The Invasion of the Soviet Union

The Beginning of the End for Hitler

After Hitler takes the Balkans (SE Europe) he realizes that he has nothing left to conquer besides the Soviet Union

“Operation Barbarossa”

Unfortunately for him, this would be his biggest mistake, opening a second front to WWII

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

There are 3 major cities in the far western Soviet Union that Hitler needed to capture if he was to be successful in this operation:

-Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad

He believed that once he captured all three of those, the Soviet Union would collapse

He seemed to forget that he was going up against another brutal dictator, Josef Stalin

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

Josef Stalin

Communist Soviet Dictator

Killed more men than Hitler

Most of the 20 million were his own people

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

Remember, Stalin and Hitler signed a non-aggression pact together promising they would not attack each other when war broke out

It worked well so far and they divided Poland amongst each other peacefully

Stalin never trusted Hitler, and Hitler hated Stalin and his Soviets, who he considered to be subhuman

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

June 1941: Hitler recalls some troops from North Africa for the biggest land invasion of WWII

He sends 3 million soldiers and 3,000 German Panzer tanks across Nazi controlled Poland and into the Soviet controlled Poland starting Operation Barbarossa

Soviets surprised, cut off, and hundreds of thousands surrender almost immediately

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

Stalin was so surprised by the attack, that he was paralyzed at first by fear and couldn’t make a decision as his army waited on directions

Finally a decision!

Scorched Earth Policy: If you can move it east away from the Nazis do it. If you can’t, burn it!

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

Stalin wanted to leave absolutely nothing for the Germans

He ordered entire factories moved east. They were later producing equipment before the walls and roof were put on

This was an all out war with no rules. Prisoners were shot, civilians were targeted, and massacres occurred on both sides

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

In early 1942, the Nazis move into the western part of the Soviet Union and divide their army with half going to Leningrad in the north, and the other half to Moscow in the center

They surround Leningrad and lay siege to the city while reaching the outskirts of Moscow

The citizens of Moscow were ordered to dig in and prepare to defend the city

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

The Nazis cannot capture either city and oil supplies are running low

Hitler order 330,00o soldiers to Southwestern Soviet Union to capture Stalingrad and the rich Baku oil fields just beyond it

Leading these men is Field Marshal Freidrich Von Paulus

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

The Luftwaffe performed nightly bombing raids in advance of the attack

For 3 months, the Nazis took Stalingrad house by house in brutal hand to hand combat. By this point, Hitler believed it would be over before winter.

Stalin: “Not a step back!”

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

In November 1942, under new General Marshal Zhukov, the Soviets launch a massive counterattack

Hitler refused to retreat and ordered a fight to the last man

The Soviets wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Nazis, it would be the winter of 1942-1943!

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

Fighting continued as one of the worst winters ever turned Stalingrad into a frozen wasteland

The Germans still had on their summer uniforms, couldn’t get supplies, and froze!

“We just lay in our holes and froze, knowing that 24 hours and 48 hours later we would be shivering precisely as we are now.”

Lieutenant Benno Ziesek-

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

By February 1943 there was no hope or relief for the Germans as they suffered in -40 degree weather.

That month 91,000 remaining frost-bitten, half-starved, German troops surrender as Stalingrad is saved

The Germans pull back from Moscow and Leningrad after failing to take either city and retreat westward towards Poland

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

Stalingrad was the height of Hitler’s war and is considered to be the decisive victory and turning point of the War in Europe.

The Nazis spread themselves too thin and were never had enough manpower to defeat the Soviets

The Soviets now have the upper hand and begin pushing the Germans back to Berlin

The Invasion of the Soviet Union

The Invasion of the Soviet Union