22 June 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, the attack on the Soviet Union

22 June 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, the attack on the Soviet Union.

The operation itself lasted until December 1941, but the war on the Eastern Front that had been ushered in, did not end until May 1945, with the German unconditional surrender to the Allied nations. . A successful implementation of Barbarossa would ensure an adequate supply of grain, oil and raw materials for the war effort. Although the Soviet Union had a significant numerical superiority in troops, tanks and aircraft, the Blitzkrieg's tactics seemed to guarantee a German victory. The aim of the operation was to quickly capture, within four months, much of the European part of the Soviet Union, the area west of Archangelsk-Astrachan line. . In the first few weeks of the operation, the Germans made huge gains and inflicted huge losses to the Red Army. Large Soviet armies were surrounded and destroyed. At the end of July, the Germans had occupied the Baltic states, Belarus and western Ukraine. It then emerged that the Germans had seriously underestimated the ability of the Soviets to summon new troops. The Red Army brought in numerous fresh reserves. The Germans, on the other hand, were largely out of ammunition and fuel. The German High Command argued on how to deal with this unexpected situation. Many generals wanted to advance directly to Moscow, but A.H. first ordered the large front arch that had formed near Kiev to be cut off. In September, half a million Soviet soldiers were defeated there. The attack on Moscow was finally launched in early October. Once again the Germans gained land, but after that temperatures dropped, their offensive got stuck in the mud due to the unpaved road network. When it started to freeze in November and supplies resumed, the Germans made an extreme effort to reach Moscow, but their exhausted troops no longer had the strength to do so. In early December, they were caught in fierce cold and had to withdraw under heavy losses. . The failure of Operation Barbarossa was turning point in WWII

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