Operation Barbarossa Significance

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On the 22nd June 1941, German forces invaded the Soviet Union under Directive 21. Under the codename “Operation Barbarossa”, it was recorded as the largest military operation ever seen in history as it involved more than 3 million Axis soldiers and 3,500 armoured vehicles. Throughout the war Operation Barbarossa was a conflict that demoralised the Germans and significantly contributed to the Allied victory. Catalysts for the Event: The invasion of Russia came as no surprise to the Soviets as Hitler made it evident on multiple occasions that he would invade the country. His future plans for the nation were set by his strategic, racial, economic and ideological motives: • One of Hitler’s long-term aims was lebensraum. He planned on creating As the Soviets fought back the oncoming German army, it was evident that blitzkrieg was unsuccessful. As the Germans had never experienced Russian winters before; they were unaware of the freezing cold temperatures. Without proper clothing and material, this caused devastating effects. With Stalin choosing to stay in Moscow this raised the morale, and was an important aspect that led to the Moscow victory. Christian goes on to state, “A longer, drawn out war allowed Russia to exploit its reserves of raw materials and labour. In this sense, the battle of Moscow was a turning General Guderian termed the conflict as a critical setback. The losses experienced in the battle could not be simply replaced and the Soviets were now outnumbering the Germans with armoured vehicles. By August, the Red Army had 8200 tanks on the battlefield, whilst the Germans scraped the surface with 2500. Overy states that, “The struggle for Kursk tore the heart out of the German army, Soviet success at Kursk, with so much at stake, was the most important single victory of the war. It was the point at which the initiative passed to the Soviet side.” Overy clearly defines that the battle of Kursk undoubtedly changed the course of the

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