Barbarossa and the Eastern Front

Operation Barbarossa:Operation

Barbarossa:

The Invasio

n of the

USSR!

22 June, 1

941 : the st

art of t

he

two-fr

ont war

J. Marshall, 2007

Some thoughts:

• Now a 2-front war

• Not a surprise: Lebensraum vs. Nazi-Soviet Pact

• A HUGE battle front

• Success at first – but the beginning of the end for GERMANY!

• The 5 Year Plans had been working!

The First Plan for Barbarossa

The Revised OKH Plan

INITIALLY,

BLITZKRIEG

WORKED SUPERBLY

6 December, 1941:

Marshal Zhukov counter-attacks

T-34 Medium Tank

"It was the most excellent example of the

offensive weapon of the Second World

War."

General Mellentin

"Their T-34 was the best in the world."

Field Marshal Kleist

76 mm Main Armament

The End of Barbarossa?

The attack stalled in December, 1941 (after about six months of fighting) and this signaled the end of Barbarossa – the war on the Eastern Front continued until Berlin fell at the end of April 1945.

The German losses sustained in the first year of warfare led to a less ambitious series of objectives being specified for the second summer campaign. Hitler's focus was on gaining control of the resources in the Caucasus. After the campaign was underway, the city of Stalingrad on the Volga became another objective. The extended left flank was eventually defended by relatively weak German allied armed forces from Rumania, Hungary and Italy.

=^^^^^^^^^

OIL!The Germans needed…

Do you suppose there really is

black gold on the other side of them

hills?

This PzKw is sure noisy - what did you say about

Goebbels?

21 Aug, 1942 - 31 Jan 1943

Battle of Stalingrad:

Turning Point!

Approach to StalingradBy mid-August 1942, German armored forces were pressing the Soviet armies defending the front before Stalingrad into the city itself. Panzers attached to the 6th Army pushed east in conjunction with the 4th Panzer Army striking northward.

Battle of Stalingrad: the Street FightingSeptember 12 - November 18, 1942

As German armed forces pressed forward into the city of Stalingrad during September, they encountered increasingly effective resistance from the defending Soviet troops. Within Stalingrad, various complexes became battlegrounds.

The Russians had burst out of Stalingrad in a series of pincer movements to encircle the German forces. This photo depicts the meeting of a northern and southern faction of the Russian forces.

How would the Russians treat

their captives?

Why did Blitzkrieg fail?

• Lines of communication (supplies + fuel)

• Cold climate (engine starting, breakdowns, metal fatigue)

• Troops ill-equipped for a long winter fight

Remember that name!