Another reason for invading Russia was a particular objective he had in mind, Hitler wanted ‘Lebensraum’ for the German people, this meant more free space as the German economy was expanding at a very rapid rate and therefore needed more room for the ‘superior race’.
He also wanted resources such as wheat in Ukraine and oil in the Caucasus. This was also an important strategy objective of his campaign. In the South of Russia there were the huge wheat fields of Ukraine which would feed Hitler’s armies, and in the Caucasus there were vital +oil supplies for a mechanised army e.g. tanks etc. Hitler thought he had learnt the lesson of Napoleon’s defeat in 1812. He would not allow the Russian armies to retreat deep into Russia, and his own army follow them therefore stretching the supply line, instead he encircle the enemy in rapid ‘blitzkrieg’ tactics To some extent these tactics were successful but they also proved his downfall because he took to long before he decided to invade Moscow.
Therefore, on the anniversary of Napoleon’s proclamation from his imperial headquarters at Wilkowski, Hitler issued a long justification of the breakdown of relations with the Soviet Union and started the “European crusade against Bolshevism”.
3) “Operation Barbarossa failed because of poor German preparation “Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation? Explain your answer using the sources and knowledge from your studies.
On June 1941 Germany made a surprise attack on the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa was a three pronged attack on the cities of Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad. The plan would lead to the destruction of the Soviet Union and would give Germany access to the wheat fields of the Ukraine and the oilfields of the Caucasus. Germany would also gain Lebensraum (living space).
I do not agree with this interpretation because it is a bit simplistic. Although the poor preparation was a mayor cause for the failure there were other factors that played a part in the German fall.
Firstly, the Allied offensive in Greece and the Operation Retribution in Yugoslavia put the German invasion of Russia back five weeks so already was a delay in the operation which meant the start was in June.
At first the Germans made a quick advance, it was planned to be done in four months, everything seem to be going to plan, three Russian divisions were annihilated in the first day, in the second day 2000 Russian planes were destroyed, mostly in the ground. In a week the Wehrmacht was halfway to Moscow, in a month the Germans had won an area double the size of their own country, and half a million Russians were killed in the first fortnight.
Russians were staring defeat in the face when Stalin made a radio speech on 3rd of July telling the Soviet people that they must use the “scorched earth“ policy against the Germans which meant “In case of a forced retreat of the Red Army units, all rolling stock must be evacuated, the enemy must not be left a single engine. All the property that can not be withdrawn must be destroyed without fail”. This meant that none of Russia’s resources could be used and therefore the German supply lines had to stretch incredible distances to sustain the army.
Also in August, Hitler made a big strategic mistake. He ordered the tanks to switch south to the oil fields, Moscow was not a priority at the time, and he was overconfident following the success of the earlier campaign. This decision proved to be a big mistake. Although it was not evident straight away, by September (3 months into the campaign) 3 million men had been killed and in October 1941 the battle for Moscow commenced, it looked like Moscow’s impending fall. But a change in the weather conditions proved to be a turning point, when commanders requested winter clothing they were told not to make unnecessary request, they still wanted to believed that it would be finish before the winter. As the snow melted, the mud in the roads softened and made it impossible for motor cars to progress, only tanks could continue. They had to improvise and take horses and carts to keep moving. Generals wanted to stop for the winter but Hitler though the victory was close so he ordered to press on.
Another important factor was Moscow’s new commander Zhukov. Russia had less than 400 tanks to defend Moscow and the Germans were getting closer everyday. Zhukov was running out of space but time and nature was still on his side, with cold winds blowing from the North. With the Germans 40 miles away, Russians started to flee the capital. While Hitler planned a final attack in Moscow, Zhukov also planned an attack with the 40th division of the Siberian front, particularly trained to fight in harsh conditions. So the cold weather was playing against Hitler and in favour of Zhukov.
Another factor contributing to Hitler’s defeat was Russian morale. They were proving to be a lot tougher that initially thought. Stalin showed himself to celebrate the Russian Revolution Day which increased confidence of the commanders. Suddenly the Russians were seen as Superhuman not Subhuman anymore. The spirit in the Germans side started to fall. One of the reasons was that the soldiers were ill equipped; they were not prepared for the weather conditions in Russian winter.
According to Source A, the winter halted the German armies. Tank crews had to keep fires burning beneath the engines of tanks to stop them freezing completely. The Germans had been issued with boots that fitted them exactly and so they could not wear more than one pair of socks, by contrast according to Source E the Russian soldiers were issued boots that were two sizes too large, enabling the wearer to insulate them with straw or newspapers and their tanks used special winter oils and lubrications.
The Germans found that the tanks were frozen in the ground and unable to move, and the weapons could not fire because of lack of lubricating oils as well as the lack of road markings delaying their advance. By November 26th they were 35 miles from Moscow, however the artillery had become completely unusable, and frostbite was taking more men than battle. Still, Hitler did not want to see that this crisis was the end of his strategic plan.
Another reason for the Soviet Unions survival was help from the USA. In November 1941, the American government began giving aid to the USSR in the form of food, medical supplies, weapons, fuel and transport equipment.
On 6th of December morale was at its lowest when Zhukov unleashed the Siberian army, the Russian tanks were mobile and there were Russians everywhere therefore the Germans started to retreat. Two days after the Russian offensive, the Japanese struck at Pearl Harbour and the war was taking a very different turn.
