Why operation barbarossa failed

These events also served to divert Allied attentions in North Africa , where they may have otherwise capitalised on the German preoccupation with south-east Europe at that time. Operation Barbarossa was a huge undertaking that offered Hitler myriad opportunities. He believed that the defeat of the Soviet Union would force American attentions towards a then-unchecked Japan, in turn leaving an isolated Britain obliged to enter peace talks.

Most important to Hitler, however, was the prospect of securing large areas of Soviet territory, including oil fields and the Ukrainian bread basket, to supply his eagerly anticipated post-war Reich. He was reluctant to entertain intelligence that suggested an impending attack and so distrusted Churchill that he dismissed warnings from Britain. Although he agreed to bolster Soviet western borders in mid-May, Stalin remained adamantly more concerned with the Baltic states through June.

This remained the case even when German diplomats and resources rapidly disappeared from Soviet territory a week before Barbarossa began. Through inverted logic, Stalin retained greater faith in Hitler than his own advisors right up to the point of attack. Nearly three million German troops were assembled for the advance along a 1,mile front that joined the Baltic and the Black Seas.

The Soviets were totally unprepared and communications became paralysed in the chaos. Summer weather and a lack of opposition allowed panzers to race through the satellite states, followed by masses of infantry and , supply horses. Supply lines kept up a steady pace in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa during good summer weather.

Within fourteen days Hitler saw Germany as being on the verge of victory and reckoned that conquest of the huge Russian landmass could be completed on the timescale of weeks rather than months. Limited Soviet counter-attacks in Ukraine and Belorussia during the first two weeks at least allowed most of the arms industry from these areas to be transferred deep into Russia.

It took the battle of Stalingrad of —43 to decisively turn the tide and begin the long process of reversing German gains. Operation Barbarossa was accompanied by large-scale abuses of Soviet civilians, including the Jewish population, of whom over one million were murdered as part of the Final Solution.

Here, bestselling military historian Anthony Beevor answers some of the biggest questions surrounding the campaign…. Adolf Hitler quite often fluctuated in his attitude towards great projects, but I think that his invasion of the Soviet Union was something that went all the way back to the end of the First World War.

Securing this territory could prevent a repetition of the British blockade and resulting starvation of Germany that occurred in the First World War. So it was strategic as well as instinctive. Interestingly, Hitler justified the invasion of the Soviet Union to his generals as being the only way to knock Britain out of the war: ie, if the Soviet Union was defeated then Britain would have to give up and surrender, which was a curious analysis of the situation.

It was quite deliberate. Hitler realised he needed to knock out the western allies first. And this showed a remarkable confidence, particularly when one thinks that the French army was said to be the most powerful in the world at that time. The Nazi-Soviet pact was essential for him too as he had just purged the Red Army and needed to postpone any fight with Germany. It is certainly true that Barbarossa was launched too late and there has been quite a lot of debate about this delay.

One old theory is that it was the invasion of Greece [in April ] that delayed Barbarossa, but even at the time it was known that the real reason was the weather.

The winter of had been very wet and this caused two problems. Secondly, it delayed the redistribution of motor transport to the eastern front. This is one of the reasons why Stalin loathed the French and argued at the Tehran conference that they should be treated as traitors and collaborators. This is one of the great paradoxes of history: that Stalin, one of the most suspicious of all people, was fooled by Hitler.

It has led to a whole raft of different theories including one that Stalin was actually planning to invade Germany first. That theory, though, is a load of nonsense. One that they looked at was the idea of a pre-emptive strike. However the Red Army at the time was totally incapable of carrying out such an action. For one thing, the prime movers for their artillery were actually tractors, which were then being used for the harvest! But it is interesting how Stalin rejected every single warning he got.

Not just from the British but even from his own diplomats and spies. The answer may lie in the fact that, ever since the Spanish Civil War , he was convinced that anyone living abroad had been corrupted and was somehow instinctively anti-Soviet. He was convinced it was all an English provocation to force a fight with Germany. It is extraordinary though. The Germans had failed to prepare for a longer campaign and logistical problems meant that vital supplies, including winter clothing, did not reach the front lines.

The further they progressed into Soviet territory, the further they stretched their inadequate supply lines, which struggled to cope with the harsh weather and difficult terrain. The Germans also underestimated the determination of the Soviets as well as their numbers. Read more about: Hitler What if Stalingrad had fallen? The Soviets also managed to successfully dismantle and relocate via train around 1, large factories to the Urals in the east, enabling their industry to continue pumping out vital resources and armaments for the remainder of the war.

Hitler was now fighting a two-front war, making the failure of Barbarossa one of the key turning points of WW2. A year later and with Hitler now in personal control of the German Army, another summer offensive was conducted — Operation Case Blue. This time the target was the oil-rich fields of Baku in Southern Russia as well as the Soviet city of Stalingrad.

German supply line issues along with heavy Soviet resistance meant that for a second straight year, Hitler failed to knock Russia out of the war. The bloody urban conflict not only cost the lives of 2 million soldiers and civilians but it represented the furthest point the Germans would advance into Russia. The following summer in , the Germans again launched another offensive operation against Soviet forces, Operation Citadel.

A short-lived Soviet offensive after Stalingrad had led to the creation of a large salient an outward projection in a battle line , protruding into German territory. At the centre of the salient was the city of Kursk. Hitler hoped to retake Kursk in the summer of and recapture the initiative on the Eastern Front. The world bore witness to the largest mechanised battle in history as two sides equipped with a combined 8, tanks squared off during the Battle of Kursk.

Ultimately, Soviet defences held strong and the German's failed to retake the city. Read more about: Battles The Battle of Kursk: the largest tank battle in history. The subsequent Soviet victory meant they had seized the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front and would hold onto it for the remainder of the war.