1941 plan barbarossa. The German plan for barbarossa briefly. When did Nazi Germany attack the USSR?

Briefly about the Barbarossa plan 1941 - 1942

"Plan Bar barossa"

1. Allies of the Wehrmacht
2. Historical meaning
3. Video

Briefly the name of the war plan of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, briefly called the plan "Barbarossa". When France surrendered, Hitler began to plan the seizure of the territories of the USSR. Hitler's plan to seize territories Soviet Union was a quick win. The tactic of lightning war itself is called "Blitzkrieg", and the plan was named after the emperor of the Roman Empire "Barbarossa"

What was the essence of the plan "Barbarossa"

From the very beginning, there was a plan to quickly penetrate with the help of tanks into the territory of the western part of the Soviet Union, namely to capture Moscow. To do this, it was necessary to destroy the ground forces of the USSR. Further, it was necessary to ensure that enemy aircraft could not fully deploy and could not harm the German army. And at the very end, the task was to divide the territory of the Soviet Union into European and Asian, with a kind of shield of their own army. Thus, only the Urals will remain from the industrial regions, and it would not be difficult to destroy it. In short, the goal was the initial capture of all important strategic and industrial centers and their destruction.

Allies of the Wehrmacht

Despite his "brilliant" plan "Barbarossa", Hitler was able to agree on cooperation with Romania and Finland in the war against the Soviet Union.
The German command set the proper time and form of armed assistance to be provided by the Allies. All their actions were to be completely subordinate to the German command.
So, Romania had to support the Germans with its best troops in the offensive of the southern flank of the Nazi army. Such support was required at least at the initial stage of the operation. The task was to bind Soviet army where German forces will not be possible. Further, the role of Romania was to serve in the rear.

The role of Finland was to cover the German northern group of troops when they begin to concentrate the northern group of troops of the Wehrmacht, which is sent from Norway. In the future, the Finns were to connect with these troops.

The capture of the Hanko peninsula was also to be faced by the Finnish army.
For the start of hostilities, the railways and highways of Sweden were at the complete disposal of the German army. They were provided to fight in the northern direction.

Briefly about the course of hostilities under the plan "Barbarossa"

In the two years prior to the invasion, the two countries signed political and economic pacts to achieve strategic goals. Despite this, in 1940, Hitler planned a military invasion of the USSR with a start date of May 15, 1941. The actual invasion began on June 22, 1941

The Germans promptly won several battles and occupied part of the most important economic regions of the Soviet Union. Mainly in Ukraine. Despite their successes, the German army, or rather its offensive, stalled on the outskirts of Moscow, and then was driven back by the Soviet counteroffensive. Red Army repels Wehrmacht forces and forces Germany into protracted war
The failure of Operation Barbarossa was a turning point in fate.

On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the territory of the Soviet Union. So, briefly, about the stages of military operations provided for by the Barbarossa plan.

Part I

• 1. In the first hours of the offensive, the German troops destroyed the possibility of reporting the real situation in the attack zone. Stalin issued an order to attack the invaders.
  2. The next step was the destruction of the aviation of the USSR. The complete defeat of the air force did not happen.
  3. The German army received an order to move back to the Western Dvina. Pskov was captured and the German army stood on the outskirts of Leningrad region. Military operations began in the region.
  4. The swamps of Pripyat and the Carpathian mountains have become a problem area. The German army invaded the territory of Moldova, which was defending the Southern Front.
  5. German troops headed towards Minsk and Vilnius.

Part II

• On July 2 and over the next six days, heavy rainfall, typical of a Belarusian summer, slowed down the implementation of the plan. Such a delay helped the USSR organize a counterattack.
• Two armies clashed near Smolensk. The Germans were able to repel the offensive. The German command realized that they underestimated the strength of the Soviet army too much.
• Hitler's troops began to slow down.
• Thus, it was necessary to capture industrial centre Kharkov, Donbass and oil fields in the Caucasus. Fedor von Bock, commander of Army Group Center, and almost all German generals involved in Operation Barbarossa argued that it was necessary to resolutely continue to move towards Moscow.
• In addition, Moscow was a major center for the production of weapons, the center Soviet system communications and is an important transportation hub.
• More importantly, intelligence reports showed that most of the Red Army was deployed near Moscow and defending the capital.
• But Hitler was adamant, and he issued an order to disband the army of the Center group to the north and south, temporarily suspending the attack on Moscow.

Stage III

• In August, the number of inventories was steadily declining.
• The air forces of the German troops became more and more helpless. With the onset of autumn, air battles became increasingly impossible for the Wehrmacht troops.
• The Nazi army captured Leningrad (1941).
• The capture and destruction of the railways began.
• At this stage, Hitler ordered the final destruction of Leningrad without any prisoners.
• The city did not succumb to the siege.
• Then it was decided to starve. Most of the inhabitants died of starvation.

