R6.1 The GPW

Question 1

What was Operation Barbarossa?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Why was Barbarossa delayed and when?

Answer 2

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

Question 3

When was operation barbarossa re-set for?

Answer 3

22nd June

Question 4

What was the effect of the Barbarossa delay?

Answer 4

It cut short the time-window for completion of the operation, before winter weather conditions intervened

Question 5

What was the strategy in Barbarossa?

Answer 5

Three huge army groups:
-North through the Baltic states towards Leningrad
-South and East towards Ukraine
-Central thrust towards Moscow

Question 6

What was the aim of Barbarossa?

Answer 6

Not just military victory, wanted to seize control of the soviet economy, eradicate communism and supposedly “liberate” communist citizens who would welcome German invaders

Question 7

What was Stalins preparation to Barbarossa?

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What was Stalins reaction to Barbarossa?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

How did propaganda convey the new reaction to Barbarossa?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Why were the soviets unprepared for war?

Answer 10

-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

Question 11

What were some errors Stalin made in the early stage of war?

Answer 11

-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

Question 12

What was the Stavka?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What different factors helped Stalin?

Answer 13

-Size of Russia/population
-Severity of Russian winter
-Patriotism of the people

Question 14

Why did Stalin not have to fight a two-front war?

Answer 14

Because he was provided advanced information by a spy “Richard Sorge”, who taught about Japanese intentions

Question 15

Why did the USSR want to avoid war with Japan?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

What were the three distinct phases of the GPW?

Answer 16

1. June 1941 - Summer 1942: Soviet Russia struggled to survive against German offensives, suffered mass loss of territory/people
2. 1942 - Summer 1943: Soviet Russia stabilised its war effort, built powerhouse war economy, halted German advances
3. 1943 - Summer 1945: Soviet armies move to offensive, recaptured vast areas and achieved total victory

Question 17

What was the Grand Alliance?

Answer 17

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)

Question 18

What was the struggle for survival during June 1941 to October 1942?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

What happened to Leningrad during the June 1941-October 1942 struggle?

Answer 19

-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

Question 20

What happened with Stalin’s peace offer?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

When was one of the lowest moments for the USSR in the entire GPW?

Answer 21

The fall of Rostov on the Don in July

Question 22

What was the defence of Stalingrad?

Answer 22

-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

Question 23

What came as a result of Hitler’s strategic mistake in persisting the defence of Stalingrad?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What was it like for Hitler early 1943?

Answer 24

He was running out of men, resources and time, so he launched Operation Citadel

Question 25

What came of Operation Citadel?

Answer 25

It was a great offensive near Kursk in July, but the offensive was halted by massive Soviet firepower at the battle of Prokhorovka, the Red Army won with its T-34 tanks, Hitler calling off the Kursk offensive on 13 July, however the Soviets bounced back and used this opportunity to regain huge territories from German occupation

Question 26

What was the T-34 tank?

Answer 26

By 1943, USSR fully mobilised economy, with a surge in gun production, tanks and aircraft. This surge equipped the Red Army with this tank. Compared with most german tanks, T-34 had less sophisticated design and engineering, but far more durable and easy to maintain/repair
Mass production of T-34 was foundation of victory in great tank battle at Kursk 1943

Question 27

When was the Road to Berlin?

Answer 27

August 1943 - December 1944

Question 28

What became of the war after the Kursk battle? What was the Road to Berlin?

Answer 28

-Soviet victory was all but certain, war was no longer about desperate defence of the USSR but rebounding into a great soviet offensive that would drive the Germans back all the way to Berlin
-throughout this time period there were chains of soviet victories: reconquering Ukraine, lifting the siege of Leningrad, invading Poland, Lithuania, Romania and Hungary
-November 1943, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met at Tehran

Question 29

When and what was the first summit conference of the big three?

Answer 29

In November 1943, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met at Tehran, to discuss what to do with allied victory that was no seemingly inevitable. However this victory was slow, retreating German forces were resilient defenders, it was April 1945 before the Red Army reached Berlin

Question 30

What was it like in the Soviet Union during the fight back?

Answer 30

-It was ravaged, massive destruction happened during the German advanced, through “scorched earth” tactics as the Red Army retreated
-life for Soviet civilians on home front was harsh, food, fuel and shelter in short supply, Leningrad under siege from Autumn 1941 to Spring 1944; 600,000 people died of hunger and cold

Question 31

By 1945 what is estimated Soviet Civilian deaths totalled?

Answer 31

More than 12 million

Question 32

What was treatment of Soviets under German occupation?

Answer 32

Thousands of Soviet workers conscripted to work in German war factories, Hitler also ordered the instant execution of captured Soviet commissars. Massacres and deportations of Jews, such as Babi Yar near Kiev

Question 33

What happened in Babi Yar?

Answer 33

Hitler saw the war in the East as a racial war, invading the USSR was accompanied by widespread deportations and massacres of Jews. Soon after occupation of Kiev in Sept 1941, SS began rounding up Jews for extermination, 34k were taken to Babi Yar, a ravine outside the city, shot, and put into mass graves

Question 34

What was life like for minorities under Soviet Control?

Answer 34

The regime was intensely suspicious of minorities who they believed may cooperate with the Germans, such as Chechens and Crimean Tatars who were expelled to Central Asia in May 1944
-Also when Western areas were liberated from occupation, Stalin’s regime treated the POW’s harshly

Question 35

How did GPW bring Russia together?

Answer 35

There was a joined deep fear and hatred of the Germans; a deep patriotism in defending the motherland and an underlying faith in the revolution, which eventually compiled into an admiration and loyalty for Stalin

Question 36

What was mobilisation and evacuation of industry?

Answer 36

-Since Soviet economy and agriculture was ruined by German invasion/occupation, much of the productive capacity gained in the drive to industrialise in the 1920s was lost
-Solution was to relocate in order to rebuild. Equipment, workers, whole factories were packed up, put on 20,000 trains and shifted hundreds of miles to the east, beyond the reach of German bombs

Question 37

How did the mobilisation of Soviet industry benefit the war effort?

Answer 37

-It was considered another industrial revolution to match the FYP’s, whilst the 1930’s central command economy had proven inefficient and ill-suited to peacetime conditions, that centralised system was well built for war-time.

Question 38

What was foreign aid to the USSR?

Answer 38

Scale of foreign aid sent to Soviet Russia was vast, US sent Russia armaments, industrial goods and foodstuffs, the USSR received around 500 million dollars worth of lend-lease from America between January to March 1943

Question 39

When did the GPW end?

Answer 39

May 8 1945 Germans signed the act of surrender