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