Stage IV

• At this stage, the first line of defense of Moscow was broken through. The German government no longer doubted the fall of Moscow and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
• Martial law was declared in Moscow. The weather was against the German troops.
• The air temperature has dropped. Dirt roads turned into impassable dirt.
• This weakened the attack on Moscow. The Wehrmacht army was left without food and ammunition.
• With the onset of cold weather, the ground froze, and again it was possible to continue the offensive.
• Attempts to encircle Moscow began. The Germans came close enough to the capital, but the weather intervened again. This time snow and blizzard. The equipment was out of order. There were not enough warm clothes.
• The battle for Moscow was lost by the Germans.

Consequences of the plan "Barbarossa"

After the failure in the battle of Moscow, all German plans for the rapid defeat of the Soviet Union had to be revised. Soviet counter-offensives in December 1941 caused heavy casualties on both sides, but ultimately eliminated the German threat to Moscow.

Despite this setback for the Germans, the Soviet Union was also hard hit by the conflict. He lost so much of his army and industry that the Germans were able to form another large-scale offensive in July 1942. Hitler, realized that the oil supply from Germany was severely "depleted.

Hitler's next goal was to seize the oil fields of Baku. Again the Germans quickly conquered large expanses Soviet territory, but they failed to achieve their ultimate goal as a result of their decisive defeat in Battle of Stalingrad.
By 1943, the Soviet war economy was fully equipped and able to operate more productively than the German one. The war ended in complete defeat and occupation Nazi Germany in May 1945.

Why did the Barbarossa plan fail?
There were several reasons for the defeat of the Barbarossa plan:
. The German command mistakenly believed that the enemy would not be prepared for an attack. However, they did not take into account that Stalin foresaw such an outcome, so the tactics of repelling aggression were developed. The USSR had a lack of modern military equipment. But natural conditions, as well as competent command and the ability to conduct military operations in difficult conditions, helped the failure of the Barbarossa plan;
. Counterintelligence was well prepared in the Soviet Union. So, in many respects, thanks to intelligence, the command of the Soviet army knew about the alleged steps of the enemy. This helped to prepare and form a plan of action.
. Since it was difficult to get maps of the Soviet Union, the German command had difficulty representing the territorial features of the enemy. Therefore, the impenetrable forests of the USSR became an unpleasant surprise for the Germans, which slowed down the lightning offensive.
. It was planned that the seizure of power would take place at lightning speed, so when Hitler began to lose control over military operations, the Barbarossa plan showed all its failure. Soon the German command finally lost control of the situation.
Thus, we can say that weather and natural conditions have become just one of the points of the collapse of the Barbarossa plan. For the most part, his collapse was the self-confidence of Hitler and the entire command, as well as the lack of thoughtfulness of the plan.

Historical meaning
Operation Barbarossa was the largest military operation in the history of mankind.

It was also a battle in which the amount of deployed equipment and people was of enormous proportions, which had not been before. The Eastern Front became the largest theater of operations.

During this conflict, it witnessed titanic clashes, unprecedented violence and destruction over the course of four years, resulting in the deaths of over 26 million people. The greatest number of people died fighting on the Eastern Front than in all other hostilities around the world. the globe During the Second World War.

Operation Barbarossa (plan "Barbarossa" 1941) - a plan for a military attack and the rapid seizure of the territory of the USSR by Hitler's troops during.

The plan and essence of Operation Barbarossa was to quickly and unexpectedly attack the Soviet troops on their own territory and, taking advantage of the confusion of the enemy, defeat the Red Army. Then, within two months, the German army was to move inland and conquer Moscow. Control over the USSR gave Germany the opportunity to fight the United States for the right to dictate its terms in world politics.

Hitler, who had already managed to conquer almost all of Europe, was confident in his victory over the USSR. However, the plan "Barbarossa" was a failure, a protracted operation turned into a long war.

The plan "Barbarossa" got its name in honor of the medieval king of Germany, Frederick the 1st, who bore the nickname Barbarossa and was famous for his military achievements.

Contents of Operation Barbarossa. Hitler's plans

Although in 1939 Germany and the USSR made peace, Hitler still decided to attack Russia, as this was a necessary step towards the world domination of Germany and the Third Reich. Hitler instructed the German command to collect information about the composition of the Soviet army and, on this basis, draw up a plan of attack. This is how the Barbarossa plan was born.

German intelligence officers, after checking, came to the conclusion that the Soviet army was in many ways inferior to the German one: it was less organized, worse trained, and the technical equipment of Russian soldiers left much to be desired. Focusing precisely on these principles, Hitler created a plan for a swift attack, which was supposed to ensure the victory of Germany in record time.

The essence of the Barbarossa plan was to attack the USSR on the borders of the country and, taking advantage of the unpreparedness of the enemy, smash the army and then destroy it. Hitler made the main emphasis on modern military equipment, which belonged to Germany, and the effect of surprise.

The plan was to be carried out at the beginning of 1941. First, German troops were to attack the Russian army in Belarus, where the bulk of it was assembled. Having defeated the Soviet soldiers in Belarus, Hitler planned to advance towards Ukraine, conquer Kyiv and the sea routes, cutting off Russia from the Dnieper. At the same time, a blow was to be struck at Murmansk from Norway. Hitler planned to launch an offensive against Moscow, surrounding the capital from all sides.

