The Great Patriotic War + Stalins Dictatorship 1941-1945 Flashcards
How Long did the Nazi-Soviet war last?
22nd June 1941 - 1945
Explain the background of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union
- The fall of France in June 1940 + Britain’s inability for anything other than survival encouraged Hitler to launch his long intended attack on USSR in June 1941.
- Soviet cooperation allowed Hitler to expand his plans for European domination.
What was Hilters code name for the invasion of the Soviet Union?
Operation Barbosa = Hitler’s code name for the invasion.
How large was the scale of Nazi invasion?
Germany’s scale of invasion was huge + unprecedented in the history of warfare;
- 3 million troops
- Half a million motorised vehicles
- 4000 tanks
However it was not the size of army and ammunition which gave Germany an advantage. Russia in practical/logistics had larger forces, matching Germany in No. of troops and three times the No.. of aircraft but it was the soviet unions inability to form an effective defence in the several early days of Germany’s invasion which gave Germany an advantage. It was Stalin’s mental paralysis.
What had weakened the USSR’s armed forces by 1941?
- During the purges, Tukachevsky, Chief of the General Staff and seven other generals were imprisoned or shot.
- All war commissioners were purged; all Admirals were shot or imprisoned; all but 1 senior commander of the air force was replaced and 35,000 officer imprisoned or shot.
- ‘Winter War’ with Finland Nov 1939- March 1940
The Soviets had, 450,000 Soviet troops compared to Finland’s 180,000. The Finns were badly outnumbered in all areas during the conflict with the Soviets also possessing superiority in armour (6,541 to 30) and aircraft (3,800 to 130). - In particular they were badly prepared for war – lack of training, equipment and leadership. The war was a disaster for the USSR: 126,875 dead and 2,268 tanks destroyed
What were the reasons for Stalins disbelief + denial following news of Nazi invasion?
- Possibly couldn’t bring himself to admit the Nazi-Soviet pact had failed
- Perhaps genuinely believed Hitler could still be bought off - which would explain why in 1941 he offered more + more soviet military concessions to Germany
- However regardless he was unwilling to accept the reality of the situation in Jun 1941 and none of his underlings would take initiative because for days after the invasion started Stalin sat in his Dacha refusing to speak or give instructions so for the fist week of the 2nfd world war Soviet Union was without effective leadership/direction.
What are the key reasons the Soviet Union was unprepared for war in 1941?
- Soviet military strenth had been undermined by the army purges of 1930-39 which had been highlighted by the poor performance of the red army in the ‘winter war’ against finland.
- Soviet resources were stretched , Equipment and leadership was lacking + far behind germany.
Stalinist reaction;
- The weaknesses of the soviet position is reflected by stalin’s actions when he shrank away from making any radio broadcast to the people. He seeminly lost his nerve + expected party leaders to blame him for the attack so it took 2weeks for him to announce an broadcast his speech to the nation.
HOWEVER - He did learn from his mistakes. He helped by advance information about the intention of japan, provided by a ‘master spy’ Richard Sorge and as a result stalin was saved from having to fight a 2 front war.
What role did Western powers have on the outcome of the Nazi-Soviet war?
The Grand alliance with Britain, USA + the western powers played a massive role in the ultimate defeat of Germany + supplied crucial supplies to aid the USSR’s war effort. 2 major vital supply lines; the Arctic convoys and the Persian corridor.
- 500 million US dollars was given under the program of lend-lease. (crucial in ensuring aid was received rapidly + safety
- 300,000 american trucks which was an incredibly significant factor between the winter of 1942- 1943 whilst the ussr was recovering from heavy losses
- USSR was able to utilise the British and American intelligence gained through a variety of code-breaking strategies and information in order to undermine germanys war effort at curtial times
- Politically it also presented a dangerous threat to the germans on other fronts and consequently prevented germans ability to purely focus on the war in the east increasing the challenge
- After 1945 during the cold war news reports or textbooks reflected very little about the amount of aid which poured into the USSR from allies under Lend-Lease however it was large and the USA sent Russia huge quantities of armaments and industrial goods.
State the 3 phases of the Great Patriotic War
3 distinct phases;
1- June 1941 to summer of 1942
Russia struggled to survive against successive German offensives + suffered mass loss of lives/territory
2- 1942 to summer 1943 - Russia stabilised its war effort built a powerhouse war economy + halted German advances
3- 1943 to summer 1945 - Soviet armies moved onto the offensive + recaptured vast areas that had been occupied + achieved a total victory.
