Lesson 13

WW II – Germany Turns East

Lesson Objectives

•  Describe and analyze the German decision process to attack the Soviet Union in June 1941.

•  Describe and analyze the operational and logistic implications of Operation Barbarossa.

•  Understand and be able to discuss the impact of total war within the Soviet Union.

•  Understand how the initial successes of the German invasion of the USSR turned into such a total disaster.

•  Be able to describe the magnitude of the Soviet-German War and its impact on the outcome of World War II.

Battle of Britain

Operation Sealion

September 17, 1940 Operation Sealion postponed indefinitely

Unable to gain air superiority

Approach of winter

Review

Hitler Turns East

Germany, USSR signed nonaggression pact (August 23, 1939)

After German defeat of Poland, Germany and USSR divided Poland

USSR invaded Finland November 30, 1939 (“The Winter War”)

• 250,000 Finnish troops vs. 1,000,000 Soviets

• By March 1940: 26,000 Finnish dead vs. 126,000 Soviets

• Soviet military weakness from 1930’s purges noted by Hitler

Background

• British, French considered support via Norway and Sweden

In July 1940 Hitler told his generals to prepare for war with USSR within a year

Hitler Turns East

Hitler regarded the Soviet Union and Bolshevism as the greatest threat to Germany

He felt that the weakness of the Red Army created the best possible opportunity to eliminate this threat

• Rejected (or ignored) the possibility of two-front war

Operation BarbarossaGerman Invasion of the Soviet Union

The classic example of the cost of not learning the lessons of history

The Impact of Logistics on War

Go To

Why Do We Study War?

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.

Attributed to Samuel Clements (1835-1910)

Operation BarbarossaJune 22, 1941

Operation Barbarossa

Note conquered nation participation

Conquered Nation Support

Operation Barbarossa

Barbarossa

Click for Video

Operation BarbarossaSiege of LeningradSeptember 1941 - January 1944

872 days Soviet Dead: Red Army: 330,000+ Civilian: 1,000,000+

Siege of LeningradBattle of MoscowOctober 1941 - January 1942

Germans: 1,000,000 men, 1,700 tanks Soviets: 1,250,000 men, 1,000 tanks

Battle of MoscowBattle of StalingradAugust 1942 - February 1943

Battle of StalingradAugust 1942 - February 1943

Battle of Stalingrad

Video (8:24)

German Grand Strategy-Russia, N Africa & Oil-12.05

Battle of StalingradAugust 1942 - February 1943

Fatal Distraction?

German Grand Strategy

German Grand Strategy

Battle of KurskJuly - August 1943

Eastern FrontDecember 1944

German-Soviet War

Until June 1944

• Soviet Union bore main thrust of German army

• Stalin pressed for Second Front

Soviet Losses

Soviet Losses

The Soviet war effort was so overwhelming that impartial historians of the future are unlikely to rate the British and American contribution to the European theatre as much more than a sound supporting role.

Norman DaviesEurope at War, 1939-1945

Quoted by Benjamin Schwarz“Stalin's Gift”The Atlantic, May 2007

Significance

Lesson 14

WW II -- Unrestricted Submarine Warfareand the Second Battle of the Atlantic

Lesson Objectives

•  Understand the magnitude and significance of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II.

•  Understand the degree of British dependence on maritime lines of communication.

•  Describe U.S. participation in the Battle of the Atlantic prior to December 1941.

•  Describe and analyze the tactics and technology used by both sides in the Battle of the Atlantic.

•  Understand the importance of code breaking in the Atlantic war.

End