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122-822: After the Wehrmacht suffered two major strategic defeats at Stalingrad (in February 1943) and at Kursk (in August 1943) the Germans made some concessions to the Belarusian collaborators by proposing a Belarusian quasi-state. Assistance was offered by the local administrative governments from the Soviet era, and former members of public organizations including the Soviet Belarusian Youth. On March 6, 1944

244-415: A war of annihilation ( Vernichtungskrieg ) throughout Eastern Europe. Nazi military operations were characterised by vicious brutality, scorched-earth tactics , wanton destruction, mass deportations, forced starvations, wholesale terrorism, and massacres. These also included the genocidal campaigns of Generalplan Ost and Hunger Plan , which aimed to the extermination and ethnic cleansing of more than

366-668: A German invasion is controversial, and the claim that there was a warning that "Germany will attack on 22 June without declaration of war" has been dismissed as a "popular myth". However, some sources quoted in the articles on Soviet spies Richard Sorge and Willi Lehmann , say they had sent warnings of an attack on 20 or 22 June, which were treated as "disinformation". The Lucy spy ring in Switzerland also sent warnings, possibly deriving from Ultra codebreaking in Britain. Sweden had access to internal German communications through breaking

488-725: A civil war and the Allies did not recognise the Bolshevik government, so no Soviet Russian representation attended. Adolf Hitler had declared his intention to invade the Soviet Union on 11 August 1939 to Carl Jacob Burckhardt , League of Nations Commissioner, by saying: Everything I undertake is directed against the Russians . If the West is too stupid and blind to grasp this, then I shall be compelled to come to an agreement with

610-550: A defensive line failed when German units outflanked them. Two major pockets were formed and destroyed: the first, northeast of Kharkov, on 2 July, and a second, around Millerovo , Rostov Oblast , a week later. Meanwhile, the Hungarian 2nd Army and the German 4th Panzer Army had launched an assault on Voronezh , capturing the city on 5 July. The initial advance of the 6th Army was so successful that Hitler intervened and ordered

732-652: A few thousand members of the Belarusian Auxiliary Police , not older than 57 years and Unteroffiziers not older than 55 years of age (except those protecting the collaborationist government), were brought into the fold of BKA. Organization was controlled by the German Police and SD commandants. In mid-June 1944 an officer school for BKA volunteers was started by the German SS in Minsk, but

854-468: A front running from Leningrad to Rostov , with several minor salients . Hitler remained confident of breaking the Red Army , despite heavy losses west of Moscow in the winter of 1941–42, because large parts of Army Group Centre had been rested and re-equipped. Hitler decided that the 1942 summer campaign would target the southern Soviet Union. The initial objectives around Stalingrad were to destroy

976-607: A hundred million Eastern European natives. German historian Ernst Nolte called the Eastern Front "the most atrocious war of conquest, enslavement, and annihilation known to modern history", while British historian Robin Cross expressed that "In the Second World War no theatre was more gruelling and destructive than the Eastern Front, and nowhere was the fighting more bitter". The two principal belligerent powers in

1098-403: A military tribunal. Blocking detachments composed of NKVD or regular troops were positioned behind Red Army units to prevent desertion and straggling, sometimes executing deserters and perceived malingerers. During the battle, the 62nd Army had the most arrests and executions: 203 in all, of which 49 were executed, while 139 were sent to penal companies and battalions. Blocking detachments of

1220-581: A number of German and Romanian units that were to take part in Blau were besieging Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula . Delays in ending the siege pushed back the start date for Blau several times, and the city did not fall until early July. Operation Fridericus I by the Germans against the "Izyum bulge", pinched off the Soviet salient in the Second Battle of Kharkov, and resulted in

1342-659: A peace treaty on 13 March 1940, with Finland maintaining its independence but losing its eastern parts in Karelia . In June 1940 the Soviet Union occupied and illegally annexed the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact ostensibly provided security to the Soviets in the occupation both of the Baltics and of the north and northeastern regions of Romania (Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia , June–July 1940), although Hitler, in announcing

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1464-632: A policy advocated by the Soviet ministry of foreign affairs under Maxim Litvinov . This, as well as the reluctance of the British and French governments to sign a full-scale anti-German political and military alliance with the USSR, led to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Germany in late August 1939. The separate Tripartite Pact between what became the three prime Axis Powers would not be signed until some four years after

1586-529: A quarter of the American Lend-Lease aid provided to other Allied countries. However, post-war negotiations to settle all the debt were never concluded, and as of date, the debt issues is still on in future American-Russian summits and talks. Prof. Dr. Albert L. Weeks concluded, "As to attempts to sum up the importance of those four-year-long shipments of Lend-Lease for the Russian victory on

1708-430: A short-term war (Blitzkrieg). According to Edward Ericson, although Germany's own resources were sufficient for the victories in the West in 1940, massive Soviet shipments obtained during a short period of Nazi–Soviet economic collaboration were critical for Germany to launch Operation Barbarossa. Germany had been assembling very large numbers of troops in eastern Poland and making repeated reconnaissance flights over

1830-517: Is ten times worse than hell". By the end of August, Army Group South (B) had finally reached the Volga, north of Stalingrad. Another advance to the river south of the city followed, while the Soviets abandoned their Rossoshka position for the inner defensive ring west of Stalingrad. The wings of the 6th Army and the 4th Panzer Army met near Jablotchni along the Zaritza on 2 Sept. A letter found on

1952-576: The Generalplan Ost . The populations of occupied Central Europe and the Soviet Union were to be partially deported to West Siberia, enslaved and eventually exterminated; the conquered territories were to be colonised by German or "Germanized" settlers. In addition, the Nazis also sought to rid themselves of the large Jewish population of Central and Eastern Europe as part of their program aiming to exterminate all European Jews . Psychologically,

