Invasion of the Soviet Union

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For the campaign against the Soviet Union, the Germans allotted three army groups, totalling approximately 3.3 million men, along with 1 million from other Axis countries. Among these were 19 panzer divisions, and in total the “Barbarossa” force had about 3,000 tanks, 7,000 artillery pieces, and 2,500 aircraft. It was in effect the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history. Their Soviet opponents had vast amounts of equipment, but much of it was obsolete and poorly maintained and troop training levels were inadequate.[citation needed] In addition, a drastic purge in 1937 had crippled the Red Army, reducing its morale and efficiency just before the German invasion. With up to 50% of army officers executed, the result was that the Red Army officer corps in 1941 had many inexperienced senior officers.

The battle of Greece and the invasion of Yugoslavia delayed the German invasion of the Soviet Union by a critical six weeks, but on June 22, 1941, Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union.

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Germany's Army Group North was deployed in East Prussia. Its main objectives were to secure the Baltic states and seize Leningrad. Opposite Army Group North were 2 Soviet armies. The Germans threw their 600 tanks at the junction of the two Soviet Armies in that sector. The 4th Panzer Army's objective was to cross the Neman River and the Dvina River which were the two largest obstacles in route to Leningrad. On the first day, the tanks crossed the Neman and penetrated 50 miles (80 km). Near Rasienai, the panzers were counterattacked by 300 Soviet tanks; it took 4 days for the Germans to encircle and destroy the Soviets. The panzers then crossed the Dvina near Dvinsk, and approached Leningrad.

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Army Group Center was deployed in Poland. Its main objective was to capture Moscow. Opposite Army Group Center were 4 Soviet armies occupying a salient which jutted into German territory with its center at Bialystok. Beyond Bialystok was Minsk which was a key railway junction and guardian of the main highway to Moscow. 3rd Panzer Army punched through the junction of the two Soviet armies from the North and crossed the Neman River, and the 2nd Panzer Army crossed the Bug River from the south. While the panzers attacked, the infantry armies struck at the salient and encircled Soviet troops at Bialystok. The panzer armies' objective was to meet at Minsk and prevent any Soviet withdrawal. On June 27, 2nd and 3rd Panzer Armies met up at Minsk advancing 200 miles (300 km) into Soviet territory. In the vast pocket between Minsk and the Polish border, 32 Soviet infantry and 8 tank divisions were encircled and were destroyed. Soviet soldiers numbering 135,000 were killed or wounded, 290,000 were captured, while another 250,000 managed to escape.

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Army Group South was deployed in southern Poland and Romania and also included two Romanian armies and several Italian, Slovakian and Hungarian divisions. Its objective was to secure the oil fields of the Caucasus. Opposite the Germans in the south were 3 Soviet armies. The majority of the Axis forces struck at the junctions of the Soviet armies but 1st Panzer Army struck right through the Soviet Army with the objective of capturing Brody. On June 26, Soviet commanders reacted to the German attack and mounted a massive counterattack on 1st Panzer Army with five mechanized corps with over 1,000 tanks. The battle was among the fiercest of the invasion, lasting over 4 days. In the end the Germans prevailed but the Soviets inflicted heavy losses on the 1st Panzer Army. With the failure of the Soviet armored offensive, the last substantial Soviet tank forces in the south were now spent.

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On July 3, Hitler finally gave the go-ahead for the panzers to resume their drive east after the infantry armies had caught up. The next objective of Army Group Center was the city of Smolensk, which commanded the road to Moscow. Facing the Germans was an old Russian defensive line where the Soviets had deployed 6 armies. On July 6, the Soviets launched an attack with 700 tanks against the 3rd Panzer Army. The Germans, using their overwhelming air superiority, wiped out the Soviet tanks. The 2nd Panzer Army crossed the Dneiper River and closed on Smolensk from the south while 3rd Panzer Army, after defeating the Soviet counter-attack, approached Smolensk from the north. Trapped between their pincers were 3 Soviet armies. On July 26, the panzers closed the gap and then began to eliminate the pocket, which yielded over 300,000 Soviet prisoners, although 200,000 evaded capture. Hitler by now had lost faith in battles of encirclement and wanted to defeat the Soviets by inflicting severe economic damage which meant seizing the oil fields in the south and Leningrad in the north. Tanks from Army Group Center were diverted to Army Group North and South to aid them. Hitler's generals vehemently opposed this as Moscow was only 200 miles (300 km) away from Army Group Center and the bulk of the Red Army was deployed in that sector and only an attack there could hope to end the war quickly. But Hitler was adamant and the tanks from Army Group Center arrived and reinforced the 4th Panzer Army in the north which subsequently broke through the Soviet defenses on August 8 and by the end of August was only 30 miles (50 km) from Leningrad. Meanwhile the Finns had pushed south-east on both sides of Lake Ladoga reaching the old Finnish-Soviet frontier.


