Hoth's Army: The Rise Of The German High Command

<br>The plan to capture the Soviet Union, operation Barbarossa, was initially very successful. The German attack, comprising 134 divisions or just over 3 million soldiers, took the Russians by surprise and they quickly advanced towards Moscow. But the rough country and appalling roads were taking its toll, and the German advance started to slow. Hitler himself took control of the campaign. Hitler was a very determined man. He was very determined to avenge the loss and humiliation of world war

The strategies of these two battle were both equally successful and had a large impact on the opposite side in the case of the battle of Stalingrad they had operation blue and in the case of the Britain’s they had no specific strategy other than to deny the Luftwaffe the freedom of action by attacking the incoming raids, get through the protective screen of fighters,

World War II was full of conflicts between countries all over the world. Although most people only know things about the holocaust or Hitler 's affect on the World War II, there are other important events that have affected many countries. The Battle of Moscow was a major battle between the Soviet Union and Germany. Ironically, the Soviet Union and Germany previously had a secret agreement (the nonaggression pact) not to go to war on each other, but the promises turned to be broken when Germany 's plan to capture Moscow went into action. (German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, History Site)

Other than causing the liberation of France and the establishment of a new battlefront, the invasion also relieved the Soviet Union’s pressure. Before the Invasion, Germany had over two million troops fighting against the Red Army in the Eastern Front, and many of Soviet’s cities were captured. The Russians fought desperately to protect their cities. However, after the invasion, with the launch of a new major battlefront in the West, Hitler had to transport many of his forces to the West in order to defend his own country. Without as many troops to fight against, the Soviet army was able to push through Czechoslovakia, Poland and eventually penetrate into Germany; the Soviet Union’s progress greatly sped up the endof the war. (Naval History and Heritage- D-Day, the Normandy Invasion, 6 - 25 June 1944)

In the first stages of the Russian counter attack against the German army, led by General Friedrich Paulus, the German plan for strategic retreat was stopped by Hitler himself who, in a radio message to Paulus, would say that surrender is not an option and to continue fighting until the German’s were unable to continue. This evidently selfish and stubborn behavior from the leader of Nazi Germany forced the German army to brave the Russian winter and later force their surrender in 1943 by restricting the power of his generals on the front lines. The loss of manpower from this defeat would start the downfall of the power of Nazi

The battle of Stalingrad was a very intense battle for the Russians as the Germans closed in on them with support from the sixth panzer division and bombings from the Luftwaffe. This battle lasted from April to February, and was mostly house to house fighting. The Germans managed to push the defending Russians back to the Volga River. The Russians were desperate, so they formed the idea of “Project Uranus”. This was a plan to surround the Germans on two sides with the Mongolians and the Romanians. Finally, in February, the attacking German forces were repelled and Stalingrad was held. If the Germans had taken Stalingrad, they could attack the Russians on two

Reality quickly set in for the Germans that they were in a stalemate on the Western Front, so they decided to shift many of their fighting forces to the Eastern Front to try and finish off the Russians. This left them with an army along the Western Front that could hold the line, but would have a hard time gaining any ground.

Hitler’s plan focused on the use of his most elite Panzer units with more than 1,500 tanks, 2,000 artillery guns, and an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 infantry soldiers (Gavin, J. (2003). The notion that Hitler even had the ability to mount a counteroffensive that big was considered impossible by the higher command of the Allied Forces. This, along with the attempted assassination,

Hitler’s Watch on the Rheine offensive depended on his three armies, the Fifth Panzer Army in the north, the Sixth Panzer Army in the center and the 7th Army in the south. The German War Machine included 400,000 troops, 1,400 tanks, 2,600 artillery pieces and 1,000 aircraft in comparison to the thin American line consisting of four American Infantry Divisions and one Armored Division totally 83,000 men and 400 tanks (Farrell 37). Despite an overwhelming Wehrmacht (German Army) and their extensive knowledge of terrain and an elaborate plan to infiltrate Allied lines through the use of espionage,

On 5 June 1939, Georagy Zhukov arrived in Mongolia to take command at Khalkhin Gol. Khalkhin Gol was an issue that was named after a river called Khalkhyn Gol that contained the battlefield front during this war. By the end of Jun 1939, Japanese General Michitaro Komatsubara had authorities to attack. His plan was to attack from two sides. First force, which included infantry regiment and battalion trooped for Baintsagan Hill and then Kawatama Bridge. Other one, involved Tank Regiment, Infantry Regiment, Field Artillery Regiment and battalion intended to outbreak Soviet on the east side of Khalkhin Gol and north Holsten River. Zhukov tossed the counterattack as soon as one of the Japanese troop crossed Khalkhin Gol. He planned his attack without infantry support and with just 450 tanks and armored cars. In response to Japanese attack Soviet armored force and launched 3 side attack. Ultimately, on 5th July they forced the Japanese to fall back over the river. In the meantime, Japanese southern

The article discussed the German surprise but, somewhat expectation that the Americans, British,and Canadians were to land in Normandy and left Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in charge of analyzing the beaches, setting up land mines, poisoning the nearby water supply and fields so the opposing soldiers would not stand a chance to survive. Rommel then decided that no matter what he does the Americans, British,and Canadians could not really be stopped unless the German troops were to be at that very spot and even if that time came he would not be allowed to move his troops without the permission of Hitler. Additionally, out of the 46 infantry divisions in France seven of them were untrained soldiers that mainly consisted of really young and old men however, the other troops were filled with well trained man that were many that vere veterans from the Eastern Front. Furthermore, commander Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt division had roughly 850,000 men which 60,000 of them were Russian prisoners that volunteered to be in the war instead of jail. On the other hand, Hitler actually suspected and waited from the

The German army lead the offensive into Stalingrad using the German 6th Army and their elite 4th Panzer tank Army. The Luftwaffe, the German

The American Army painfully needed guideline in fight bore. Numerous units could just move about in single record. A regiment of 500 men in single record takes up 1,500 yards of street or more. A comparable regiment in segment of fours takes up 400 yards. Throughout the Seven Years War in Europe, the Prussian Army endured such huge numbers of setbacks that the preparation of newcomers turned into a fundamental aptitude for junior officers, notwithstanding when on operations. There could be no preferable mentor of troopers over an accomplished and able Prussian officer. It is a piece of the enthusiastic folklore of the American Revolution that the revolutionaries were battling the best armed force in Europe in the British Army. This was not

German and Finnish forces besieged Lenin’s namesake city after their spectacular initial advance during Operation Barbarossa. After a precipitous advance during summer 1941, forces of German Army Group North struggled against stubborn Soviet resistance to isolate and seize the city before the onset of winter. In heavy fighting during August, German forces reached the city’s suburbs and the shores of Lake Ladoga, severing Soviet ground communications with the city. In November, Soviet forces repelled a renewed German offensive and clung to tenuous resupply routes across the frozen waters of Lake Ladoga. Thereafter, German and Soviet strategic attention shifted to other more critical sectors of the Eastern Front, and Leningrad-its defending forces

The first attack was made by General Johannes Freissner who commanded the XXIII Corps who tried to seize the town of Maloarkhangel’sk to allow for a rapid advancement towards Kursk. This attack was repelled and even met with counterattacks that left the XXIII Corps with very little progress towards the town. Another important feature of the XXIII Corps was “make it a priority to establish contact with the XLI Panzer Corps east of the Ponyriy and participate in the defense of the new sector.” The XLI Panzer Corps had the job of breaking through the enemy defensive system along the Orel-Kursk highway in order to gain the high ground near the rail line. This would prevent immediate reinforcement of Soviet troops, allowing the Germans more to fight a tired Red