synonymOperation Barbarossa (Battle of Barbarossa) Generally refers to the Barbarossa Plan (the plan of Germany's war of aggression against the Soviet Union in World War II)
The Barbarosa plan isNazi Germany staythe Second World WarInitiated inSoviet invasionCode of.It took place in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe from June 22, 1941 to January 1942. The plan was initiated by the first Minister of Quartermaster of the General Staff of the German Army at that timePaulusThe drafting and guidance were completed at the end of August 1940.
The "Barbarossa Plan" was formerly known as the "Otto Plan" and later changed to the "Barbarossa Plan" in December 1940.
Name
Operation Barbarossa
Time of occurrence
June 22, 1941 - January 1942
Location
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
Belligerents
The Soviet Union, Germany and their client countries
Results
The German strategic intention failed, and the Soviet Union saved Moscow at a heavy price
Forces of the participating parties
4500000 people in Axis countries
Forces of the participating parties
4300000 people in the Soviet Union[1]
Casualties
About 3 million Soviet casualties About 1.3 million German casualties
In the summer of 1940,HitlerAfter obtaining the rightFranceAfter the victory of the war, the proposal of attacking the Soviet Union was put on the agenda again.Hitler's idea of attacking the Soviet Union has a long history.Back in the 1920s, he was in the autobiography《My struggle》The book said that the German people must pursue the so-called "living space", that is, land and resources, and this living space should be found in Eastern Europe.naziThe policy ofSlavic nationalityA certain amount of land should be given to the German people to live in, or they should be expelled. It is worth mentioning that My Struggle does notSlavicThere is no such thing as inferior nationality.In the plan, the population, land, resources and various social activities in these areas must unconditionally accept the management of Germany, although Hitler also said that Germany would "cooperate" with those Russians who are willing to support them.German ideological theoristsAlfred RosenbergThink that the Slavic nation also belongs toAryan, put forward suggestions on how to overcomeSoviet UnionThe territory is divided into administrative regions according to the following forms:
The administrative region to be established in Germany
Before Germany and the Soviet Union jointly annexed Poland in 1939, the two countries signed《Molotov—RibbentropTreaty.On the surface, this is a non aggression treaty. The boundary between Germany and the Soviet Union is divided by dividing Poland and other countriesFinlandThe treaty, which was classified as the "sphere of influence" of the Soviet Union, shocked the world because the two countries had been hostile to each other for a long time and their ideologies were completely opposite.Because of this treaty,naziGermany and the Soviet Union developed a large number of diplomatic relations and trade. The Soviet Union provided oil and raw materials to Germany, while Germany provided high-tech to the Soviet Union.Despite the signing of this treaty, the two countries still held strong doubts about each other's every move, and soon this short peaceful relationship ended in the complete outbreak of war.
Hitler always hoped to conquer Western Russia and exploit the localSlavic。Therefore, he signed the treaty only for temporary convenience.Plus Hitler andStalinBoth of them had great ambitions to conquer the territory, and the ideological gap between the two sides led to the final outbreak of the conflict.Stalin's bad reputation in the world gave Nazi Germany the reason to attack the Soviet Union, but also increased Germany's confidence in victory.
Tripartite Pact The signing of the Soviet Union was the final factor that led to the split between the Soviet Union and Germany.On November 12-14, 1940BerlinAfter consultation, Germany[3]The Soviet Union proposed the conditions for joining the Axis Powers, and on November 25, the Soviet Union proposed a revised version, which indicated that the German army must withdraw from the Soviet German border and Bulgaria must be "neutralized" before further negotiations could be carried out[3]However, Germany has not replied since then.With the failure of this negotiation, the conflict of interest between the two countries in Eastern Europe became increasingly apparent. Although they would make a small agreement on the border and trade in January 1941, war was inevitable.[2]
Hitler's army was invincible in France, in contrast to the Soviet Union's disastrous victory in Finland[3], which made him quite confident of the German victory.In terms of propaganda against Slavs, Germany has always emphasized the cruelty of the Soviet regime, and also publicized that the Red Army was preparing to attack Germany, and claimed that their first attack was just a preemptive act.
The Battle of Barbarossa was mainly conceived by Hitler himself.Some military and diplomatic personnel also advised Hitler that the problem should be solved firstbritainIt was appropriate to open up the battlefield against the Soviet Union later, but most German staff and staff agreed that the invasion should be launched at a necessary time.Hitler's decision is usually contrary to the advice of the German generals, but until then, the German army has reached a series of brilliant victories under Hitler's strategy that were considered impossible. Hitler also considered himself a political and military genius.During that time, Hitler's pride and boldness, combined with the excellent training of the German army, won with little effortRhine、Austria、Czech RepublicOfSudetenlandAnd then attacked PolandDenmarkandNorwayEvery battle is almost unimpeded.Then he quickly passedMarcino LineNortherlyLuxembourgAttack France and annihilate large-scaleAlliesAnd continue to attack south untilSwitzerlandBoundary.