Despite careful preparations in an atmosphere of secrecy, it became clear from the first weeks that the Barbarossa plan was a failure.

Implementation of the Barbarossa plan and results

From the very first days, the operation did not go as successfully as planned. First of all, this happened due to the fact that Hitler and the German command underestimated the Soviet troops. According to historians, the Russian army was not only equal in strength to the German one, but in many ways surpassed it.

The Soviet troops turned out to be well prepared, in addition, military operations were taking place on Russian territory, so the soldiers could use the natural conditions, which they knew better than the Germans, to their advantage. The Soviet army was also able to resist and not fall apart into separate detachments thanks to good command and the ability to mobilize and make lightning-fast decisions.

At the beginning of the attack, Hitler planned to quickly move deep into the Soviet army and begin to crush it into pieces, separating the detachments from each other in order to avoid bulk operations by the Russians. He managed to advance, but he failed to break the front: the Russian detachments quickly gathered together and brought up new forces. This led to the fact that Hitler's army, although winning, was advancing catastrophically slowly inland, not by kilometers, as planned, but by meters.

Only a few months later, Hitler managed to approach Moscow, but the German army did not dare to launch an attack - the soldiers were exhausted by prolonged hostilities, and the city was never bombed, although otherwise was planned. Hitler also failed to bomb Leningrad, which was besieged and blockaded, but did not surrender and was not destroyed from the air.

It began, which dragged on from 1941 to 1945 and ended with the defeat of Hitler.

Reasons for the failure of the Barbarossa plan

Hitler's plan failed for several reasons:

• the Russian army turned out to be stronger and more prepared than the German command expected: the Russians compensated for the lack of modern military equipment with the ability to fight in difficult natural conditions, as well as competent command;
• the Soviet army had excellent counterintelligence: thanks to the scouts, the command almost always knew about the next step of the enemy, which made it possible to quickly and adequately respond to the actions of the attackers;
• inaccessibility of territories: the Germans did not know the territory of the USSR well, since it was extremely difficult to get maps. In addition, they did not know how to fight in impenetrable forests;
• loss of control over the course of the war: the Barbarossa plan quickly proved to be ineffective, and after a few months Hitler completely lost control over the course of hostilities.

Back in 1940, the Barbarossa plan was developed and approved briefly, according to which it was supposed to establish complete total control over the Soviet Union, the only country that, according to Hitler, could resist Germany.

It was planned to do this in a very short time, striking in three directions by the joint efforts of Germany and its allies - Romania, Finland and Hungary. The attack was supposed to be in three directions:
in a southerly direction - Ukraine was put under attack;
in the northern direction - Leningrad and the Baltic States;
in the central direction - Moscow, Minsk.

Full coordination of the actions of the military leadership to seize the Union and establish complete control over it, and the end of the preparation of military operations was supposed to be completed as early as April 1941. The German leadership mistakenly assumed that they would be able to complete the fleeting capture of the Soviet Union, according to the developed plan Barbarossa, much earlier than the war with Great Britain was over.

The whole essence of Barbarossa's plan boiled down to the following.
The main forces of the ground forces of the Soviet Union, which were located on the territory of the western part of Russia, had to be completely destroyed with the help of tank wedges. The main goal of this destruction was the task of preventing the withdrawal of even a part of the combat-ready troops. Next, it was necessary to take a line from which it would be possible to carry out air raids on the territory of the Reich. The final goal of the Barbarossa plan is a shield that could divide the European and Asian parts of Russia (Volga-Arkhangelsk). In this state of affairs, the Russians would have industrial facilities only in the Urals, which could be destroyed, in the event of an urgent need, with the help of the Luftwaffe. In developing the Barbarossa plan, a special place was given to coordinating actions in such a way that Baltic Fleet deprive any opportunity to participate in hostilities against Germany. And possible active attacks from the air forces of the Union were supposed to be prevented by preparing and implementing an operation to attack them. That is, the advance nullification of the air force's ability to effectively defend itself.

In coordinating the Barbarossa plan, Hitler considered it important that the commanders bring to the attention of their subordinates that all measures taken in connection with the implementation of such a plan are considered exclusively preventive - so that the Russians could not take a position other than that which was assigned to them. German leadership. Information about the development of this kind of attack was kept secret. Only a small amount officers was allowed to plan military operations, which was supposed to be carried out against the Soviet Union. This is due solely to the fact that an undesirable outflow of information will lead to the onset of grave political and military consequences.

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The art of war is a science in which nothing succeeds except what has been calculated and thought out.

Napoleon

The Barbarossa plan is a plan for Germany's attack on the USSR, based on the principle of lightning war, blitzkrieg. The plan began to be developed in the summer of 1940, and on December 18, 1940, Hitler approved a plan according to which the war was to be ended by November 1941 at the latest.

