The Second World War started on September 1st, 1939, with the German and Russian invasion of Poland. After numerous annexations and occupations this was the final straw; France and Britain quickly declared war on Hitler following his invasion. Poland was quickly crushed by the combined might of Germany and Russia. Then a strange period of peace settled over the world. Russia invaded Finland, but Hitler deferred his attack on the Western Front until 1940.

The invasion of Norway, April 9th, 1940, marked the start of the Western war in earnest. Germany needed ports outside the North Sea if it was to have an effective naval presence in the Atlantic. The invasion of Norway was a necessity. Fighting lasted for several months but the last Allied troops were finally evacuated on June 7th. Germany now controlled all of Norway and

Although it appears on paper that the Russians had a clear advantage, this is not the case. In fact the Red Army was at a distinct disadvantage. The use of large scale tank formations was just being integrated into Soviet doctrine and only 29% of Stalin’s tanks were serviceable anyhow. The German soldiers were equipped with modern, up to date equipment, and superbly trained. Whereas their Soviet counterparts were often equipped with old obsolete equipment and were poorly trained in its use. Lastly and most importantly Stalin’s purges of the 1930’s had eliminated most of the experienced general officers in the Red Army. Leadership is one of the critical elements in successful warfare. Conversely Hitler’s generals had proven they were some of the best in the world, masters of the mobile, modern war. The Red Army was severely outclassed would pay dearly for it in lives and territory.

The consequences of Hitler’s attack on Russia go far beyond the loss of millions of German lives. After Germany’s defeat in Russia, Soviet armies control half of Germany for over 40 years. Germany is divided and her national identity is destroyed by the Cold War. All this is a direct result of Hitler’s Barbarossa.

The lightning German advance continued; by July 11th the Germans were across the Dnieper and had taken 290,000 prisoners: captured 2,585 tanks, 1,449 guns, and 246 aircraft. Not until mid-July did the Germans encounter any serious resistance. At Smolensk the Germans encircled a Russian army, and the Russians fought fiercely and well to break in and relieve their trapped comrades.

Field-Marshal Albert Kesselring, commander of the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front, said the Soviet pilots were “innocents to the slaughter” (101). Resistance in the air was minimal by June 23rd.

The advance was now to be targeted against Leningrad in the north, and the Crimean in the south, instead of pushing on for Moscow. This change of direction is widely believed to be the reason Hitler failed to capture Moscow in 1941; allowing Russia to recover during the winter, ruining his chances for victory in the East.

Hitler committed more than 3,400,000 to the assault on Russia. To repel the German onslaught the Russian Army had more than 4,700,000 troops and 3,000 aircraft available.

Some topics in this essay:
World War, Dunkirk Thousands, Marshal Timoshenko, Operation Barbarossa, German Panzers”, Red Army, East September, Soviet Russia, Blitzkrieg West, Ocean Roosevelt, world war, attack russia, operation barbarossa, german soldiers, russian army, eastern front, red army, communism russian people, battle britain, soviet pilots, communism russian, decision attack russia, hatred communism russian, hitler’s attack russia,