2074-418: The 100th Jäger Division . Georgy Zhukov , who was deputy commander-in-chief and commander of Stalingrad's defence during the battle, noted the importance of the battle, stating that: It was clear to me that the battle for Stalingrad was of the greatest military and political significance. If Stalingrad fell, the enemy command would be able to cut off the south of the country from the center. We could lose

2196-601: The Anti-Comintern Pact with Imperial Japan . Fascist Italy joined the Pact a year later. The Soviet Union negotiated treaties of mutual assistance with France and with Czechoslovakia with the aim of containing Germany's expansion. The German Anschluss of Austria in 1938 and the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia (1938–1939) demonstrated the impossibility of establishing a collective security system in Europe,

2318-685: The Arctic convoys and training Red Air Force pilots , as well as in the provision of early material and intelligence support. Among other goods, Lend-Lease supplied: Lend-Lease aid of military hardware, components and goods to the Soviet Union constituted to 20% percent of the assistance. The rest were foodstuff, nonferrous metals (e.g., copper, magnesium, nickel, zinc, lead, tin, aluminium), chemical substances, petroleum (high octane aviation gasoline) and factory machinery. The aid of production-line equipment and machinery were crucial and helped to maintain adequate levels of Soviet armament production during

2440-589: The Army Group to split in two. Army Group South (A), under the command of Wilhelm List , was to continue advancing south towards the Caucasus as planned with the 17th Army and First Panzer Army. Army Group South (B), including Paulus's 6th Army and Hermann Hoth 's 4th Panzer Army, was to move east towards the Volga and Stalingrad. Army Group B was commanded by General Maximilian von Weichs . The start of Case Blue had been planned for late May 1942. However,

2562-667: The Balkans . Hitler had always intended to renege on his pact with the Soviet Union, eventually making the decision to invade in the spring of 1941. Some historians say Stalin was fearful of war with Germany, or just did not expect Germany to start a two-front war , and was reluctant to do anything to provoke Hitler. Another viewpoint is that Stalin expected war in 1942 (the time when all his preparations would be complete) and stubbornly refused to believe it would come early. British historians Alan S. Milward and M. Medlicott show that Nazi Germany—unlike Imperial Germany—was prepared for only

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2684-796: The Battle of Berlin (also known as the Berlin Offensive ), a strategic operation executed by the Red Army. The states that provided forces and other resources for the German war effort included the Axis Powers – primarily Romania, Hungary, Italy, pro-Nazi Slovakia, and Croatia. Anti-Soviet Finland, which had fought the Winter War against the Soviet Union, also joined the offensive. The Wehrmacht forces were also assisted by anti-Communist partisans in places like Western Ukraine, and

2806-708: The Bolsheviks in Petrograd conceded to German demands and ceded control of Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, and other areas, to the Central Powers . Subsequently, when Germany in its turn surrendered to the Allies (November 1918) and these territories became independent states under the terms of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 at Versailles , Soviet Russia was in the midst of

2928-612: The First and Second Polish armies, were armed and trained, and would eventually fight alongside the Red Army. The Free French forces also contributed to the Red Army by the formation of the GC3 ( Groupe de Chasse 3 or 3rd Fighter Group) unit to fulfil the commitment of Charles de Gaulle , leader of the Free French, who thought that it was important for French servicemen to serve on all fronts. The above figures includes all personnel in

3050-661: The Murmansk region are considered part of the Eastern Front. In addition, the Soviet–Finnish Continuation War is generally also considered the northern flank of the Eastern Front. Germany and the Soviet Union remained unsatisfied with the outcome of World War I (1914–1918). Soviet Russia had lost substantial territory in Eastern Europe as a result of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918), where

3172-467: The Soviet Union (USSR) and Poland . It encompassed Central Europe , Eastern Europe , Northeast Europe ( Baltics ), and Southeast Europe ( Balkans ), and lasted from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. Of the estimated 70–85 million deaths attributed to World War II, around 30 million occurred on the Eastern Front, including 9 million children. The Eastern Front was decisive in determining

3294-402: The Soviet Union invaded Eastern Poland , and, as a result, Poland was partitioned among Germany, the Soviet Union and Lithuania. Soon after that, the Soviet Union demanded significant territorial concessions from Finland, and after Finland rejected Soviet demands, the Soviet Union attacked Finland on 30 November 1939 in what became known as the Winter War – a bitter conflict that resulted in

3416-796: The Spanish general election brought many communist leaders into the Popular Front government in the Second Spanish Republic , but in a matter of months a right-wing military coup initiated the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. This conflict soon took on the characteristics of a proxy war involving the Soviet Union and left wing volunteers from different countries on the side of the predominantly socialist and communist-led Second Spanish Republic; while Nazi Germany , Fascist Italy , and Portugal's Estado Novo took

3538-596: The Stalingrad Front on 17 July on the distant approaches to Stalingrad, in the bend of the Don . A significant clash in the early stages of the battle was fought at Kalach , in which "We had had to pay a high cost in men and material ... left on the Kalach battlefield were numerous burnt-out or shot-up German tanks." Military historian David Glantz indicated that four hard-fought battles – collectively known as

3660-463: The envelopment of a large Soviet force between 17 May and 29 May. Similarly, Operation Wilhelm attacked Voltshansk on 13 June, and Operation Fridericus attacked Kupiansk on 22 June. Blau finally opened as Army Group South began its attack into southern Russia on 28 June 1942. The German offensive achieved rapid success, as Soviet forces offered little resistance in the vast empty steppes and started streaming eastward. Several attempts to re-establish

3782-462: The "Mongol hordes", the "Asiatic flood" and the "red beast". The vast majority of German soldiers viewed the war in Nazi terms, seeing the Soviet enemy as sub-human. Hitler referred to the war in radical terms, calling it a " war of annihilation " ( German : Vernichtungskrieg ) which was both an ideological and racial war. The Nazi vision for the future of Eastern Europe was codified most clearly in

