Operation Barbarossa LTC Oakland McCulloch

Outline Non-Aggression Pact and Polish Deal Operational Goal of the German Invasion Plans and Preparation for the Battle –Germany –Soviet Union The Battle –Phase I: 22 June – 03 July 1941 –Phase II: 03 July – 02 October 1941 –Phase III: 02 October 1941 – 07 January 1942 Reasons for Failure

German-Soviet Treaty of Non-Aggression Signed 23 August 1939 Set the stage for the first two years of World War II Why would the two cooperate? Both had fundamental objections to the Versailles Treaty Both wanted territory in Eastern Europe Neither side really trusted the other Polish Deal Germans and Soviets decided how to divide up Poland Germans occupied a little less than half of Poland, the Soviets occupied the rest plus the Baltic States Both were very brutal in their methods Operation Barbarossa

Operational Goal of German Invasion The rapid conquest of the European part of the Soviet Union Hitler’s justification of the invasion Pre-emptive (somewhat) Lebensraum – Living Space land raw materials Slave Labor Reliable source of agriculture (Ukraine) Isolate the United Kingdom Oil from the Baku Oilfields Operation Barbarossa

German Plan (Hitler’s Plan) A coordinated attack along the entire Soviet front a northern assault towards Leningrad a symbolic capturing of Moscow an economic strategy of seizing oil fields in the south German Generals disagreed wanted Moscow as the main objective Moscow was communication hub and correct center No agreement was reached on main objective * At the strategic level – destroy the Soviet army before it could retreat east * At the tactic level – battle of encirclement just as in the West Operation Barbarossa Plan for the Battle

German Forces 153 Divisions, 3.6 million soldiers, 3,600 tanks, 2,700 aircraft Army Group North (von Leeb) 26 Divisions (1 Panzer Army) & Luftflotte I Army Group Centre (von Bock) 51 Divisions (2 Panzer Armies) & Luftflotte II Army Group South (von Rundstedt) 40 German Divisions (1 Panzer Army) & Luftflotte IV 14 Rumanian Divisions & Hungarian Army Corps 22 Divisions in reserve (including 2 Armored Divisions) Operation Barbarossa Plan for the Battle

Soviet Plan (Stalin’s Plan) Defend the entire Soviet front do not give up an inch of Soviet soil no retreat and no surrender Soviet Generals disagreed but could not voice objections Stalin had already purged Soviet Generals in 1939 wanted more flexibility 41% of Soviet bases were located within 200 km from the border Operation Barbarossa Plan for the Battle

Soviet Forces 140 Divisions plus 40 brigades, 2.9 million soldiers, 15,000 tanks, 8,000 aircraft Baltic Special Military District (Kuzmetrov) 26 Divisions including 6 Armored Western Special Military District (Pavlov) 36 Divisions including 10 Armored Kiev Special Military District (Kirponos) 58 Divisions including 16 Armored Odessa Special Military District (Tyulenev) 14 Divisions including 2 Armored Operation Barbarossa Plan for the Battle

The Battle Phase I: 22 June – 03 July 1941 Operation Barbarossa began at 0315 on 22 June th Anniversary of Napoleon’s crossing of the Neman River Axis forces attacked along the entire 1,800 mile front Achieved complete tactical surprise Soviet forces quickly encircled Minsk and Smolensk pockets Soviet forces overwhelmed Results of Phase I

The Battle Phase II: 03 July 1941 – 02 October 1941 Infantry had caught up with Panzer Divisions Smolensk encirclement – 180,000 Soviet forces captured Several Soviet counterattacks – all defeated Germans begin to realize they had grossly underestimated the strength of the Soviets Leningrad encircled Hitler orders destruction without prisoners Kiev encirclement – 300,000 Soviet forces captured Results of Phase II

The Battle Phase III: 02 October 1941 – 07 January 1942 The Drive on Moscow German Army exhausted & equipment in bad shape Soviets have 800,000 soldiers to defend Moscow Encirclement at Bryansk nets 600,000 Soviet forces 90,000 men & 150 tanks remain for defense of Moscow Poor weather slows German advance (rain) 02 December within 15 miles of Moscow first blizzards begin 05 December Soviet reinforcements from Siberia arrive 500,000 men launch a massive counterattack German advance halted – Hitler orders no retreat Results of Phase III

The Battle Phase III: 02 October 1941 – 07 January 1942 The Drive on Moscow

Reasons for Failure Hitler’s over confidence Late start to the operation Poor strategic planning Underestimation of size of Soviet Army Huge distances (poor road & rail network) Fateful decision to postpone attack on Moscow Winter!!! Operation Barbarossa

Resources Hitler’s Panzers East: World War II Reinterpreted, R.H. Stolfi Hitler Moves East, , Paul Carell Scorched Earth: The Russian-German War , Paul Carell Operation Barbarossa: Strategy and Tactics on the Eastern Front, 1941, Bryan I. Fugate The Russo-German War , Albert Seaton Deadlock Before Moscow: Army Group Center 1942/1943, Franz Kurowski Operation Barbarossa

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