Stalingrad Coursework Question 1 - What was the Soviet reaction to the German invasion?
Stalingrad Coursework
Question 1 – What was the Soviet reaction to the German invasion?
The invasion of the Soviet Union was an attack evidently inevitable, yet pre-empted by few. On the 22, June 1941 the Nazi-Soviet Pact was broken as Nazi troops stormed into Russia and bombarded the naval base at Sevastopol. Hitler engaged his long planned, three-pronged attack on Russia. Stalin fooled himself into the illusion that Russia would be safe from war with Germany through the Nazi-Soviet pact. The so far unstoppable force of Blitzkrieg unleashed hell, as Stalin and his army cowered into the shadows.
In the months leading up to the invasion of the Soviet Union, Stalin seemed to have his head buried in the sand, denying the real possibility of war against Germany. Stalin used the Nazi-Soviet pact as justification for warranting his trust in Hitler. Although Nazi troops advanced to Russian borders, Stalin gave orders not to provoke the Germans in any manner, and refused to accept the reality of war even after war was declared. Stalin’s denial of the situation demonstrates his naivety towards the veracity of war, and his craze for control in every situation. Stalin almost catatonically hid away in a palace for eleven days before finding the inner strength to face his people, and lead them with an inspiring radio broadcast. Stalin immediately enforced Order 23 commanding his people to use a scorched earth policy, wherein they left nothing that the Germans could use to aid their advance.