The besieged Allied forces in the north finally withdrew through Dunkirk, and the British forces were completely expelled from France. However, the British relied on their naval and air force advantages to avoid invasion.There is no way to force Britain to surrender, but there is also a lack of navy andStrategic bombingIn the case of troops, Hitler decided to turn the target to the east.He believed that as long as the Soviet Union was defeated, Britain could no longer support it.Hitler was proud of his amazing victory in Western Europe, and the Red Army attempted to invade Finland from 1939 to 1940Winter WarIt also showed to the world that the Red Army was corrupt and had low combat power at that time.Hitler believed that the Soviet Union was corrupt and could win in just a few months, so he did not need to prepare winter equipment, which later became one of the main reasons for the German army's defeat:
The whole Nazi policy was based onGeopoliticsThe concept of "living space" completely destroyed the political entity of the Soviet Union, so as to prepare the environment for the development of the future "Aryan" generation.In the spring of 1940, the lack of resources of the German war machine became more and more seriousBalkan PeninsulaThe conflict of interest also began to emerge, which made aggression against the Soviet Union gradually become the only way for Hitler in the future. Although German generals also said to Hitler that occupying the western half of Russia was more beneficial than harmful to the operation of the German war machine.
Hitler predicted that capturing the Soviet Union would have the following benefits:
When the Soviet Union was defeated, a large number of demobilized soldiers could supplement the labor shortage in German industry.
one
Ukraine can provide a lot of cheap food.
two
The occupation of the Soviet Union would enable Germany to have a large number of slave workers, which would greatly improve Germany's geostrategic situation.
three
Defeating the Soviet Union would further isolate Britain.
four
The German war machine desperately needed more oil, but only in the capture of the Soviet UnionBakuThis goal can only be achieved after oil producing areas.
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler received the German plan for invading the Soviet Union on December 5, 1940, and fully approved it. It is expected to start in May 1941.On December 18, Hitler signed the "Guide 21" to ask the German armySupreme CommandPrepare to "quickly knock down the Soviet Union", and set the target date for aggression as May 15, 1941.The Barbarossa plan assumes that the German Defense Forces can destroy the Red Army in a short timeDaugava River andDnieper RiverMost infantry divisions in the west proved that although the German army had indeed eliminated the number of the Soviet Red Army in this area, the strong strength of the Soviet Red Army's continuous reinforcement from the rear led to the failure of this assumption.
In order to prepare for the attack, Hitler dispatched 3206000 people to the German Soviet border, sent reconnaissance aircraft to sneak into the Soviet airspace for several times to survey, and also stored a large amount of military supplies on the eastern line.By February 1941, the German army hadRomania- 680000 people were deployed on the Soviet border.Even after such a huge preparatory process, the Soviet Union still did not anticipate the German army's intention and was completely unprepared when the war broke out.This is mainly because Stalin firmly believed that the Third Reich could not launch an attack within two years after the signing of the Molotov Ribbentrop Treaty, and he also firmly believed that Germany would not open up a new battlefield until it captured Britain.Although the Soviet intelligence department has repeatedly warned of the impending war, Stalin still refused to change his mind, believing that this was false information that Britain deliberately designed to let the Soviet Union and Germany fight.
The German government also contributed to this deception, revealing to Stalin that the German troops were only moved to stay away from the British bombers.Germany even explained to the Soviet Union that they deliberately wanted Britain to think that they were preparing to attack the Soviet Union, when in fact they were preparing to attack Soviet troops and supplies.Therefore, Stalin did not seriously prepare for a possible German invasion until the war broke out.It should be noted that Germany's communist spies are lurkingRichard ZorgeThe exact date of the attack was disclosed to Stalin before the war broke out, but this information was not taken seriously.Germany also launched a series of pretended attacks on Britain in April 1941, pretending to be gathering troops in Norway.These operations were coordinated with the high-profile naval vessel gathering, flight survey, and exercise operations, and deliberately revealed the details of the fictional invasion plan.
At the same time, German military planners began to studyNapoleonThey estimated the failure in the war of aggression against RussiaSoviet Red ArmyIt was impossible to retreat to the Russian mainland on a large scale after the invasion began, because they believed that Stalin could not abandon the Baltic countries, Ukraine and other places politically and militarily.
However, on the plan of aggression against the Soviet Union and the design of its main objectives, Hitler disagreed with the Supreme Command of the National Defense Force and many high-ranking generals. The Supreme Command believed that it should attack directlyMoscowHitler believed that the rich resources of Ukraine and the Baltic region should be seized before turning to Moscow.Hitler believed that Moscow was "unimportant", and that the key point should be to eliminate the main force of the Red Army west of Moscow.However, due to Italy's failure in Greece, the German army was forced to launch the Balkan Campaign on April 6, 1941 to rescue Italy. On June 1, the German army occupied all of Greece, but the Barbarossa plan was forced to be delayed for more than a month, which led to the German army's failure to occupy Moscow before the arrival of the Russian cold, and finally lost the German Soviet War.However, it should be noted that the Greek campaign ended on April 30, nearly two months apart in terms of time. According to the German restructuring capability at that time, casualties could be effectively supplemented.After comparing the three army groups and the troops fighting against Greece, it is found that only the 129th, 162nd and 256th Infantry Divisions of the 30th Army may have participated in two operations at the same time (it is not accurate in fact, because the commander of the 30th Army in Barbarosa and the commander of the 30th Army in Greece are not the same person, but this may also be due to transfer);However, there was no significant reduction in the number of personnel of the 30th Army in the battle.In 1952, a scientific study by the History Division of the British Cabinet Office concluded that the Balkan Campaign did not affect the implementation of the Barbarossa Operation,According to Robert Kirchbell, "The main reason for postponing the start date of the Barbarossa battle from May 15 to June 22 is that those arrangements are not completely logical, and the abnormal wet winter before made the river still flood until late spring." From this point of view, this argument does not hold water.
