1. Operation Barbarossa; Battle of Stalingrad

2. Invasion of the USSR
Hitler wanted to destroy communism – in doing so, must eliminate Russia
Nazi-Soviet Pact no more

3. Invasion of the USSR Strategic objectives:
South – huge wheat fields of Ukraine which would feed Hitler’s army
Caucasus – oil supply which was needed for the mechanized army

5. Invasion of the USSR
June 1941 – this obsession with invading Russia would ultimately be the undoing of Hitler

6. Invasion of the USSR Napoleon’s lesson – don’t go deep into Russia
Hitler would encircle the enemy in a series of blitzkriegs
Encirclement would destroy large armies
Hitler becomes too over confident – thought it would be over before winter – didn’t issue winter clothing to troops
As Russians fell back – scorched the earth behind them destroying crops, livestock and buildings

7. Invasion of the USSR
153 divisions (3 million men) divided into 3 army groups
Army Group North – to Leningrad (Russia’s armament center)
Army Group Centre – to Moscow
Army Group South – to wheat fields and Caucasus

8. Invasion of the USSR
June 22, 1941 – Operation Barbarossa launched into Russian occupied portion of Poland

9. Invasion of the USSR Even though warned by British – Stalin surprised
Within a few hours 1200 Russian aircraft destroyed
By September Kiev, Ukraine surrendered with 660,000 Russian prisoners

10. Invasion of the USSR
nothing but "final solutions" in Russia, on heels of German army advance- the Einsatzgruppen- special squads- their job to murder all Jews, communist functionaries, gypsies and anyone perceived to be in opposition... sometimes just as a warning.
by end of first year- about 500,000 Jews killed

11. Invasion of the USSR Siege of Leningrad
Would last three years – Germany in the end not able to take the city, lifted siege
800,000 people from the city died – starvation and exposure

12. Invasion of the USSR
Russians launch a counter offensive when German troops outside the capital of Moscow
Starts off in German favour – then weather turns – Russians prepared for Russian temperatures
Guns and machines wouldn’t operate in the frigid temperatures
5 km from the city – Germans run out of troops and supplies – couldn’t go on
Even if the capital had been captured – most of the government had already been removed

13. Invasion of the USSR
By the end of the year – Hitler’s errors became known
Thought Soviet forces were 140 divisions
Actually 320 divisions
Russian winter sets in – frostbite!
Goebbels tries a “winter relief drive” – only 16 coats for 800 men
Thought by this time Hitler would have Russia’s industrial centers taken over – but Stalin moved 1500 factories eastwards out of Hitler’s reach
In production before roofs and walls complete!

14. Invasion of the USSR Russian counter- attack is halted in March 1942
Stalin begs allies, which by now include the USA, to launch an attack in the west
Instead, Churchill, desperate for a victory, persuades the Americans to join in the North Africa campaign, then when successful to attack Italy, Operation "Torch"

15. Invasion of the USSR
Of little help to the Russians... German commitment to North Africa only limited.
Starts some to the suspicions that were to underlie the cold war
Belief that the allies were deliberately holding off so that the Soviet Union would be very weak if and when it won.

16. Invasion of the USSR Stalingrad – The turning point
By early 1942 – Hitler decided to focus efforts on the oil fields of the Caucasus, also to capture city of Stalingrad
To do so – would have to split forces to capture both – but Stalingrad not really important militarily

17. Invasion of the USSR
General Von Paulus – of the Panzer Army – told to take the city in September
Russians fought in the streets – corpses rotten in the streets
Surrounded Von Paulus’ army and cut them off from help
Hitler refused to help or talk of retreat
January 31, 1943 Von Paulus surrenders
Germans retreat out of the south, and oil fields weren’t captured

18. Invasion of the USSR
Important victory for the morale of the Russians – shattered the Germans
One of the bloodiest battles in WWII
From then on – Germans on the run
Hitler put 75% of his troops and war material to the Russian front
Cost Russians approx. 20 million dead (troops and civilians)

19. Invasion of the USSR
Red Army turned Blitzkrieg, which they could not win, into a war of attrition, which they could not lose

20. Invasion of the USSR
July, 1943 – greatest tank battle of the war at Kursk,
nearly 6000 tanks
2700 German, 3600 Soviet
T-34 Russian tank superior
within a week, German losses
forced Hitler to call it off
Soviets counter-attack

21. Teheran Conference
Nov – Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt meet at Teheran, Iran

22. Teheran Conference
Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to Stalin's request, open a second front in France, early summer, 1944
also agreed that after the war USSR could move her frontier west into Poland, while Poland could be compensated with eastern German territory
Stalin declared that USSR would enter the war against Japan after the defeat of Germany
America needed Stalin’s help against Japan
Took Stalin at his word that he would listen to self-determination and hold elections in conquered territories (Stalin had no intentions of doing so)