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| Nazi soldiers during a snow storm |
Germany adhered to their non-aggression pact with Russia for the first two years of WWII. Once the Nazis withdrew from the Battle of Britain, however, their attention turned to the East.
At 04:00 hours, on June 22nd 1941, Adolf Hitler launched the greatest land-air attack in the history of war – Operation Barbarossa. The assault comprised of 3 million troops, 3,500 tanks, and 1,800 aircraft.
Hitler’s generals advised him against waging war on two fronts – especially since the Red Army was far superior in number – but Hitler pressed ahead regardless.
The German advance was swift at first – 200 miles in the first week. In July, the city of Smolensk had been secured and Leningrad (now St Petersburg) was under siege soon after. By September, the city of Kiev had fallen with 650,000 Russian soldiers – the most prisoners ever taken in battle.
By the end of the year, more than 3 million Russians had been taken prisoner and another million were dead. The Nazis had the Kremlin in their sights.
Hitler expected Moscow to fall quickly. However, fierce resistance drove the Germans back into the icy plains. His army was left out in the bitter cold, without the resources for winter warfare.
This gruelling war of attrition ground on until July 1943, when Germany was finally beaten.
Ambitious from the start, Operation Barbarossa’s failure marked a downturn for the Nazi’s fortunes. But Russia’s victory came at a massive price. Up to 28 million Russians perished during WWII - most of them during this brutal chapter.
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