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3904-782: The "Oil Pact" with Romania, by which Germany would trade arms for oil. Romania's oil production amounted to approximately 6,000,000 tons annually. This production represents 35% of the total fuel production of the Axis, including synthetic products and substitutes, and 70% of the total production of crude oil. In 1941, Germany only had 18% of the oil it had in peacetime. Romania supplied Germany and its allies with roughly 13 million barrels of oil (about 4 million per year) between 1941 and 1943. Germany's peak oil production in 1944 amounted to about 12 million barrels of oil per year. Rolf Karlbom estimated that Swedish share of Germany's total consumption of iron may have amounted to 43% during

4026-473: The 4th Panzer Army to join Army Group South (A) to the south. A massive road block resulted when the 4th Panzer and the 1st Panzer choked the roads, stopping both in their tracks while they cleared the mess of thousands of vehicles. The traffic jam is thought to have delayed the advance by at least one week. With the advance now slowed, Hitler changed his mind and reassigned the 4th Panzer Army back to

4148-553: The Allies, such as Romania and Bulgaria . The Eastern Front concluded with the capture of Berlin , followed by the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender on 8 May, a day that marked the end of the Eastern Front and the War in Europe. The battles on the Eastern Front of World War II constituted the largest military confrontation in history. In pursuit of its " Lebensraum " settler-colonial agenda, Nazi Germany waged

4270-649: The Anti-Comintern Pact. The war was fought between Germany, its allies and Finland , against the Soviet Union and its allies. The conflict began on 22 June 1941 with the Operation Barbarossa offensive, when Axis forces crossed the borders described in the German–Soviet Nonaggression Pact , thereby invading the Soviet Union. The war ended on 9 May 1945, when Germany's armed forces surrendered unconditionally following

4392-505: The Army Georgy Zhukov , that ordered (as demanded by Stalin): "do not answer to any provocations" and "do not undertake any (offensive) actions without specific orders" – which meant that Soviet troops could open fire only on their soil and forbade counter-attack on German soil. The German invasion therefore caught the Soviet military and civilian leadership largely by surprise. The extent of warnings received by Stalin about

4514-709: The BKA and SBM submitted to Russian Liberation Army surrendered to the western Allies. Later propagandists hold that the Belarusian Liberation Armies 1st personnel battalion in Berlin in fact was a reserve for the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Russian) . Eleven its officers, including Barys Rahula and others entered the 1st Grenadier Sturm Brigade SS "Belarus" , formed in Nazi Germany ; it

4636-517: The BKA gave their oath at Freedom Square in Minsk : "I swear, that arm to arm with the German soldier, I will not lay down my weapons until there is peace and security in our farms and cities, until in our land the last enemy of the Belarusian people is destroyed." The oath was accepted by the BKA commander Ivan Yermachenka , in the presence of the SS and Police Leader Curt von Gottberg . The president of

4758-539: The Balkans. About 15–20% of total German strength were foreign troops (from allied countries or conquered territories). The German high water mark was just before the Battle of Kursk , in early July 1943: 3,403,000 German troops and 650,000 Finnish, Hungarian, Romanian and other countries' troops. For nearly two years the border was quiet while Germany conquered Denmark, Norway, France, the Low Countries , and

4880-775: The Baltic states. Among the most prominent volunteer army formations was the Spanish Blue Division , sent by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco to keep his ties to the Axis intact. The Soviet Union offered support to the anti-Axis partisans in many Wehrmacht -occupied countries in Central Europe, notably those in Slovakia and Poland . In addition, the Polish Armed Forces in the East , particularly

5002-648: The Belarusian Central Council, Radasłaŭ Astroŭski , had concerns that some Soviet partisans might have infiltrated the new BKA structures and that therefore it would need a thorough inspection afterwards. On March 31, 1944, the BKA battalions received their individual designations. In total, there were 45 battalions formed, mostly infantry . However, to prevent possible staged desertions to "forest people" weapons were handed out only during training exercises with nothing to spare. The German SS didn't have enough officers to train all of them, therefore

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5124-667: The Byelorussian SSR. Some BKA units retreated to the West and became the base for the creation of the Schutzmannschaft-Brigade Siegling . Many conscripts quietly went back home to their Belarusian villages. The BCR existed till late 1980s in the United States and president Radasłaŭ Astroŭski worked till 1960. Most of its members, as members of other organizations, received political asylum as immigrants . In April and May 1945, most of

5246-534: The Eastern Front in World War II, the jury is still out – that is, in any definitive sense of establishing exactly how crucial this aid was." Germany's economic, scientific, research and industrial capabilities were among the most technically advanced in the world at the time. However, access to (and control of) the resources , raw materials and production capacity required to entertain long-term goals (such as European control, German territorial expansion and

5368-417: The Eastern Front were Germany and the Soviet Union, along with their respective allies. Though they never sent ground troops to the Eastern Front, the United States and the United Kingdom both provided substantial material aid to the Soviet Union in the form of the Lend-Lease program, along with naval and air support. The joint German–Finnish operations across the northernmost Finnish–Soviet border and in

5490-413: The German Army, i.e. active-duty Heer , Waffen SS , Luftwaffe ground forces, personnel of the naval coastal artillery and security units. In the spring of 1940, Germany had mobilised 5,500,000 men. By the time of the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Wehrmacht consisted of c. 3,800,000 men of the Heer, 1,680,000 of the Luftwaffe, 404,000 of the Kriegsmarine , 150,000 of the Waffen-SS, and 1,200,000 of

