Eastern Front KQ-5

Question 1

When did Operation Barbarossa happen?

Answer 1

22 June 1941

Question 2

Describe the Invasion of the USSR,

Was the operation so successful in the first few weeks?

Why did the Operation fail?

Answer 2

The invasion of the USSR was mainly by Blitzkrieg, which was why the Germans were able to capture vast amounts of soviet territory in weeks

The operation was successful due to Stalin’s decisions to not militarise, from the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact on 23 August 1939 - a 10-year non-aggression pact.

The operation failed due to the cold winter season which lead to long 1,500 KM supply lines, soldiers were not prepared for the cold

Question 3

Why did Germany invade USSR?

Answer 3

To destroy socialism,
Lebensraum
Oil reserves in the Caucasus
Germany had most of Western Europe so they did not need to care about France being invaded by the Americans or British

Question 4

Should know key phases of Barbarossa:

Answer 4

Germans and Russians signed 10 year-NAP

Red Army was not updated, legit lost 7,000 planes, 20,00 tanks and over 4 million got captured or killed initially

Question 5

How long was the siege of Leningrad?

Answer 5

29 months

Question 6

What was the lake that supplied the Soviets in Leningrad?

Answer 6

Lake Ladoga

Question 7

How did Hitler combat Leningrad?

Answer 7

By starving the civilians and bombing the city to ashes

Question 8

How many died due to German bombardment?

Answer 8

1.3 Million soldiers and civilians

Question 9

When did the battle of Stalingrad happen?

Answer 9

23 August 1942

Question 10

Why was the Soviet army so bad during the first few weeks of the war?

Answer 10

The defeat was due to Stalin’s retarded purges which diminished soviet competence

Question 11

How many tanks did the Soviets make at the end of the war?

Answer 11

Tank production increased to 60,000 at the end of the war

Question 12

How many resources were in German hands?

Answer 12

Half of USSR’s food and 3/4 of their resources were German hands

Question 13

How many died in Leningrad? overall

Answer 13

29 Month siege of Leningrad cost 1.6 million civilians and soldiers

Question 14

How much did the Soviets lose? initially

Answer 14

Soviets suffered the most amount of loss combined with total allied losses

Over 2 million were killed, the same number for casualties and captivity and loss initially

Question 15

What was the percentage that Soviets faced the German army?

Answer 15

Soviets never faced less than 85% of Germany’s army

Question 16

How did Germany fail?

Answer 16

Germany was ill-prepared

Civilian treatments to Germans made it harder for them

Supply lines got really stretched (1,500km)

Question 17

How did the soviets resort to fighting in Stalingrad?

Answer 17

City was reduced to rubbles so they fought building to building and hand by hand

making blitzkrieg impossible to carry out

Question 18

How many soldiers did Germany surrender in Stalingrad?

Answer 18

91,000 surrendered - November 1942 when Operation Uranus commenced

Question 19

When was the battle of Kursk?

Answer 19

5 July 1943

Question 20

How significant was Kursk?

Answer 20

It was the first major Soviet victory without aid from winter

and proved that Germany was now on the defensive

Question 21

How many Soviets were involved in Kursk?

Answer 21

8,000 tanks
4,000 planes
+2 million soldiers

Question 22

How much did the Germans have at Kursk?

Answer 22

4,000 tanks

Question 23

When did Leningrad happen?

Answer 23

8 September 1941

Question 24

How much did the Germans lose at Kursk?

Answer 24

200,000 died

Question 25

How much did the Soviets lose at Kursk?

Answer 25

860,000 Soldiers

1.500 tanks