Eastern Front Flashcards
When was Operation Barbarossa
22 June 1941 - 23 August 1943
Why did Germany invade USSR
Achieve “Liebestraum” (living space)
+ Destroy Communism
+ Good gamble, Red Army appeared weaker than France
+ Germany controlled most of Europe
What was Phase 1 of Barbarossa like
22 June 1941, Germany invades Russia
Highly successful for first 3 months
Germany eliminates 2,000,000 troops, 7000 aircraft, 20,000 tanks
½ of Russian food, ¾ of Russia iron/coal is captured by Germany
What was Phase 2 of Barbarossa like
Winter 1941, German invasion starts to fail,
Russia regroups
Severe winter allows Russians to regroup
25 million Soviet workers moved east of Urals
Russia produces new superior T-34 Tanks
Germany invasion severely delayed, thousands die
due to lack of winter equipment
85% of German forces are utilised on Eastern Front at this time
WHen was the battle of leningrad
8 September 1941 - 27 January 1943
How long was the leningrad siege
29 month siege
how was leningrad fought
Instead of storming city, Hitler chose to starve and bomb civilians
how did the soviets supply leningrad
Food and resource shortages. The frozen lake Ladoga became a key lifeline for bringing supplies in, the German did not expect this
how many lost in leningrad
1.3 million Russians left dead, ⅓ of all residents
when did the ussr liberate leningrad
27 Jan 1944
When was stalingrad
23 August 1942 - 2 February 1943
Why did the Germans attack the city
German army advancing towards Caucuses to access oil fields
Why was Stalingrad important
Stalingrad is an important city: many rail links, regional centre of control.
how much did the germans take from ussr resources initially
½ of Russian food, ¾ of Russia iron/coal is captured by Germany
how did germany attack stalingrad initially
Germany started with intense bombing campaign
how much of stalingaad did the germans occupy
Germany held up to 90% of the city
how did the soviets fight in stalingrad
Urban guerilla warfare tactics were used (Snipers, grenades, molotov cocktails)
how many germans surrendered in stalingrad
90,000 German soldiers surrender despite Hitler’s no surrender orders
why was germany slowed down
because the stupid mf nazis decided to intensly bomb the shit out of stalingrad which slowed down their advance as urban fighting happened, and the place was in ashes
how much did the germans lose in stalingrad total
Combined fatalities of 2 million
when was the battle of kursk
5 July 1943 - 23 August 1943
why did kursk happen
Russians hold a 120km bulge after liberating Stalingrad. Having intel that Germany is planning to cut off and encircle Red Army troops, Russians set up defensive traps
how many germans fought in kursk
2700 German tanks
how many soviets fought in kursk
3600 Soviet tanks
how many were involved in kursk overall
In total: 5000 aircraft, 2 million soldiers involved
how many more tanks did the soviets have
Russia had nearly twice as many T-34s against Germany’s superior Tiger/Panther tanks
how many did the soviets lose
Russia lost 4x as many troops (800,000 vs 200,000 loses)