5612-436: The German assault. The Germans formed bridgeheads across the Don on 20 August, with the 295th and 76th Infantry Divisions enabling the XIVth Panzer Corps "to thrust to the Volga north of Stalingrad." The German 6th Army was only a few dozen kilometres from Stalingrad. The 4th Panzer Army, ordered south on 13 July to block the Soviet retreat "weakened by the 17th Army and the 1st Panzer Army", had turned northwards to help take

5734-409: The German surge to the east in 1941 marked a high point in some Germans' feeling of Ostrausch - an intoxication with the idea of colonising the East. After Germany's initial success at the Battle of Kiev in 1941, Hitler saw the Soviet Union as militarily weak and ripe for immediate conquest. In a speech at the Berlin Sportpalast on 3 October, he announced, "We have only to kick in the door and

5856-513: The Germanic people constituted the " master race ", while exterminating or deporting most of the existing inhabitants to Siberia and using the remainder as slave labour . Hitler as early as 1917 had referred to the Russians as inferior, believing that the Bolshevik Revolution had put the Jews in power over the mass of Slavs , who were, in Hitler's opinion, incapable of ruling themselves and had thus ended up being ruled by Jewish masters. The Nazi leadership , including Heinrich Himmler , saw

5978-406: The Germans, and were accused of low morale: in reality, the Italian divisions fought comparatively well, with the 3rd Infantry Division "Ravenna" and 5th Infantry Division "Cosseria" showing spirit, according to a German liaison officer. Italian forces were forced to retreat only after a massive armoured attack in which German reinforcements failed to arrive in time. To the south, Army Group A

6100-414: The Kharkov operation began on 12 May. The Soviets achieved initial success, prompting 6th Army commander Friedrich Paulus to request reinforcements. However, a German counterattack on 13 May halted the Soviet advance. On 17 May, Ewald von Kleist 's forces launched Operation Fridericus I, encircling and destroying much of the Soviet forces in the ensuing Second Battle of Kharkov . The defeat at Kharkov left

6222-467: The Kotluban Operations – north of Stalingrad, where the Soviets made their greatest stand, decided Germany's fate before the Nazis ever set foot in the city itself, and were a turning point in the war. Beginning in late August and lasting into October, the Soviets committed between two and four armies in hastily coordinated and poorly controlled attacks against the Germans' northern flank. The actions resulted in over 200,000 Soviet Army casualties but did slow

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6344-415: The Mamayev Kurgan hill, the 71st attacked the central rail station and toward the central landing stage on the Volga, while 48th Panzer Corps attacked south of the Tsaritsa River. Though initially successful, the German attacks stalled in the face of Soviet reinforcements brought in from across the Volga. Rodimtsev's 13th Guards Rifle Division had been hurried up to cross the river and join the defenders inside

6466-414: The Red Army launched Operation Uranus , a two-pronged attack targeting the Romanian armies protecting the 6th Army's flanks. The Axis flanks were overrun and the 6th Army was encircled. Adolf Hitler was determined to hold the city for Germany at all costs and forbade the 6th Army from trying a breakout; instead, attempts were made to supply it by air and to break the encirclement from the outside. Though

6588-418: The Red Army's victory at Stalingrad is commemorated among the Days of Military Honour . It is also well known in many other countries that belonged to the Allied powers , and has thus become ingrained in popular culture . Likewise, in a number of the post-Soviet states , the Battle of Stalingrad is recognized as an important aspect of what is known as the Great Patriotic War . By the spring of 1942, despite

6710-409: The Replacement Army (contained 450,400 active reservists, 550,000 new recruits and 204,000 in administrative services, vigiles and or in convalescence). The Wehrmacht had a total strength of 7,234,000 men by 1941. For Operation Barbarossa, Germany mobilised 3,300,000 troops of the Heer, 150,000 of the Waffen-SS and approximately 250,000 personnel of the Luftwaffe were actively earmarked. By July 1943,

6832-455: The Russians, beat the West and then after their defeat turn against the Soviet Union with all my forces. I need the Ukraine so that they can't starve us out, as happened in the last war. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact signed in August 1939 was a non-aggression agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union. It contained a secret protocol aiming to return Central Europe to the pre–World War I status quo by dividing it between Germany and

6954-435: The Soviet Union. Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would return to the Soviet control, while Poland and Romania would be divided. The Eastern Front was also made possible by the German–Soviet Border and Commercial Agreement in which the Soviet Union gave Germany the resources necessary to launch military operations in Eastern Europe. On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland , starting World War II . On 17 September,

7076-511: The Soviet leader. Hitler ordered the annihilation of Stalingrad's population, declaring that after its capture, all male citizens would be killed and women and children deported due to their "thoroughly communistic" nature. The city's fall was intended to secure the northern and western flanks of the German advance on Baku to capture its petroleum resources. This expansion of objectives stemmed from German overconfidence and an underestimation of Soviet reserves. Meanwhile, Stalin, convinced that

7198-457: The Soviets vulnerable to the German summer offensive. Despite the setback, Stalin continued to prioritize defending Moscow, allocating only limited reinforcements to the Southwestern Front. The commitment of panzer divisions needed for Case Blue to the Second Battle of Kharkov further delayed the offensive's start. On 1 June, Hitler modified the summer plans, delaying Case Blue to 20 June after preliminary operations in Ukraine. If I do not get

7320-409: The Soviets were successful in preventing the Germans from making enough airdrops to the trapped Axis armies at Stalingrad, heavy fighting continued for another two months. On 2 February 1943, the 6th Army, having exhausted their ammunition and food, finally capitulated after several months of battle, making it the first of Hitler's field armies to have surrendered. In modern-day Russia , the legacy of

