The Russo-German The Russo-German WarWar

The

invasion of Russia 1941-45

Background

Non aggression Pact Hitler conquered all of the west 1939-40 Hitler sets his sights on Russia for more

raw materials and labor resources

Operation Barbarossa:Blitzkrieg in the East

June 22, 1941 3 Million German

soldiers and 3300 tanks cross the border

They face The Red Army, the world’s largest, 230 divisions of 14,000 men each along with 20,000 tanks

5,000 casualties per day!

Stalin’s reaction The “Man of Steel” has a

nervous breakdown Large portions of the

Soviet army are surrounded, cut off and destroyed.

Germans advance over 200 miles in the first week.

Stalin order’s a “scorched earth” policy

Germans reach Moscow by end of year (3 year siege)

“The People’s War” or “The Great Patriotic War”

The nature of the fighting Race war: German vs.

Slavs Both dictators cared

little about casualties. Brutal Laws of War are NOT

followed Atrocities by both sides Raping, pillaging, and

murder of civilian populations.

Einsatztruppen

SS Extermination squads

Followed the German army behind the lines.

Liquidated entire villages

Killed millions of Soviet citizens

Brutality of the Weather

Winter of 1941-42 Coldest in recent recorded

history

“Russia’s Secret Weapon” Germans were unprepared Oil froze in tanks and

cars. More deaths from

exposure than from enemy fire.

Offensive vs. Counter offensive

Throughout 1942 the Russian and German armies slug it out.

Germans still have the upper hand but suffer severely at the hands of the Red Army.

Germans reach the city of Stalingrad by the Fall 1942

Stalingrad: the Turning Point on the Eastern Front

German 6th Army is surrounded by the Red Army, Oct 1942

Germans hold out for 3 months.

They run out of food/ ammo and eventually 91,000 surrender in January 1943 (they started with 300,000!)

Germans Prisoners: Some would return home until 1955! Most

would die in Soviet gulags

The Germans fight a tactical retreat for the next two years.

By 1945 the Russians seek revenge as they enter Germany.