L3 Flashcards
why did Hitler want to invade the Soviet Union
- eastern borders and take ‘lebensraum’ in the area
- saw that the Slavic population of Eastern Europe as racially inferior to ‘Aryan’ Germans
Operation Barbarossa advantages and disadvantages for Gr
- 22 Jun - 5 Dec 1941
- 3mil Gr soldiers, 3300 tanks, 2700 aircraft
- 5.5mil Soviets, 24000 tanks, 8000 aircraft
- Nazis have advantage bc Stalin refused to believe a Gr offensive was coming so x defensive plans from USSR
3 Army groups aims in Operation Barbarossa
North: take control of the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia before taking Leningrad
Centre: take control of the key industrial cities of Minsk and Smolensk and move on capital, Moscow
South: take control of Ukraine and Kiev as well as imp Donets Basin industrial region and then advance towards Stalingrad and oil fields of Caucasus Mountains
Germany early successes in Operation Barbarossa
- vastness of Russia and lack of defensive prep = perfectly suited for Blitzkrieg and broke thru lines easily
- Massive ‘cauldron’ battles = capturing 2mil Soviets within 6month
- Battle of Kiev (7jul-26sep)= Gr captured 600,000 soldiers, 800 tanks and 3000 artillery pieces
situation by 5th dec 1941
- reached suburbs of Moscow
- each of army groups had failed to achieve their objectives and advance had STALLED outside of Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad
- USSR forces regrouping and launching fierce counterattacks against Gr
- consolidate its position until Jun 1942 when it would launch next major offensive.
4 reasons why operation
Barbarossa failed to achieve its objectives
- hitler’s poor decisions
- Russian weather
- Russian resistance
- logistical challenges
Hitler’s poor decision -> Barbarossa fail
- hitler’s poor decisions (demanding Centre to delay their advance in Moscow and to aid South in Kiev)
- delayed advance on Moscow and Russian winter starts to kick in + USSR army had developed set of defences around Moscow with 1mil additional troops
Russian weather -> Barbarossa fail
- Gr never planned to deal with Russian winter
- Rasputitsa = ‘ time of bad roads’ when rain turn roads muddy and difficult for any type of rapid movement
- average in dec 1941 = -12.8 C
- equipment stop working
- crippling halt
- x winter clothing
Russian resistance -> Barbarossa fail
- Order No. 270 = whoever surrendered would be executed
- labelled war ‘The Great Patriotic War’
- partisans set up ambushes and disrupted Gr transportation by blowing up bridges and trainlines
logistical challenges -> Barbarossa fail
- constant need of fuel and ammunition hw Gr outran supply liens
- needed to convert the USSR railway gauges to use Gr trains
- constantly running short on supplies of fuel, ammunition, medical equipment and appropriate clothing
