The Eastern Front during World War

II

USSR 1941-1945

Nazi Germany – USSR conflict

• Eastern Front in 1941• Operation Barbarossa• Siege of Leningrad• Battle of Moscow• Battle of Kursk

• Propaganda• Symbols• Casualties• Consequences

Eastern Front in 1941• 2900 km wide front• 300-600 km inside the

USSR• 3.5 million soldiers

captured• Major cities and

industrial zones lost

Operation BarbarossaJune 22, 1941

Armies

Fronts Northern => Baltic

states => Leningrad Central =>Moscow South => Kiev

USSR forces Nazi Germany forces Advantage Quotient

Army 3 289 851 4 306 800 Germany had advantage by 1,31Artillery 59 787 42 601 USSR had advantage by 1,40Tanks and heavy artillery 15 687 4 171 USSR had advantage by 3,76Airplanes 10 743 4 846 USSR had advantage by 2,22

Statistics0

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USSR forces Nazi Germany forces

Army

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Artillery Tanks and heavy artillery

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Other Forces

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Germany

The siege of LeningradSeptember 1 1941- August 9 1944

• September 8, 1941- Leningrad was entirely blocked, siege began

• Artillery bombardment took most victims until the first winter

The Hunger1941-1942

• 2,500,000 people and thousands refugees

• Lack of supplies• Vital goods sent to

Moscow and Stalingrad• Power stations

destroyed• Supply routes cut off

– The Road of Life( road to closest city) and Lagoda lake

– rarely during winter ice was thick enough to allow heavy transport

Survival

• Ratios bread given according to social status– Soldiers at frontline- 500 g– Workers- 250 g– Children- 125 g

• Bread was 50% mixed• All cats and dogs eaten• Black market thrived• All wood, incl. furniture was burned

End of Siege

January 1944- Red Army entirely chased out

German troops

Consequences• Barbarossa plan was

never accomplished• German invasion to the

North was stopped

Battle of Moscow“Operation Typhoon”

• At 5.30 a.m. on October 2, 1941 “Operation Typhoon” – the attack on Moscow finally started and ironically the weather was very good.

• Hitler ordered units in other parts of the Russian campaign to be moved to Moscow

• For the attack Field Marshall von Bock had at his disposal 1 million men, 1,700 tanks, 950 combat aircraft and 19,500 artillery guns – 50% of the German men in Russia nad 75% of all the tanks

• To defend Moscow, the Russians had under 500,000 men, less than 900 tanks and about 300 combat planes.

The Tension continues to grow

More information

1941, November –

October Revolution Celebration

Second German Assault

• The second assault in the middle of November narrowed its target area but it was met with fierce Russian resistance

• In 20 days the Germans lost 155,000 men while the Russians had 58 infantry and cavalry divisions in reserve

The Defense of Moscow 1941

Russian Counter-Offensive • Stalin himself made it clear to

Zhukov that he expected a counter-attack to start on December 5th to the north of Moscow and on December 6th to the south.

• These attacks proved extremely effective against an enemy who was hit hard by temperatures of minus 50 degrees Celsius

• The Wermacht was pushed back between 60 and 155 miles in places and by January, 1942 the threat to Moscow had passed

The Battle of Kursk: Reasons and Preparation

• Reasons– After the defeat at Stalingrad, the German army had to continue its

offence while there was no European front– A defeat of the Red Army would increase tension between the Allies

• Preparation– The Red Army was advancing towards the German troops based at Orel

and Khrakov; if not stopped they would completely surround the Germans

– Germany planned the attack with great care and used all available resources to ensure victory

– The Soviets captured German shock troopers and learned important details of the Nazi plan.

– Through both army and civilian involvement, the Soviets created a strong defense line

Leadership

• Hitler gave support for the attack – “This offensive is of decisive importance. It must end in swift and decisive success. Every commander,

every private soldier, must be indoctrinated with awareness of the decisive importance of this offensive. Victory at Kursk will be a beacon for the whole world.”

• The German commander of the Kursk offence was Erich von Manstein

• The Soviet defense of Kursk was given to two generals: Rokossovsky and Vatutin. In change of all, however, was Marshall Zhukov

– Erich von Manstern

– From left to right:– Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Vatutin

Soviet Commanders• Konstantin Rokossovsky (December

21, 1896 – August 3, 1968) • Born in Warsaw • He advocated the creation of

strong armored core for the army• Victim of Stalin’s purge, but

released as WWII broke • Played a key role in defending

Moscow, together with Zhukov• Participated in Stalingrad• 1943: Commander of Central

Front and commander at Kursk• By 1944 became Marshall of the

USSR• Fought in Belarus after and joined

with forces of Montgomery

• Nikolai Vatutin (December 16, 1901-April 14, 1944)

• Born in Kursk province • Promoted to Lieutenant General

during the Great Purge.• June 31: Commander of North-

Western front.• Aided the defense of Leningrad, but

ultimately failed.• Had a contributing role at

Stalingrad.• In January 1943 was driving

Germans out of Ukraine.• Commanded recapture of Khrakov. • On February 28th, 1944 was

ambushed and died in hospital 6 weeks later

• Praised tactician

The Battle

Consequences• The Battle of Kursk was a turning point for the course of WWII. It was the

last major German offence at Eastern Front.

• The German army was devastated: 500.000 men were killed, wounded, or missing. 900 tanks and 200 airplanes were destroyed.

• The Red Army had even greater losses: around 600,000 killed, wounded, or captured and more than 1000 tanks and airplanes destroyed.

• "The three immense battles of Kursk, Orel and Kharkov, all in the space of two months, heralded the downfall of the German army on the Eastern Front."

• Winston Churchill

Propaganda “For Stalin, for fatherland” The Red Army was being stimulated for the

cause and was taught to be ready for everything in the name of success

Manipulative propaganda (part of totalitarian ideology)

Propaganda mobilized the soldiers spiritually and helped them withstand the harsh conditions

Supported the battle spirit of the army Most commonly used medium: radio Other media: posters, rallies

Propaganda

Symbols

Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)

USSR Nazi GermanyMilitary 9 000 000 5 500 000Civilians 12 000 000 1 500 000Total 21 000 000 7 000 000

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World War II Casualties

Nazi Germany

USSR

Casualties

Immediate Consequences after WWII

As a victorious nation, the USSR gained a lot of moral and political authority after the war.

The USSR was arguably considered the greatest and most realistic winner, because: – it fought ALONE on around a 2000 km long front with the Germans and

won; – sustained the most casualties (30 million); – was ready for fighting on a second front with the Japanese (had 1

million soldiers on standby in the East). USSR became one of the most powerful nations in the world. Became one of the two remaining Great Powers (along with the

USA). USSR and USA “split” the world and the USSR dominated Eastern

Europe => Communism spread in Eastern Europe Gained support of not only the newly formed Socialistic Republics

in Eastern Europe, but also of many “neutral” states. Cold War

END