Operation Barbarossa
At the height of his power, Adolf Hitler had the world by the throat. His reign of terror was known in every country around the globe. His strengths as a leader were based mainly in politics; charisma mixed with intelligence. People would follow his lead, run blindly into battle, commit atrocities the likes of which the world had never seen, and not think twice about it. An uncanny ability to sway millions to follow, does not however constitute ability as a military general. Hitler's eventual decline begun with the invasion of Russia, code named "Operation Barbarossa". After this military blunder, the tide of the war began to sway, and the power of Nazi Germany decreased with each passing day. Why did Operation Barbarossa fail so terribly? Hitler's generals had tried desperately to talk him out of it, but he was convinced Russia would fall to the Werhmarcht (German Army). Breaking his non-aggression pact with Stalin, to invade Russia was the most costly mistake Hitler ever made. It seems that fate is not without irony, as it would be the advancing Russians that eventually brought Germany to its knees. The ultimate ideological goal for Operation Barbarossa was to destroy Communist Rus
The original plan of Operation Barbarossa was to invade Russia beginning in June 1941, and have the troops out by winter. By this point the German Army had been in Russia for 3 months longer than expected. This meant the Germans were not equipped for the Russian winter at all. Hitler had left his Wehrmarcht ill-equipped and ill-clothed for the winter. German troops were forced to wrap themselves in whatever could be found, and huddle close to the mess halls at night. If the German armies had been able to fight through the winter, there may have been a different result. The time wasted by the Wehrmarcht waiting out the winter, left the Russians amble time to restock their armies. The Russians were also given enough time to produce 4 500 more tanks, tanks that were far superior in sheer power than anything the Germans had. If Hitler had not been so over-confident of Operation Barbarossa's success, then the Wehrmarcht could have been better prepared. The Germans would then have been able to fight through the winter months, meaning the Russians would have never had time to recuperate from any losses. Ultimately Hitler fell to the same mistake as Napoleon. As proof that history does tend to repeat itself, Hitler's downfall would mirror that of the great French emperor's. Operation Barbarossa opened with the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) taking out most of the Russian air support. It was a well rehearsed attack using Hitler's method of blitzkrieg. This was one of the more intelligent moves that was made during the invasion. This tactic to eliminate any support the Russians could have had from the air was a clever use of making a good offence one's best defence. The problem following this strike was that Hitler failed to send in more aircraft as support to his 3 300 000 troops. The added support of aircraft from the Luftwaffe could have been the edge the Germans needed to defeat the Russians. If the German Air Force losses had not been so great in the Battle of Britain, then perhaps Hitler would have made more effective use of the air power he had under his control. On July 15 1941, the central division under the command of General Guderian proceeded as planned to Smolensk, where the city was captured and 300 000 Russia In September of 1941 the southern division had also run into trouble in Kiev - they found themselves opposed by a formidable Russian army. General Guderian and his central division had almost reached Moscow by this point. This is when Hitler made one of the largest military blunders of the invasion of Russia, and perhaps World War 2. He ordered the Panzer divisions to abandon the drive to Moscow, and instead to turn south and aid in the combat and siege of Kiev. The commanding general of this division, General Guderian, was appalled by Hitler's decision. This was a sign of Hitler's troubled relationship with his generals. Guderian was so angry that he flew from the battlefield to talk with Hitler. Guderian hoped to convince Hitler that the drive for Moscow should be the goal of Operation Barbarossa. Hitler disagreed, and during the heated exchange Hitler openly criticised his generals for lack of competence. He stated, "My generals know nothing of The failed attack on Stalingrad can be attributed to the German's own internal conflicts about the true objectives for Operation Barbarossa. Capture of Stalingrad had never been in the plans for Hitler until he lost Moscow. The sudden change in the orders and movement of his armies lowered their moral even more. Hitler had treated the Wehrmarcht like a machine, driving it around Russia with no regard for what effects it
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Approximate Word count = 2437
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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