World War II: The Eastern Front

Operation “Barbarossa” June 22, 1941 German army invades USSR with 3 million men Soviet resistance almost collapses – Germans occupy huge areas of Eastern Russia Germans capture millions of Soviet POW’s

Battle of Moscow German offensive slows down near Moscow by October rains, mud Attacks halted by arrival of “General” Winter (-50 o C !) and Soviet counter-attack Germans driven backwards km before front stabilizes

1942: Road to Disaster German summer offensive drives Soviets back towards Stalingrad

Battle of Stalingrad Germans attempt to take city – Soviets resist fanatically – city mostly destroyed

Nov. Soviets counter-attack and encircle German 6 th Army ( men) inside Stalingrad Jan – 6 th Army surrenders – major defeat for Germany

Summer 1943: Battle of Kursk  Largest tank battle in history  German attacks fail – huge numbers of tanks lost  Germans can now only retreat

Soviets steadily push Germans back out of USSR, across Poland and into Germany

Apr. 1945: Battle for Berlin

The Final Act... Hitler spends final days in underground bunker April 30: Hitler & Eva Braun commit suicide

What About Il Duce ? 1945: Mussolini captured by partisans and killed Body is hung up by heels and ridiculed by Italians

Finis: VE- Day May 8, 1945: Germany surrenders to Allies