The plan for Germany's attack on the USSR was developed in 1940-1941. The Nazi command expected to carry out the military operation as soon as possible. But a number of mistakes were made in developing the plan, which led to the fall of the Third Reich.
The main miscalculations of the Nazi command, which developed a plan for Germany's attack on the USSR, can be briefly formulated as follows: the Germans underestimated the enemy and did not take into account the possibility of a protracted war.
Hitler's dream
Modern historians believe that the German plan of attack on the USSR, the implementation of which began on June 22, 1941, became the Fuhrer's craziest idea during World War II. Hitler was forced to develop it in order to realize his ambitions and conquer Europe.
Almost the entire German army was involved in the worst military campaign in history. In little more than a year, the Germans reduced vast areas of the western Soviet Union to rubble.
The plan of Germany's attack on the USSR was called differentlyplan of Barbarossa. The conquest of the Soviet Union was to provide Germany with agricultural and industrial resources. At the same time, this would spare the Führer the only force capable of challenging his dominance.
The destruction of Soviet citizens marked the beginning of the concept of a mythical Aryan state, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. This fascist power would be ruled by Hitler. His servants would be members of an inferior race living within the borders of the new state. Slavs and Jews were to be destroyed.
While Hitler was developing a plan for the German attack on the USSR, Stalin was busy destroying his own military command.
USSR on the eve of the war
Shortly before the start of the war, Tukhachevsky was shot. Soon the same fate awaited several generals. In 1941, five of the eight Soviet marshals survived. In August 1939, the German non-aggression pact against the Soviet Union was promulgated. The heads of state agreed on the absence of any territorial claims for the next ten years. The additional protocol also spoke about the division of the independent countries of Europe.
Stalin now controlled Eastern Poland, Bessarabia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. His strategy was to create several pro-Soviet states between the USSR and Germany. Thus, Hitler would have waged war with the Western states, which was in the interests of the leader. HoweverStalin's hopes for limited wars were dashed a year later.
In October 1940, Hitler turned his gaze towards Russia. According to the plan of Nazi Germany's attack on the USSR, the occupation of certain territories of the Soviet Union was to take place even before the end of the war with Great Britain.
Stalin was sure that Hitler would never start a war on two fronts. Zhukov, Vasilevsky and Timoshenko spoke to him about the need for mobilization. But he didn't even want to listen to them. According to some researchers, even in 1941, when the implementation of the plan for the German attack on the USSR began, the code name of which became known to the entire world community years later, Stalin was inactive. For several days, he convinced himself that this was nothing more than a provocation, an adventure of some renegade generals, but not a real German offensive.
In 1939 the Second World War began. Not a single note appeared in the Soviet newspapers criticizing Hitler's actions. In addition, information about military operations in Europe was presented in a distorted form.
Origin of the name
The plan of Germany's attack on the USSR (Fall Barbarossa) was, of course, classified information. Many guessed about the upcoming war in the Soviet Union, but few spoke out loud. Moreover, for such conversations one could be deprived of liberty. And the secret name of the plan of attack of fascist Germany on the USSR in the Soviet Union became known after 1945.
"Barbarossa" is a word of Latin origin. Such wasthe nickname of one of the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. His name was Friedrich I Hohenstaufen. The Emperor had formerly held the German throne. Only a year and a half, but in this short period of time he managed to win the trust of the German people. He ascended the Roman throne in 1155. The period of his reign was the time of the highest flowering of the military power of the empire. In honor of the medieval ruler, the name was given to the plan of attack of fascist Germany on the USSR.
Disinformation
The main component of the German attack plan on the USSR, the Barbarossa plan, was operational and strategic camouflage. Hitler and his associates created favorable conditions for the war. However, they successfully hid their true goals from the USSR, demonstrating good neighborly relations.
In Germany at the end of the 30s there was a rapid increase in the volume of military production, equipment and other goods intended by no means for peacetime. But the Fuhrer explained all these measures by the need to wage war with Great Britain. Hitler, Ribbentrop, Goebbels took part in the disinformation activities. Diplomats, ambassadors, military attaches, and German military intelligence officers were involved in spreading false information.
In order to strengthen Stalin's confidence in the absence of territorial claims, Hitler held several diplomatic events. For example, in September 1940, he sent an official message to the Soviet leadership, which spoke of the signing of a pact with Japan, in which the Fuhrer offered Stalintake part in the partition of the British colonies in India. On October 13, Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, was invited to Berlin.
The alignment of forces
The following army groups were created to attack the USSR:
- "North". The task is to defeat the Red Army troops in the B altics.
- "Center". The task is the destruction of Soviet troops in Belarus.
- "South". The task is the destruction of troops in the Right-Bank Ukraine, access to the Dnieper.
- German-Finnish group. The task is the blockade of Leningrad, the capture of Murmansk, the attack on Arkhangelsk.
Start operation
According to the plan of Germany's attack on the USSR, according to some sources, the Wehrmacht troops were to begin the invasion on May 15th. Why did it happen later, after 38 days? Historians put forward different versions. One of them is that the delay occurred for technical reasons. One way or another, the invasion of the Wehrmacht troops caught the Soviet command by surprise.
On the very first day, the Germans destroyed most of the Soviet ammunition, military equipment and established complete air supremacy. The offensive began on a 3,000-kilometer front.
Battle for Russia
Six days after the start of the German invasion of the USSR, the Times magazine published an article en titled "How long will Russia last?" British journalists wrote: “The question of whether the battle for the Soviet Union will become the most important in history is asked by the Germans, but the answer toit depends on the Russians.”
Both in the UK and the US at the end of June 1941, it was believed that Germany would need only six weeks to take Moscow. This confidence had a significant impact on the policy of the allies of the USSR. However, the Soviet-British agreement on actions in the war was already signed on July 12. Two days before, the second phase of the offensive campaign of the Wehrmacht began.
Crisis Offensive
At the end of July 1941, the German military command made adjustments to its plans. According to Directive No. 33, the Wehrmacht army was supposed to defeat the Soviet troops that were located between Smolensk and Moscow. On August 12, Hitler ordered a h alt to the attack on Kyiv.
The Germans planned to capture Leningrad in the late summer of 1941. They were sure that they would be able to take Moscow before the onset of autumn. But their optimism dissipated in August. Hitler issued a directive stating: the most important task is not the capture of Moscow, but the occupation of the Crimea and industrial areas on the Donets River.
Operation results
According to the plan of Barbarossa, the Germans were to capture the USSR during the summer-autumn campaign. Hitler underestimated the mobilization capabilities of the enemy. In a matter of days, new formations and ground forces were formed. Already in the summer of 1941, the Soviet command sent more than three hundred divisions to the front.
Some researchers believe that the Nazis did not have enough time. Others argue that Germany could not have taken over the USSR ifany alignment of forces.