Plan Barbarossa was named after Frederick Barbarossa, a 12th century emperor who became famous for his conquests. This traced elements of symbolism, to which Hitler himself and his entourage paid so much attention. The plan received its name on January 31, 1941.

Number of troops to implement the plan

Germany prepared 190 divisions for war and 24 divisions as a reserve. For the war, 19 tank and 14 motorized divisions were allocated. The total number of the contingent that Germany sent to the USSR, according to various estimates, ranges from 5 to 5.5 million people.

The apparent superiority in the technology of the USSR should not be taken into account, since by the beginning of the wars, German technical tanks and aircraft were superior to Soviet ones, and the army itself was much more trained. Suffice it to recall the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, where the Red Army demonstrated weakness in literally everything.

Direction of the main attack

The Barbarossa plan defined 3 main directions for the strike:

• Army Group South. A blow to Moldova, Ukraine, Crimea and access to the Caucasus. Further movement to the line Astrakhan - Stalingrad (Volgograd).
• Army Group Center. Line "Minsk - Smolensk - Moscow". Advance to Nizhny Novgorod, leveling the line "Wave - Northern Dvina".
• Army Group North. Attack on the Baltic states, Leningrad and further advance towards Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. At the same time, the army "Norway" was to fight in the north together with the Finnish army.

Table - offensive goals according to the Barbarossa plan

	SOUTH	CENTER	NORTH
Target	Ukraine, Crimea, access to the Caucasus	Minsk, Smolensk, Moscow	Baltic States, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk
population	57 divisions and 13 brigades	50 divisions and 2 brigades	29 division + army "Norway"
Commanding	Field Marshal von Rundstedt	Field Marshal von Bock	Field Marshal von Leeb
common goal	Get on line: Arkhangelsk - Volga - Astrakhan (Northern Dvina)

Approximately by the end of October 1941, the German command planned to reach the Volga-Northern Dvina line, thereby capturing the entire European part of the USSR. This was the plan of the blitzkrieg. After the blitzkrieg, the lands beyond the Urals should have remained, which, without the support of the center, would quickly surrender to the winner.

Until about mid-August 1941, the Germans believed that the war was going according to plan, but in September there were already entries in the diaries of officers that the Barbarossa plan had failed and the war would be lost. The best proof that Germany in August 1941 believed that only a few weeks were left before the end of the war with the USSR is the speech of Goebbels. The Minister of Propaganda suggested that the Germans additionally collect warm clothes for the needs of the army. The government decided that this step was not necessary, since there would be no war in the winter.

Implementation of the plan

The first three weeks of the war assured Hitler that everything was going according to plan. The army advanced rapidly, winning victories, the Soviet army suffered huge losses:

• 28 divisions out of 170 disabled.
• 70 divisions lost about 50% of their personnel.
• 72 divisions remained combat-ready (43% of those available at the start of the war).

During the same 3 weeks, the average rate of advance of German troops inland was 30 km per day.

By July 11, the army group "North" occupied almost the entire territory of the Baltic states, providing access to Leningrad, the army group "Center" reached Smolensk, the army group "South" went to Kyiv. These were the last achievements that fully corresponded to the plan of the German command. After that, failures began (still local, but already indicative). Nevertheless, the initiative in the war until the end of 1941 was on the side of Germany.

German failures in the North

The army "North" occupied the Baltic states without problems, especially since there was practically no partisan movement there. The next strategic point to be captured was Leningrad. It turned out that the Wehrmacht was not capable of this task. The city did not capitulate to the enemy, and until the end of the war, despite all efforts, Germany failed to capture it.

Failures of the Army Center

The "Center" army reached Smolensk without any problems, but got stuck under the city until September 10. Smolensk resisted for almost a month. The German command demanded a decisive victory and the advance of the troops, since such a delay under the city, which was planned to be taken without heavy losses, was unacceptable and cast doubt on the implementation of the Barbarossa plan. As a result, the Germans took Smolensk, but their troops were pretty battered.

Historians today evaluate the battle for Smolensk as a tactical victory for Germany, but a strategic victory for Russia, as they managed to stop the advance of troops on Moscow, which allowed the capital to prepare for defense.

Complicated the advance of the German army inland partisan movement Belarus.

Failures of the Army of the South

The "South" army reached Kyiv in 3.5 weeks and, like the "Center" army near Smolensk, got stuck in battles. In the end, it was possible to take the city in view of the clear superiority of the army, but Kyiv held out almost until the end of September, which also made it difficult for the German army to advance, and made a significant contribution to the disruption of the Barbarossa plan.

Map of the advance plan of the German troops

Above is a map showing the plan of the German command for the offensive. The map shows: green - the borders of the USSR, red - the border to which Germany planned to reach, blue - the deployment and the plan for the advancement of the German forces.

General state of affairs

• In the North, it was not possible to capture Leningrad and Murmansk. The advance of the troops stopped.
• In the Center, with great difficulty, we managed to get to Moscow. At the time the German army entered the Soviet capital, it was clear that no blitzkrieg had happened.
• In the South, they failed to take Odessa and capture the Caucasus. By the end of September, the Nazi troops had only captured Kyiv and launched an offensive against Kharkov and the Donbass.

