The Great Patriotic War Flashcards
Operation Barbarossa
Launched 22 June 1941
It was intended to win a decisive victory in a matter of weeks, well before the onset of winter
Invasion was originally planned for 1 June, but was delayed until 22 June following the Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia
The invasion forces were split between three huge army groups, one heading towards Leningrad, one into Ukraine, and one towards Moscow.
Stalin’s immediate reaction to Operation Barbarossa
Stalin had taken no direct action in the spring to prepare for a German invasion, either bc he did not believe it would happen or because he worried that if he increased Soviet defences, this would provoke attack.
When the German attack came Stalin did nothing. Was nearly two weeks before he spoke publicly ab the invasion. Molotov, St’s for min made a radio broadcast in his place on 22 June
St’s speech on 3 July stressed Patriotism, religion and unity… he called on the ppl of the USSR to join a patriotic war ag fascism.
Poor leadership in early stages of the war
St was indecisive (for ex, preps to move the capital from Moscow to Kuybyshev were cancelled at the last minute on Stalin’s orders)
The Sov army had inexperienced commanders (St had removed most of the experienced officers in his military purges of 1937)
St refused to allow his southern armies to retreat from Kiev until it was too late. This brought a massive defeat in the south in Sept 1941
The USSR under occupation
Sov union was ravaged by war, first by the destruction caused by the German advance, then by Sov ‘scorched earth’ tactics as the RA retreated
Life for civilians on the Home front = harsh. Food, fuel and shelter were all in short supply. Many factories, hospitals and houses were destroyed.
Approximately 12 million civilians died in the war. Of those alive in the USSR when the war started 1 in 8 were dead by 1945. 1700 towns and cities and 70,000 villages destroyed in the war.
German brutality and depression
Thousands of Sov soldiers held as prisoners of war
Thousands of Sov workers conscripted to work in German war factories
Captured Soviet commissars executed immediately
Vicious reprisals against partisans
Massacre and deportations of Jews (e.g in Sept 1941, 34,000 Jews were shot and buried in mass graves at Babi Yar)
Soviet brutality and repression
Thousands arrested or executed as ‘slackers’ ‘deserters’ and ‘defeatists’
170,000 military personnel were executed for treason during the war
Harsh treatment of people from liberated western areas
Harsh treatment of returned prisoners of war
Mass deportations of ethnic minorities (e.g in May 1944, the entire Tartar pop of 240,000 people were deported to Uzbekistan)
The fight back
The experience of total warm shaped by massive propaganda campaigns, brought Sov ppl together
People made huge sacrifices by millions to defend their country
Powerful unifying factors including;
Fear and hatred of Germans (helped by German repression and cruelty)
Deep patriotism in defending the motherland
An underlying faith in Stalin and defence against fascism
Rapid Mobilisation
In the early stages of the war, Stalin’s errors lost millions of RA men and equipment.
Stalin increased mobilisation quickly
1941, the Red Army had 4.8 million soldiers. Conscription to the RA over the course of the war added 29.5 million
Rapid and massive conscription was a major strength for the USSR
The evacuation of industry
German invasion + occupation of the western regions of the USSR destroyed the basis for the Sov econ, in both industry and agriculture
Sov Ind was relocated from w’ern areas to the Urals and further east, beyond the reach of German bombs.
Whole factories were dismantled and moved, together with equipment and workers via 20,000 trains to the east. For example 500 factories were moved from Moscow.
Improved military resources
During 1942, the USSR began to build a huge industrial base for war production, especially guns, tanks and aircraft.
The centrally controlled command economy proved to be particularly effective during war time, helping the USSR to produce the resources it needed.
Huge improvements were made to military vehicles (such as tanks and aircraft’s) and to military tactics. The T-34 tank for example, was equal to the German tiger tank in close-up fighting but was also quick to manufacture and easy to repair.
The USSR could withstand the loss of thousands of T-34 tanks in battle bc it had the capacity to build thousands more in its factories hidden away from German attack in the Urals mountains
Foreign aid
The scale of foreign aid given to the USSR was vast. Huge quantities of armaments, industrial goods and foodstuffs were transported to the USSR from the USA. For example, 300,000 American trucks were supplied through the US lend-lease scheme
The USSR downplayed the scale of foreign aid, but it is clear that it was an important factor in the USSR’s ability to mobilise for total war, and vital inn the winter of 1942-43, when the USSR was recovering from heavy losses earlier in the war.
The defeat of the Germans
The allies insisted on an unconditional surrender
By early 1945, the USSR had a huge superiority in men, weapons and war production.
Stalin wanted the RA to gain as much control of cent Europe and Germany. Stalin was willing to accept huge casualties in the RA to advance westwards as fast as possible
US General Eisenhower agreed to slow the Allies’ advance into Germany from the west to allow the USSR to win the race to Berlin. To reduce allied casualties and to prevent confrontation with/ soviet forces
April 1945, the RA reached Berlin. Final battle for Berlin saw huge losses on both sides, 80,000 Soviets and 150,000 Germans.
Germany surrendered unconditionally to the USSR on 9 May 1945. Hitler had com suicide 30 April, RA won final battle for Berlin on 2 May 1945
Reasons for the defeat
German weakness
Hitler’s strategy was based on securing rapid victory. Once this failed the odds were against Germany.
From Dec 1941, Germany had to fight a two-front war
Germany lacked self-sufficiency in raw materials. By 1943-44, resources became a problem.
Hitler made crucial strategic mistakes. He replaced experienced generals with ‘yes’ men.
Harsh German repression in occupied countries increased resistance movements and partisans.
Reasons for defeat
Soviet strengths
The USSR’s vast geographical size;
-the German were stretched too far by the end of 1941
-the size of the USSR enabled whole new armies, and a whole new industrial base, to be built up in the east, beyond Germany’s reach
Pop size (171 million in 1941, 3x the size of Germany’s): the USSR could replace losses in a way that was impossible for the Germans
Natural resource wealth: from 1942 the USSR could out produce German war industries.
The Sov ‘command economy’: well-suited to total war and the emergency mobilisation of workers and resources.
Military leadership: after a bad start, Stalin’s Stavka (military command) became ruthlessly effective
Propaganda and patriotism motivated the armed forces and civilians to fight and endure (for example, 4 million people volunteered for citizens defence in 1941)
Reasons for defeat
The contribution by the allies
Stalin’s allies meant Hitler was fighting on two fronts
Mass bombing campaigns by the British and Americans from 1943 inflicted huge damage on Germany’s war effort.
Allied secret intelligence, gained by code-breaking, undermined Germany’s war effort at crucial times.
Enormous amounts of vital military and economic aid poured into the USSR
