Operation Barbarossa Overview (PPT)

Powerpoint on Operation Barbarossa for students.

1. THE LARGEST INVASION IN HUMAN HISTORY OPERATION BARBAROSSA

2. OPERATION BARBAROSSA INVASION OF THE SOVIET UNION BY NAZI GERMANY TOOK PLACE ON 22 ND JUNE, 1941 OPERATION CULMINATED IN THE BATTLE OF MOSCOW RESULTING IN GERMANY’S DEFEAT MORE THAN 15 MILLION SOLDIERS PARTICIPATED OVER 6 MILLION CASUALTIES (IN 5 MONTHS) – INCLUDING DEAD, WOUNDED, MISSING AND CAPTURED

3. THE GERMAN SIDE OF THE STORY TO HITLER THE WAR BETWEEN NAZISM AND COMMUNISM WAS INEVITABLE HE BELIEVED THE WAR WOULD BE A RAPID SUCCESS, TAKING NO MORE THAN THREE MONTHS SO TO ANNEX UKRAINE LIKE BRITISH INDIA (LEBENSRAUM) AND TAKE OVER OILFIELDS IN THE CAUCASUS

4. THE SOVIET SIDE OF THE STORY STALIN BELIEVED THAT THE SOVIET UNION COULD EASILY DEFEND AGAINST A GERMAN INVASION THE SOVIET UNION HAD A POPULATION OF 200 MILLION COMPARED TO THAT OF GERMAN WHICH WAS 70 MILLION AS OF 1941 STALIN CONCLUDED THAT HITLER DID NOT WANT A TWO FRONT WAR AGAINST BRITAIN ON THE WEST AND RUSSIA ON THE EAST

5. ASSUMPTIONS HITLER BELIEVED THAT DESTROYING THE RED ARMY WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN GAINING TERRITORY AND DID NOT CARE ABOUT TAKING MOSCOW MANY GERMAN GENERALS BELIEVED THAT TAKING MOSCOW WOULD BE THE DECISIVE FACTOR IN THE WAR HITLER ALSO BELIEVED THAT THE OBJECTIVES OF BARBAROSSA WOULD BE ACHIEVED BEFORE WINTER AND THEREFORE, NO WINTER PREPARATIONS WERE MADE.

6. AXIS PREPARATION PREPARATIONS BEGAN IN LATE 1940 OVER 3 MILLION GERMAN TROOPS WERE SECRETLY MOVED TO THE EASTERN BORDER THE OPERATION WAS SET TO BEGAN ON MAY 15 BUT WAS DELAYED TO JUNE 22 ND 150 GERMAN DIVISIONS 3 ARMY GROUPS 3350 TANKS 7200 ARTILLERY PIECES 2770 AIRCRAFTS 600,000 MOTOR VEHICLES 700,000 HORSES

7. RUSSIAN STRENGTH THE GREAT PURGE OF THE LATE 1930s WAS ORCHESTRATED BY STALIN. 15 OUT OF 16 ARMY COMMANDERS, 50 OUT OF 57 CORP COMMANDERS, 154 OUT OF 180 DIVISIONAL COMMANDERS WERE KILLED THE RESULTS OF THIS DEVASTATION WOULD BE REVEALED IN THE DISASTROUS WINTER WAR, WHERE THE NUMERICALLY AND TECHNOLOGICALLY SUPERIOR RED ARMY WAS PUSHED TO THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE AGAINST A SIGNIFICANTLY WEAKER FINNISH ARMY

8. RUSSIAN STRENGTH THE RED ARMY CONSISTED OF: - 171 DIVISION WITH A TOTAL OF - 5.5 MILLION MEN MOBILIZED FOR COMBAT - RESERVE FORCE OF 14 MILLION - 23,000 TANKS (INITIAL)

9. PANZER KAMPFWAGON 4 MP 40 LUGER GERMAN WEAPONS KARBINER 98K

10. KV - 1 T - 34 SOVIET WEAPONS MOSIN NAGANT MAKAROV PPsh

11. THE ORDER OF BATTLE GERMANY SENDS 3 ARMY GROUPS: NORTH, SOUTH CENTRE NORTH – LED BY WILHEIM RITTER VON LEEB (MARCHES THROUGH NORTHERN BALTICS INTO NORTHERN RUSSIA AND CAPTURES LENNINGRAD) CENTER – LED BY FEODOR VON BOCK TAKES MOSCOW SOUTH – LED BY GERD VON RUNSTEDT TAKES KIEV AND CONTINUE TO VOLGA RIVER)

12. Battles of Operation Barbarossa Battle of Bialystok-Minsk (Decisive Axis Victory) Battle of Raseiniai (Decisive Axis Victory) Battle of Dubno -Brody (Decisive Axis Victory) Battle of Smolensk (Decisive Axis Victory) Battle of Uman (Decisive Axis Victory) Battle of Kiev (Decisive Axis Victory) Battle of Moscow (Strategic Soviet victory, German operational and tactical failure, Eventual failure of Operation Barbarossa)

13. STATISTICS AXIS POWERS 250,000 KILLED 500,000 WOUNDED 25,000 MISSING 2,093 AIRPLANES DESTROYED 2,758 TANKS LOST SOVIET UNION 7 MILLION LOST 3 MILLION WOUNDED 3,300,000 CAPTURED 21,200 AIRPLANES LOST 20,500 – 34,000 TANKS LOST 20 MILLION CIVILLIANS LOST

14. WHY IT FAILED? Strong Optimism that prevented any worst case- scenerio planning Underestimation of the Enemy & Overestimation of German Military Capabilities by Hitler German industries collapsed Enemy from the West The Mud & The Winter (and Distance) stopped German Blitzkrieg

15. THANK YOU Prepared by: Ahnaf Ahmed