Operation Barbarossa
The largest land battle of the 20th Century showed how initial success does not guarantee final victory.
Operation Barbarossa
On 22 June 1941, the Axis Powers launched the invasion of the Soviet Union with over 3 million men; 3,500 panzers; 7,146 artillery guns; 600,000 vehicles and 625,000 horses. It was the largest invasion force the world had ever seen.
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The Axis force was divided into three different armies: Army Group North, Army Group Center, and Army Group South. Army Group North was to race through the Soviet occupied Baltic States: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and put the city of Leningrad under siege. Army Group Center would smash the Soviet border armies in occupied Poland and then race to the Soviet capital of Moscow. Lastly, Army Group South would seize the resource rich Ukraine, then march to the oil fields of the Caucasus. The total area of the invasion would encompass approximately 1,800 miles of front from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.
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It was early morning and suddenly thousands of guns opened all at once… it was truly an inferno.
Herbert R. Army Group Center.
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The initial success of the invasion
The immediate results were staggering, the Soviets lost most of the original 150 divisions: approximately 10,000 personnel per division. In one month, the Axis had advanced more than 400 miles into Soviet territory and was approximately 200 miles from Moscow. With this perceived military success many believed the Soviet Union was on the verge of defeat, however three factors were to keep the Soviet Union in the war.
The Battle Goes On...
By mid-August the Soviets moved close to 200 new better equipped divisions in the Axis path blunting their advance towards Moscow. The Axis forces were out pacing their supply routes, leaving some units without adequate munitions or fuel, and Axis leadership argued about the importance of the capture of Moscow over the destruction of the Soviet armies in Ukraine. Entire Panzer divisions were transferred from Army Group Center to Army Group South for the Battle of Kiev.
While this single battle resulted in the capture of close to 600,000 Soviet soldiers, precious time was lost on the advance to Moscow. By the time the Panzer divisions were returned to Army Group Center, the weather began to change, more Soviet divisions arrived, and the Axis forces had suffered too many losses.
The Results...
The crowning goal of Operation Barbarossa, the capture of Moscow, was lost and many historians would argue the chance of an Axis victory was lost as well. Although it would take close to four years for the Axis to be driven out of Soviet territory their defeat can find is roots in the failure of Operation Barbarossa.