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On June 22, 1941, Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa.
Hitler hoped to repeat the success of the blitzkrieg in Western Europe and win a quick victory over the massive nation he viewed as Germany’s sworn enemy, so on June 22, 1941, more than 3 million German and Axis troops invaded the Soviet Union along an 1,800-mile-long front, launching Operation Barbarossa. It was Germany’s largest invasion force of the war, representing some 80 percent of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces, and one of the most powerful invasion forces in history.
Flamethrower team advancing in the Soviet Union, June 1941
Despite repeated warnings, Stalin refused to believe that Hitler was planning an attack, and the German invasion caught the Red Army unprepared. With a three-pronged attack toward Leningrad in the north, Moscow in the center and Ukraine in the south, German panzer divisions and Luftwaffe helped Germany gain an early advantage against the numerous but poorly trained Soviet troops.
The Fuhrer predicted a quick victory, but after initial success, the brutal campaign dragged on and eventually failed due to strategic blunders and harsh winter weather, as well as a determined Soviet resistance and attrition suffered by German forces.
Hitler hoped to repeat the success of the blitzkrieg in Western Europe and win a quick victory over the massive nation he viewed as Germany’s sworn enemy, so on June 22, 1941, more than 3 million German and Axis troops invaded the Soviet Union along an 1,800-mile-long front, launching Operation Barbarossa. It was Germany’s largest invasion force of the war, representing some 80 percent of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces, and one of the most powerful invasion forces in history.
Flamethrower team advancing in the Soviet Union, June 1941
Despite repeated warnings, Stalin refused to believe that Hitler was planning an attack, and the German invasion caught the Red Army unprepared. With a three-pronged attack toward Leningrad in the north, Moscow in the center and Ukraine in the south, German panzer divisions and Luftwaffe helped Germany gain an early advantage against the numerous but poorly trained Soviet troops.
The Fuhrer predicted a quick victory, but after initial success, the brutal campaign dragged on and eventually failed due to strategic blunders and harsh winter weather, as well as a determined Soviet resistance and attrition suffered by German forces.