7442-452: The Stalingrad Tractor Factory and the Volga ferry near Latashanka. The majority of the regiment was composed of men, but its directing and rangefinding crews and unit headquarters were made up of women. Several women also crewed anti-aircraft guns. The 1077th was notified of the German tanks' approach at 14:30 and its 6th Battery, dominating the Sukhaya Mechatka ravine, claimed the destruction of 28 German tanks. Later that day, its 3rd Battery on

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7564-403: The Stalingrad Tractor Factory. A Soviet female soldier stated about the battle that: I had been imagining what war was like – everything on fire, children crying, cats running about, and when we got to Stalingrad it turned out to be really like that, only more terrible. One of the first units to offer resistance in this area was the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment , covering

7686-529: The Stalingrad and Don Fronts detained 51,758 men from the beginning of the battle to 15 October, with the majority returned to their units. Of those detained, the vast majority of which were from the Don Front, 980 were executed and 1,349 sent to penal companies. In the two-day period between 13 and 15 September, the 62nd Army blocking detachment detained 1,218 men, returning most to their units while shooting 21 men and arresting ten. Beevor claims that 13,500 Soviet soldiers were executed by Soviet authorities during

7808-405: The USSR after the fall of the British Empire or after an unacceptable ultimatum demanding German occupation of Ukraine during the German invasion of Britain. A strategic air offensive by the United States Army Air Force and Royal Air Force played a significant part in damaging German industry and tying up German air force and air defence resources, with some bombings, such as the bombing of

7930-456: The United States, and the remaining one-third, with the help from other Western nations such as Great Britain and Canada. The massive transfer of equipment and skilled personnel from occupied territories helped further to boost the economic base. Without Lend-Lease aid, Soviet Union's diminished post invasion economic base would not have produced adequate supplies of weaponry, other than focus on machine tool, foodstuff and consumer goods. In

8052-446: The Volga River on the eastern boundary of Stalingrad, additional Soviet units were formed into the 62nd Army under Lieutenant General Vasiliy Chuikov on 11 September 1942. Tasked with holding the city at all costs, Chuikov proclaimed, "We will defend the city or die in the attempt." The battle earned him one of his two Hero of the Soviet Union awards. During the defence of Stalingrad, the Red Army deployed five armies in and around

8174-413: The Volga – the important water artery, along which a large amount of goods flowed from the Caucasus. Stalin rushed all available troops to the east bank of the Volga, some from as far away as Siberia . Regular river ferries were quickly destroyed by the Luftwaffe, which then targeted troop barges being towed slowly across by tugs. It has been said that Stalin prevented civilians from leaving

8296-463: The Volga, supported by the strikes of Henschel Hs 129 ground attack aircraft. Crossing the railway line to Stalingrad at 564 km Station around midday, both divisions continued their rush towards the river. Around 15:00, Hyacinth Graf Strachwitz 's Panzer Detachment and the kampfgruppe of the 2nd Battalion, 64th Panzer Grenadier Regiment from the 16th Panzer reached the area of Latashanka, Rynok, and Spartanovka, northern suburbs of Stalingrad, and

8418-409: The Volga, where we could block an attack on our flank by Russian forces coming from the east. At the start, Stalingrad was no more than a name on the map to us. The Soviets had enough warning of the German advance to ship grain, cattle, and railway cars across the Volga out of harm's way. This "harvest victory" left the city short of food even before the German attack began. Before the Heer reached

8540-465: The Wehrmacht numbered 6,815,000 troops. Of these, 3,900,000 were deployed in eastern Europe, 180,000 in Finland, 315,000 in Norway, 110,000 in Denmark, 1,370,000 in western Europe, 330,000 in Italy, and 610,000 in the Balkans. According to a presentation by Alfred Jodl , the Wehrmacht was up to 7,849,000 personnel in April 1944. 3,878,000 were deployed in eastern Europe, 311,000 in Norway/Denmark, 1,873,000 in western Europe, 961,000 in Italy, and 826,000 in

8662-440: The attack began twelve days earlier. Eastern Front (World War II) Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Eastern Front , also known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a theatre of World War II fought between the European Axis powers and Allies , including

8784-602: The attack on Stalingrad. By the end of July, Soviet forces were pushed back across the Don River . At this point, the Don and Volga Rivers are only 65 km (40 mi) apart, and the Germans left their main supply depots west of the Don. The Germans began using the armies of their Italian , Hungarian and Romanian allies to guard their left (northern) flank. Italian actions were also mentioned in official German communiques. Italian forces were generally held in little regard by

8906-415: The battle, however, this claim has been disputed. By 12 September, at the time of their retreat into the city, the Soviet 62nd Army had been reduced to 90 tanks, 700 mortars and just 20,000 personnel. The remaining tanks were used as immobile strong-points within the city. The initial German attack on 14 September attempted to take the city in a rush. The 51st Army Corps' 295th Infantry Division went after

9028-438: The bloodiest battle in the war — costing the Axis powers their morale and regarded as one of the key turning points of the front. Seeing the Axis setback from Stalingrad, the Soviet Union routed its forces and regained territories at its expense. The Axis defeat at Kursk terminated the German offensive strength and cleared the way for Soviet offensives. Its setbacks caused many countries friendly with Germany to defect and join

9150-459: The body of a German officer described the insanity of the battle and brutal nature of the urban combat: We must reach the Volga. We can see it – less than a kilometer away. We have the constant support of our aircraft and artillery. We are fighting like madmen but cannot reach the river. The whole war for France was shorter than the fight for one Volga factory. We must be up against suicide squads. They have simply decided to fight to

9272-589: The bombing. However, death toll of civilians due to the bombing has been estimated to have been 40,000, or as many as 70,000, though these estimates may be exaggerated. Also estimated are 150,000 wounded. The Soviet Air Force , the Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily (VVS), was swept aside by the Luftwaffe. The VVS bases in the immediate area lost 201 aircraft between 23 and 31 August, and despite meagre reinforcements of some 100 aircraft in August, it

