invasion

UnderthecodenameOperation”Barbarossa，”NaziGermanyinvadedtheSovietUniononJune22，

1941inthelargestGermanmilitaryoperationofWorldWarII.

ThedestructionoftheSovietUnionbymilitaryforce,thepermanenteliminationoftheperceived

CommunistthreattoGermany，andtheizureofprimelandwithinSovietbordersforlong-term

Gitlerhad

alwaysregardedtheGerman-Sovietnonaggressionpact,signedonAugust23，1939，asa

temporarytacticalmaneuver。InJuly1940，justweeksaftertheGermanconquestofFranceandthe

LowCountries，HitlerdecidedtoattacktheSovietUnionwithinthefollowingyear。OnDecember18，

1940，hesignedDirective21(code-namedOperation”Barbarossa"),thefirstoperationalorderforthe

invasionoftheSovietUnion.

Fromthebeginningofoperationalplanning,German

militaryandpoliceauthoritiesintendedtowageawarof

annihilationagainsttheCommuniststateaswellasthe

JewsoftheSovietUnion,whomtheycharacterizedas

formingthe"racialbasis”fortheSovietstate。Duringthe

winterandspringmonthsof1941，officialsoftheArmy

HighCommand(OberkommandodesHeeres—OKH)and

theReichSecurityMainOffice

(Reichssicherheitshauptamt-RSHA）negotiatedarrangementsforthedeploymentofspecialunits

（Einsatzgruppen)oftheSecurityPoliceandtheSecurityService(Sicherheitsdienst-SD）behind

thefrontlinestophysicallyannihilateJews,Communistsandotherpersonsdeemedtobedangerous

toestablishmentoflong—termGermanruleonSovietterritory.

With134Divisionsatfullfightingstrengthand73moredivisionsfordeploymentbehindthefront，

GermanforcesinvadedtheSovietUniononJune22,1941,lessthantwoyearsafterthe

German-SovietPactwassigned。Threearmygroups，includingmorethanthreemillionGerman

soldiers，supportedby650，000troopsfromGermany’sallies(FinlandandRomania),andlater

augmentedbyunitsfromItaly，Croatia，SlovakiaandHungary，attackedtheSovietUnionacross

abroadfront,fromtheBalticSeainthenorthtotheBlackSeainthesouth。Formonths，theSoviet

leadershiphadrefudtoheedwarningsfromtheWesternPowersoftheGermantroopbuildup

alongitswesternborder。GermanyanditsAxispartnersthusachievedalmostcompletetactical

theexistingSovietairforcewasdestroyedontheground;theSovietarmieswere

initiallyoverwhelmed。GermanunitncircledmillionsofSovietsoldiers,who，cutofffromsupplies

andreinforcements,hadfewoptionsotherthantosurrender.

GermanconquestsinEurope,

1939-1942

Seemaps

OperationBarbarossa

Barbarossa’soperationalgoalwasrapidconquestoftheEuropeanpart

oftheSovietUnionwestofalineconnectingthecitiesofArkhangelsk

andAstrakhan,oftencalledtheA-Aline(ethetranslationofHitler’s

directivefordetails）.AtitndinJanuary1942,theRedArmyhad

repelledtheWehrmacht'itlerhadnotachieved

theexpectedvictory，buttheSovietUnion'ssituationremaineddire.

Tactically,theGermanshadwonsomeresoundingvictoriesandoccupied

someofthemostimportanteconomicareasofthecountry,mainlyin

Ukraine.[13]Despitethesuccess,theGermanswerepushedbackfrom

Moscowandcouldnevermountanoffensivesimultaneouslyalongtheentire

strategicSoviet—Germanfrontagain.［14］

OperationBarbarossa’sfailureledtoHitler'sdemandsforfurther

operationsinsidetheUSSR，allofwhicheventuallyfailed，suchas

continuingtheSiegeofLeningrad,［15][16］OperationNordlicht,andBattle

ofStalingrad,amongotherbattlesontheoccupiedSovietterritory.［17]

［18][19］[20][21］

OperationBarbarossaisstillthelargestmilitaryoperation,interms

ofmanpowerandcasualties,inhumanhistory。［22］Itsfailurewasaturning

pointintheThirdReich’portantly,Operation

BarbarossaopeneduptheEasternFront,inwhichmoreforceswere

committedthaninanyothertheatreofwarinworldhistory。Operation

Barbarossaandtheareasthatfellunderitbecamethesiteofsomeof

thelargestbattles，deadliestatrocities,highestcasualties，andmost

horrificconditionsforSovietsandGermansalike–allofwhich

influencedthecourofbothWorldWarIIand20th-centuryhistory.