Why did the blitzkrieg fail in Germany?

Germany failed the blitzkrieg because the Wehrmacht was preparing the Barbarossa plan, as it later turned out, on false intelligence. Hitler admitted this by the end of 1941, saying that if he had known the real state of affairs in the USSR, he would not have started the war on June 22.

The lightning war tactics were based on the fact that the country has one line of defense on the western border, all large army units are located on the western border, and aviation is located on the border. Since Hitler was sure that all Soviet troops were located on the border, this formed the basis of the blitzkrieg - to destroy the enemy army in the first weeks of the war, and then rapidly move inland without encountering serious resistance.

In fact, there were several lines of defense, the army was not located with all its forces on the western border, there were reserves. Germany did not expect this, and by August 1941 it became clear that the lightning war had failed, and Germany could not win the war. The fact that World War II lasted until 1945 only proves that the Germans fought very organized and brave. Due to the fact that they had the economy of the whole of Europe behind them (speaking of the war between Germany and the USSR, many for some reason forget that the German army included units from almost all European countries) they managed to fight successfully.

Did Barbarossa's plan fail?

I propose to evaluate the Barbarossa plan according to 2 criteria: global and local. Global(landmark - the Great Patriotic War) - the plan was thwarted, because the lightning war did not work, the German troops were bogged down in battles. Local(landmark - intelligence data) - the plan was implemented. The German command drew up the Barbarossa plan on the basis that the USSR had 170 divisions on the country's border, there were no additional defense echelons. There are no reserves and reinforcements. The army was preparing for this. In 3 weeks, 28 Soviet divisions were completely destroyed, and in 70, approximately 50% of the personnel and equipment were disabled. At this stage, the blitzkrieg worked and, in the absence of reinforcements from the USSR, gave the desired results. But it turned out that the Soviet command has reserves, not all troops are located on the border, mobilization brings quality soldiers into the army, there are additional lines of defense, the “charm” of which Germany felt near Smolensk and Kyiv.

Therefore, the disruption of the Barbarossa plan must be regarded as a huge strategic mistake of German intelligence, led by Wilhelm Canaris. Today, some historians associate this person with the agents of England, but there is no evidence for this. But if we assume that this is indeed the case, then it becomes clear why Canaris slipped Hitler an absolute “linden” that the USSR was not ready for war and that all troops were located on the border.

Plan Barbarossa, or Directive 21, was developed with great care. Much attention was paid to the flow of disinformation designed to cover up intentions to attack the Soviet Union. But during the operation "Barbarossa" difficulties arose. The reason and details of the failure of the blitzkrieg in the USSR.

Adolf Hitler examines the map of the Barbarossa plan, on the left, Field Marshals Keitel, 1940.

By 1940, things were going well for Hitler. The political struggle with opponents was left behind. The power was already completely concentrated in his hands. Plans to take over Europe were carried out, almost without a hitch, without a hitch. The new tactics of blitzkrieg fully justified the hopes placed on it. However, Hitler understood that in order to dominate the conquered states, he needed to provide the people with agricultural and industrial resources. And the German economy was already working at full capacity, and it was unrealistic to squeeze something else out of it. The time has come to begin a new chapter in German history. The chapter to which Adolf Hitler decided to codename the plan "Barbarossa".

The German Fuhrer dreamed of building great empire which will dictate its will to the whole world. In the first half of the 19th century foreign policy Germany brought to its knees a number independent states. Hitler managed to subjugate Austria, Czechoslovakia, part of Lithuania, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. Moreover, a little more than a year has passed since the beginning of World War II. By that time, England was the most obvious and problematic enemy for Germany. Despite the signed official non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, no one had any illusions on this score. Even Stalin understood that an attack by the Wehrmacht was simply a matter of time. But he felt calm while the confrontation between Germany and England was going on. The experience gained in the First World War gave him such confidence. The Russian Generalissimo was firmly convinced that Hitler would never start a war on two fronts.

Contents of Operation Barbarossa. Hitler's plans

According to the policy of living space in the East, the Third Reich needed a territory rich in natural resources and large enough to comfortably accommodate a master race. Today, the phrase "living space" will say little to the non-specialist. But since the end of the thirties, for any German it has been as familiar as today, for example, the phrase "integration into Europe." There was an official term "Lebensraum im Osten". Such ideological preparation was also important for the implementation of Operation Barbarossa, the plan of which at that time was under development.

Plan Barbarossa Map

On December 17, 1940, Hitler was presented with a document detailing the operation to seize the Soviet Union. The ultimate goal was to push the Russians beyond the Urals and create a barrier along the line from the Volga to Arkhangelsk. This would cut off the army from strategically important military bases, functioning factories and oil reserves. In the original version, it was supposed to achieve all the goals in one jerk.

