1941 plan Barbarossa. Beginning of the Great Patriotic War

PLAN "BARBAROSSA" The victorious year 1945 will come, and many researchers will call the plan "Barbarossa" the biggest adventure and gross mistake of the military-political leadership of Hitler's Germany. Here it is necessary to separate two components: the political decision to attack

The plan for Germany's attack on the USSR was developed in 1940-1941. The Nazi command expected to carry out the military operation as soon as possible. But during the development of the plan, a number of mistakes were made, which led to the fall of the Third Reich.

The main miscalculations of the Nazi command, which developed the plan for Germany’s attack on the USSR, can be briefly formulated as follows: the Germans underestimated the enemy and did not take into account the possibility of a protracted war.

Hitler's dream

Modern historians believe that the plan for Germany to attack the USSR, the implementation of which began on June 22, 1941, became the Fuhrer’s craziest idea during World War II. Hitler was forced to develop it in order to realize his ambitions and conquer Europe.

In order to strengthen Stalin's confidence in the absence of territorial claims, Hitler carried out several diplomatic events. For example, in September 1940, he sent an official message to the Soviet leadership, which spoke of the signing of a pact with Japan, in which the Fuhrer invited Stalin to take part in the division of the British colonies in India. On October 13, Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, was invited to Berlin.

Balance of power

The following army groups were created to attack the USSR:

• "North". The task is to defeat the Red Army troops in the Baltic states.
• "Center". The task is the destruction of Soviet troops in Belarus.
• "South". The task is to destroy troops on the Right Bank of Ukraine, access to the Dnieper.
• German-Finnish group. The task is the blockade of Leningrad, the capture of Murmansk, the attack on Arkhangelsk.

Start of operation

According to the plan for Germany's attack on the USSR, according to some sources, Wehrmacht troops were supposed to begin the invasion on May 15. Why did this happen later, after 38 days? Historians put forward different versions. One of them is that the delay occurred due to technical reasons. One way or another, the invasion of the Wehrmacht troops took the Soviet command by surprise.

On the very first day, the Germans destroyed most of the Soviet ammunition and military equipment and established complete air supremacy. The offensive began on a front three thousand kilometers long.

Battle for Russia

Six days after the German invasion of the USSR began, a piece appeared in The Times magazine entitled “How Long Can Russia Hold Out?” British journalists wrote: “The question of whether the battle for the Soviet Union will become the most important in history is asked by the Germans, but the answer to it depends on the Russians.”

Both in Great Britain and the USA at the end of June 1941 it was believed that Germany would need only six weeks to capture Moscow. This confidence had a significant impact on the policies of the USSR's allies. However, the Soviet-British agreement on actions in the war was signed on July 12. Two days earlier, the second phase of the Wehrmacht's offensive campaign began.

Offensive crisis

At the end of July 1941, the German military command made adjustments to its plans. According to Directive No. 33, the Wehrmacht army was supposed to defeat the Soviet troops that were located between Smolensk and Moscow. On August 12, Hitler ordered the attack on Kyiv to be suspended.

The Germans planned to capture Leningrad at the end of the summer of 1941. They were confident that they would be able to take Moscow before the onset of autumn. But their optimism dissipated in August. Hitler issued a directive that said: the most important task is not the capture of Moscow, but the occupation of Crimea and industrial areas on the Donets River.

Results of the operation

According to Barbarossa's plan, the Germans were supposed to capture the USSR during the summer-autumn campaign. Hitler underestimated the enemy's mobilization capabilities. In a matter of days, new formations and ground forces were formed. Already in the summer of 1941, the Soviet command sent more than three hundred divisions to the front.

Some researchers believe that the Nazis did not have enough time. Others argue that Germany could not have captured the USSR under any balance of power.

The art of war is a science in which nothing succeeds except what has been calculated and thought out.

Napoleon

Plan Barbarossa is a plan for a German attack on the USSR, based on the principle of lightning war, blitzkrieg. The plan began to be developed in the summer of 1940, and on December 18, 1940, Hitler approved a plan according to which the war was to end in November 1941 at the latest.

Plan Barbarossa was named after Frederick Barbarossa, the 12th century emperor who became famous for his campaigns of conquest. This contained elements of symbolism, to which Hitler himself and his entourage paid so much attention. The plan received its name on January 31, 1941.

Number of troops to implement the plan

Germany was preparing 190 divisions to fight the war and 24 divisions as reserves. 19 tank and 14 motorized divisions were allocated for the war. The total number of troops that Germany sent to the USSR, according to various estimates, ranges from 5 to 5.5 million people.