Germanintentions

NazitheoryregardingtheSovietUnion

Aarlyas1925，HitlermadehisintentionsclearinMeinKampf（"My

Struggle")。HewouldinvadetheSovietUnion，asrtingthattheGerman

peopleneededLebensraum(”livingspace”，i。e。landandrawmaterials）

cialideologycast

theSovietUnionaspopulatedby”untermenschen"ethnicSlavsruledby

their"JewishBolshevik”masters.［23][24]MeinKampfsaidGermany'sdestiny

wastoturn"totheEast”asitdid”sixhundredyearsago"and”the

endoftheJewishdominationinRussiawillalsobetheendofRussiaas

aState。"［25]Thereafter，Hitlerspokeofaninescapablebattle

against”pan—Slavideals",inwhichvictorywouldleadto"permanent

masteryoftheworld"，thoughhesaidtheywould”walkpartoftheroad

withtheRussians，ifthatwillhelpus."［26］Accordingly，itwasNazi

statedpolicytokill,deportorenslavetheRussianandotherSlavic

populationsandrepopulatethelandwithGermanicpeoples(eNew

Order).

Germanyplanstheinvasion

Stalin’sreputationcontributedbothtotheNazis'justificationof

theirassaultandtheirfaithinsuccess。Inthelate1930s，Stalinhad

killedorincarceratedmillionsofcitizensduringtheGreatPurge,

includingmanycompetentandexperiencedmilitaryofficers，leavingthe

RedArmyweakenedandleaderless。TheNazisoftenemphasizedtheSoviet

regime’

propagandaclaimedtheRedArmywaspreparingtoattackthem，andtheir

owninvasionwasthusprentedaspre—emptive。

Insummer1940,whenGermanrawmaterialscrisandapotentialcollision

withtheSovietUnionoverterritoryintheBalkansaro,aneventual

invasionoftheSovietUnionlookedincreasinglylikeHitler’sonly

solution。[34］Whilenoconcreteplansweremadeyet,Hitlertoldoneof

hisgeneralsinJunethatthevictoriesinwesternEurope"finallyfreed

hishandsforhisimportantrealtask:theshowdownwithBolshevism”，

[35]thoughGermangeneralstoldHitlerthatoccupyingWesternRussiawould

create"moreofadrainthanareliefforGermany’conomicsituation。

"［36]TheFühreranticipatedadditionalbenefits：

•WhentheSovietUnionwasdefeated,thelabourshortageintheGermanindustrycould

berelievedbydemobilizationofmanysoldiers.

•Ukrainewouldbeareliablesourceofagriculture。

•HavingtheSovietUnionasasourceofslavelabourwouldvastlyimproveGermany’s

geostrategicposition.

•DefeatoftheSovietUnionwouldfurtherisolatetheAllies,especiallytheUnited

Kingdom。

•TheGermaneconomyneededmoreoilandcontrollingtheBakuOilfieldswouldachieve

this;asAlbertSpeer，theGermanMinisterforArmamentsandWarProduction，later

saidinhisinterrogation,”theneedforoilcertainlywasaprimemotive"inthedecisionto

invade[37］

RelationswiththeSovietUnion

ChurchillcretlymeetswithPresidentIsmetInönüattheYeniceStation15miles(24km）

outsideofAdanainsouth—eastTurkey,on30January1943

WhenHitlerinvadedtheSovietUnion,WinstonChurchill,avehement

anti-Communist,famouslystated”IfHitlerinvadedHell,Iwouldatleast

makeafavourablereferencetotheDevilintheHouofCommons,"

regardinghispolicytowardStalin.［150]Soon，Britishsuppliesandtanks

wereflowingtohelptheSovietUnion

[edit］TheBattleofBritain

Mainarticle:BattleofBritain

Inpreparationforaplannedcross—channellandinvasionwhichwasto

becalledOperationSeaLion,theLuftwaffebeganoperationstodestroy

theRoyalAirForce（RAF)andtothusgainadvanceairsuperiorityover

itsnextintendedconquest，ttlefortheskiesover

llytheLuftwaffe

soughttobombRAFgroundinstallationsanddrawtheirfightersinto

airbornecombat。IntheAutumnof1940,Hitler，havinggrownimpatient

withthefailuretodestroytheRAF，orderedaswitchtobombingmajor

Britishcities。KnownasTheBlitz，thiswasintendedtodemoralithe

BritishpeopleanddestroyBritishindustry。InMay1941，onlyafew

weeksafterAmericanpresidentFranklinD。Rooveltsignedthe

Lend-Leaact，itbecamecleartoGermanplannersthattheLuftwaffe

wasnotlikelytogainairsuperiorityoverBritainanytimesoon,and

significantGermanforcesinFrancewerereassignedtotheexpanding

GermanEasternFrontwhichweresoontobeudinGermany’simminent

strugglewithRussia.

