Stalinism in Wartime Flashcards
What was Operation Barbarossa?
Nazi invasion of Russia, 3-pronged to Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev. Failed to capture Moscow and Russia launched a successful counter-offensive. In 1942 the Germans re concentrated on the Caucasus Oil Fields to the south.
When did the momentum shift in Barbarossa?
The monumental tank battle at Kursk in 1943, led by Zhukov and won by Russia.
What were the main factors Russia were able to repel the Germans?
Winter came, and Soviet resistance stiffened. The Nazis also failed to use their 1 million + prisoners effectively.
With which forces did Germany invade with?
3 million soldiers, 3500 tanks and a Luftwaffe support force.
Why was Stalin taken by surprise by the invasion?
Stalin ignored intelligence agents and British government in warning of a Nazi buildup of troops and invasion. He expected the Nazi-Soviet pact to also win breathing space.
What was Stalin’s first move as wartime leader?
He convened the Politburo and demanded the German air force be destroyed and invading forces annihilated. He left the public announcement to Molotov, because he could not bring himself to do so.
What did the war bring a significant need for?
A clearly defined structure of governmental and military authority, which took over a week to establish.
What was Stavka?
The Supreme Military Command, responsible for all military planning and consisting of all marshalls of the SU, Chief of Staff and heads of services.
What was GKO?
State Defence Committee, civilian body responsible for organisation and coordination, exercises absolute authority over all Party, state, military and other organisations and directs the wartime economy.
Why does Stalin return from his dacha, and what does he do?
The Politburo visited him and he agrees to restructuring. He assumes command of Stavka and the GKO and makes his first wartime address, warning that if Russia lose then they shall fall into slavery.
What happened from July 1941 onwards with Stalin?
He assumed supreme political and military command, and appealed constantly to peoples love of their country and played on the threat to their culture.
How did Stalin respond when the Germans got close to Moscow?
He ordered the evacuation of the government, but insisted that the annual Red Square was to continue.
How did Stalin’s leadership style change?
He understood the need to let his military commanders plan campaigns, increasingly leaving planning to his General Staff. Zhukov was heavily relied upon.
Where did wartime opposition come from under Stalin?
There wasn’t any outright opposition, but not all Russians were supportive and the NKVD never stopped being vigilant.
What did Hitler nurture hope for, and was disappointed by?
He hoped the invasion would spark an anti-Stalinist revolt, but instead national minorities welcomed Germans as liberators.
What role did National Minorities assume?
Some acted as Hilfswigge, or formed movements such as the Russian Liberation Movement in the Ukraine which had 50,000 soldiers fighting under the Waffen-SS.
How many Slavs joined Hitler?
Over a million, with over 250,000 Cossacks.
How did Hitler cripple himself with the national minorities?
Kill 75% and enslave the rest, as Hilfswigge not soldiers.
How did pre-war ‘terror tactics’ help with the war effort?
Order 227 - Not One Step Backwards, any soldier who tried to retreat was to be shot on sight, with over 150,000 shot under this. Penal battalions created from those who broke discipline. They did the most dangerous jobs such as clearing minefields, with average of 50% casualty rates. Blocking units were added behind penal units to prevent desertion.
What was seen as a potential threat to state security during this time?
Multinationalism, so Stalin took action to prevent political disintegration.
How did Stalin handle political disintegration?
He dissolved the Volga German republic and sent its peoples elsewhere. He also deported suspect ethnic groups, such as the Crimean Tartars and around 1.5 million people had to uproot. Only 2/3 survived the journeys to Kazakhstan.
