Operation Barbarossa - 1941

Context and Background

• Europe, Summer 1941
• Germany had secured most of Central and Western Europe
• Great Britain remained defiant
• Potential threat: Soviet Union
• Hitler's goal: Cripple Soviet military and seize resources
• Plan: Capture most of the European part of the Soviet Union before winter 1941

German Invasion Strategy

• Main attack towards Moscow
• Auxiliary attacks in north and south

Southern Sector

• Soviet Deployment: 1,200,000 men (Pripyat Marshes to Black Sea)
• German Army Group South: Similar strength
• Objectives: Western Ukraine

Key Events

• June 22nd: Invasion begins; Soviet counterattack fails due to lack of readiness
• German Advance: Creates encirclement threat, forces Soviet withdrawal
• Axis forces from Romania join
• Pivot South: Germans encircle and destroy Soviet formations near Uman
• Soviet Retreat: Abandon Western Ukraine, mobilize new troops on the eastern bank of Dnieper, hold Odessa

Northern Sector

• Initial Forces: German Army Groups North and Center vs. Soviet soldiers
• Objectives: Encircle Soviets at the border, advance to Smolensk and Moscow, advance to Leningrad

Key Events

• June 22nd: Germans attack
• Encirclement of Soviet formations near Bialystock and Minsk
• Baltic Operations: Failed Soviet counterattacks, German push threatens encirclement
• Smolensk: Soviet reserves failed counterattack, Germans eliminate encircling pocket
• German Options: Continue to Moscow or secure flanks; choose to secure flanks
• North Operations: Encircle Leningrad, assisted by Army Group Center
• Finnish Front: Finland joins war on June 25th, reclaims lost lands, attempts to sever Murmansk supply route

Central and Southern Flanks

• Shift in German Strategy: Sent armoured units of Army Group Center to aid North and South
• Soviet Miscalculation: Expect attack on Moscow, German advance from south and east instead
• Ukraine Encirclement: Germans trap 750,000 Soviets, liquidate the pocket
• German Gains: Flanks secure, resource-rich Eastern Ukraine and Crimea seized

Final Phase of 1941

• Full-Scale Attack: Germans push across the whole front
• South: Encirclement of Soviet forces on Black Sea coast
• North: Severing supply route to Leningrad
• Center: Final push towards Moscow
• Moscow Encirclement Attempt: Exhausted German offensive, onset of winter
• Soviet Counterattack: Halt German advance, counter in winter, retreat German forces
• End of 1941: German failures at Leningrad; Soviets halt Germans far from initial goals but at a high cost

Conclusion

• Red Army decimated, needs rebuilding
• Germans plan to use this window for a decisive blow in 1942