Operation Barbarossa
Hunter Spears
The Operation
Operation Barbarossa was a giant invasion of The USSR by Germany. Germany needed to conquer Russia or else he would be fighting a two front war. If he failed to invade Russia the war would be nearly impossible to win. The invasion stretched from the North Cape to the Black Sea, covering 2,000 miles. Adolf ordered the invasion to commence on June 22, 1941 and came to a halt in March of 1942. The German Army consisted of three million soldiers and 3,000 tanks.
Generals Involved
-Adolf gave the task of defeating the Red Army to Walther von Brauchitsch and Franz Halder. Walther was the Army Commander in Chief and Franz was the Army General Staff Chief. Walther was a Prussian Guard in 1900 and soon became a soldier during WWI. During WWI he moved through the ranks up to an Officer on the General Staff. Franz was a general from 1938 to 1942 until he was dismissed for frequently disagreeing with Hitler.
-Markian Popov, Feodor Isodorovich Kuznetsov, Dimtry Grigoryevitch Pavlov, Mikhail Kirponos, and Ivan Tyulenev were all Russian Generals defending against Operation Barbarossa. They were spread across the 2,000 mile advancing line of German forces. ANything you can imagine happened to these generals. One was KIA, another executed by Russia, and two greatly celebrated.
Germany's Plan
Germany's main goal in Operation Barbarossa was to invade the USSR and take them out of the war. If they failed in doing this then they would be faced with a two front war. Germany's plan was to spread across the home front and push to Moscow. The Russians had more everything, but Germany knew how to use their military. The Russians were expected to only be able to make 50 extra divisions during the invasion. Germany was wrong and Russia made an extra 200 divisions. The invasion was supposed to be a quick blunt force to conquer Russia.
Outcome of Operation Barbarossa
Germany reached the gates of Moscow later than expected. The troops were not ready for the harsh winters and that played a role. When they reached Moscow they were met with a large Russian army ready to fight. The Germans were not ready for a battle in the freezing cold. Many dies before the battle from hypothermia. The Germans were obliterated and retreated slowly.