WW2 European Theatre3 Flashcards
1
Q
How do Soviet and Russian historians divide the war against Germany?
A
Into three periods, further subdivided into eight major campaigns
2
Q
What was the timeframe of the first period of the Great Patriotic War?
A
22 June 1941 – 18 November 1942
3
Q
What were the main campaigns of the first period of the Great Patriotic War?
A
Summer–Autumn Campaign of 1941, Winter Campaign of 1941–42, Summer–Autumn Campaign of 1942
4
Q
What was the timeframe of the second period of the Great Patriotic War?
A
19 November 1942 – 31 December 1943
5
Q
What were the main campaigns of the second period of the Great Patriotic War?
A
Winter Campaign of 1942–43, Summer–Autumn Campaign of 1943
6
Q
What was the timeframe of the third period of the Great Patriotic War?
A
1 January 1944 – 9 May 1945
7
Q
What were the main campaigns of the third period of the Great Patriotic War?
A
Winter–Spring Campaign of 1944, Summer–Autumn Campaign of 1944, Campaign in Europe during 1945
8
Q
When did Operation Barbarossa begin?
A
22 June 1941
9
Q
What was the objective of Army Group North in Operation Barbarossa?
A
Leningrad via the Baltic states
10
Q
What was the objective of Army Group Centre in Operation Barbarossa?
A
To advance towards Moscow
11
Q
What was the objective of Army Group South in Operation Barbarossa?
A
Advancing through Galicia into Ukraine
12
Q
What did Stalin order the Red Army to do during their retreat?
A
Initiate a scorched-earth policy
13
Q
What significant event happened on 19 September 1941?
A
Surrender of Kiev and capture of 400,000 Soviet prisoners
14
Q
What marked the beginning of the Siege of Leningrad?
A
Army Group North positioning itself in front of Leningrad
15
Q
When did the Wehrmacht take Rostov?
A
21 November 1941
16
Q
What was the first significant German withdrawal of the war?
A
Pulling out of Rostov and behind the Mius River
17
Q
When did the Wehrmacht attempt to encircle Moscow?
A
15 November 1941
18
Q
How close did the 4th Panzer Army get to Moscow?
A
Within 30 km of the Kremlin
19
Q
When did the Wehrmacht suspend their attack on Moscow?
A
6 December 1941
20
Q
What did Marshal Shaposhnikov begin after the attack on Moscow was suspended?
A
A counter-attack with freshly mobilised reserves
21
Q
Why were Far-Eastern Soviet divisions transferred to the west?
A
Intelligence indicated Japan would remain neutral
22
Q
What was the timeframe of the Soviet winter counter-offensive?
A
5 December 1941 to 7 May 1942
23
Q
What immediate threat did the Soviet counter-offensive during the Battle of Moscow remove?
A
The immediate German threat to the city
24
Q
What was Stalin’s objective in January 1942?
A
To deny the Germans any breathing space and to drive them westward
25
What was the main objective of the Soviet double envelopment in January 1942?
Encirclement and destruction of the enemy's main forces in the area of Rzhev, Vyazma, and Smolensk
26
When did the Soviet 20th Army launch their attack during the winter counter-offensive?
10 January 1942
27
What were the key Soviet gains by 20 January 1942?
Capturing Ruza, Dorokhovo, Mozhaisk, and Vereya
28
What was the result of the Soviet parachute drop in January 1942?
Attempt to cut off enemy communications with the rear
29
When did the Soviet forces decide to assume the defensive during the winter counter-offensive?
April 1942
30
What was the outcome of the Soviet counter-offensive by April 1942?
Advancing 70 to 100 km and improving the operational and strategic situation on the Western sector
31
Who was the Soviet commander that later defected to Germany and formed the ROA?
Lieutenant General Andrey Vlasov
32
What was the intent of the Red Army's lunge over the Donets River at Izyum?
To pin Army Group South against the Sea of Azov
33
When did Operation Blue begin?
28 June 1942
34
What were the objectives of Operation Blue?
To secure the Don and Volga, and drive into the Caucasus
35
When was Rostov recaptured during Operation Blue?
24 July 1942
36
What was the significance of Operation Shamil?
Brandenburger commandos dressed as Soviet NKVD troops to destabilize Maikop's defenses
37
When did German troops reach the Volga during the Battle of Stalingrad?
23 August 1942
38
When did Romanian mountain troops join the Caucasian spearhead?
End of August 1942
39
When did the Wehrmacht enter the suburbs of Ordzhonikidze?
2 November 1942
40
When did Operation Uranus start?
19 November 1942
41
What was the result of Operation Uranus by 23 November 1942?
Trapping 300,000 Axis troops behind Soviet lines
42
What was the outcome of Operation Mars?
A costly failure with no breakthrough
43
When did the German 6th Army in Stalingrad surrender?
31 January 1943
44
What was the significance of Manstein's counteroffensive in February 1943?