In the end, Hitler and the high-ranking generals reached a consensus that the invading forces should be divided into threeGroup Army Group, occupy specific regions and large cities respectively, divided into:
Northern Group Army Group(byWilliam Ritter von LoebMarshal)The 16th Army Group (byErnst Busch Command) 4th Armored Group Army (byErich Hoepner Command) 18th Army Group (byGeorg von TrichlerCommand) The 1st Air Fleet (commanded by Alfred Keller) Target: under the cover of more than 1000 aircraftEast PrussiaStarting, passing through Devonsk and Ostrov, crossing the central and western regions of the Soviet Union (today's Belarus) to occupy or destroyLeningradThe total force is 29 divisions:
Southern Group Army Group (byLundstedtMarshal)The 17th Group Army (under the command of Karl Heinrich von Sturpunger) The 1st Armored Group Army (under the command ofPaul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist Command) 11th Army Group (under the command of Ogen Ritter von Schobert) 6th Army Group (under the command of Ogen Ritter von Schobert)Walther von Reichenau Command) The 4th Air Fleet (commanded by Alexander Rolle) aims to attack the densely populated agricultural heartland under the cover of more than 1400 aircraft -Ukraine, onLublinGo to the Danube Estuary to attackKiev, thenDonbasAttack, then enter the Russian steppe in the south untilVolga RiverAnd the oil rich Caucasus, with a total force of 63 divisions:
Soviet background
The Soviet Union in the early 1940s could not be underestimated in all aspects.
The rapid industrialization of the Soviet Union in the 1930s raised the industrial production to the second place in the world, second only to the United States and on a par with Germany.The production of military equipment also increased rapidly. Before the war, the economy had turned to military production.
In the early 1930s, the Red Army also developed a set of modern operational theories, which were promulgated as the operational principles of the whole army in 1936.
Soviet military development from 1939 to 1941
January 1, 1939
June 22, 1941
1941/1939 %
Division troops
one hundred and thirty-one point five
three hundred and sixteen point five
two hundred and forty point seven
Total number of people
two million four hundred and eighty-five thousand
five million three hundred and seventy-three thousand
two hundred and thirty-two point four
artillery
fifty-five thousand and eight hundred
one hundred and seventeen thousand and six hundred
two hundred and ten point seven
Tank
twenty-one thousand and one hundred
twenty-five thousand and seven hundred
one hundred and twenty-one point eight
aircraft
seven thousand and seven hundred
eighteen thousand and seven hundred
two hundred and forty-two point eight
In 1941, under the secret control of the German army, the number of Soviet troops on the Soviet German border was surpassed by the German army.However, in June 1941, the total number of Soviet troops was up to 5 million, more than the total number of ground troops dispatched by Germany to participate in the Battle of Barbarosa.In addition, the large-scale military mobilization of the Soviet Union has steadily increased the number of the Red Army, enabling the Soviet Union to invest more troops than Germany to the front.Since the forces of both sides were uncertain, on the whole, the forces of both sides were evenly matched in the battle of 1941.
The Soviet Union has many advantages in the comparison of some weapons.The advantage of the Red Army in tanks is particularly obvious. The total number of tanks owned by the Red Army is up to 23204, of which 12782 are distributed in five military regions of Western Russia (three of which are directly facing the German Soviet front).andGerman Defense ForcesThe total number of tanks is about 5200, of which only 3350 participated in the war against Russia.This made the gap between the Red Army and the German Army in the number of available tanks as high as 4:1.The Soviet Union also hadT-34 tank(However, in the course of the war against Germany, the Soviet Union did not give the exact answer to the actual loss data), and the fastest BT-8 tank.The Soviet Union also had an overwhelming advantage in the number of guns. The 122mm A-19 gun was even the best gun in the world at that time.The number of the most advanced Soviet tanks was not large during the war. However, in the first half of 1941, some of the tanks and some of the fighter planes produced by the Soviet military machinery were of modern design.
However,German Air ForceOn the other hand, Hejun has excellent training and operational experience in other battlefields before the formal attack on the Soviet Union, which greatly offset the quantitative advantage of the Soviet Union in terms of quality.In the Soviet Union, a large number of experienced Red Army officers and commandersHeavy cleaning(1935-1938) was killed by Stalin, and one third of the Red Army officers and almost all senior generals were executed or exiled toSiberiaInstead, a large number of officers with "political experience" but no combat experience will replace them.Three of the five marshals were executed, and two thirds of the corps and division commanders also suffered the same fate.In total, 30000 Red Army leaders were executed.This resulted in a large number of young and poorly trained officers in the Red Army;For example, in 1941, 75% of the officers in the Red Army had not served for more than one year.The average age of the Red Army Corps commander is 12 years less than that of the German division commander. These officers often lack the willingness to take active action on the battlefield, and a large part of them are simply not competent for their positions.
