Great patriotic war

• Operation Barbarossa


  German invasion of the USSR launched on 22nd June 1941
• Operation Barbarossa


  • 3 million German troops invaded
  • It was intended to be a quick victory before winter
• Following the Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia


  Barbarossa had to be delayed from 1st June to 22nd
• Stalin's reaction


  • Stalin hadn't prepared for invasion either because he hasn't expected it or thought preparing would provoke an attack
  • When the attack happened, it took nearly 2 weeks for Stalin to react and speak publicly
  • 3rd June – Stalin made a speech stressing the themes of patriotism, religion and unity
• Leadership inadequacy


  • Stalin was indecisive – he cancelled plans to move the capital last minute
  • The Soviet army had inexperienced commanders due to the 1937 army purges
  • Stalin refused to allow his southern armies to retreat until it was too late
• Blitzkrieg


  An intense military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory
• Blockade


  Sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving
• Scorched earth tactics


  A military tactic of deliberate destruction of resources so that an invading enemy cannot use them
• • German invasion of the USSR
  • December – German offensive pushed back from Moscow


  1941
• • June - New German offensive towards the Caucasus oilfields
  • October – German advance halted at Stalingrad


  1942
• • February – German surrender at Stalingrad
  • July – New German offensive defeated at Kursk
  • November – Kiev liberated by the Red Army


  1943
• • January – Siege of Leningrad ends
  • December – Soviet forces reach Budapest


  1944
• • January – Warsaw captured by the Red Army
  • February – Yalta summit meeting to plan post-war world
  • May – Final defeat of Germany
  • August – Surrender of Japan


  1945
• Stage 1 (June 1941-Summer 1942)


  • Initial huge losses for the Soviets – e.g. 665,000 troops captured at Kiev
  • 15th October, the Soviets unsuccessfully tried to make peace with Hitler
  • Bad weather, plus Stalin being able to bring his troops back from Siberia prevented the capture of Moscow
• Stage 2 (1942 to Summer 1943)


  • During this stage, Russia stabilised its war effort and build a powerhouse war economy
  • Hitler did not have the resources to compete with Russia in a war of attrition
  • February 1943, Hitler made a major error in refusing to pull his troops out of Stalingrad. This was a military and psychological disaster for the Germans
• Stage 3 (1943 to Summer 1945)


  • During this stage, the Soviets moved to the offensive
  • From August 1943 onwards the Soviets gained victories across Eastern Europe
  • In July, Soviet victory at Prokhorovka was a springboard for Soviet counter attacks
• The USSR suffered huge destruction caused by the German advance
• The USSR also suffered from Soviet 'scorched earth tactics' as the army retreated
• Food, fuel and shelter were all in short supply
• Many factories, hospitals and houses were destroyed
• Around 12 million civilians died in the war
• 1700 towns and cities and 70,000 villages were destroyed
• Thousands of Soviet soldiers were held as prisoners of war
• Thousands of Soviet workers were conscripted to work in German factories
• Captured Soviet commissars executed immediately
• Massacres and deportations of Jews – e.g. September 1941, 34,000 Jews were shot at Babi Yar
• Thousands arrested or executed as slackers, deserters and defeatists
• 170,000 military personnel were executed for treason
• Harsh treatment of returned prisoners & of liberated area as they pushed back into Western Europe
• Mass deportation of ethnic minorities – e.g. May 1944 the Tartar population were deported to Uzbekistan (240,000 people)
• Army mobilisation


  • Stalin's early errors lost millions of Red Army men and equipment
  • In 1941, the Red Army had 4.8 million soldiers
  • Conscription added 29.5 million men to the Red Army
  • This was a major strength for the USSR
• Protecting the economy


  • The German occupation of the western regions destroyed the basis of the Soviet economy
  • Soviet industry was relocated to the Urals and further east away from German bombing
  • Whole factories were dismantled and moved using 20,000 trains
  • 500 factories were moved from Moscow
• Improving military resources


  • During 1942, the USSR began to build a huge industrial base for war production
  • The centrally controlled command economy was especially effective in producing the resources needed
  • Huge improvements were made to military vehicles and tactics
  • The T-34 tank was equal to the German Tiger tank but was quick to make and repair
  • Mass production of these tanks was central to the Soviet victory in Prokhorovka
  • The USSR could withstand the loss of thousands of tanks because it could build more, whereas the Germans were far from home
• Cold War


  A state of political hostility between countries characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare
• German Weaknesses


  • Hitler's strategy relied on securing a rapid victory
  • From December 1941, Germany fad to fight a two-front war
  • Germany lacked self-sufficiency in raw materials and by 1943 this became a problem
  • Hitler had replaced experienced generals with 'yes men'
  • Harsh German repression created resistance movements and partisans in countries they occupied
• Soviet Strengths


  • The USSR's geographic size meant German supply lines were stretched too far by the end of 1941
  • The size of the USSR allowed whole new armies and factories to be built beyond the German reach
  • The population size was 3x that of Germany so they could replace losses much more easily
  • The USSR had natural resource wealth that allowed them to replace equipment
  • The 'command economy' was well suited to total war and the emergency mobilisation of workers and resources
  • Stalin's Stavka (military command) became ruthlessly effective
  • Propaganda and patriotism motivated the army and civilians to fight – 4 million people volunteered for citizens' defence in 1941
• Allied contribution & Foreign Aid


  • Stalin's allies meant Hitler was fighting on two fronts
  • Mass bombing campaigns by the British and Americans from 1943 inflicted huge damage on Germany's war effort
  • Allied secret intelligence undermined the German war effort
  • Huge quantities of armaments, industrial goods and foodstuffs were transported to the USSR from the USA
  • 300,000 American trucks were supplied through the US Lend-Lease scheme
  • The USSR downplayed the scale of foreign aid but it is clear that it was an important factor
• Superpower status


  • The war unleashed the USSR's economic potential
  • The war badly weakened other European powers
• Communism strength


  • Communism was seen to defeat fascism
  • Increased the attraction of a 'socialist road' to development
• Stalin's power increased


  • Cult of Stalin was strengthened
  • Stalin took the opportunity to portray himself as a great war hero