Operation Barbarossa

OPERATION BARBAROSSA

"Operation Barbarossa" was the name given by the Germans to their invasion of the Soviet Union, starting June 22, 1941. The operation was named after the medieval Holy Roman emperor Frederick Barbarossa, whom legend claimed would return to restore Germany's greatness.

In the last half of 1941 Germany and its allies conquered the Baltic states, Belarus, almost all of Ukraine, and western Russia. They surrounded Leningrad and advanced to the gates of Moscow. The Red Army lost millions of soldiers and thousands of tanks and aircraft as it reeled back from the German onslaught. Nevertheless the Soviet government was able to evacuate entire factories from threatened areas to Siberia and Central Asia. It was able to raise and arm new armies to face the Germans and finally halt their advance. Helped by Germany's ruthless policy in conquered Slavic areas, the Soviet government was able to rally the population against the invader. By December 1941 the Red Army was able to mount a successful counteroffensive against the overextended Germans.

The initial German attack in 1941 involved three million troops and three thousand tanks but nevertheless achieved strategic surprise, catching the Soviet air force on the ground and most troops far from their operational areas. In spite of the unmistakable signs of a military build-up along the border, German reconnaissance flights over the western Soviet Union, and warnings from sources as diverse as communist spies and the British government, the Soviet government refused to mobilize for war. It preferred to avoid any action that might spark an accidental conflict, and this inaction proved disastrous once the war began.

In the first months of the war German armored spearheads sliced through the unprepared, disorganized Red Army, encircling entire armies near Minsk, Kiev, and Viazma. The German success came at a great price, though. Casualties mounted, and supply lines became more tenuous as they lengthened. Soviet resistance stiffened as the Red Army deployed new tanks (T-34 and KV-1) and artillery (Katyusha rockets) that were technically much better than their German counterparts. Soviet reinforcements also poured in from the Far East after the Soviet spy Richard Sorge reported that Japan planned to move south against the United States and Great Britain rather than attack Siberia. A final factor in the USSR's survival was the weather. Optimistic German planners expected to complete the conquest of Russia before the onset of the autumn rains. The delay in the start of the invasion due to the Balkans campaign, the unknown depth of the Red Army's reserves, and its unexpectedly strong resistance meant that the German army faced winter in the field without suitable clothing or equipment.

It also faced a Soviet population mobilized for resistance. Soviet propaganda publicized German atrocities against the civil population and lauded the suicidal bravery of pilots who crashed their planes into German bombers and of foot soldiers who died blowing up enemy tanks. Restrictions against the Orthodox Church were loosened, and church leaders joined party leaders in defiantly calling for a Holy War (the name of a popular song) against the foe. While the Soviet Union suffered enormous damage in 1941, it was not defeated.

See also: germany, relations with; sorge, richard; world war ii

bibliography

Erickson, John. (1999). The Road to Stalingrad. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Glantz, David, and House, Jonathan. (1995). When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.

A. Delano DuGarm