Most Soviet units remained in a peaceful state when the war broke out, which can also explain whySoviet Air ForceThe fighter planes of the German Air Force were closely arranged beside the runway (instead of being evacuated), and were easily destroyed by the bombing forces of the German Air Force.The Soviet air force was prohibited from attacking German reconnaissance aircraft until the war broke out, and a large number of German reconnaissance aircraft were allowed to enter Soviet airspace for survey.Although the Soviet air force has thousands of fighters, most of them are extremely old, such asI-15andI-16, and advanced models such asMiG aircraftAnd Ravochijin are rare.Few fighter planes have radios, and those with radios often fail. The lack of information encryption equipment allows the German army to eavesdrop easily.At the same time, the Soviet pilots' air combat experience and technology are extremely backward.
The deployment of the Red Army troops is quite scattered and unprepared. The troops are often unable to contact each other, and there is also a lack of transportation to gather the effective combat power.Although the Red Army has many advanced artillery, many of them are not equipped with ammunition.Artillery units also lack means of transport to deploy quickly.The number of tank units is large and well equipped, but they are extremely inexperienced and lack logistical support, and the level of maintenance is also very poor.Tank units are often rushed to the battlefield without any arrangement of fuel, ammunition or personnel supply.The tank is usually destroyed or reimbursed after a battle.
Before the war, the propaganda machine of the Soviet Union always publicized the strength of the Red Army, claiming that any aggression against the Soviet Union would be easily repulsed.
Stalin's headstrong personality made him unable to accept any harsh suggestions from his subordinates, coupled with his blind confidence in the non aggression treaty, at the beginning of 1941, he increasingly overestimated the strength of the Soviet Union.In the spring of 1941, Stalin's intelligence agency repeatedly warned that Germany was about to launch an invasion, but Stalin did not pay attention to it.Although Stalin and his staff were also aware of the possibility of attack, the Soviet Union decided to avoid provoking Hitler because of Stalin's superstition about the strength of the Red Army.The consequence of this series of mistakes was that the Soviet border forces did not enter a state of alert when the war began. Even when they were attacked, they had to ask for permission from the top before they were allowed to fight back. Although the Soviet Union began to implement a local alert on April 10, this did not play a role in the German attack.Stalin also refused to fully mobilize the army.
At that time, 41% of the Red Army bases were concentrated less than 200 kilometers from the border. According to the instructions of the Red Army, a large number of fuel, equipment, trains, etc. were also stored there.However, due to the red army's careless changes in tactical theory, the combat effectiveness of these forces has been greatly weakened.The original tactics adopted by the Soviet Union in 1938 were as follows: connect other countries with a standard linear defensive front, the infantry troops would build strong fortifications on the defensive line, and the tanks would cooperate with the infantry to provide support.
But in 1940Battle of FranceThe result caused great shock. The French army (the first is the Red Army), which was the second largest in the world at that time, was completely defeated by the German army in less than six weeks.The Soviet Union analyzed this result, but the analysis data was not comprehensive. The analysis results believed that the collapse of France was caused by excessive reliance on front defense and lack of armored force support.The Soviet Union decided not to repeat the mistakes, so it abandoned the Hori trench defense tactics and instead adopted the tactics of concentrating infantry troops into large-scale mobile teams.All tanks are concentrated into 31 hugeMechanizationLegion, claim that every legion will be better than the German armyPanzerkorps Large (but few legions reach this scale until the war breaks out).The situation predicted by the Soviet Union was that once Germany launched an attack, the German vanguard's armored forces would be cut off and destroyed by the mechanized corps, and then the mechanized corps would destroy the remaining German infantry together with the infantry.In the southern Ukraine, a large number of troops were stationed to prepare for the strategic encirclement of the German army after the outbreak of the war: after the destruction of the German Southern Army Group, they attacked Poland northward, surrounded the German Central Army Group and the Northern Army Group, and the German army in the encirclement would soon be completely wiped out, so that Nazi Germany would surely be defeated.
