Hitler had a major battle plan on his mind and when the generals heard operation “BARBARROSSA”, they were more than happy to apply!
They were willing to try and fore fill their leaders main objective. Using Blitz kreig warfare, three German armies, totalling over a huge 3.2 million troops, 3580 tanks, 7184 big artillery guns, 1830 aircraft and 750,000 horses used for transport reasons, would be sent over to the unsuspecting Soviets.
Operation Barbarossa
At 5:30 a.m. on 22 June 1941, the German ambassador met with Molotov to announce a declaration of war on the basis of gross and repeated violations of the Russo-German Pact. The two largest and most powerful armies ever assembled confronted each other along a 3,000-kilometer line from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea. While the Soviets were well aware of German preparations, and were tipped off to the impending invasion by both their own intelligence, as well foreign sources, the Germans achieved total surprise. The Germans employed three army groups (North commanded by Field Marshal Wilhelm von Leeb, Center commanded by Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, and South commanded by Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt), and planned to destroy all Soviet resistance in swift advances on Leningrad, Moscow, and Kiev. Hitler threw 183 divisions into the assault, while the Nazis faced 170 divisions, which represented 54 percent of the Red Army's total strength. Subsequently, the German armies were to occupy a line reaching from Archangel on the White Sea to Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea.
The German invasion represented a great gamble. Germany was already at war with Great Britain and occupied much of Europe. Russia possessed an inhospitable climate, a vast area, and tremendous manpower reserves, and an amazingly efficient and resourceful manufacturing of arms. As this diagram shows.
Hitler himself expressed ambiguous feelings on Operation Barbarossa, the German codeword for the Russian invasion. To one of his generals he said, "We have only to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down," but shortly later he also stated, "At the beginning of each campaign one pushes a door into a dark, unseen room. One can never know what is hiding inside."
Coupled with the element of surprise, the Germans possessed better training, more extensive experience, and were able to obtain decisive superiority at the points selected for attack. The Russians had large amounts of obsolete equipment, were poorly deployed to meet the attack, and lacked defensive positions. As a result, the Russian frontier was quickly overrun and the Germans achieved penetrations in many places. By 16 July 1941, the Germans had captured Smolensk, which was less than 250 miles from Moscow, and Army Group Centre alone had captured about 600,000 men and 5,000 tanks.
The Soviet attitude can perhaps best be summarised by Molotov, who said, "Surely, we have not deserved that," when notified by the German ambassador, Friedrich von Schulenburg, that Germany had been forced to take 'counter-measures' in light of Russian military build-up on the border. This shows that the German were very efficient at attacking, but maybe because the Soviets were poor at defending.
Stalin is said to have had a "nervous collapse" when told of the invasion and did not speak for 11 days.
On 3 July, Stalin finally made a radio address to the Russian people, which contained several elements of Russian strategy. He evoked a sense of nationalism in his opening words: "Comrades, citizens, brothers, and sisters, fighters of our Army and Navy." He declared, note the close propaganda talk of the Soviet citizens being one and getting through this episode as one whole community. ”We must immediately put our whole production to war footing. In all occupied territories partisan units must be formed." Stalin continued to say that losses had been severe and although the Red Army was putting up a heroic resistance, the country was in moral danger, but Stalin reminded them of the fates of Napoleon and Kaiser Wilhelm. Stalin justified the Russo-German Pact on the grounds that it gave the country the time to build its defences. Stalin also announced a "scorched earth" policy to deny the Germans "a single engine, or a single railway truck, and not a pound of bread nor a pint of oil." He also announced with "a feeling of gratitude" the offers of assistance from Britain and the United States. So desperate did the Russians become during the early stages of Operation Barbarossa to gain any support and assistance, they even signed an agreement with the Polish government-in-exile, with whom they were not in speaking terms since the Russian occupation of Eastern Poland in September, 1939. By the end of July the Germans controlled an area of the Soviet territory more than twice the size of France.
Although Stalin knew of scouts and rumours on the Soviet border, he would not believe that the Germans, the ones that called for the pact in 1939, were preparing an attack! Villagers on the border of the soviet land could here the tank engines starting up as they slowly progressed through the forests.
Stalin knew that it was reality but didn’t want to believe it. The war on the U.S.S.R front had begun.
On the 23rd of June 1941, Hitler ordered his troops to attack the fronts of Leningrad, Baltic Special, Western Special, Kiev Special and the Odessa Military Districts. At the same time as this was happening, Stalin was ordering his troops to mobilise and prepare for German attacks. But some divisions like the navy and some army generals did not take any notice of Stalin’s orders, and the ones that did get through, were received at midnight when the Germans were already threatening the border settlements.
Preface on Leningrad:
(I have chosen this imparticular topic because it shows great Soviet Spirit and pride to go on through the hardship of the people of Leningrad. The conditions were appalling; once the German army had surrounded the city then there were no supplies coming, no food, no oil, and no raw materials to work with. At the start of the siege, there was only enough food for 35 days, they then realised that the food had to be rationed, so they devised a daily ration amount to stick by until the food eventually ran out (November 1941).
