The plan of the German attack on the USSR was developed in the years 1940-1941. Hitler's command hoped to carry out the military operation as soon as possible. But in developing the plan, a number of mistakes were made, which led to the fall of the Third Reich.
The main miscalculations of the Hitlerite command, which developed the plan of the German attack on the USSR, can be summarized as follows: the Germans underestimated the enemy and did not take into account the possibility of a protracted war.
Hitler's dream
Modern historians believe that the plan of German attack on the USSR, the implementation of which began on June 22, 1941, became the Fuhrer’s craziest idea during World War II. Hitler was forced to go to its development in order to realize his ambitions and conquer Europe.
Almost the entire German army was drawn into the worst military campaign in history. In just over a year, the Germans turned vast areas of the western part of the Soviet Union into ruins.
The plan of the German attack on the USSR was called otherwise the plan of Barbarossa. The conquest of the Soviet Union was to provide Germany with agricultural and industrial resources. At the same time, this would save the Führer from the only force capable of challenging his rule.
The extermination of Soviet citizens laid the foundation for the concept of a mythical Aryan state, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. This fascist power would rule Hitler. His servants would be representatives of the lower race, living within the borders of the new state. Slavs and Jews were subject to destruction.
While Hitler was developing a plan for a German attack on the USSR, Stalin was busy destroying his own military command.
USSR on the eve of war
Shortly before the outbreak of war, Tukhachevsky was shot. Soon the same fate awaited several generals. In 1941, five of the eight Soviet marshals survived. In August 1939, a non-aggression pact of Germany on the Soviet Union was promulgated. The heads of state agreed on the absence of any territorial claims over the next ten years. An additional protocol also referred to the division of the independent countries of Europe.
Stalin now controlled eastern Poland, Bessarabia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. His strategy was this: to create several pro-Soviet states between the USSR and Germany. Thus, Hitler would wage war with the Western states, which was in the interests of the leader. However, Stalin's hopes for limited wars were dispelled a year later.
In October 1940, Hitler turned his eyes to Russia. According to the plan of fascist Germany’s attack on the USSR, the occupation of certain territories of the Soviet Union should have taken place before the war with Great Britain ended.
Stalin was sure that Hitler would never start a war on two fronts. Zhukov, Vasilevsky and Tymoshenko told him about the need for mobilization. But he didn’t even want to listen to them. According to some researchers, even in 1941, when the plan for the German attack on the USSR began, the code name of which became known to the entire world community years later, Stalin was inactive. For several days, he convinced himself that this was nothing more than a provocation, an adventure of some renegade generals, but not a real German offensive.
In 1939, the Second World War began. Not a single article appeared in Soviet newspapers criticizing Hitler’s actions. In addition, information about hostilities in Europe was presented in a distorted form.
origin of name
The German attack plan for the USSR (Fall Barbarossa) was, of course, classified information. Many guessed about the upcoming war in the Soviet Union, but few spoke out loud. Moreover, for such conversations one could be deprived of freedom. And the secret name of the plan of attack of fascist Germany on the USSR in the Soviet Union became known after 1945.
“Barbarossa” is a word of Latin origin. This was the nickname of one of the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. His name was Frederick I of Hohenstaufen. The emperor formerly occupied the German throne. Only a year and a half, but in this short period he managed to gain the trust of the German people. He ascended the Roman throne in 1155. The period of his reign was the time of the highest prosperity of the military power of the empire. In honor of the medieval ruler, the name was given to the plan of attack of fascist Germany on the USSR.
Disinformation
The main component of the German attack plan on the USSR, the Barbaross plan, was operational and strategic disguise. Hitler and his associates created favorable conditions for war. However, they successfully hid their true goals from the USSR, demonstrating good neighborly relations.
In Germany at the end of the 30s there was a rapid increase in the volume of military production, equipment and other goods intended not for peacetime. But the Führer explained all these measures to the need to wage war with Great Britain. Hitler, Ribbentrop, Goebbels took part in disinformation activities. In the dissemination of false information, diplomats, ambassadors, a military attache, and German military intelligence officers were involved .
In order to strengthen Stalin’s confidence in the absence of territorial claims, Hitler held several diplomatic events. For example, in September 1940, he sent an official message to the Soviet leadership, which spoke about the signing of a pact with Japan, in which the Führer invited Stalin to take part in the division of the British colonies in India. On October 13, Molotov was invited to Berlin by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR.
Alignment of forces
The following army groups were created to attack the USSR:
- "North". The task - the defeat of the Red Army in the Baltic states.
- "Center". The task is the destruction of Soviet troops in Belarus.
- "South". The task is the destruction of troops on the Right-Bank Ukraine, access to the Dnieper.
- German-Finnish group. The task is the blockade of Leningrad, the capture of Murmansk, an attack on Arkhangelsk.
Start of operation
According to the plan of the German attack on the USSR, according to some sources, the Wehrmacht troops were to begin the invasion on May 15. Why did this happen later, after 38 days? Historians put forward different versions. One of them is that the delay was due to technical reasons. One way or another, the invasion of the Wehrmacht troops took the Soviet command by surprise.
On the very first day, the Germans destroyed most of the Soviet ammunition, military equipment and established complete air supremacy. The offensive began at a front with a length of three thousand kilometers.
Battle for Russia
Six days after the start of the German invasion of the USSR, an article appeared in the Times magazine entitled “How long will Russia last?” British journalists wrote: “The question of whether the battle for the Soviet Union will become the most important in history is asked by the Germans, but the answer to it depends on the Russians.”
Both in Great Britain and in the USA at the end of June 1941, it was believed that Germany would need only six weeks to capture Moscow. This confidence had a significant impact on the policy of the allies of the USSR. However, the Soviet-English agreement on actions in the war was signed on July 12. Two days before that, the second phase of the Wehrmacht's offensive campaign began.
Offensive crisis
At the end of July 1941, the German military command made adjustments to its plans. According to Directive No. 33, the Wehrmacht army was to defeat the Soviet troops that were located between Smolensk and Moscow. On August 12, Hitler ordered an attack on Kiev to be suspended.
The Germans planned to capture Leningrad in the late summer of 1941. They were sure that they could take Moscow before the fall. But their optimism was dispelled already in August. Hitler issued a directive that stated: the most important task is not to capture Moscow, but to occupy the Crimea and industrial areas on the Donets River.
Operation Summary
According to the plan of Barbarossa, the Germans were to capture the USSR during the summer-autumn campaign. Hitler underestimated the mobilization capabilities of the enemy. In a matter of days, new formations and ground forces were formed. Already in the summer of 1941, more than three hundred divisions were sent to the front by the Soviet command.
Some researchers believe that the Nazis did not have enough time. Others argue that Germany could not have captured the USSR in any balance of power.