Comparison of forces on the German Soviet border on June 22, 1941
German and allied forces
Soviet Red Army
contrast
Division (only infantry)
one hundred and eighty-one
one hundred and seventy
1.08：1
personnel
5 million 500 thousand
4 million 300 thousand[1]
1.28：1
artillery
forty-seven thousand and two hundred
thirty-two thousand and nine hundred
1.43：1
Tank
four thousand and three hundred
fourteen thousand and two hundred
0.30：1
aircraft
two thousand
nine thousand and two hundred
0.21：1
Mikhail Meltyukhov, a Russian historian, proposed a different version:
German and allied forces
Soviet Red Army
contrast
Division (only infantry)
one hundred and sixty-six
one hundred and ninety
0.87：1
personnel
four million three hundred and six thousand and eight hundred
three million two hundred and eighty-nine thousand eight hundred and fifty-one
1.3：1
artillery
forty-two thousand six hundred and one
fifty-nine thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven
0.7：1
Tanks (including assault guns)
four thousand one hundred and seventy-one
fifteen thousand six hundred and eighty-seven
0.27：1
aircraft
four thousand eight hundred and forty-six
ten thousand seven hundred and forty-three
0.45：1
Operation Barbarossa
After the German army invaded the Soviet Union,Nazi Germany It claimed that the Red Army had a systematic plan to invade them before then, so the war was just a preemptive attack.Many German leaders also raised this point after the war, such asWilhelm Keitel 。
frontGru Victor Suvolov, an intelligence officer and later a historian, was one of the important figures who publicized the Soviet aggression plan. In his book Icebreaker, he advocated that Stalin's plan was to let Hitler kill each other with European countries before the Soviet Union invaded Europe significantly.He claimed that Stalin cooperated with Hitler only under this long-term plan, although the expansion and preparations of the Red Army in the same period showed that they were preparing to "liberate Europe".Suvolov believed that Barbarossa was an attack by Nazi Germany on the Soviet Red Army's troops concentrated at the border in order to preempt. Other historians who supported the Soviet doctrine of preemptive attack, such as Mikhail Meltyukhov, denied this, believing that both sides were prepared to attack in advance, rather than responding to the other's military subordinates.
Since the theory was put forward, the evidence uncovered includesZhukov The proposed first attack plan blueprint, which is alsoAlexander WassilevskyAndNicola Fedorovich VatujingApproved.Zhukov's plan included the secret mobilization of the Red Army, which deployed a large number of troops on the border under the pretext of training, in order to cut off the connection between Germany and its allies, such as Romania, after the attack began, thereby cutting off Germany's oil supply.
Although the theory of Soviet preemptive aggression has received extensive attention in many countries, and has also been supported by a large number of Russian historians after the Cold War, western historians have not yet fully accepted this theory.
On June 14, 16, 17 and 18, 1941, Moscow received several high-level intelligence reports in succession.The intelligence provided details of the German "Barbarossa" plan, including the date of the attack, the exact number of tanks of the three German front armies, and even the names of the senior generals of the group army.The information was so detailed that the Soviets could not believe itRudolf LesslerGerman.
Campaign process
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Schematic Diagram of Barbarosa Plan
The Axis election launched its offensive at 3:45 a.m. (3:00 a.m., 4:30 a.m.) on June 22, 1941.It is difficult to calculate the force distribution of both sides in specific areas at this stage, because most German army lists include many reservists who have not yet participated in the war, and it is also difficult to effectively calculate the strength comparison between the two sides.A reasonable calculation is that about 2.6 million German troops entered the combat state on June 22, and the Soviet military region they faced also had a similar number of Red Army troops.The German raid had a complete effect: although the Soviet UnionheadquartersAfter receiving the report of German troops approaching, they issued a warning to the border forces at 00:30 a.m., but none of them was preparing for war at that time.It is said that Stalin was stunned by the news of German invasion and did not officially make a statement to the whole country until July 3, a week or two later.
The biggest shock brought to the Soviet Red Army by the raid was not the time of the raid, but the number and close cooperation of the German troops who attacked the Soviet territory at the same time.About 3.2 million German ground troops were put into the offensive on the eastern front, accompanied by 360000RomaniaThe army, the Hungarian army with more than 44000 people, the Finnish army with 470000 people, and the Italian army with 60900 people,FinlandThe attack was launched from the north.However, while confronting these enemy forces, the Soviet Red Army also continued to carry out large-scale reinforcement,On June 22, 1941, the Soviet Red Army on the western front had about 4.3 million troops[1]Although the half year war caused a staggering number of 900000 deaths and injuries, by the end of the year, it had jumped to more than 4 million (the Soviet domestic forces and reserve forces were not included).The German Air Force claimed to have destroyed 1489 Red Army warplanes on the first day of the invasion, while it lost only 35 of its own.In fact, the losses of the Soviet air force in the first few days were more serious than the German army estimated. A total of 3922 aircraft were destroyed in the first three days.
The German attack speed completely paralyzed the defense plan of the Soviet Red Army, and the serious lack of radio and communication equipment also made it difficult for the Soviet Red Army to coordinate operations with each other.
The German offensive also ignited the independence movement of many Soviet occupying powers, on June 22, 1941LithuaniaAn anti Soviet uprising took place and the declaration of independence was issued the next day.About 30000LithuanianJoin the mutiny.As the German offensive to the north progressed, the rebellion spread toEstoniaHas.
