Invasion+of+Russia

__**Operation Barbarossa**__ //**Invasion of Russia**// media type="youtube" key="8L-GBHNNqrQ" height="349" width="425"

//^// an excellent video overview of Operation of Barbarossa highlighting the Stuka bombers demolished the cities of the Soviet Union to pieces in an effort in Hitlers Blitz plan reoccurring events that the Russians took over a century ago with Napoleon. Along with the means that Russians had to go through to contribute to the war effort.

Interactive Map! Click Here

This VIDEO shows the Russian's point of view in the invasion. It goes over some of Stalin's actions such as the scorch-earth plan. Click for a complete timeline of Operation Barbarossa1!!: []

^^The German troops invaded Russia on June 22nd, 1941.

^^This picture depicts Hitler's plan to invade Russia. It also shows his invasion of the areas around Ukraine.

__**Who Was Involved:**__ In Germany's invasion of Russia, two main leaders were involved. Adolf Hitler was the leader of the German side while Joseph Stalin was the leader of Russia. Areas that were involved included Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, and more.

__**Where and When Did it Take Place:**__ The invasion of Russia took place in western Russia. The invasion started June 22nd of 1941.

Time line!: June 22, 1941 Operation Barbarossa begins With 3 millions German troops entering into Russia. Then German forces break off Into three different armies, with The idea Divide and Conquer!

June 22- July 10th German troops advance 20 miles a day

Mid. July- Mid. August Germans continued to advance began to surround and weaken the Russians

Oct. 2nd- Mid. November With the Germans already weakened Russian troops. Winter blindsides the Nazis slowing down their progress.

Dec. 5 Plan collapses for the Germans. The combination of the harsh winter, and severe shortage supply.

It was not until 1944 did the Red Army drive the Germans out of Russia.

__**What Happened:**__ Many things inspired Hitler to invade Russia. He wanted to gain land for Germany, control the areas with oil to get money, rid Europe of the 'inferior' Russians, and stop the radical communism Lenin set up. Hitler believed that Russia would collapse easily under German pressure.

Hitler ordered troops into Russia in the summer of 1941. A few days later Stalin ordered a 'Scorched-Earth' policy. The Russians burned their homes, factories, and crops as they retreated so the Germans couldn't use any of it. They didn't want the Germans to be even stronger. The front was nearly 1,000 miles long.

In the beginning of the invasion Germany used air attacks to destroy Russian airbases. This caught the Russian military off guard and they suffered heavy losses. After a week Germany captured many major cities in Russia including Riga, Dvinsk, Minsk, and Lvov.

Hitler tried concentrating his troops in southern Russia. He instructed the troops by Leningrad to surround the city so it would be cut off from the rest of Russia. He figured this would be an effective plan, and tanks could be moved elsewhere.

Hitler sent his troops towards Moscow in hopes of overcoming the capital. Unfortunately for him, Russian citizens had dug over 5,000 miles of trenches around the city's perimeter. The trenches were armed with barbed wire and they effectively slowed down the German troops.

German troops began to realize how bad their odds were. It had become extremely cold, and they were still in summer uniforms. However, Hitler did not allow them to come back to Germany. Men were dying of hypothermia and frostbite left and right. The Germans lost 85,000 men in three weeks. Finally on December 8th of 1941, Hitler told his troops to "shift from offensive operations to defensive".

__**How is it Significant and What was Its Impact on WWII:**__ The invasion of Russia has left a huge impact on WWII. The invasion was a direct violation of Germany's treaty with Russia. The treaty had guaranteed peace between the powers for ten years. If Germany had succeeded in the invasion, the outcome of WWII could have been extremely different. If Germany had seized Russia's troops and resources, they could have used them against the other Allied powers. This may have led to Germany winning WWII and possibly taking over all of Europe.

By Russia pushing out Germany, Germany's power was reduced greatly. Other countries feared that Germany would take over Russia. This increased their attacks on Germany's main cities such as Berlin. The countries also coordinated to transport supplies and troops to Russia for support.

Germany's invasion of Russia is often considered a huge mistake on Hitler's part. The invasion lowered Germany's morale, decreased their resources, and diverted their presence from the rest of Europe. This allowed Britain and America to take back France in 1944. This weakened Germany yet again and led to the end of WWII. When Hitler ordered troops into Russia, he made a mistake that eventually caused the downfall of his empire, thus ending WWII.

__**Importance:**__ The invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa) shows the importance of the use of Histoy and the critical mistake of a leader who had the chance to take over Europe but instead let his ego get the best of him and change the tide of WWII. If Adolf Hitler would have learned from Napoleons defeat before conquering all of Europe he would have learned that fighting a war with two fronts (in France and Russia) would tear his army and could leave him to the same fate as Napoleon. If Hitler would have applied history from the past he could hold off on the invasion of Russia and greatly change the odds of the war. If he could have realized he was fighting a very similar war in a different time period and not let his craving for power get to him the invasion of Russia would come in later years with a different result. It shows how history repeats itself and a want for power can be your downfall.

__**Work Cited:**__

"The Invasion of Russia." //www.sparknotes.com//. N.p., 12 Feb. 2006. Web. 24 May 2011. .

"The Invasion of Russia June 21, 1941." //worldwar2database.com//. WWII Multimedia Database, 2007. Web. 24 May 2011. .

"Operation Barbarossa 1941." //www.yourdiscovery.com//. N.p., 2008. Web. 24 May 2011. .

Rees, Laurence. "Hitler's Invasion of Russia in World War Two."

//www.bbc.co.uk//. N.p., 30 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 May 2011. .

"Operation Barbarossa Timeline! The German Occupation of Europe Http://www.HolocaustResearchProject.org."// Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team //. Web. 24 May 2011. .