The apparent superiority in USSR technology is not worth taking into account, since by the beginning of the wars, Germany's technical tanks and aircraft were superior to those of the Soviet Union, and the army itself was much more trained. Suffice it to recall the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, where the Red Army demonstrated weakness in literally everything.

Direction of the main attack

Barbarossa's plan determined 3 main directions for attack:

• Army Group "South". A blow to Moldova, Ukraine, Crimea and access to the Caucasus. Further movement to the line Astrakhan - Stalingrad (Volgograd).
• Army Group "Center". Line "Minsk - Smolensk - Moscow". Advance to Nizhny Novgorod, aligning the Volna - Northern Dvina line.
• Army Group "North". Attack on the Baltic states, Leningrad and further advance to Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. At the same time, the “Norway” army was supposed to fight in the north together with the Finnish army.

Around the end of October 1941, the German command planned to reach the Volga - Northern Dvina line, thereby capturing the entire European part of the USSR. This was the idea behind the lightning war. After the blitzkrieg, there should have been lands beyond the Urals, which, without the support of the center, would have quickly surrendered to the winner.

Until about mid-August 1941, the Germans believed that the war was going according to plan, but in September there were already entries in the diaries of officers that the Barbarossa plan had failed and the war would be lost. The best proof that Germany in August 1941 believed that there were only a few weeks left before the end of the war with the USSR was Goebbels’ speech. The Minister of Propaganda suggested that the Germans collect additional warm clothes for the needs of the army. The government decided that this step was not necessary, since there would be no war in the winter.

Implementation of the plan

The first three weeks of the war assured Hitler that everything was going according to plan. The army rapidly moved forward, winning victories, but the Soviet army suffered huge losses:

• 28 divisions out of 170 were put out of action.
• 70 divisions lost about 50% of their personnel.
• 72 divisions remained combat-ready (43% of those available at the start of the war).

Over the same 3 weeks, the average rate of advance of German troops deep into the country was 30 km per day.

By July 11, the Army Group “North” occupied almost the entire Baltic territory, providing access to Leningrad, the Army Group “Center” reached Smolensk, and the Army Group “South” reached Kyiv. These were the latest achievements that were fully consistent with the plan of the German command. After this, failures began (still local, but already indicative). Nevertheless, the initiative in the war until the end of 1941 was on the side of Germany.

Germany's failures in the North

Army “North” occupied the Baltic states without any problems, especially since there was practically no partisan movement there. The next strategic point to be captured was Leningrad. Here it turned out that the Wehrmacht was beyond its strength. The city did not capitulate to the enemy and until the end of the war, despite all efforts, Germany was unable to capture it.

Army Failures Center

Army "Center" reached Smolensk without problems, but was stuck near the city until September 10. Smolensk resisted for almost a month. The German command demanded a decisive victory and the advancement of troops, since such a delay near the city, which was planned to be taken without large losses, was unacceptable and called into question the implementation of the Barbarossa plan. As a result, the Germans took Smolensk, but their troops were pretty battered.

Historians today evaluate the Battle of Smolensk as a tactical victory for Germany, but a strategic victory for Russia, since it was possible to stop the advance of troops towards Moscow, which allowed the capital to prepare for defense.

The advance of the German army deep into the country was complicated by the partisan movement of Belarus.

Failures of the South Army

Army “South” reached Kyiv in 3.5 weeks and, like Army “Center” near Smolensk, was stuck in battle. Ultimately, it was possible to take the city due to the clear superiority of the army, but Kyiv held out almost until the end of September, which also hampered the advance of the German army and made a significant contribution to the disruption of Barbarossa’s plan.

Map of the German advance plan

Above is a map showing the German command's offensive plan. The map shows: in green – the borders of the USSR, in red – the border to which Germany planned to reach, in blue – the deployment and plan for the advancement of German troops.

General state of affairs

• In the North, it was not possible to capture Leningrad and Murmansk. The advance of the troops stopped.
• It was with great difficulty that the Center managed to reach Moscow. At the time the German army reached the Soviet capital, it was already clear that no blitzkrieg had happened.
• In the South it was not possible to take Odessa and seize the Caucasus. By the end of September, Hitler's troops had just captured Kyiv and launched an attack on Kharkov and Donbass.

Why Germany's blitzkrieg failed

Germany's blitzkrieg failed because the Wehrmacht prepared the Barbarossa plan, as it later turned out, based on false intelligence data. Hitler admitted this by the end of 1941, saying that if he had known the real state of affairs in the USSR, he would not have started the war on June 22.