Although the first half of the offensive progressed smoothly, Germany still did not win the final goal - Moscow.Many people believe that Germany's biggest mistake was to delay the launch of the attack.The planned attack was launched on May 15, but in AprilMussoliniaboutAlbaniaHitler decided to send German troops to help, although the German army easily conqueredYugoslaviaandGreeceHowever, this unexpected episode delayed the attack plan to June 22, which shortened the already short Russian summer.However, there were other reasons for the delay. The late spring of 1941 in Russia and the long rainy season in June paralyzed many roads in the western Soviet Union, or made it impossible for heavy vehicles to pass.During the whole battle, Hitler transferred the main armored forces that had attacked Moscow to the south to take part in the capture of UkraineBattle of KievThe battle ended in an unprecedented victory for the German army, which captured more than 650000 Soviet Red Army, but this action also further delayed the time for the German army to attack Moscow.When the German army began to attack Moscow, the bog caused by the heavy rain in autumn, the cold in winter, and the tenacious resistance of the Red Army finally stopped the German offensive.
At the same time, the Soviet Union's resistance force also surprised Germany.stayBelarusA fortress in Brest illustrates the tenacious resistance spirit of the Soviet Red Army: in the first day of the German offensive, it was originally expected that only a few hours of surprise attack would capture the fortress, but it was not won until the end of July (the Soviet propaganda claimed that it lasted six weeks).German logistics has become one of the main problems. With the progress of the war, the German supply line has also been extended, and it is more vulnerable to the Soviet Unionguerrilla detachmentAttacks.Adopted by the Soviet UnionScorched earth policyDestroy all the land to be evacuated, making it impossible for Germany to use its food, fuel, and buildings.
Despite these setbacks, the German army continued to advance. In the half year war, the German army showed brilliant art of war, and repeatedly destroyed hundreds of thousands of Soviet Red Army or forced them to surrender by encirclement tactics.Battle of KievEspecially bloody, the Southern Group Army captured Kiev in mid November, and captured more than 650000 Soviet Red Army.
The Northern Group Army continued to move towardsLeningradIn August 1941, they attacked the southern suburbs of Leningrad, but then faced the stubborn resistance of the Soviet Union and had to stop.Fearing that a direct siege would cause a large number of casualties, the German commander decided to destroy the resistance by means of containment.Despite the penetration threat of the German army, relentless bombing and shelling, and serious food and fuel shortages, the Red Army still firmly held Leningrad until the besieged German army was repulsed in early 1944.The siege of Leningrad resulted in the death and injury of nearly one million residents.
The main reasons for the serious defeat of the Soviet army in 1941 were the successful German raid and the internal problems of the Soviet Red Army.
At that time, the German army in 1941 could be said to be the most well trained and experienced force in the world. The German army had the advanced tactical theory of mobility and annihilation, nearly perfect communication technology, and confidence brought by continuous victory.In contrast, the Soviet forces were seriously lacking in leadership, training and preparation. The Soviet Union assumed that there would be no war before 1942. Therefore, when Germany invaded, the Soviet Red Army was in the stage of restructuring and weapons were also in the stage of testing.At the same time, a large number of Soviet troops were concentrated on the German Soviet border (occupied Polish territory), but they lacked proper defense, which led to the complete annihilation of these troops within a few weeks after the war.Many Soviet troops were also severely restricted by the principle of non aggression and non aggressive provocation issued by the senior leadership. After the war, they were ordered to "fight back in place and then fight back" (making them very vulnerable in the face of German encirclement). At the same time, the troops generally lacked experienced officers, and the dull and corrupt bureaucracy was also quite common.The incompetence of the leadership of the Soviet Red Army had already been demonstrated in the previous attack on Finland.
The tactics adopted by the Soviet Union in the weeks after the war led to disastrous results.At the beginning, the Red Army completely overestimated its combat capability, and the mechanized corps not only failed to defeat the German armyArmored Division, also suffered from the German Air ForceDive bomberHeavy losses due to intensive attacks.The poor maintenance of Soviet tanks, coupled with the inexperience of tank soldiers, led to an alarming failure rate. At the same time, spare parts and trucks responsible for logistical support were also very scarce.However, the abandonment of trench digging tactics by the infantry troops also led to disastrous results. In the case of low mobility and no tank support, the Soviet infantry troops could not flexibly deploy on the battlefield.
Although Germany was ultimately unable to reach the goal of the Barbarossa war, the huge losses suffered by the Soviet Union made the Soviet propaganda machine begin to adjust the propaganda content.Before the war, the Soviet government always publicized the invincibility of the Red Army, but by autumn the propaganda tone had changed to "the Red Army became weak, the time for preparing for the war was insufficient, and the German attack was too sudden".
Another explanation is that the Soviet UnionhistorianWicket Suvorov put forward that he believed that the reason why the Soviet Union was defeated at the beginning was not due to insufficient defense preparation, but just the opposite - because Stalin was preparing to attack Germany on his own initiative, and the whole battle in Barbarosa was just a preemptive counterattack of the German army.He pointed out that the Red Army soldiers at that time were not equipped with maps of defensive areas, on the contrary, they were equipped with maps of areas occupied by Germany.Suvorov's claim is quite controversial, and many western historians also criticized him for not putting forward any factual basis to prove this theory.