9394-547: The border; the Soviet Union responded by assembling its divisions on its western border, although the Soviet mobilisation was slower than Germany's due to the country's less dense road network. As in the Sino-Soviet conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway or Soviet–Japanese border conflicts , Soviet troops on the western border received a directive, signed by Marshal Semyon Timoshenko and General of

9516-400: The bulk of aluminium that was used in manufacture of Soviet aircraft, that had fallen in critically short supply. Soviet statistics show, that without these shipments of aluminium, aircraft production would have been less than one-half (or about 45,000 less) of the total 137,000 produced aircraft. Stalin noted in 1944, that two-thirds of Soviet heavy industry had been built with the help of

9638-527: The city ( 28th , 51st , 57th , 62nd and 64th Armies ); and an additional nine armies in the encirclement counteroffensive ( 24th , 65th , 66th Armies and 16th Air Army from the north as part of the Don Front offensive, and 1st Guards Army , 5th Tank , 21st Army , 2nd Air Army and 17th Air Army from the south as part of the Southwestern Front ). German forces first clashed with

9760-417: The city from the south. On 19 August, German forces were in position to launch an attack on the city. On 23 August, the 6th Army reached the outskirts of Stalingrad in pursuit of the 62nd and 64th Armies, which had fallen back into the city. Kleist said after the war: The capture of Stalingrad was subsidiary to the main aim. It was only of importance as a convenient place, in the bottleneck between Don and

9882-402: The city in the belief that their presence would encourage greater resistance from the city's defenders. Civilians, including women and children, were put to work building trenchworks and protective fortifications. Casualties due to the air raid on 23 August and beyond are debated, as between 23 and 26 August, Soviet reports indicate 955 people were killed and another 1,181 wounded as a result of

10004-516: The city itself, the Luftwaffe had cut off shipping on the Volga. In the days between 25 and 31 July, 32 Soviet ships were sunk, with another nine crippled. Generaloberst Wolfram von Richthofen 's Luftflotte 4 dropped some 1,000 tons of bombs on 23 August, with the aerial attack on Stalingrad being the most single intense aerial bombardment at that point on the Eastern Front , and

10126-528: The city was overrun by the Soviets only two weeks later. After evacuating the Council to Königsberg and soon to Berlin in November 1944 along with upper echelon, the 1st personnel battalion was formed. Meanwhile, battalions of BKA on Belarusian territory, were mainly used in anti- partisan operations and later at the front against the Red Army . The BKA ceased to exist after Red Army regained control in

10248-586: The city's industrial capacity and block the Volga River traffic, crucial for connecting the Caucasus and Caspian Sea to central Russia. The capture of Stalingrad would also disrupt Lend-Lease supplies via the Persian Corridor . On 23 July 1942, Hitler expanded the campaign's objectives to include occupying Stalingrad, a city with immense propaganda value due to its name, which bore that of

10370-466: The city. Assigned to counterattack at the Mamayev Kurgan and at Railway Station No. 1, it suffered particularly heavy losses. Despite their losses, Rodimtsev's troops were able to inflict similar damage on their opponents. By 26 September, the opposing 71st Infantry Division had half of its battalions considered exhausted, reduced from all of them being considered average in combat capability when

10492-406: The city. By mid-November, the Germans, at great cost, had pushed the Soviet defenders back into narrow zones along the Volga's west bank. However, winter set in within a few months and conditions became particularly brutal, with temperatures often dropping tens of degrees below freezing . In addition to fierce urban combat, brutal trench warfare was prevalent at Stalingrad as well. On 19 November,

10614-494: The country's oil fields at any cost. The German military first clashed with the Red Army's Stalingrad Front on the distant approaches to Stalingrad on 17 July. On 23 August, the 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army launched their offensive with support from intensive bombing raids by the Luftwaffe , which reduced much of the city to rubble. The battle soon degenerated into house-to-house fighting, which escalated drastically as both sides continued pouring reinforcements into

10736-592: The crypto used in the Siemens and Halske T52 crypto machine also known as the Geheimschreiber and informed Stalin about the forthcoming invasion well ahead of June 22, but did not reveal its sources. Soviet intelligence was fooled by German disinformation, so sent false alarms to Moscow about a German invasion in April, May and the beginning of June. Soviet intelligence reported that Germany would rather invade

10858-679: The destruction of the USSR) were limited. Political demands necessitated the expansion of Germany's control of natural and human resources, industrial capacity and farmland beyond its borders (conquered territories). Germany's military production was tied to resources outside its area of control, a dynamic not found amongst the Allies. During the war, as Germany acquired new territories (either by direct annexation or by installing puppet governments in defeated countries), these new territories were forced to sell raw materials and agricultural products to German buyers at extremely low prices. Overall, France made

10980-408: The eastern German city of Dresden , being done to facilitate specific Soviet operational goals. In addition to Germany, hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs were dropped on their eastern allies of Romania and Hungary , primarily in an attempt to cripple Romanian oil production . British and Commonwealth forces also contributed directly to the fighting on the Eastern Front through their service in

11102-414: The entire war. In addition, the USSR received wartime innovations including penicillin, radar, rocket, precision-bombing technology, the long-range navigation system Loran , and many other innovations. Of the 800,000 tons of nonferrous metals shipped, about 350,000 tons were aluminium. The shipment of aluminium not only represented double the amount of metal that Germany possessed, but also composed

11224-685: The failure of Operation Barbarossa to defeat the Soviet Union in a single campaign, the Wehrmacht had captured vast territories, including Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic republics. On the Western Front, Germany held most of Europe, the U-boat offensive was curbing American support, and in North Africa , Erwin Rommel had just captured Tobruk . In the east, the Germans had stabilized