TheGermanfailuretoachieveairsuperiorityoverBritainintheBattle

itishvictory,

thefirstmajoroneagainsttheThirdReich,ensuredthesurvivalofan

independentBritainandmarkedthefirstmajorreverintheGermanwar

effortofWorldWarII.

WorldWarII：（1937/1939—1945)

Theconflictresultedfromtherioftotalitarian，fascisminGerman，JapanandItaly

July7。1937

JapaninvadedCentralChina。

Sep。1938

MunichPact,whichsacrificedmuchofCzechoslovakiatoGermany

Aug.1939

Russia-Germanynon—aggressionpact

Sept.1，1939

GermaninvasionofPoland

Sept.3,1939

FranceandBritaindeclaredwaronGermany,officiallybeginningWorldWarII

June22，1940

Francesurrendered.

Aug-Oct.1940

TheBattleofBritain（2,300to900）

Jun22。1941

GermaninvasionoftheSovietUnion.

Influence

ChurchillistheherothattwowartimexpecttoleadtheBritishpeopletoobtainthegreat

victoryofObjecttofascist’swar，isoneof”twowartriumvirate”thatstandstogetherwithStalin,

Roovelt,utstandingleadership

suppresdHitler'sinfluence，changetwosituationsofthewars。Churchillhas

becomesInawholecountry。inrecentEnglandinvestigate，Churchilldriveforthe

firstin"toptenpeopleinBritishhistory”。

TheeffectofChurchill’sspeechcommonpeoplesubdue，Atmomentofthe

sufferingthemostriouslyinWorldWarII,theBritisharmyandthepeople'sspirit

issupported，nearlyalllecturebyChurchill’sbroadcastofeverydayofmound。

Churchill’sspeecheswereagreatinspirationtotheembattledBritish

•Churchillwasoneofthetrulygreatorators;hinergyandhisstubbornpublicrefusal

tomakepeaceuntilAdolfHitlerwascrushedwerecrucialinrallyingandmaintaining

BritishresistancetoGermanyduringthegrimyearsfrom1940to1942。

•Speech

•IfHitlerinvadedHell，Iwouldmakeatleastafavourablereferencetothedevilin

theHouofCommons。

oTohispersonalcretaryJohnColvilletheeveningbeforetheGermaninvasion

edbyAndrewNagorskiinTheGreatestBattle

(2007),Simon&Schuster,pp.150-151，ISBN

•Hitlerisamonsterofwickedness，

contentwithhavingallEuropeunderhisheel,orelterroridintovariousformsof

abjectsubmission,hemustnowcarryhisworkofbutcheryanddesolationamongthevast

multitudesofRussiaandofAsia。Theterriblemilitarymachine—whichweandtherest

ofthecivilidworldsofoolishly,sosupinely，soinnsatelyallowedtheNazigangsters

tobuildupyearbyyearfromalmostnothing-cannotstandidlelestitrustorfallto

pieces。。..Sonowthisbloodthirstyguttersnipemustlaunchhismechanizedarmiesupon

newfieldsofslaughter,pillageanddevastation。

oRadiobroadcastontheGermaninvasionofRussia,June22,

ChurchillWarPapers：1941（1993），W。，pp.835-836,ISBN

•fromthemnocompunction。Onthecontrary，

iftonightthepeopleofLondonwereaskedtocasttheirvotesastowhetheraconvention

shouldbeenteredintotostopthebombingofallcities，anoverwhelmingmajority

wouldcry,"No,wewillmeteouttotheGermansthemeasure，andmorethanthe

measure,theyhavemetedouttous。"{applau｝ThepeopleofLondonwithonevoice

wouldsaytoHitler:”Youhavecommittedeverycrimeunderthesun。Whereyouhave

beentheleastresistedthereyouhavebeenthemostbrutal。Itwasyouwhobeganthe

indiscriminatebombing。WerememberWarsaw！Inthefirstfewdaysofthewar。We

beennewlyremindedofyourhabitsbythehideous

toowellthebestialassaultsyou'remakinguponthe

Russianpeople,towhomourheartsgooutintheirvaliantstruggle!{cheers}Wewill

havenotruceorparleywithyou，orthegrislygangwhoworkyourwickedwill！You

doyourworst!—andwewilldoourbest!｛sustainedcheering}Perhapsitmaybeour

turnsoon。Perhapsitmaybeourturnnow。"

SecondtermasPrimeMinister