![]() ![]() 5.2 Phase 2: Battle of Smolensk (3 July – 5 August 1941).5.1 Phase 1: The frontier battles (22 June – 3 July 1941).1.1 Nazi Germany policy towards the Soviet Union.Germany deliberately starved the prisoners to death as part of its " Hunger Plan", i.e., the program to reduce the Eastern European population. The German forces captured over three million Soviet prisoners of war in 1941, who were not granted the protection stipulated in the Geneva Conventions. Regions covered by the operation became the site of some of the largest battles, deadliest atrocities, highest casualties, and most horrific conditions for Soviets and Germans alike-all of which influenced the course of both World War II and 20th-century history. Most importantly, Operation Barbarossa opened up the Eastern Front, to which more forces were committed than in any other theater of war in world history. Its failure was a turning point in the Third Reich's fortunes. Operation Barbarossa was the largest military operation in world history in both manpower and casualties. Operation Barbarossa 's failure led to Hitler's demands for further operations inside the USSR, all of which eventually failed, such as continuing the Siege of Leningrad, Operation Nordlicht, and Operation Blue, among other battles on occupied Soviet territory. The Red Army repelled the Wehrmacht 's strongest blow, and forced an unprepared Germany into a war of attrition with the largest nation on Earth. The Germans could never again mount a simultaneous offensive along the entire strategic Soviet–German front. Despite these successes, the German offensive stalled on the outskirts of Moscow and was then pushed back by a Soviet counter offensive without having taken the city. Tactically, the Germans won resounding victories and occupied some of the most important economic areas of the Soviet Union, mainly in Ukraine. ![]() 21) for a start date of, but this would not be met, and instead the invasion began on 22 June 1941. The invasion was authorized by Hitler on 18 December 1940 ( Directive No. Operation Barbarossa was named after Frederick Barbarossa, the medieval Holy Roman Emperor. The German invasion of the Soviet Union caused a high rate of fatalities: 95 percent of all German Army casualties that occurred from 1941 to 1944, and 65 percent of all Allied military casualties from the entire war. It marked the beginning of the pivotal phase in deciding the victors of the war. The ambitious operation was driven by Adolf Hitler's persistent desire to conquer the Soviet territories as embodied in Generalplan Ost. In addition to troops, Barbarossa initially used 600,000 motor vehicles and 625,000 horses. Over the course of the operation, about four million soldiers of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km (1,800 mi) front, the largest invasion in the history of warfare. Operation Barbarossa (German: Fall Barbarossa, literally "Case Barbarossa"), beginning 22 June 1941, was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. However, Soviet losses resulting from the Finnish offensive are included in the totals.Ģ5,513 Finns died of their wounds in 1941. It was not a member of the Axis powers, and the Finnish offensive was coordinated with but distinct from this operation. ~500,000 Soviet reservist captured during mobilization (estimated from Soviet archives) ġFinland was a co-belligerent that launched its own offensive on 25 June.3,355,499 prisoners of war taken by the Axis in the entire eastern sector, including Norway (according to AOK Wehrmacht reports).1,336,147 total medical losses for Red Army.3,137,673 irrecoverable losses for Red Army.2,335,482 Red personnel missing in action. ![]()
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