11346-408: The general mobilization of all healthy men born between 1908 and 1924 into the BKA started. Some 40,000 individuals reported to recruitment bureaus set up in seven cities; although 30% of them were sent back home on German orders for overcrowding. From each region ( Uezd ) about 500 to 600 men were recruited, for the total of 28,000 soldiers ready for training. On March 26, all men already enlisted to

11468-447: The heaviest bombing raid that had ever taken place on the Eastern Front. At least 90% of the city's housing stock was obliterated as a result. The Stalingrad Tractor Factory continued to turn out T-34 tanks up until German troops burst into the plant. The 369th (Croatian) Reinforced Infantry Regiment was the only non-German unit selected by the Wehrmacht to enter Stalingrad city during assault operations, with it fighting as part of

11590-495: The international communist revolution , and eventually leading to the dissolution of the Comintern (Third International) organisation in 1943. The Soviet Union started a process of militarisation with the first five-year plan that officially began in 1928, although it was only towards the end of the second five-year plan in the mid-1930s that military power became the primary focus of Soviet industrialisation. In February 1936

11712-702: The invasion of the Soviet Union, cited the Soviet annexations of Baltic and Romanian territory as having violated Germany's understanding of the pact. Moscow partitioned the annexed Romanian territory between the Ukrainian and Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republics . Hitler had argued in his autobiography Mein Kampf (1925) for the necessity of Lebensraum ("living space"): acquiring new territory for Germans in Eastern Europe, in particular Russia. He envisaged settling Germans there, as according to Nazi ideology

11834-557: The largest contribution to the German war effort. Two-thirds of all French trains in 1941 were used to carry goods to Germany. In 1943–44, French payments to Germany may have risen to as much as 55% of French GDP. Norway lost 20% of its national income in 1940 and 40% in 1943. Axis allies such as Romania and Italy , Hungary , Finland, Croatia and Bulgaria benefited from Germany's net imports. Overall, Germany imported 20% of its food and 33% of its raw materials from conquered territories and Axis allies. On 27 May 1940, Germany signed

11956-490: The last soldier. And how many soldiers are left over there? When will this hell come to an end? Historian David Glantz stated that the grinding and brutal battle resembled "the fighting on the Somme and at Verdun in 1916 more than it did the familiar blitzkrieg war of the previous three summers". On 5 September, the Soviet 24th and 66th Armies organized a massive attack against XIV Panzer Corps . The Luftwaffe helped repel

12078-618: The last year of war, Lend-Lease data show that about 5.1 million tons of foodstuff left the United States for the Soviet Union. It is estimated that all the food supplies sent to Russia could feed a 12,000,000-man strong army a half pound of concentrated food per day, for the entire duration of the war. The total Lend-Lease aid provided during the Second World War had been estimated between $ 42–50 billion. The Soviet Union received shipments in war materials, military equipment and other supplies worth of $ 12.5 billion, about

12200-483: The local technical university formed a "tank destroyer" unit. They assembled tanks from leftover parts at the tractor factory. These tanks, unpainted and lacking gun-sights, were driven directly from the factory floor to the front line. They could only be aimed at point-blank range through the bore of their gun barrels. Chuikov later remarked that soldiers approaching the battle would say "We are entering hell", but after one or two days, they said "No, this isn't hell, this

12322-771: The main German attack would target Moscow, prioritized defending the Soviet capital. As the Soviet winter counteroffensive of 1941–1942 culminated in March, the Soviet high command began planning for the summer campaign. Although Stalin desired a general offensive, he was dissuaded by Chief of the General Staff Boris Shaposhnikov , Deputy Chief of the General Staff Aleksandr Vasilevsky , and Western Main Direction commander Georgy Zhukov . Ultimately, Stalin instructed that

12444-420: The offensive by heavily attacking Soviet artillery positions and defensive lines. The Soviets were forced to withdraw at midday after only a few hours. Of the 120 tanks the Soviets had committed, 30 were lost to air attack. On 13 September, the battle for the city itself began. With German forces launching an attack which overran the small hill where the 62nd Soviet Army headquarters was established, in addition,

12566-450: The oil of Maikop and Grozny then I must finish [ liquidieren ; "kill off", "liquidate"] this war. Army Group South was selected for a sprint forward through the southern Russian steppes into the Caucasus to capture the vital Soviet oil fields there . The planned summer offensive, code-named Fall Blau ( Case Blue ), was to include the German 6th, 17th , 4th Panzer and 1st Panzer Armies. Hitler intervened, however, ordering

12688-468: The opening date of the Eastern Front. Initially, Soviet forces were unable to halt the Axis forces, which came close to Moscow . Despite their many attempts, the Axis failed to capture Moscow and soon focused on the oil fields in the Caucasus . German forces invaded the Caucasus under the Fall Blau ("Case Blue") plan on 28 June 1942. The Soviets successfully halted further Axis advance at Stalingrad —

12810-506: The outcome in the European theatre of operations in World War II , eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Axis nations. It is noted by historian Geoffrey Roberts that "More than 80 percent of all combat during the Second World War took place on the Eastern Front". The Axis forces, led by Nazi Germany, began their advance into the Soviet Union under the codename Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941,

12932-575: The period of 1933–43. It may also be likely that "Swedish ore formed the raw material of four out of every ten German guns" during the Hitler era'. The use of foreign forced labour and slavery in Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to

13054-458: The railway station was captured, and German forces advanced far enough to threaten the Volga landing stage. Soviet operations were constantly hampered by the Luftwaffe . On 18 September, the Soviet 1st Guards and 24th Army launched an offensive against VIII Army Corps at Kotluban. VIII. Fliegerkorps dispatched multiple waves of Stuka dive-bombers to prevent a breakthrough. The offensive