Campaign outcome
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The whole Barbarossa battle started in NovemberMoscow CampaignThe Central Group Army, which was responsible for attacking Moscow, was ordered to continue to attack despite the shortage of supplies caused by the mud in autumn;The progress of the German army reached its limit at the beginning of December 1941, and the forward troops had pushed to the outskirts of Moscow, and even sawKremlinA spiral spire.However, Stalin still had hundreds of thousands ofSiberiaThe troops who came to support them, equipped with good winter equipment and supplies, and a large number of young people who could be armed into militia, soon repulsed all German troops approaching Moscow, and pushed back to the front line before winter in the next counterattack.
In contrast, the German army at this time was seriously short of oil, winter equipment, food, and there was no place to hide, so they had to stay in place to endure the harsh winter.The German army was finally able to block the Soviet Union's counterattack, but it suffered very heavy losses.
At the same time, capturing Moscow is also one of the keys to Germany's victory.Historians have been debating whether the Soviet capital would have been completely collapsed if the Barbarossa war had really captured the Soviet capital?
In December 1941, the United States also declared war on the Axis powers. In just six months, Germany's strategic position was completely reversed, because Germany's military production capacity was simply unable to cope with a long-term war.
The result of the Barbarossa war was equally unfavourable to the Soviet Union and Germany.Although Germany could not succeed in capturing Moscow, they seized a huge territory in the western part of the Soviet Union within half a year, including Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States, and a large area of western Moscow.This is equivalent to 500000 square miles of land, and 75 million people. In fact, Germany continued to seize 250000 square miles of land in the next 1.2 years, and was not repulsed until the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk.In these occupied areas, the guerrillas who resisted German rule grew rapidly, and Germany also relentlessly suppressed them.Germany also continued to hold on to these lands, and both sides suffered more losses in many subsequent battles.
The bloody Eastern Front Campaign lasted for four years, and the number of people killed in this war may never be accurately calculated.The total number of Soviet troops killed in battle was about 8.7 million, while the number of civilians killed was still controversial, and the number often cited was as high as 20 million.It is also difficult to accurately calculate the number of German troops killed in battle. The highest figure (R ü diger Overmans) is 4.3 million German troops and 900000 other Axis troops. This figure includes the number of people killed in battle and the number of people killed during Soviet captivity.
By December 1941, more than 2.4 million Red Army personnel had been captured by the German army. Germany's treatment of the Red Army prisoners made it possible that millions would die of cold, hunger, disease, etc. at the end of the war.Stalin exiled German prisoners of war and Soviet soldiers who had been captured by Germany to labor camps.Ethnic minorities have also been exiled to concentration camps in the east.Examples include: 439000 people lived inWowa RiverAnd 300000 German citizens from other regions were collectively deported toKazakhstan；In May 1944, 182000Crimean Tatars Deported toUzbekistan；Chechen(393000) andIngushetian(91000) was also completely deported to Kazakhstan in 1944.
Campaign evaluation
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The main reason for the failure of the Barbarossa battle was that the Soviet Union and the Red Army underestimated their resistance and willingness.At the same time, the German army's war plans were not consistent, and the planned logistical preparations were not perfect.At the end of 1941, the German army found itself facing the situation that the strength of the Red Army was gradually increasing, while the German army's combat power was gradually weakening due to some factors.This is mainly due to the excessive extension of the deployment area, the difficulty in transportation, the bad weather, and the wear and tear of the troops after six months of war.The shortage of infantry troops has not improved since September 1941, but has worsened over time.The discomfort of the climate, the shortage of food and the long battle line doomed the German army to failure.Until the end of the war, the German army was in a dilemma of lacking infantry and suppliesNapoleonThe failure of the Russian conquest is often used as a comparative example.
Underestimating the potential of the Soviet Union
Germany greatly underestimated the mobilization potential of the Soviet Union: the main number of Red Army mobilized (units that have been trained and can participate in the war in a short period of time) was twice as high as Germany had estimated.By the beginning of August, a large number of units that had been wiped out had been replaced by new units.Just like the German armyChief of the General StaffFranz Halder In a diary on August 11, 1941, it was written: "We initially calculated that the enemy had about 200 divisions, but now there are 360 divisions that have been identified." By the end of 1941, the Soviet Union had rebuilt and expanded the number of 825 division level units, and this has not reached the Soviet Union's 10 million mobilization potential.This fact almost represents the defeat of the Barbarossa battle. Germany must suspend the battle for a month to wait for new supplies. When they launch the offensive again, only six weeks are left before the beginning of the autumn muddy period.
On the other hand, the Red Army also immediately replaced a large amount of losses. When the soldiers recruited by the division level troops before the war were killed, new soldiers immediately replaced them. In the war, the Soviet Union almost recruited more than 500000 people to join the army every month.The potential of the Soviet Union to mobilize a large number of troops in a short period of time (although all of them were poorly trained and poorly equipped) eventually enabled the Soviet Union to survive the critical first half of the year, while Germany's underestimation of the Soviet Union's potential led to the impracticality of the Barbarosa battle plan.
At the same time, the Soviet intelligence unit correctly analyzed that Japan would not join the war against the Soviet Union, which enabled the Soviet Union to transfer its troops stationed in the Far East backEastern EuropeBattlefield support.
