R6.1 The GPW Flashcards
(39 cards)
What was Operation Barbarossa?
During the Summer of 1941, Hitler was poised for invasion of Russia which he was preparing since October 1940, Hitler knew the Soviet Union was badly unprepared for war, the German armed forces were experienced, battle-hardened and well equipped, so it was decided a blitz-krieg would work
Why was Barbarossa delayed and when?
Originally scheduled for 1st June but delayed for three weeks because policies of Hitler’s Italian allies had caused a crisis in Yugoslavia. Compelling Hitler to invade Yugoslavia in another blitzkrieg campaign
When was operation barbarossa re-set for?
22nd June
What was the effect of the Barbarossa delay?
It cut short the time-window for completion of the operation, before winter weather conditions intervened
What was the strategy in Barbarossa?
Three huge army groups:
-North through the Baltic states towards Leningrad
-South and East towards Ukraine
-Central thrust towards Moscow
What was the aim of Barbarossa?
Not just military victory, wanted to seize control of the soviet economy, eradicate communism and supposedly “liberate” communist citizens who would welcome German invaders
What was Stalins preparation to Barbarossa?
He miscalculated the effectiveness of the Nazi-Soviet pact, which left them unprepared for war and even when foreign sources warned Stalin of German invasion, he still took no action because he preferred not to believed them, very fearful of Hitler and thought that protecting from invasion would maybe provoke Hitler into launching one
What was Stalins reaction to Barbarossa?
He shrank away from making a radio broadcast to the people; leaving that task to Molotov. He lost the nerve, and it was nearly two weeks before Stalin made his speech on 3 July, where he appealed to patriotism and religion and to unity among nationalities
How did propaganda convey the new reaction to Barbarossa?
Instead of displaying a friendly relationship between Hitler and Stalin, Hitler was now a villain portrayed through ideological hatred and Churchill was the new friend of Stalin
Why were the soviets unprepared for war?
-Military Strength was undermined by purges 1938 to 1939
-Poor performance shown in Winter War against Finland
-Soviet resources stretched by need to keep substantial forces in Far East after 1939 war against Japan
What were some errors Stalin made in the early stage of war?
-His panic attack after the invasion and failing to take responsibility in first weeks (Prepared to move government away from Moscow, to Samara on the Volga and then decided to stay at last moment in Moscow)
-Relied on too many inferior commanders
-Sept 1941 helped caused a massive defeat of Southern armies at Kiev by refusing to let them retreat until too late
-Also no urgency in defending Leningrad after it besieged
What was the Stavka?
A military war cabinet of the USSR in the GPW, formed under Stalin on 23 June 1941, it had key generals such as Timoshenko and Zhukov as well as key politicans like Molotov and Voroshilov. Subordinate to GKD which was the supreme political war cabinet
What different factors helped Stalin?
-Size of Russia/population
-Severity of Russian winter
-Patriotism of the people
Why did Stalin not have to fight a two-front war?
Because he was provided advanced information by a spy “Richard Sorge”, who taught about Japanese intentions
Why did the USSR want to avoid war with Japan?
USSR had fought a major war against Japan in 1939 and feared Japan would invade the USSR in 1941, but Stalin tipped off by Richard Sorge who advised that aggression would be targeted towards US not russia, enabling Stalin to Stregthen the defence of Moscow
What were the three distinct phases of the GPW?
- June 1941 - Summer 1942: Soviet Russia struggled to survive against German offensives, suffered mass loss of territory/people
- 1942 - Summer 1943: Soviet Russia stabilised its war effort, built powerhouse war economy, halted German advances
- 1943 - Summer 1945: Soviet armies move to offensive, recaptured vast areas and achieved total victory
What was the Grand Alliance?
USSR was part of this Grand Alliance with: Britain from June 1941, and America since December 1941, these allies played a massive role in defeat of Germany, supplying crucial supplies (Lend-lease)
What was the struggle for survival during June 1941 to October 1942?
German advance was fast and vast distances were covered in days. Soviet forces were rapidly expelled from Baltic states, on all fronts, there was catastrophic losses of Soviet aircraft, after 2 weeks, German generals believed the war was virtually won and Moscow would be captured before end of August, Hitler convinced victory close
What happened to Leningrad during the June 1941-October 1942 struggle?
-It was encircled in September, Forces in place for a final advance on Moscow, half a million soviet troops surrendered after the fall of Kiev 19 September.
-On the 15th October, soviet leadership offered negotiations for peace compromise, Hitler disregarded this and kept pursuing.
-By November weather worsened and Soviet defences hardened, some desperate counter-attacks pushed German forces back from outskirts of Moscow.
- By December, German victory was close but not achieved.
-On 5 December, advance on Moscow halted
What happened with Stalin’s peace offer?
By October 1941, huge territories were lost and German forces were nearing Moscow, Stalin knew if Hitler won Japan would likely invade from the East
Therefore Stalin authorised Molotov and Beria to open negotiations with Germany, nothing came of these, although the possibility was open until early 1942, even then: Hitler was convinced he would win, this peace offer was kept secret until USSR collapse to not hinder Patriotism
When was one of the lowest moments for the USSR in the entire GPW?
The fall of Rostov on the Don in July
What was the defence of Stalingrad?
-For many weeks in Summer 1942, it was certain Stalingrad would fall to the Germans, 9/10 of the city was in their hands but Soviet forces held one enclave on the Volga, supplied at night by boats across the river
-Stalin refused to evacuate the civilian population saying they’d fight harder for a live city than a dead one
-By October 1942, the Germans were on the defensive, fighting for survival, and ordered by Hitler that retreat was forbidden
What came as a result of Hitler’s strategic mistake in persisting the defence of Stalingrad?
It turned the battle into a catastrophic German defeat, psychologically as well as militarily. War had became the long war Germany wanted to avoid (not a Blitzkrieg). Not only this but Rostov on the Don was regained three weeks later
What was it like for Hitler early 1943?
He was running out of men, resources and time, so he launched Operation Citadel
