The beginning of Total war operation Barbarossa
Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:47 am
The shear number of men and equipment make this the ultimate confrontation of World War II. The vast expanse of Russia and the delays caused by the Italian defeat by the Greeks has delayed this action 6 weeks,those 6 weeks will be sorely missed when the first snows of Winter find the Germans at the door step of Moscow and a supply line stretched to thin.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operation Barbarossa
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
Date
22 June 1941 – 5 December 1941
Location
European part of the USSR, including present-day Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Western Russia
Result
Axis conquers vast areas of the Soviet Union and inflicts heavy losses on the Red Army, but fails in its overall strategic goal of defeating the USSR in a Blitzkrieg campaign
Belligerents
Germany
Azerbaijan
Romania
Finland
Italy
Hungary
Slovakia
Croatia
Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Adolf Hitler
Franz Halder
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
Fedor von Bock
Gerd von Rundstedt
Walther von Brauchitsch [1]
Ion Antonescu
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Giovanni Messe
Joseph Stalin
Georgy Zhukov
Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy
Semyon Budyonny
Kliment Voroshilov
Semyon Timoshenko
Markian Popov
Fedor Kuznetsov
Dmitry Pavlov
Ivan Tyulenev
Mikhail Kirponos †
Strength
~3.9 million (including reserve),
3,600 tanks,
4,389 aircraft[2]
46,000 artillery pieces
~3.2 million initial (later 5 million more)
12,000-15,000 tanks,
35,000-40,000 aircraft (11,357 combat ready on 22 June 1941)[3]
Casualties and losses
Total casualties:
775,000 men
250,000 killed[4]
500,000 wounded
25,000 missing[4]
2,093 aircraft destroyed
2,758 tanks lost
Total casualties:
7,102,191 men
802,191 killed[5]
3,000,000 wounded
3,300,000 captured.[6][7]
21,200 aircraft destroyed[8][9][10]
20,500 tanks lost
Operation Barbarossa (named for Frederick Barbarossa, the medieval German ruler) was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941.[11][12] Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km (1,800 mi) front.[13] In addition to the large number of troops, it also involved 600,000 motor vehicles and 750,000 horses.[14] Planning for Operation Barbarossa started on 18 December 1940; the secret preparations and the military operation itself lasted almost a year, from spring to winter 1941. The Red Army repelled the Wehrmacht's strongest blow, and Adolf Hitler did not achieve the expected victory, but the Soviet Union's situation remained dire. Tactically, the Germans had won some resounding victories and occupied some of the most important economic areas of the country, mainly in Ukraine.[15] Despite these successes, the Germans were pushed back from Moscow and could never mount an offensive simultaneously along the entire strategic Soviet-German front again
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operation Barbarossa
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
Date
22 June 1941 – 5 December 1941
Location
European part of the USSR, including present-day Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Western Russia
Result
Axis conquers vast areas of the Soviet Union and inflicts heavy losses on the Red Army, but fails in its overall strategic goal of defeating the USSR in a Blitzkrieg campaign
Belligerents
Germany
Azerbaijan
Romania
Finland
Italy
Hungary
Slovakia
Croatia
Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Adolf Hitler
Franz Halder
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
Fedor von Bock
Gerd von Rundstedt
Walther von Brauchitsch [1]
Ion Antonescu
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Giovanni Messe
Joseph Stalin
Georgy Zhukov
Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy
Semyon Budyonny
Kliment Voroshilov
Semyon Timoshenko
Markian Popov
Fedor Kuznetsov
Dmitry Pavlov
Ivan Tyulenev
Mikhail Kirponos †
Strength
~3.9 million (including reserve),
3,600 tanks,
4,389 aircraft[2]
46,000 artillery pieces
~3.2 million initial (later 5 million more)
12,000-15,000 tanks,
35,000-40,000 aircraft (11,357 combat ready on 22 June 1941)[3]
Casualties and losses
Total casualties:
775,000 men
250,000 killed[4]
500,000 wounded
25,000 missing[4]
2,093 aircraft destroyed
2,758 tanks lost
Total casualties:
7,102,191 men
802,191 killed[5]
3,000,000 wounded
3,300,000 captured.[6][7]
21,200 aircraft destroyed[8][9][10]
20,500 tanks lost
Operation Barbarossa (named for Frederick Barbarossa, the medieval German ruler) was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941.[11][12] Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km (1,800 mi) front.[13] In addition to the large number of troops, it also involved 600,000 motor vehicles and 750,000 horses.[14] Planning for Operation Barbarossa started on 18 December 1940; the secret preparations and the military operation itself lasted almost a year, from spring to winter 1941. The Red Army repelled the Wehrmacht's strongest blow, and Adolf Hitler did not achieve the expected victory, but the Soviet Union's situation remained dire. Tactically, the Germans had won some resounding victories and occupied some of the most important economic areas of the country, mainly in Ukraine.[15] Despite these successes, the Germans were pushed back from Moscow and could never mount an offensive simultaneously along the entire strategic Soviet-German front again