The Pros And Cons Of Operation Barbarossa

It is significant due to the fact that Germany slaughtered so many Russian soldiers, around 170,000 soldiers died, versus only 10,000 German soldiers (The Battle of Tannenberg). This causes Russia to want immense revenge on Germany, that’s the reason for Russia coming into the Second World

The invasion of Russia was further enticing to Hitler as both a strategic and economic maneuver, allowing for a gain in land and resources. Russia’s rich land provided Hitler with oil and grain to help sustain the Reich and future Aryan race. Furthermore, the proposed existing state of the Soviet Union presented Russia as unsuspecting and unprepared for attack, with a weakened army that possessed a false sense of security towards Hitler’s intentions. Weakened by

Historians Gaddis and Maisky believe the disagreements about the Second Front were not the most significant cause of tension between Russia and the West between 1941-5.

Russian inability to recognize changing tactics and weapons of modern warfare is inexcusable but sadly explainable. Because the Czar tended to centralize power and surround himself with "yes men," he missed the good advice of those in his country who could have helped guide Russia into war. Some of these choices can also be blamed on misconceptions of Russian capabilities, and of its military identity. The military reforms that were not completely halted by inept leaders were otherwise thwarted by the lack of details with which an army mobilizes and fights. Details were not an important aspect for Russian pre-war strategy or estimations.

In order for the two front war to be a success, maintaining a coalition with Stalin and the Soviets was critical (“D-Day as a Parable”). Another key element that was critical to the opening of the second front was the Barbarossa Campaign. The Barbarossa Campaign was a massive battle between Germany and Russia (“D–Day as a Parable”). Germany wanted to destroy the Soviet Union and permanently eliminate the Communist threat on them while also seizing prime land within Soviet borders for the expansion of German territory ("Invasion of the Soviet Union,”). This major offensive maneuver moved more than a million troops to the Eastern front, leaving fewer numbers of German troops in Western Europe and Germany making a second front in Western Europe more plausible.

In the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942, the power of Hitler 's influence would make itself especially apparent. The role of the USSR in its defense of Stalingrad cannot be understated, but Soviet defeat would have been likely had Hitler not demanded that

The Russians have been seen from many countries throughout history as an enemy. It is no surprise that Russians were, at the beginning of WW2, allies with Germany and the Nazi party. Joseph Stalin being the leader of the infamous communist USSR was polar opposites from Adolf Hitler the fascist leader of Germany (Study.com, 2017). They did, however, both have the idea of expansion on their minds and they found common ground when they invaded Poland in September 1939. While Stalin went on to invade Finland and other parts of Eastern Europe, Germany had started to carry out their original plan. The Nazi party invaded the USSR in the summer of 1941. Although the Germans had the element of surprise on their side, they didn’t conquer in time and

On September 3rd, 1942, Germans reach the outskirts of Stalingrad expecting not much of a fight. Russia, however brought a bigger fight than Germany was expecting. During the winter, as Germany blew Stalingrad to rubble, they were running short on food and ammunition. Germans were also freezing as well as hungry. Approximately, 150,000 Germans were killed during this battle.

When talking about the Great War, the warfare happening on the Western Front gained overwhelmingly more attention than that on the Eastern Front. Ignorance about the Eastern Front might result from the Central Powers’ victory there or the absence of Russia from participating in the establishment of the world order in the postwar era. Nevertheless, the Eastern Front needed to be remembered not only because the Eastern Front made the same contribution to the overall Great War as its counterpart, but also it revealed a significant historical event, the collapse of the Russian Empire and the process leading to such event. As Imperial Apocalypse: the Great War and the Destruction of the Russian Empire expressed, the Great War was a war of European

Why did Germany invade the Soviet Union? Throughout World War II, Hitler had conquered the majority of Western Europe. After Germany was defeated by Great Britain and stopped from conquering the entire country, Hitler placed his attention toward the Soviet Union. Therefore, on June 22nd, 1941 Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa with the intention of conquering the Soviet Union. The intention for invasion toward the Soviet Union was to conquer and gain control over the large country and its natural resources which could serve as a perfect place to commence the creation of an empire. Not only was gaining control over territory nor resources a factor for invasion, but his life experience may have influenced him to take this decision. Another form of identifying the reason for why Germany surprisingly attacked the Soviet Union would be by looking through the individual level of analysis. In which Hitler’s life experience led to his ambition for worldwide dominance to the destruction of communism creating a form of genocide.

By successfully defending the city of Stalingrad the Soviet Union were able to deny Hitler his

German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 marked a new level of brutality in warfare.

It was nearly unimaginable to the world when Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrendered his German forces to the Soviet Union on February 2, 1943. The Battle of Stalingrad, a major Second World War battle began with the German’s offensive on July 17, 1942 and ended with the German surrender on February 2, 1943. It was on August 5, 1942 that Adolf Hitler ordered an attack on the city of Stalingrad. This battle went down as one of the bloodiest battles in history, taking large tolls on both sides and most importantly marking the turning point for Hitler in the Second World War. The “master race” had taken its first major blow, proving to the world that they were not invincible. And in fact, Germany would not rise again after this truly

From the go Russia was mobilized and war ready faster than the Germans and themselves expected, they was only expecting a short war. Russia had no extended war plans of ammo, food, clothing and equipment and extremely bad organisation led to many un-necessary deaths and illnesses. They naively thought that 7 million shells would last the whole war, but in 1916 that was just enough for 10 days. In 1914 only 41 rifles were

The Russo-Finnish War, or Winter War, began on 30 November 1939 when the Soviet Union invaded Finland. The objectives of the Red Army were simply, conquer and subjugate all of Finland and re-establish the borders that existed prior to the First World War. The Soviet Union held the advantage in manpower, equipment, and resources, but the Finnish Army inflicted casualties on the Red Army that far exceeded their own. Not a single Red Army unit reached its initial objectives and Stalin was forced to come to the negotiation table and make a peace that left Finland as a sovereign state. The Finnish military was successful because the Red Army lacked competent leadership, didn’t have the proper equipment to fight in subzero temperatures, and the Finnish Army was able to adapt to a changing environment and use their smaller numbers to their advantage. The gaping holes in Soviet military capabilities helped fuel Hitler’s willingness to initiate Operation Barbarossa. Additionally, by invading Finland the Soviet Union turned a disinterested and essentially neutral into an enemy that had the capabilities to strike into the heart of Russia.