Hitler was generally pleased with the design, but made some adjustments, the most significant of which was the splitting of the campaign into two stages. First it was necessary to capture Leningrad, Kyiv and Moscow. This was followed by a strategic pause, during which the army of the victors received rest, strengthened morale and built up strength at the expense of the resources of the defeated enemy. And only then was the final victorious breakthrough to occur. However, this did not cancel the blitzkrieg technique. The whole operation took two, maximum - three months.

What was Barbarossa's plan

The essence of the approved plan "Barbarossa", which the Fuhrer signed in December 1940, was a lightning breakthrough through the Soviet border, the rapid defeat of the main armed forces and pushing the demoralized remnant away from strategically important defensive points. Hitler personally chose the code name for the German command. The operation was called Plan Barbarossa or Directive 21. The ultimate goal is to completely defeat the Soviet Union in one short-term campaign.

The main forces of the Red Army were concentrated on the western border. Previous military campaigns have proven the effectiveness of the use of panzer divisions. And the concentration of the Red Army was in the hands of the Wehrmacht. Tank wedges cut into the enemy ranks like a knife through butter, sowing death and panic. The remnants of the enemy were taken into the environment, falling into the so-called boilers. The soldiers were either forced to surrender or finished off on the spot. Hitler was going to advance the offensive on a wide front in three directions at once - southern, central and northern.

For the successful implementation of the plan, surprise, speed of advance and reliable detailed data on the disposition of Soviet troops were extremely important. Therefore, the start of the war was postponed until the end of the spring of 1941.

Number of troops to implement the plan

In order to successfully launch Operation Barbarossa, the plan involved a secret concentration of Wehrmacht forces to the borders of the country. But the movement of 190 divisions had to be somehow motivated. Since the second World War was in full swing, Hitler threw all his strength into trying to convince Stalin of the priority of the capture of England. And all the movements of troops were explained by redeployment for waging war with the West. Germany had 7.6 million people at its disposal. Of these, 5 million had to be delivered to the border.

The general balance of forces on the eve of the war is shown in the table "The balance of forces of Germany and the USSR at the beginning of the Second World War."

The balance of forces of Germany and the USSR at the beginning of the Second World War:

From the above table it can be seen that the superiority in terms of the number of equipment was clearly on the side of the Soviet Union. However, this does not reflect the real picture. The fact is that economic development Russia at the beginning of the century was significantly slowed down civil war. This affected, among other things, the state military equipment. Compared to German armament, it was already outdated, but worst of all, a very large part of it was physically unusable. She was only conditionally combat-ready and very often needed repairs.

In addition, the Red Army was not completed for wartime. There was a catastrophic shortage of personnel. But even worse, even among the available fighters, a significant part were untrained recruits. And from the German side, veterans who had gone through real military campaigns spoke. Given this, it becomes clear that Germany's attack on the Soviet Union and the opening of a second front was not such a self-confident action.

Hitler took into account the development of Russia at the beginning of the century, and the state of its weapons, and the deployment of troops. His plan to cut deep into the Soviet army and reshape the political map of eastern Europe to suit him looked quite feasible.

Direction of the main attack

The German attack on the Soviet Union was not like a single point javelin strike. The attack came from three directions at once. They are indicated in the table "Goals of the offensive of the German army." This was the Barbarossa plan, which marked the beginning of the Great Patriotic War for Soviet citizens. The largest army, led by Field Marshal Karl von Rundstedt, advanced south. Under his command were 44 German divisions, 13 Romanian divisions, 9 Romanian brigades and 4 Hungarian brigades. Their task was to capture the whole of Ukraine and provide access to the Caucasus.

In the central direction, an army of 50 German divisions and 2 German brigades was led by Field Marshal Moritz von Bock. The most trained and powerful tank groups were at his disposal. He was supposed to capture Minsk. And after that, according to the approved scheme, through Smolensk, move to Moscow.

To the north, the advance of 29 German divisions and the army "Norway" was led by Field Marshal Wilhelm von Leeb. His task was to occupy the Baltic, establish control over the sea exits, take Leningrad and move to Murmansk through Arkhangelsk. Thus, these three armies were eventually to reach the Arkhangelsk-Volga-Astrakhan line.

Goals of the German offensive:

Direction	South	Center	North
Commanding	Carl von Rundstedt	Moritz von Bock	Wilhelm von Leeb
Army strength	57 divisions	50 divisions 2 brigades	29 divisions Army "Norway"
Goals	Ukraine Caucasus (exit)	Minsk Smolensk	the Baltic States Leningrad Arkhangelsk Murmansk

Neither the Fuhrer, nor the field marshals, nor ordinary German soldiers doubted a quick and inevitable victory over the USSR. This is evidenced not only by official documents, but also by the personal diaries of military commanders, as well as letters sent by ordinary soldiers from the front. Everyone was in euphoria from previous military campaigns and looked forward to a quick victory and eastern front.