The tactics of lightning war were based on the fact that the country has one line of defense on the western border, all large army units are located on the western border, and aviation is located on the border. Since Hitler was confident that all Soviet troops were located on the border, this formed the basis of the blitzkrieg - to destroy the enemy army in the first weeks of the war, and then quickly move deeper into the country without encountering serious resistance.

In fact, there were several lines of defense, the army was not located with all its forces on the western border, there were reserves. Germany did not expect this, and by August 1941 it became clear that the lightning war had failed and Germany could not win the war. The fact that the Second World War lasted right up to 1945 only proves that the Germans fought in a very organized and brave manner. Thanks to the fact that they had the economy of the whole of Europe behind them (speaking of the war between Germany and the USSR, many for some reason forget that the German army included units from almost all European countries) they were able to fight successfully.

Did Barbarossa's plan fail?

I propose to evaluate the Barbarossa plan according to 2 criteria: global and local. Global(reference point - the Great Patriotic War) - the plan was thwarted, since the lightning war did not work out, the German troops were bogged down in battles. Local(landmark – intelligence data) – the plan was carried out. The German command drew up the Barbarossa plan based on the assumption that the USSR had 170 divisions on the country’s border and there were no additional echelons of defense. There are no reserves or reinforcements. The army was preparing for this. In 3 weeks, 28 Soviet divisions were completely destroyed, and in 70, approximately 50% of the personnel and equipment were disabled. At this stage, the blitzkrieg worked and, in the absence of reinforcements from the USSR, gave the desired results. But it turned out that the Soviet command had reserves, not all troops were located on the border, mobilization brought high-quality soldiers into the army, there were additional lines of defense, the “charm” of which Germany felt near Smolensk and Kiev.

Therefore, the failure of the Barbarossa plan should be considered as a huge strategic mistake of German intelligence, led by Wilhelm Canaris. Today, some historians connect this man with English agents, but there is no evidence of this. But if we assume that this is really the case, then it becomes clear why Canaris palmed Hitler off with the absolute lie that the USSR was not ready for war and all the troops were located on the border.

The operation was supposed to ensure a quick and unconditional victory of Nazi Germany over the USSR thanks to the surprise factor. However, despite preparations in secrecy, the Barbarossa plan failed, and the war between the Germans and domestic troops dragged on and lasted from 1941 to 1945, after which it ended in the defeat of Germany.

The Barbarossa plan got its name in honor of the medieval King of Germany, Frederick 1, who was a glorious commander and, as was previously believed, planned raids on Rus' in the 12th century. Later, this myth was debunked.

Contents of the Barbarossa plan and its significance

The attack on the USSR was supposed to be Germany's next step towards world domination. The victory over Russia and the conquest of its territories should have opened up the opportunity for Hitler to enter into an open conflict with the United States for the right to redistribute the world. Having managed to conquer almost all of Europe, Hitler was confident of his unconditional victory over the USSR.

In order for the attack to go smoothly, it was necessary to develop a plan for a military attack. This plan became Barbarossa. Before planning the attack, Hitler ordered his intelligence officers to collect detailed information about the Soviet army and its weapons. After analyzing the information received, Hitler decided that the German army was significantly superior to the Red Army of the USSR - based on this, they began to plan the attack.

The essence of the Barbarossa plan was to strike the Red Army suddenly, on its own territory and, taking advantage of the unpreparedness of the troops and the technical superiority of the German army, to conquer the USSR within two and a half months.

At first it was planned to conquer the front line located on the territory of Belarus by wedging German troops from different sides of the Soviet army. The disunited and unprepared Red Army had to quickly surrender. Then Hitler was going to move towards Kyiv in order to conquer the territory of Ukraine and, most importantly, its sea routes and cut off the paths of Soviet troops. Thus, he could give his troops the opportunity to further attack the USSR from the south and north. In parallel, Hitler's army was supposed to launch an offensive from Norway. Having surrounded the USSR on all sides, Hitler planned to move towards Moscow.

However, already at the very beginning of the war, the German command realized that the plans began to collapse.

Conducting Operation Barbarossa and its results

Hitler's first and main mistake was that he underestimated the strength and weapons of the Soviet army, which, according to historians, was superior to the German in some areas. In addition, the war took place on the territory of the Russian army, so the fighters easily navigated the terrain and could fight in different natural conditions, which was not so easy for the Germans. Another distinctive feature of the Russian army, which greatly influenced the failure of Operation Barbarossa, was the ability of Russian soldiers to mobilize in the shortest possible time to fight back, which did not allow the army to be divided into disparate units.