Fighting back into Kharkov and saving the position in the south
45
Who was reinstated to a prominent role as Inspector of Panzer Troops before the Battle of Kursk?
Heinz Guderian
46
What was the German High Command's objective for the Kursk offensive?
To pinch off the Kursk salient
47
What was the main defensive preparation of the Soviets at Kursk?
Heavily reinforcing with anti-tank guns, tank traps, landmines, barbed wire, trenches, pillboxes, artillery, and mortars
48
When did the Battle of Kursk begin?
12 July 1943
49
What was the outcome of the Battle of Prokhorovka?
A Soviet defensive success, albeit at heavy cost
50
What was the result of the German 9th Army's advance from the Orel salient?
They could not break through and went over to the defensive
51
What was Operation Kutuzov?
A Soviet counter-offensive against the German 9th Army
52
When did Hitler halt the Kursk offensive?
After the Allies' landing in Sicily on 10 July 1943
53
What was the significance of the Kursk offensive for the Germans?
It was the last major German strategic offensive in the Soviet Union
54
When was Orel retaken by the Red Army?
5 August 1943
55
When was Kharkov abandoned by the Germans for the final time?
22 August 1943
56
What was the main problem for the Wehrmacht with the Dnieper line?
The defences had not yet been built
57
When did the Red Army capture Kiev?
Early November 1943
58
When did the First Ukrainian Front strike the Germans at Zhytomyr?
Christmas Eve 1943
59
When did the Soviet advance reach the 1939 Polish-Soviet border?
3 January 1944
60
What was the outcome of the Korsun–Shevchenkovsky operation?
Surrounding ten German divisions west of Cherkassy
61
When did the Red Army break out of its bridgeheads on either side of Kiev?
Early November 1943
62
What happened to the 1st Panzer Army in March 1944?
It was encircled in Hube's Pocket near Kamenets-Podolskiy
63
When was Odessa retaken by the Red Army?
April 1944
64
When was Sevastopol captured by the Red Army?
10 May 1944
65
What was the outcome of the Leningrad Front's offensive in January and February 1944?
Reaching the borders of Estonia
66
What was the German response to the Leningrad Front's offensives towards Tallinn?
The German army group 'Narwa' defended, including Estonian conscripts
67
What was Operation Bagration?
A massive Soviet attack launched on 22 June 1944 against German Army Group Centre
68
When did the Belorussian Offensive (Operation Bagration) begin?
22 June 1944
69
What was the result of the Belorussian Offensive (Operation Bagration)?
The Red Army captured Minsk on 3 July and reached the prewar Polish border ten days later
70
What were the Soviet and German casualties in Operation Bagration?
Soviets: ~180,000 dead and missing; Germans: ~400,000 dead, wounded, missing, and sick
71
When was the Lvov–Sandomierz operation launched?
17 July 1944
72
What happened on 23 August 1944 in Romania?
A coup against the Axis-allied government
73
When did the Red Army occupy Bucharest?
31 August 1944
74
What was the outcome of the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive for the Finns?
The Finnish forces managed to halt the Soviet attack after heavy fighting
75
What was Operation Tempest?
A series of operations launched by the Polish Home Army against the Germans
76
When did the Warsaw Uprising occur?
As the Red Army approached Poland in 1944
77
When did the Slovak National Uprising occur?
Between August and October 1944
78
What did the Red Army prioritize in Autumn 1944?
Gaining control over the Balkans
79
When did the Red Army begin an attack on the Dukla Pass?
8 September 1944
80
When did the Soviet forces win the battle at the Dukla Pass?
Two months later in November 1944
81
When did the Soviet Union enter Warsaw?
17 January 1945
82
What was the Vistula–Oder Offensive?
A Soviet operation launched from Warsaw to Berlin in January 1945
83
When did the Red Army enter Vienna?
13 April 1945
84
When did Königsberg fall to the Red Army?
9 April 1945
85
What was the significance of the fall of Königsberg?
It allowed the Soviet 2nd Belorussian Front to move west to the Oder
86
What were the two main objectives of the Soviet offensive in April 1945?
Capture Berlin and meet the Western Allies as far west as possible
87
When did the Soviet offensive to capture Berlin start?
16 April 1945
88
When was Berlin encircled by the Soviet forces?
24 April 1945
89
When did Adolf Hitler commit suicide?
30 April 1945
90
When did the German forces in Berlin surrender?
2 May 1945
91
When was the German unconditional surrender signed?
7 May 1945 at Reims and 8 May 1945 in Berlin
92
When is Victory Day celebrated in Russia?
9 May
93
When did the fighting on the Eastern Front officially end?
13 May 1945
94
When did the Soviet invasion of Manchuria begin?
8 August 1945
95
What territories were included in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria?
Manchukuo, Mengjiang, northern Korea, southern Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands
96
When did the conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union begin?
22 June 1941
97
What was the name of the German offensive that started the conflict with the Soviet Union?
Operation Barbarossa
98
When did the war between Germany and the Soviet Union end?