People struggling to survive during the 900-day long Siege of Leningrad, which resulted in around 1 million civilian deaths (mostly from starvation)


People struggling to survive during the 900-day long Siege of Leningrad, which resulted in around 1 million civilian deaths (mostly from starvation)



In the South by mid-July below the Pinsk Marshes, the Germans had gotten to within a few miles of Kiev. The 1st Panzer Army then went South while the German 17th Army, which was on 1st Panzer Army's southern flank, struck east and between them trapped 3 Soviet armies near Uman. As the Germans eliminated the pocket, their tanks turned north and crossed the Dneiper. Meanwhile, 2nd Panzer Army, which was diverted from Army Group Center, had crossed the Desna River with 2nd Army on its right flank. This move resulted in the trapping of 4 Soviet armies and parts of two others. The encirclement of Soviet forces in Kiev was achieved on September 16. The encircled Soviets did not give up easily, a savage battle ensued, lasting for 10 days, after which the Germans claimed over 600,000 Soviet soldiers captured. Hitler called it the greatest battle in history. After Kiev, the Red Army no longer outnumbered the Germans and there were no more reserves. To defend Moscow, Stalin had only 800,000 men left.

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The Red Army was outflanked and on September 8 1941 the Germans had fully encircled Leningrad and Hitler ordered the city to be besieged. The siege lasted for a total of 900 days, from September 8 1941 until January 27 1944. The city's almost 3 million civilians (including about 400,000 children) refused to surrender and endured rapidly increasing hardships in the encircled city. Food and fuel stocks were limited to a mere 1-2 month supply, public transport was not operational and by the winter of 1941-42 there was no heating, no water supply, almost no electricity and very little food.In January 1942 in the depths of an unusually cold winter, the city's food rations reached an all time low of only 125 grams (about 1/4 of a pound) of bread per person per day. In just two months, January and February of 1942, 200,000 people died in Leningrad of cold and starvation.Despite these tragic losses and the inhuman conditions the city's war industries still continued to work and the city did not surrender.

The Soviets had mounted an increasing number of attacks against Army Group Center, but lacking tanks it was in no position to go on the offensive. Hitler had changed his mind and decided that tanks be sent back to Army Group Center for its all out drive on Moscow. Operation Typhoon, the drive on Moscow began on October 2. In front of Army Group Center was a series of elaborate defense lines. The Germans easily penetrated the first line as 2nd Panzer Army, returning from the south, took Orel which was 75 miles (121 km) behind the Soviet first defense line. The Germans then pushed in and the vast pocket yielded 663,000 Soviet prisoners. Soviet forces now had only 90,000 men and 150 tanks left for the defense for Moscow.

Almost from the beginning of Operation Typhoon the weather had deteriorated steadily, slowing the German advance on Moscow to as little as 2 miles (3 km) a day. On October 31, the German High Command ordered a halt on Operation Typhoon as the armies were re-organized. The pause gave the Soviets time to build up new armies and bring in the Soviet troops from the east as the neutrality pact signed by the Soviets and Japanese in April, 1941 assured Stalin that there was no longer a threat from the Japanese.

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On November 15, the Germans resumed the attack on Moscow. Facing the Germans were 6 Soviet armies. The Germans intended to let the 3rd and 4th Panzer Armies cross the Moscow Canal and envelop Moscow from the North East. The 2nd Panzer Army would attack Tula and then close in on Moscow from the south and the 4th Army would smash in the center. However, on November 22, Soviet Siberian troops were unleashed on the 2nd Panzer Army in the South which inflicted a shocking defeat on the Germans. The 4th Panzer Army succeeded in crossing the Moscow canal and on December 2 had penetrated to within 15 miles (24 km) of the Kremlin. But by then the first blizzards of the winter began and the Wehrmacht was not equipped for winter warfare. Frostbite and disease had caused more casualties than combat; dead and wounded had already reached 155,000 in 3 weeks. Some divisions were now at 50% strength and the bitter cold had caused severe problems for weapons and equipment. Weather conditions grounded the Luftwaffe. Hitler's plans miscarried at the onset of severe winter weather; he was so confident of a lightning victory that he did not prepare for even the possibility of winter warfare. Yet his eastern army suffered more than 734,000 casualties (about 23 percent of its average strength of 3,200,000 troops) during the first five months of the invasion, and on 27 November 1941, General Eduard Wagner, the Quartermaster General of the German Army, reported that "We are at the end of our resources in both personnel and materiel. We are about to be confronted with the dangers of deep winter." Newly built up Soviet troops near Moscow now numbered over 500,000 men and Zhukov on December 5 launched a massive counter attack which pushed the Germans back over 200 miles (300 km) but no decisive breakthrough was achieved. The invasion of the Soviet Union had so far cost the Germans over 250,000 dead, 500,000 wounded and most of their tanks.