Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa (Unternehmen Barbarossa) was the German codename for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that commenced on June 22, 1941. It was to be the turning point for the fortunes of Hitler's Third Reich in that the failure of Operation Barbarossa arguably resulted in the eventual overall defeat of Nazi Germany. The Eastern Front which was opened by Operation Barbarossa would become the biggest theatre of war in World War II, with some of the largest and most brutal battles, terrible loss of life, and miserable conditions for Soviets and Germans alike. The operation was named after the emperor Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire.

Causes of initial Soviet defeats

The reason that the Soviet Army was so badly defeated in 1941 was a German surprise attack for which they were ill prepared. The German armed forces were, in 1941, the most experienced and well-trained in the world. They had an advanced doctrine and the confidence that comes from repeated, low-cost victories. The Soviet armed forces, in contrast, lacked leadership, training, and readiness. Much of their planning assumed that no war would take place before 1942; thus the German attack came at a time when new organizations and promising-but-untested weapons were just beginning to trickle into operational units. Also, a significant part of the Soviet Army was concentrated at the Western Soviet border, and so was overrun and destroyed in the first weeks of war. Initially, many Soviet units were also hampered by Timoshenko-Zhukov's prewar order (as it was demanded by Stalin) of non-engaging and "non-responding to provocations", followed by the first reaction "stand-and-fight-then-counterattack" order from Moscow (which left them vulnerable to German encirclements), a lack of experienced officers (this claim is contested, though), and bureaucratic inertia.

Related Topics:
1941 - Timoshenko - Zhukov - Stalin

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The initial tactical errors of the Soviets in the first few weeks of the German offensive proved catastrophic. Initially the Red Army was fooled by a complete overestimation of its own capabilties. The Mechanised Corps, far from wiping out the German Panzer Divisions, were ambushed and were themselves destroyed after suffering heavy losses inflicted on them by the Luftwaffe dive bombers. Soviet tanks, poorly maintained and driven by inexperienced drivers, also suffered from an appalling breakdown rate. A lack of spare parts and trucks ensured a logistical collapse. The decision not to dig in the infantry divisions proved disastrous. Without tanks and lacking sufficient motorisation, they were incapable of waging mobile manoeuvre warfare against the Germans.

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Then Stalin issued orders to his troops not to retreat or surrender, resulting in a return to static linear positions which the German tanks still easily breached, again quickly cutting supply lines and surrounding whole Soviet armies. Only later did Stalin allow his troops to retreat to the rear wherever possible and regroup to execute a defence in depth or to counterattack. More than 2.4 million Soviet troops had been taken prisoner by December 1941, when German and Soviet forces fought in the suburbs of Moscow.

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Still the fact that the Soviet Union was able to defeat Germany, even after losing a large part of its population, industrial potential and agricultural lands, proves that the Soviet Union was not weak and Soviet commanders were sufficiently competent. For example, by November 1941, some of the better Soviet units were able to defeat German units at the tactical level. Colonel (later General) Katukov's tank brigade inflicted tactical defeat on several German units.

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However, all this caused a shift in Soviet propaganda attitudes. Whereas in prewar years the government stated that the Soviet army was very strong, by autumn 1941 it took the line that the Soviet army had been weak, that there had not been enough time to prepare for war, and that the German attack had come as a surprise, etc. These misrepresentations continue to be taught as fact in Russian schools today (along with the embellishment that Stalin's Great Purge of the 1930s destroyed the army's best officers). At the same time, almost everything concerning the Soviet army in 1939–1941 remains secret to this day, two generations after the end of the war.

Related Topics:
1941 - Great Purge - 1930s - 1939

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An alternative explanation is given by Viktor Suvorov in his book Icebreaker, where Suvorov depicts the war as being intentionally facilitated by Stalin. This claim is strongly disputed and is generally considered to be without any factual basis.

Related Topics:
Viktor Suvorov - Icebreaker

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