared with Stalin first

The Soviet Counterattack • In November, 1941, the German Army launched a new offensive on Moscow • The Soviet army held out and the Germans were brought to a halt • Stalin called for a counter-attack

The Soviet Counterattack • His commanders had doubts about this policy but on December 4th the Red Army attacked • The German army, demoralized by its recent lack of success, was taken by surprise and started to retreat • By January, the Germans had been pushed back 200 miles

Stalin’s Military Strategy • Stalin's military strategy was fairly simple; • it was vitally important to attack the enemy as often as possible • use new, fresh troops for these offensives • By pushing the German Army back at Moscow, Stalin proved to the Soviet troops that Blizkrieg could be counteracted

The Battle of Stalingrad • In the summer of 1942 The German Army advanced toward Stalingrad with; • 250,000 men • 500 tanks • 7,000 guns and mortars • 25,000 horses

The Battle of Stalingrad • Progress was slow because fuel was rationed • At the end of July 1942, a lack of fuel brought the army to a halt at Kalach • It took until August to receive the supplies needed to continue with the advance • Over the next few weeks the German Army killed or captured 50,000 Soviet troops • On August 18th , Paulus, now only thirty-five miles from Stalingrad, ran out of fuel again

The Battle of Stalingrad • When fresh supplies reached them, the German Army decided to preserve fuel by moving forward with only a Panzer tank corps • The Red Army now attacked them and brought them to a halt just short of Stalingrad • The German army decided to delay their attack on Stalingrad until September 7th • While they were waiting the Luftwaffe bombed the city killing thousands of civilians

The Soviets Defend Themselves • As the German Army advanced into Stalingrad the Soviets fought for every building • The deeper the troops got into the city, the more difficult the street fighting became and casualties increased dramatically • The German tanks were less effective in a fortified urban area as it involved house-to-house fighting with rifles, pistols, machine-guns and hand grenades

The Soviets Defend Themselves • The Germans had particular problems with cleverly camouflaged artillery positions and machine-gun nests • The Soviets also made good use of sniper detachments deployed in the bombed out buildings in the city • On the 26th September the German Army was able to raise the swastika flag over the government buildings in Red Square but the street fighting continued

The Soviets Defend Themselves • Adolf Hitler now ordered his generals to take Stalingrad whatever the cost • Hitler told the German people: "You may rest assured that nobody will ever drive us out of Stalingrad" • The Germans lost 40,000 soldiers since entering the city and were running out of fighting men

Hitler Sends Reinforcements • On October 4th, he made a desperate plea to Hitler for reinforcements • A few days later five engineer battalions and a panzer division arrived in Stalingrad • Joseph Stalin responded by ordering three more armies to the city • Soviet losses were much higher than those of the Germans, but Stalin had more men at his disposal

The Russian Weather • The heavy rains of October turned the roads into seas of mud • The German Army's supply convoys began to get bogged down • On October 19th, the rain turned to snow • By the beginning of November the German Army controlled 90 per cent of the city • However, his men were now running short of ammunition and food

The Germans Run Out of Supplies • Despite these problems Paulus decided to order another major offensive on November 10th • The German Army took heavy casualties for the next two days • When the Red Army launched a counterattack the Germans was forced to retreat southward • Adolf Hitler ordered them to stop and stand fast despite the danger of encirclement

Hitler Promises Help • Hitler promised that the Luftwaffe would provide the necessary supplies by air • Throughout December the Luftwaffe dropped an average of 70 tons of supplies a day • The encircled German Army needed a minimum of 300 tons a day • The soldiers were put on one-third rations and began to kill and eat their horses

Hitler Promises Help • By December the German Army was living on one loaf of bread for every five men • Now aware that the army was in danger of being starved into surrender, Hitler ordered the 4th Panzer Army to launch a rescue attempt • They managed to get within thirty miles of Stalingrad but were brought to a halt by the Red Army • On December 27th, 1942, the generals decided to withdraw as they were in danger of being encircled by Soviet troops

The German Army Surrenders • In Stalingrad over 28,000 German soldiers had died in just over a month • With little food left, the order was given that the 12,000 wounded men could no longer be fed • Only those who could fight would be given their rations

The German Army Surrenders • On January 30th, 1943, Adolf Hitler promoted to Paulus to field marshal and sent him a message reminding him that no German field marshal had ever been captured • Hitler was clearly suggesting to Paulus to commit suicide • He declined and the following day surrendered to the Red Army

Consequences of Operation Barbarossa • The last of the Germans surrendered on February 2nd, 1943 • The battle for Stalingrad was over • Over 91,000 men were captured • 150,000 had died during the siege

Consequences of Operation Barbarossa • German prisoners were forced marched to Siberia • 45,000 died during the march to the prisoner of war camps • Only about 7,000 survived the war

Operation Barbarossa