Notes
OPERATION BARBAROSSA (RED BEARD)
- Initial Attack on Russia (Breaking Non-Aggression Pact)
- June 22, 1941 – Led by Von Paulos
- Stalin was warned, did nothing – caught off guard
- First attacks masterful. Soviets pushed back
- Captured Leningrad/Keiv, 50 miles from Moscow
- Russians retreat to Moscow, scorched earth policy
- Russian Winter hits. Coldest in 50 years
- German Machines all freeze. Germans not ready for winter
- Thousands died to cold
- Attack on Moscow failed (50miles)
- Siberian soldiers and weather primary reason
Summary
Germans broke non-aggression pact, and attempted to capture Stalingrad. Due to a cold winter, they did not get close to Mowscow, and were pushed back by Siberian forces.
Quote
"Demoralize the enemy from within by surprise, terror, sabotage, assassination. This is the war of the future." - Hitler
subjunctive question
How much longer would have the war lasted if Hitler took over Moscow and Stalingrad?