9 May 1945
99
Which countries provided forces and resources for the German war effort?
Romania, Hungary, Italy, pro-Nazi Slovakia, and Croatia
100
Which country that fought the Winter War against the Soviet Union joined the Axis offensive?
Finland
101
Who were the anti-Communist partisans that assisted the Wehrmacht?
Partisans in places like Western Ukraine and the Baltic states
102
What was the Spanish Blue Division?
A volunteer army formation sent by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco to aid the Axis
103
Which countries did the Soviet Union support anti-Axis partisans in?
Slovakia and Poland
104
What were the Polish Armed Forces in the East known for?
Fighting alongside the Red Army
105
Who was the leader of the Free French forces?
Charles de Gaulle
106
What was the total number of Axis forces on 22 June 1941?
3,767,000
107
What was the total number of Soviet forces on 22 June 1941?
2,680,000 active in Western Military Districts out of 5,500,000 overall
108
When did the Wehrmacht number 6,815,000 troops?
July 1943
109
What were the main countries occupied by Germany before the invasion of the Soviet Union?
Denmark, Norway, France, the Low Countries, and the Balkans
110
What did Hitler announce in the spring of 1941?
His decision to invade the Soviet Union
111
What was Stalin's expectation about the war with Germany?
He expected war in 1942 and refused to believe it would come earlier
112
What were Nazi Germany's preparations for war characterized as?
Prepared for only a short-term war (Blitzkrieg)
113
How were Soviet resources critical for Germany?
Massive Soviet shipments were critical for Germany to launch Operation Barbarossa
114
What was the response of the Soviet Union to Germany assembling troops in eastern Poland?
Assembling its divisions on its western border
115
What directive did Soviet troops on the western border receive?
'Do not answer to any provocations' and 'do not undertake any offensive actions without specific orders'
116
What was controversial about the warnings received by Stalin?
The extent of warnings about a German invasion
117
What was the role of the Lucy spy ring in Switzerland?
Sending warnings of an attack, possibly deriving from Ultra codebreaking in Britain
118
How did Soviet intelligence respond to German disinformation?
By sending false alarms about a German invasion
119
What did Soviet intelligence report about Germany's invasion plans?
That Germany would rather invade the USSR after the fall of the British Empire or after an ultimatum demanding German occupation of Ukraine
120
What role did the strategic air offensive by the USAAF and RAF play during World War II?
Damaging German industry and tying up German air force and air defense resources
121
What was one specific goal of the bombing of Dresden?
To facilitate specific Soviet operational goals
122
Which countries were targeted by Allied bombings to cripple oil production?
Romania and Hungary
123
How did British and Commonwealth forces contribute to the Eastern Front?
Service in Arctic convoys, training Red Air Force pilots, and providing material and intelligence support
124
What was the total amount of Allied shipments to the Soviet Union during World War II?
17,499,861 tons
125
What percentage of the USSR's high octane aviation fuel was supplied by Lend-Lease?
58%
126
What percentage of the USSR's motor vehicles was supplied by Lend-Lease?
33%
127
What percentage of the USSR's expended ordnance was supplied by Lend-Lease?
53%
128
What percentage of the USSR's fighters and bombers was supplied by Lend-Lease?
30%
129
What percentage of the USSR's railway equipment was supplied by Lend-Lease?
93%
130
What percentage of the USSR's tanks and SPGs was supplied by Lend-Lease?
12%
131
What percentage of the USSR's TNT was supplied by Lend-Lease during 1942-1944?
50%
132
What innovations did the USSR receive through Lend-Lease?
Penicillin, radar, rocket, precision-bombing technology, Loran, and other innovations
133
What amount of aluminium was shipped to the USSR through Lend-Lease?
350,000 tons
134
How did Stalin describe the role of the United States in building Soviet heavy industry?
Two-thirds of Soviet heavy industry was built with the help of the United States
135
What was the estimated total value of Lend-Lease aid provided during World War II?
Between $42-50 billion
136
What was the value of Lend-Lease aid received by the Soviet Union?
$12.5 billion
137
How did Germany acquire resources and raw materials during World War II?
By forcing conquered territories to sell at extremely low prices
138
Which country made the largest contribution to the German war effort?
France
139
What was the percentage of French GDP that went to German payments in 1943-44?
Up to 55%
140
What was the role of the 'Oil Pact' between Germany and Romania?
Germany traded arms for Romanian oil
141
What percentage of Axis fuel production came from Romania?
35%
142
What was the peak oil production in Germany in 1944?
About 12 million barrels of oil per year
143
What was the estimated share of Swedish iron in Germany's total consumption during 1933-43?
43%
144
How many foreign people were abducted for forced labor by Germany?
Approximately 12 million
145
How many foreign forced laborers and POWs were freed after the defeat of Germany?
Approximately 11 million
146
How many civilians were brought into the Reich for unfree labor during wartime?
6.5 million
147
Which countries repatriated the most displaced persons after World War II?
Soviet Union, Poland, France, Italy