Implementation of the plan

The outbreak of war with the Soviet Union only strengthened Germany's belief in a quick victory. The German advanced divisions managed to easily crush the resistance and enter the territory of the USSR. The field marshals acted strictly, as prescribed by a secret document. The Barbarossa plan began to materialize. The results of the first three weeks of the war for the Soviet Union were extremely discouraging. During this time, 28 divisions were completely disabled. The text of Russian reports indicates that only 43% of the army remained combat-ready (from the number at the beginning of hostilities). Seventy divisions lost about 50% of their personnel.

The first German attack on the USSR was on June 22, 1941. And by July 11, the main part of the Baltic states was occupied, and the approach to Leningrad was liberated. In the center, the advance of the German army took place at an average speed of 30 km per day. Von Bock's divisions reached Smolensk without much difficulty. In the south, they also made a breakthrough, which was planned to be made at the first stage, and the main forces were already in sight of the Ukrainian capital. The next step was to take Kyiv.

There were objective reasons for such dizzying successes. The tactical factor of surprise disoriented not only the Soviet soldiers on the ground. Heavy losses in the first days of the war were suffered due to uncoordinated defense actions. Do not forget that the Germans followed a clear and carefully planned plan. And the formation of a Russian defensive rebuff was almost spontaneous. Often, commanders simply did not receive reliable reports about what was happening in time, so they could not react accordingly.

Among the reasons why Soviet Russia at the beginning of the war, the candidate of military sciences, professor G.F. Krivosheev, suffered such significant losses, highlights the following:

• The suddenness of the impact.
• Significant numerical superiority of the enemy at the points of collision.
• Deployment of troops.
• The real combat experience of German soldiers, as opposed to a large number of untrained recruits in the first echelon.
• Echelon disposition of troops (the Soviet army was drawn to the border gradually).

German failures in the north

After the vigorous capture of the Baltic states, it was time to sweep away Leningrad. The army "North" was entrusted with an important strategic objective- it was supposed to provide for the army "Center" freedom of maneuver during the capture of Moscow, and for the army "South" the ability to perform operational and strategic tasks.

But this time, the Barbarossa plan failed. The newly formed Leningrad Front of the Red Army on August 23 managed to stop the Wehrmacht forces near Koporye. On August 30, after heavy fighting, the Germans were able to reach the Neva and cut off the railway communication to Leningrad. On September 8th they occupied Shlisselburg. Thus, the northern historical capital was enclosed in a blockade ring.

Blitzkrieg clearly failed. Lightning capture, as in the case of the conquered European states, did not work. On September 26, the advance of the army "North" to Leningrad was stopped by the Red Army under the command of Zhukov. A long blockade of the city began.

The situation in Leningrad was very difficult. But for the German army, this time was not in vain. I had to think about the supply, which was actively interfered with by the activities of the partisans along the entire length of the route. The joyful euphoria from the rapid advance inland also subsided. The German command planned to reach the extreme lines in three months. Now, at the headquarters, more and more often they openly recognized the Barbarossa plan as a failure. And the soldiers were exhausted by the protracted endless battles.

The failures of the army "Center"

While the army "North" was trying to conquer Leningrad, Field Marshal Moritz von Bock led his people to Smolensk. He clearly understood the importance of the task assigned to him. Smolensk was the last step before Moscow. And the fall of the capital, according to the plans of German military strategists, was to completely demoralize the Soviet people. After that, the conquerors would only have to trample down individual scattered pockets of resistance.

Although by the time the Germans approached Smolensk, Field Marshal Wilhelm von Leeb, who commanded the North Army, was unable to ensure the unhindered deployment of troops in the direction of the upcoming main attack, the Center Army was still developing successfully. They reached the city with a vigorous march and, in the end, Smolensk was taken. During the defense of the city, three Soviet armies were surrounded and defeated, 310 thousand people were taken prisoner. But fighting lasted from July 10 to August 5. The German army again lost the pace of advance. In addition, von Bock could not count on support from the troops of the northern direction (as was supposed to be done if necessary), since they themselves were stuck in one place, holding the cordon around Leningrad.

It took almost a month to capture Smolensk. And for another month there were fierce battles for the city of Velikiye Luki. It was not strategically important, but the battles delayed the advance of the German army. And this, in turn, gave time to prepare for the defense of Moscow. Therefore, from a tactical point of view, it was important to keep the defense as long as possible. And the Red Army soldiers fought furiously, despite the losses. They not only defended themselves, but also raided the enemy's flanks, which further dispersed his forces.

Battle for Moscow

While the German army was held near Smolensk, Soviet people managed to thoroughly prepare for the defense. For the most part, the fortifications were erected by the hands of women and children. A whole layered defense system has grown up around Moscow. Managed to staff the people's militia.

The attack on Moscow began on 30 September. It was supposed to consist of a rapid one-time breakthrough. Instead, the Germans, although moving forward, did so slowly and painfully. Step by step they overcame the defense of the capital. Only by November 25 did the German army reach Krasnaya Polyana. Moscow was 20 km away. No one believed in the Barbarossa plan.

