By Zach Holdridge and Andy Mahler

Beginning of Operation Barbarossa Why Did Hitler Attack the USSR? Beginning of Operation Barbarossa On June 22, 1941 Hitler broke the Non-Aggression pact with the soviet union and declared war. He attacked on the eastern front using is famous blitzkrieg style warfare. The soviets were unprepared for war because of the previously negotiated Non-aggression pact.

Nazis to soviets Germany attacked Russia with more than 3 million soldiers. They had more than 3,000 tanks, 2,500 aircraft, 7,000 artillery contributions, 600,000 motor vehicles, and 625,000 horses in use. The Soviet Union had a mere 2,500,000 soldiers at the front, and another 2,000,000 guarding Moscow, and other major cities.

The Plan Hitler had three main groups to attack the Soviet Union along an almost one thousand mile long front. He had the Army Group North, Center, and South. There plan was to attack as much land as possible. Hitler started is blitzkrieg with bombing naval and air bases destroying almost a quarter of the Soviet Unions Air Force.

American Aid From March 1941 until October 1945, the United States provided the Russians with 15,000 aircraft, 7,000 tanks, 350,000 tons of explosives, 51,000 jeeps, 375,000 trucks, 2,000 locomotives, 11,000 rail wagons, 3 million tons of gasoline, and 15 million pairs of boots. Britain contributed another 5,000 tanks and 7,000 aircraft. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/ww2/barbarossa.html

Soviet Resistance The beginning of the downfall of German soldiers wasn’t really inflicted by any Soviet force. The Germans had not prepared for the length that the battle took place, and has estimated that it would have ended a lot sooner. Therefore, the soldiers weren’t suited for the harsh winter weather. The cold was wearing down the troops, and there was nothing to harvest from the land since it was covered in snow. They didn’t pack enough clothing or medicinal aid for their siege to take over the Soviet Union.

WAR

Soviet Resistance continued On October 19, 1941 Stalin declares that there is a siege at Moscow, known as “Operation Typhoon,” and orders heavy resistance to defend the ongoing German Army. Severe frost and cold weather weakens the attacking soldiers, as Stalin’s army strengthens. On December 6, 1941 the Soviets initiated another major counterattack on the German army, and this force blew back the Army Group Center away from Moscow. By December 13, 1941 Moscow had been fully defended. On June 28, 1942, Hitler begins his attacks on Stalingrad. Many fronts have now been halted by Soviet Forces, but the last and final battle that stopped Hitler’s army was on January 31, 1943 when the German military leader Marshall Paulus was trapped and surrendered. The Nazi army was no longer in power.

Mr. hitler’s army haD been defeated

Why did Hitler Attack the USSR? Hitler thought that attacking Stalin’s Soviet Union would give him a great amount of space, and natural resources. He didn’t think that they would have much resistance, and that overtaking the USSR, he would gain more power, than if he’d attacked anywhere else.

What Could Have Happened had Hitler Not Attacked the Soviet Union When He Did? If Hitler hadn’t attacked the Soviet Union when he did, he could have expanded in other areas, and gotten more people and resources to then attack the USSR. Hitler got so power hungry, that he just went for the biggest kill he could find. In this case, the outcome was reversed and Hitler’s army got killed instead. If Hitler would have tried to expand his power in Europe, he could have gotten more people to fight, and more time to plan his attack on the Soviet Union and then may have come out successful.

Bard, Mitchell G. “Operation Barbarossa Bard, Mitchell G. “Operation Barbarossa.” The Complete Idiots Guide to WWII. Alpha Books 2004. 31 May 2011. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/ww2/barbarossa.html COPYRIGHT © UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM, WASHINGTON, D.C JANUARY 6, 2011. 5/31/201 http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005164 Daniels, Michaels W. "New Evidence on the 1941 'Barbarossa' Attack: Why Hitler    Attacked Soviet Russia When He Did." The Journal for Historical Review        18.3 (1999): 40. Institute for Historical Review. Web. 31 May 2011.      <http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v18/v18n3p40_Michaels.html>. Tedor, Richard. “Why Hitler Invaded Soviet Union.” The Scriptorium 2002. 31 May 31, 2011. www.wintersonnenwende.com/scriptorium/english/archives/articles/stalwarplans.html “The Invasion of the Soviet Union” 31 May 2011 http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212881/ir.html Webb, Chris. “Operation Barbarossa.” Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team 31 May 31, 2011 http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/nazioccupation/opbarb.html