Hitler set the task for his troops to quickly penetrate deep into the Soviet army and divide it, not allowing Russian soldiers to carry out large operations, as this could be dangerous. The plan was to split the Soviet army and force it to flee. However, everything turned out the other way around. Hitler's troops quickly penetrated deep into the Russian troops, but they were unable to conquer the flanks and defeat the army either. The Germans tried to follow the plan and encircled the Russian detachments, but this did not lead to any results - the Russians quickly emerged from the encirclement thanks to the surprisingly clear and competent leadership of their military leaders. As a result, despite the fact that Hitler’s army still won, it happened very slowly, which ruined the entire plan of rapid conquest.

On the approaches to Moscow, Hitler's army was no longer so strong. Exhausted by endless battles that dragged on for a long time, the army could not go on to conquer the capital, in addition, the bombing of Moscow never began, although according to Hitler’s plans, by that time the city should no longer be on the map. The same thing happened with Leningrad, which was besieged, but never surrendered and was not destroyed from the air.

The operation, which was planned as a swift, victorious attack, turned into a protracted war and stretched from two months to several years.

Reasons for the failure of Plan Barbarossa

The main reasons for the failure of the operation can be considered:

• Lack of accurate data on the combat power of the Russian army. Hitler and his command underestimated the capabilities of Soviet soldiers, which led to the creation of an incorrect offensive and battle plan. The Russians gave a strong resistance, which the Germans did not count on;
• Excellent counterintelligence. Unlike the Germans, the Russians were able to establish good reconnaissance, thanks to which the command was almost always aware of the enemy’s next move and could respond adequately to it. The Germans failed to exploit the effect of surprise;
• Difficult territories. It was difficult for Hitler's troops to get maps of the Soviet terrain, in addition, they were not used to fighting in such conditions (unlike the Russians), so very often impenetrable forests and swamps helped the Soviet army escape and deceive the enemy;
• Lack of control over the course of the war. The German command already in the first few months lost control over the course of military operations, the Barbarossa plan turned out to be impracticable, and the Red Army led a skillful counter-offensive.

Until 1941, Hitler successfully carried out the conquest of Europe. However, he did not suffer any serious losses. Hitler planned to end the war with the USSR in 2-3 months. But unlike Europe, Soviet soldiers put up strong resistance to the Nazi army. And by the autumn of forty-one, the plan for the rapid capture of the USSR was thwarted. The war dragged on.

Hitler had a great goal. He wanted to completely change Eurasia and make Germany the strongest country in the world. The USSR had a special plan called OST. The plan was to destroy the Soviet order of government and completely dispose of the people at their own discretion.

Primary Goal

Germany's main goal was resources, of which there were a lot in the USSR. Vast areas of fertile land. Oil, coal, iron, other minerals, as well as free labor. The German people believed that after the war they would be given occupied lands and people who would work for them for free. Hitler planned to reach line AA (Astrakhan-Arkhangelsk), and then secure the border. Create four Reichskommissariats on the occupied territory. From here it was planned to export everything that was needed for Germany.

According to the plan, the population of the region should be reduced to 14 million. They wanted to deport the rest to Siberia, or destroy them, which is what they did from the beginning of the war. It was planned to destroy 3 - 4 million Russians every year until it reached the “required” number of the population. Cities in the occupied territory were not needed. They wanted to leave only healthy, strong workers living in small villages that were easy to manage. It was planned to replace the Slavs with about eight million Germans. But this plan failed. It was easy to evict people, but the Germans, having moved to new lands, were not very happy with the living conditions. They were given land that needed to be cultivated. The Germans themselves could not cope, and none of the remaining peasants wanted to help. There were not enough Aryans to populate the occupied territories. The German government allowed soldiers to have relationships with women of conquered peoples. And their children were raised as true Aryans. Thus, it was planned to create a new generation loyal to Nazism.

As Hitler said, Soviet people should not know much. Being able to read a little, write German and count to one hundred was enough. A smart person is an enemy. Medicine is not needed for the Slavs, and their fertility is undesirable. Let them work for us, or die, the Fuhrer believed.

Few people knew about the OST master plan. It consisted of mathematical calculations and graphs. And there was no mention of genocide. It was an economic management plan. And not a word about the destruction of millions of people.