“We have to teach people in the shortest time how to fight, Shoot, Throw grenades, Street fight, Dig trenches and to crawl. We must sing up children to the auxiliary work force, carrying shells and water, acting as messages and so on. We have to see that no-body is an onlooker. The enemy is at the gate, it is a matter of life or death!” Was a speech from the city’s chief official. This shows that the citizens of Leningrad had to risk their life, corrupt their society and to fight for the right to live. For example, when a dead person was found lying in a gutter somewhere then the first thing was not to check weather he was still alive, but to look for the victims rations card. Most people wanted their close relatives to die so that they could get their rations and food. This is a diary extract from a medical student in the hospital of Leningrad. “ The staff could barely stand up because of the lack of hunger and over working, and the average temperature was around –2*C in the wards. The patients had every thing that the staff could possibly put on them to keep them warm, coats and blankets were common but sometimes they even used mattresses. During the night, the water used would freeze in the buckets, and all the excrement that was produced would freeze on the spot. And the only available medicine was sodium bromide which was a dangerous disinfectant.”
Yet despite all this, the morale of the citizens of Leningrad, and the union was held together by sheer survival. Some even say that if Leningrad fell then it would leave a strait path to unsuspecting Moscow. This shows some of the greatest comradeship in the whole of the Second World War, if not all time. Here is a detailed description of what happened to Leningrad and it’s siege.
The German Structure of Group "North" included 16th and 18th Field Armies, 1st Air Fleet and 4th Panzer Group- 29 divisions; the aggregate number of forces reached approximately 500.000 soldiers. The armies were perfectly armed and were equipped with the perfect communication facility. Command of group "North” assigned on marshal Leeb. Leeb was entrusted to destroy Soviet forces located in Pribaltic, and to develop offensive through Dvinsk, Pskov, Luga, grasp all Soviet naval bases on the Baltic Sea and to July 21 take possession of Leningrad.
June 22, the enemy has fallen upon the 8th and 11th Soviet Armies. The impact was so powerful, that soon Soviet formations lost communication with staffs. The isolated troops could not stop the Germans and had to outcome of the first day of war. Connection of German 4th Panzer Group broke through a defensive line and had rushed forward. From the first day of war Pribaltic, military district was transformed into North-western Front, which had in the structure: 13 Rifle, 2 Motorise and 4 Tank Divisions. A stalemate was created.
The main Germans advantage was, that it had an opportunity to render impacts on Soviet armies in parts using the divisions were scattered and were far the from border. The construction Libavsk, Shaulyask and others military districts were not completed to the moment of German army attack.
In some days Leeb's army, having grasped Lithuania and Latvia, have entered to the border of RSFSR. The Panzer Corps directed to Pskov. The 1st Air Fleet actively supported the actions of enemy’s Field Armies. From the north on Leningrad came Finnish forces in structure of seven field divisions.
Once the Germans had stabilised themselves in a reasonably solid position, then they could set up permanent camp and then siege the city and blockade it, thus stopping the needed supplies getting in to the city. This shows incredible strength in the German strategic aspect, another win for the new “Blitz Kreig” tactic, a wonderful all round winner for Germany.
Nearly a year had passed at the city and siege of Leningrad, and the Germans were still trying to break the city, but the strong, Soviet morale kept together and the citizens of Leningrad all work together, until the German armies started to get out witted by a string of strategic masteries in the east, and cut of the hole of the German army in a “pocket of death” freezing and dying slowly in the harsh winter.
The Germans started to lose morale and started to draw back, creating a loop that the Soviets used to unite their two main armies. Then kept pushing the Germans back, thus creating less space to cover due to the geologic factors of the land and then sending more troops to vital places on the map like Leningrad, Stalingrad and Moscow. The weak German forces were completely destroyed after the massive, unbeatable Red army, this shows that once the Soviets got their act together then they really did give it to the Germans. And they did not stop; they paid the Germans back twice as hard as they gave. Mean while, back in Britain, there was wondrous talk of the great comradeship and will that the Soviets gave, and that was shown in massive propaganda posters that the British government had put up to raise morale and say that the “old allies of Britain had come through again.”
Conclusion:
All the above show that there was both massive advantages on both sides. But the winners are winners for a reason. The Soviet comradeship stuck together throughout, they faced some of the worst possible events that could’ve happened during the Second World War. Also the fact that the USSR called an agreement to the pact in the first place to buy time to build up the country and prepare it for war, proved to be very clever indeed. If you look at the above weapons production table” then you shall see that the Soviets kept building their army throughout. These were two massively important points for the Soviets, along with many others that I cant explain, (I’ll probable get marked down for it).
But the Germans did have their moments through out this massive war. Their world wide successful “Blitz Kreig” came through again as it did on the western front. And the start attacking strategies were also quite incredible. And the organised communication factors also play a huge part on the field.
But over all, I don’t at all think it was a case of the Germans winning or losing, it was the fact that the massive, great, legendary RED ARMY of the Soviet Union was unbeatable. So there I leave you with my answer to the pondered question of who won or failed, in the biggest war of all time, the EASTERN FRONT!!!