Even if Germany really achieved the original goal of the warArkhangelsk—Volga RiverOn the front, the war is unlikely to end here.The Soviet Union still has vast territory in the east, and at the same time, the Soviet Union has moved war industries toUral MountainsTherefore, the war may continue for some time.
Deficiencies in logistics planning
From the very beginning, the objective of Barbarosa's battle was quite unrealistic.The war began in dry summer, which was the most suitable season for German operations. The German army raided and wiped out a large number of Soviet troops in the first few weeks.But when the ideal season passed and the harsh autumn and winter came, the Soviet army had recovered some strength, while the German offensive began to suffer.The German army could not get enough supplies after a long battle;The lack of oil also doomed the German army to be unable to achieve the intended goal.
This difficulty was perceived by German logistics units even before the war, but their warnings were ignored by German military leaders.The whole German plan is based on the assumption that the Red Army will completely collapse within five weeks, and then the German army will be able to obtain complete strategic freedom. Only a few mobile units need to supply the necessary oil to occupy the whole country, so there is no need to worry about the supply problem after five weeks.This assumption is basically based on the performance of the Soviet Red Army during the Soviet Finnish War. However, from the perspective of the performance of the Soviet German War, this assumption is unrealistic.
German infantry and armored forces advanced 300 miles in the first week, but their supply lines could hardly keep up with the speed of the attack.Due to the difference of railway gaugerailway networkIt cannot be used unless trains with the same gauge are produced.The slow speed transport vehicles on the railway and road also became the ideal targets of the Soviet guerrillas.The lack of supplies seriously delayed the German armyBlitz warfareProgress of.
Germany's logistics plan also seriously overestimated the availability of the Soviet Union's railway transport network.The roads and railways in Poland are still in good condition, but the part that goes deep into the territory of the Soviet Union has limited information. In fact, the deep roads marked on the map are often only rough dust roads, or even not paved at all.
In the whole war, perhaps no other factor was so misunderstood by later generations as the weather.The climate is the "neutral" role in the war. The party who is best prepared for the climate will gain the most advantages, while the party who ignores the preparation will experience the consequences.The underestimate of the Red Army's strength made the German army face the threat of adverse climate.
A military study conducted by the United States pointed out that Hitler's plan had failed before the harsh winter weather came;He was so confident about the possibility of quick victory that he had no psychological preparation for the war to be postponed to winter.In the first five months of the invasion, the German army suffered a total of 734000 deaths and injuries (about 23% of the total number of 3200000). On November 27, 1941, the general of the German army's military supplies department, Edward Wagner, declared: "We have reached the limit of human and material resources. We are about to face the danger of winter."
German logistic horses trapped in mud
But the German army was still not prepared to cope with the harsh weather and the harsh conditions of the Soviet transport network.In the autumn, the bad road conditions delayed the progress of the German army.The ground of the Soviet Union is loose sand in summer, thick mud in autumn, and snow in winter.The narrow wheelbase of German tanks made them very lack of adhesion and floating force when moving in mud.In contrast, the design of new Soviet tanks such as T-34 and KV series heavy tanks has considered these issues.The German army had 600000 Western European horses used to supply and transport artillery, but the huge horses were difficult to function in this climate.The smaller ponies used by the Red Army are more suitable for the local climate.
The German army was almost unprepared for the harsh weather in the autumn and winter of 1941.Germany already has enough winter equipment, but due to the limitation of transportation capacity, it is unable to distribute these equipment to the front.As a result, the army was unable to obtain proper winter clothing. Some soldiers also stuffed newspapers into their jackets to keep warm, while the temperature at that time was as low as - 30 ℃.In order to operate the heater and heater, German soldiers had to use the gasoline that was very scarce as fuel.Soviet soldiers, on the other hand, were equipped with warm and lined overcoats, military boots with underlays, and fur covered hats.
Some German weapons could not work in such cold weather.ordinaryLubricating oilUnable to work at extremely low temperatures, resulting in tank and truck engine failure, machine guns and other automatic shooting weapons can not fire normally.In order to load the shells into the tank's main gun, the tank soldiers must first scrape off the frozen lubricating oil stuck in the gun barrel with a knife.The Soviet army suffered less from these problems because they had already experienced the local cold winter for many years.The German army must cover the aircraft engine with blankets to prevent the engine from freezing.And the gasoline necessary to run all tanks and trucks will freeze because of the cold winter.Most Soviet trucks and old tanks also use gasoline, but newly produced tanks have been replaced by diesel that will not freeze.
A common misconception about Russia's winter operations is that all military operations will stop because of mud and heavy snow.But in fact, the military action was only slowed down by these factors. The difference was that the German army suffered a greater degree of slowness, while the well prepared Soviet Red Army suffered less.The Soviet Union's counterattack in December 1941 drove the German army back as far as 100 miles in some areas, proving that as long as sufficient preparations were made, mobile operations could still be carried out in the cold winter.When the harsh winter began, Hitler worried that the German army would follow Napoleon's hasty withdrawal from Moscow, so he ordered the German troops to defend their stronghold against the Soviet counterattack.