Explain the 1st Phase of the patriotic war ‘The struggle for survival (1941 - 1942);
- The speed of German advance was rapid + vast distances were covered in days. Huge soviet armies were encircled + defeated.
- At Minsk near Kiev 665,000 soviet troops were captured. On all frons there were catastrophic losses of soviet aircraft + after 2 weeks German generals believed the war was already practically won
However on the 5th December the advance on Moscow was halted + soviet troops began beating German troops back.
There was limited fighting in the early months of 1942 but Germany was ready to launch another offensive designed to kick Russia out of the war and it was not, as expected, toward Moscow but instead south towards Caucasus oilfields.
- But the case blue was side-tracked by Hitlers decision to divert forces to capture Stalingrad which became a symbolic battle + Stalin put up immense efforts into defending the city.
From October the balance changed + the German forces began retreating and pulling back from Caucasus and the German sixth army was cut off and encircled at Stalingrad.
Explain the 2nd Phase of the patriotic was ‘Turning the Tide’ (1942 to August 1943)
- Hitler made the tragic mistake of persisting with defending Stalingrad to the death which made the battle into a catastrophic German defeat and the war became the long war Germany had wanted to avoid. Vast new soviet armies had decisive impacts on the outcome at Stalingrad.
- By early 1943 Hitler was running out of men, resources and time. He launched Operation Citadel near Kursk in July which was halted by a giant soviet firepower at the battle of Prokhorovka which was decisively won by the Red Army using T-34 Tanks.
- Hitler was forced to call it off on July 13th which signalled the opportunity for soviet forces to reign huge territories from German occupation.
Explain the 3rd Phase of the patriotic war ‘The Road to Berlin’ (August 1943 to December 1944)
- After Kursk the victory for the soviets was largely certain and the war was no longer about desperately defending the USSR but rebounding into a great Soviet offensive to drive out the Germans back to berlin.
- From 1943-44 there were chains of soviet victories across eastern europe as they requoncered Ukraine, Leningrad and invaded Poland + Hungary.
- In November 1943 Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met at Tehran, the first summit conference of ‘The Big Three’ to discus what to do with Germany following the predicted Defeat.
What was the USSR under Warfare like during the Fight-Back?
The Soviet union = ravened by war. Firstly by massive destruction during the German advance but also by Soviet ‘scorched earth’ - tactics
- The same areas that had been smashed by invasion and occupation were fought over again with tides of war occurring multiple times in some areas i.e. Ukraine in the city of Kharkiv which was captured in October 1941, re-captured in Feb 1942 and lost again just a month later in March.
- Life for civilians on the home front was unrelientlessly harsh with Food and shelter in short supply. Leningrad while under siege from 1941-44 contributed to the deaths of 600,000 civilians who died of hunger and cold + an estimated 12 million civilians died by 1945 which was enhanced by massive detection of houses, factories and hospitals.
However Soviet Citizens suffered at the hands of there own government as well as commissars = secret police were obsessed with hunting down ‘slackers’ deserters or thief’s leading to thousands being imprisoned or executed. The regime as especially suspicious of ethnic minorities and the ‘Crimean Tatars’
Was the great myth that emerged in the Soviet Union following the great patriotic war accurate?
The great myth of the soviet union uniting with one another due to shared sacrifices following the victory was a huge propaganda myth. Many people criticised the regime + were punished for it There were many examples of cowardly behaviour within the officials however the experiences of war, massive propaganda campaigns did shape the USSR bringing people together in there hatred of Germany.
During the Patriotic war how did The Soviets Mobolize industry and the Economy?
- German invasion of western regions of USSR between 1941/2 destroyed the basis of soviet economy both in industry + agriculture.
- Whole sectors of industry were ruined by bombardment + the new productive capacity was threatened - If the Soviet Union failed to build new industrial bases to replace these loses the war would be lost.
The solution was to relocate in order to reuild o equipment an whole factories were picked up and put on 20,000 trains + shifted to the east beyond reach of German bombs. This mobilisation of industry was vital for the war effort + was virtually a new industrial revolution to match previous 5 year plans. During 1942 it began a huge industrial base for war production particularly or guns, tanks and aircraft.