The Germans did not go beyond these lines. And already in early January 1942, the Red Army threw them back 150 kilometers from the city. A counteroffensive began, as a result of which the front line was pushed back 400 km. Moscow was out of danger.

The failures of the army "South"

Army "South" met with resistance all the way through the territory of Ukraine. The forces of the Romanian divisions fettered Odessa. They could not support the attacks on the capital and serve as reinforcements for Field Marshal Karl von Rundstedt. However, the Wehrmacht forces reached Kyiv relatively quickly. It took only 3.5 weeks to advance to the city. But in the battles for Kyiv itself, the German army got stuck, as in other directions. The delay was so significant that Hitler decided to send reinforcements from the Center Army units. The Red Army suffered huge losses. Five armies were encircled. Only 665 thousand people were taken prisoners. But Germany was wasting time.

Each of the delays delayed the moment of impact on the main forces of Moscow. Each day won gave more time to the Soviet army and militia forces to prepare for defense. Every extra day meant the need to bring supplies for German soldiers who were far away in the territory of a hostile country. It was necessary to deliver ammunition and fuel. But worst of all, the attempt to continue to adhere to the Barbarossa plan approved by the Fuhrer launched the reasons for its failure.

Firstly, the plan was thought out and calculated really well. But only under the condition of blitzkrieg. As soon as the pace of advance through enemy territory began to decrease, his installations already became untenable. Secondly, the German command, in an attempt to patch up their crumbling offspring, sent many additional directives, which often directly contradicted one another.

Map of the German advance plan

When considering the plan for the advance of the German troops on the map, it is clear that it was developed holistically and thoughtfully. For more than one month, German intelligence officers meticulously collected information, photographed the territory. The wave of the trained German army was supposed to sweep away everything in its path and liberate fertile and rich lands for the German people.

The map shows that the first blow should have been concentrated. Having destroyed the main military forces, the Wehrmacht spread across the territory of the Soviet Union in breadth. From the Baltics to Ukraine. This made it possible to continue to disperse enemy forces, lock them into an environment and destroy them in small portions.

Already on the twentieth day after the first strike, the Barbarossa plan ordered to take the line Pskov - Smolensk - Kyiv (including cities). Further, a short rest was planned for the victorious German army. And already on the fortieth day after the start of the war (by the beginning of August 1941), Leningrad, Moscow and Kharkov were to submit.

After that, it remained to drive away the remnants of the defeated enemy behind the line Astrakhan - Stalingrad - Saratov - Kazan and finish it off on the other side. This freed up space for a new Germany spread across central and eastern Europe.

Why did the blitzkrieg fail in Germany?

Hitler himself claimed that the failure of the operation to take over the Soviet Union was due to false premises based on incorrect intelligence. The German Fuhrer even claimed that having the correct information, he would not have approved the start of the offensive.

According to the data available to the German command, only 170 divisions were available in the Soviet Union. And all of them were concentrated on the border. There was no information about reserves or additional lines of defense. If this were true, Barbarossa's plan would have every chance of being brilliantly executed.

Twenty-eight divisions of the Red Army were completely destroyed during the first breakthrough of the Wehrmacht. In 70 divisions, approximately half of all equipment was disabled, and personnel losses were 50% or more. 1200 aircraft were destroyed, which did not even have time to take to the air.

The offensive really crushed and divided the main enemy forces with one powerful blow. But Germany did not count on powerful reinforcements, on the incessant rebuff that followed this. After all, having captured the main strategic points, the German army could really deal with the remnants of the scattered parts of the Red Army in a month.

Reasons for failure

There were other objective factors why the blitzkrieg failed. The Germans did not particularly hide their intentions regarding the destruction of the Slavs. Therefore, they resisted desperately. Even in conditions of complete cut-off, lack of ammunition and food, the Red Army soldiers continued to fight literally until their last breath. They understood that death could not be avoided, so they sold their lives dearly.

Difficult terrain, poor road conditions, swamps and swamps, which were not always mapped in detail, also added to the headache of the German commanders. At the same time, this area and its features were well known to the Soviet people and they made full use of this knowledge.

The huge losses suffered by the Red Army were greater than among the German soldiers. But the Wehrmacht did not do without dead and wounded. None of the European campaigns had such significant losses as on the eastern front. It also did not fit into the tactics of blitzkrieg.

The front line, spreading like a wave, looks pretty nice on paper. But in reality, this meant the dispersal of parts, which, in turn, added difficulties for the convoy and supply units. In addition, the possibility of a massive strike on points of stubborn resistance was lost.

The activity of partisan groups also distracted the Germans. They counted on some help from the local population. After all, Hitler assured that ordinary citizens oppressed by the Bolshevik contagion would gladly stand under the banner of the newly arrived liberators. But this did not happen. There were very few defectors.

Numerous orders and directives that began to pour in after the main headquarters recognized the failure of the blitzkrieg, along with outright competition between the generals of the advancing army, also contributed to the deterioration of the Wehrmacht's position. At that time, few people realized that the failure of Operation Barbarossa marked the beginning of the end of the Third Reich.