13176-516: The regiment, claiming the destruction of 37 guns, and the unit's surprise that its opponents had in part included women. In the early stages of the battle, the NKVD organised poorly armed "Workers' militias " similar to those that had defended the city twenty-four years earlier , composed of civilians not directly involved in war production for immediate use in the battle. The civilians were often sent into battle without rifles. Staff and students from

13298-448: The road between Yerzovka and Stalingrad, saw particularly intense fighting against the 16th Panzer, reportedly fighting "shot for shot." Two women were decorated for their actions that day, and the regiment's report praised the "exceptional steadfastness and heroism" of the women soldiers. The regiment lost 35 guns, eighteen killed, 46 wounded, and 74 missing on 23 and 24 August. The 16th Panzer Division's history mentioned its encounter with

13420-408: The side of Spanish Nationalists , the military rebel group led by General Francisco Franco . It served as a useful testing ground for both the Wehrmacht and the Red Army to experiment with equipment and tactics that they would later employ on a wider scale in the Second World War. Nazi Germany, which was an anti-communist régime, formalised its ideological position on 25 November 1936 by signing

13542-421: The single largest and costliest urban battle in military history . It was the bloodiest and fiercest battle of the entirety of World War II—and arguably in all of human history—as both sides suffered tremendous casualties amidst ferocious fighting in and around the city. The battle is commonly regarded as the turning point in the European theatre of World War II , as Germany's Oberkommando der Wehrmacht

13664-483: The summer campaign be based on "active strategic defense," while also ordering local offensives across the Eastern Front. Southwestern Main Direction commander Semyon Timoshenko proposed an attack from the Izyum salient south of Kharkov to encircle and destroy the German 6th Army . Despite opposition from Shaposhnikov and Vasilevsky, Stalin approved the plan. After delays in troop movements and logistical challenges,

13786-490: The vast " Bolshevik hordes" that were pouring into Europe. Throughout the 1930s the Soviet Union underwent massive industrialisation and economic growth under the leadership of Joseph Stalin . Stalin's central tenet, " Socialism in One Country ", manifested itself as a series of nationwide centralised five-year plans from 1929 onwards. This represented an ideological shift in Soviet policy, away from its commitment to

13908-631: The war against the Soviet Union as a struggle between the ideologies of Nazism and Jewish Bolshevism , ensuring territorial expansion for the Germanic Übermenschen (superhumans) - who according to Nazi ideology were the Aryan Herrenvolk ("master race") - at the expense of the Slavic Untermenschen (subhumans). Wehrmacht officers told their troops to target people who were described as "Jewish Bolshevik subhumans",

14030-420: The whole rotten structure will come crashing down." Thus the German authorities expected another short Blitzkrieg and made no serious preparations for prolonged warfare. However, following the decisive Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943 and the resulting dire German military situation, Nazi propaganda began to portray the war as a German defence of Western civilisation against destruction by

14152-444: Was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II , beginning when Nazi Germany and its Axis allies attacked and became locked in a protracted struggle with the Soviet Union for control over the Soviet city of Stalingrad (now known as Volgograd) in southern Russia . The battle was characterized by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in aerial raids; the battle epitomized urban warfare , being

14274-467: Was forced to withdraw a considerable amount of military forces from other regions to replace losses on the Eastern Front. By the time the hostilities ended, the German 6th Army and 4th Panzer Army had been destroyed and Army Group B was routed. The Soviets' victory at Stalingrad shifted the Eastern Front's balance of power in their favour, while also boosting the morale of the Red Army . Both sides placed great strategic importance on Stalingrad, for it

14396-524: Was left with just 192 serviceable aircraft, 57 of which were fighters. Early on 23 August, the German 16th Panzer and 3rd Motorized Divisions attacked out of the Vertyachy bridgehead with a force 120 tanks and over 200 armored personnel carriers strong. The German attack broke through the 1382nd Rifle Regiment of the 87th Rifle Division and the 137th Tank Brigade, which were forced to retreat towards Dmitryevka. The 16th Panzer Division drove east towards

14518-537: Was pushing far into the Caucasus, but the advance slowed as supply lines grew overextended. The two German army groups were too far apart to support one another. After German intentions became clear in July, Stalin appointed General Andrey Yeryomenko commander of the Southeastern Front on 1 August 1942. Yeryomenko and Commissar Nikita Khrushchev were tasked with planning the defence of Stalingrad. Beyond

14640-455: Was repelled. The Stukas claimed 41 of the 106 Soviet tanks knocked out that morning, while escorting Bf 109s destroyed 77 Soviet aircraft. Lieutenant General Alexander Rodimtsev was in charge of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, and received one of two Hero of the Soviet Union awards issued during the battle for his actions. Stalin's Order No. 227 of 27 July 1942 decreed that all commanders who ordered unauthorised retreats would be subject to

14762-874: Was sent to the Battle of Monte Cassino , and acted against the II Corps (Poland) of General Władysław Anders ( Anders Army ). BKA soldiers were not trusted by the Germans, which explains why Russian Liberation Army formations weren't sent to the Eastern Front , and combat at Western Front . The rank insignia of commissioned officers . The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel . [REDACTED] Media related to Belarusian Home Defense at Wikimedia Commons Battle of Stalingrad [REDACTED] Army Group B : [REDACTED] Army Group Don [REDACTED] Stalingrad Front : [REDACTED] Don Front [REDACTED] Southwestern Front The Battle of Stalingrad (17 July 1942 – 2 February 1943)

14884-575: Was the largest industrial centre of the Soviet Union and an important transport hub on the Volga River : controlling Stalingrad meant gaining access to the oil fields of the Caucasus and having supreme authority over the Volga River. The city also held significant symbolic importance because it bore the name of Joseph Stalin , the incumbent leader of the Soviet Union. As the conflict progressed, Germany's fuel supplies dwindled and thus drove it to focus on moving deeper into Soviet territory and taking

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