When Hitler ordered the start of Operation Barbarossa, millions of German soldiers flooded into Russia, believing that their rapid blitzkrieg tactics would result in the an easy victory similar to the ones enjoyed by the Wehrmacht over Poland and France. But the huge human resources at the disposal [...]
Germany's surprise assault on the Soviet Union in 1941, Operation Barbarossa, aimed at nothing less than complete destruction. Hitler saw this as the answer to establishing 'Lebensraum' for the German people in the East. The Soviets believed that a German attack would take place in the Ukraine. As s[...]
Of the German Army Groups that attacked Soviet Russia, Von Leeb's Army Group North, tasked with seizing the Baltic States and Leningrad, was the smallest and weakest. Fortunately, General Kuznetzov's Northwestern Front was in an even weaker state. When Army Group North attacked on 22 June, it soon s[...]
Hitler's panzer armies spearheaded the blitzkrieg on the Eastern Front. They played a key role in every major campaign, not simply as tactical tools but also as operational weapons that shaped strategy. Their extraordinary triumphs and their eventual defeat mirrors the fate of German forces in the E[...]
The final volume in the "Barbarossa" trilogy, this title completes the account of the strategic intricacies of the German campaign against Russia. Robert Kirchubel examines the causes behind the German failure, including the inability to resupply troops or provide reserves, as well as the lack of de[...]