★ World War 2

Question 1

★ What is World War 2 also known as?

Answer 1

★ The Great Patriotic War

Question 2

★ What was Stalin’s speech in 1931 which was his reasoning behind rapid industrialisation?

Answer 2

★ “We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make up this gap in ten years. Either we do it or they crush us.”

Question 3

★ What was Operation Barbarossa?

Answer 3

★ Germany’s invasion of USSR
★ Was originally scheduled for 1 June but had to be delayed for 3 weeks because of Italy’s crisis in Yugoslavia, was instead reset for 22 June
★ Was made up of 3 huge armies, north through the Baltic States towards Leningrad, south and east into Ukraine and a central thrust towards Moscow
★ Also an attempt to seize control over the entire Soviet economy and eradicate communism

Question 4

★ What was the Stalinist reaction?

Answer 4

★ Stalin’s miscalculation about the effectiveness of the Navi-Soviet Pact left the Soviet Union unprepared for war in June 1941
★ Shrank away from making a radio broadcast and lost his nerve
★ Began appealing to patriotism and religion and unity among the nationalities

Question 5

★ What were the three distinct phases of the Russo-German war?

Answer 5

★ 22 June 1941 - Summer 1942: Soviet Russia struggled to survive against successive German offensives, suffering massive losses of people and territory

★ Autumn 1942 - Summer 1943: Soviet Russia stabilised its war effort, built a powerhouse war economy and halted German advances

★ 1943 - Summer 1945: Soviet armies moved on to the offensive, recaptured vast areas that had been occupied, and achieved total victory

Question 6

★ What was the Grand Alliance?

Answer 6

★ The USSR was part of the Grand Alliance, with Britain and with the USA
★ Supplied crucial supplies to aid the USSR’s war effort

Question 7

★ What was the First Phase of the GPW like?

Answer 7

★ German advance was extremely fast
★ Huge Soviet armies were encircled and defeated at Minsk and Smolensk and near Kiev where 665,000 Soviet troops were captured
★ Moscow close to capture in August
★ 15 Oct: Soviet leadership offered negotiations for a compromise peace but Hitler rejected it
★ November: Weather worsened and Soviet forces hardened, counter-attacking, by December German victory was close but was halted

Question 8

★ What was Case Blue?

Answer 8

★ Germany’s plan for a summer offensive in the caucaus region

Question 9

★ When was the Battle of Stalingrad?

Answer 9

★ July 17 1942 - February 2 1943

Question 10

★ What were the causes of the Battle of Stalingrad?

Answer 10

★ Wanted to destroy what was left of the Soviet Union’s army and capture the Caucasus Oilfields
★ Cultural/Ideological reasons, Stalingrad was in Stalin’s name and therefore directly linked with Hitler’s takeover of Communism

Question 11

★ What were the consequences of the Battle of Stalingrad?

Answer 11

★ Heavily bombed by Luftwaffe
★ Bitter street fighting
★ By October, most of the city was in German hands
★ Russians clung onto the bank of the river Volga, ferried across vital resources
★ July 28 - Order No. 227 decreed that defenders of Stalingrad would take ‘not one step back’ would be executed
★ Refused to allow the evacuation of civillians

Question 12

★ What was the Significance of the Battle of Stalingrad?

Answer 12

★ Decisive battle - Hitler’s first loss

Question 13

★ Who was the German Sixth Army led by?

Answer 13

★ General Friedrich von Paulus

Question 14

★ How many Soviet reinforcements were killed/wounded in a week?

Answer 14

★ 80%

Question 15

★ What were some weaknesses of Hitler’s army?

Answer 15

★ Refused to allow troops to retreat
★ German troops had no food, fuel, ammo or winter uniforms
★ Needed airlift, only 120 tonnes of supplies each day, less than half of what was needed
★ 2 German tanks divisions were intercepted by Soviet tanks 6 miles short, created an impenetrable barrier

Question 16

★ What phase was the Battle of Kursk in?

Answer 16

★ Second phase

Question 17

★ What was Operation Citadel?

Answer 17

★ Offensive near Kursk in July
★ Was halted by massive Soviet firepower at the Battle of Prokhorovka
★ Kursk offensive called off on 13th July but became a springboard for Soviet forces to counter attack and to regain huge territories from German occupation

★ By 1943, USSR fully mobilised its economy with a huge surge in guns, tanks and aircraft from factories east of the Urals

Question 18

★ What were the causes of the Battle of Kursk?

Answer 18

★ German plan to eliminate Kursk salient
★ Operation Citadel

Question 19

★ What were the consequences of the Battle of Kursk?

Answer 19

★ Soviet Union gained initiative in the East
★ Germans never launched any major offensive

Question 20

★ What was the significant of the Battle of Kursk?

Answer 20

★ Psychological: Hitler’s distrust intensified causing him to micro-manage the war despite having no military knowledge, Stalin was the opposite and allowed his military leaders to take over things

★ Physical: Germany was in strategic retreat until the end of the war, Soviet recovery due to man power

Question 21

★ When did the Battle of Kursk begin?

Answer 21

★ Feb 21st

Question 22

★ How did the Soviets defend Kursk?

Answer 22

★ Built defensive constructions such as barbed wire
★ Disrupted supplies and communications
★ Destroyed 298 locomotives, 1222 railway wagons and 44 bridges

★ Had 2 million men and 5,000 tanks while Germany only had 780,000 men and 3,000 tanks

Question 23

★ How many tanks did the USSR and Germany lose?

Answer 23

★ USSR: ~40 tanks
★ Germany: 7 tanks

Question 24

★ What was the Battle of Prokhorovka?

Answer 24

★ Heavy Soviet losses, tanks that were damaged were between 330 and 650
★ Germans lost 60-80 tanks
★ Soviet losses stalled German advance, drained resources and created ground for a successful counteroffensive
★ Was the first time that the Germans were unable to make a significant breakthrough on the Eastern Front

Question 25

★ What was the Road to Berlin?

Answer 25

★ By August 1943 - December 1944, the war was no logner about the desperate defence of the USSR but instead about the USSR rebounding with a great Soviet offensive that would drive the Germans back to Berlin
★ Reconquered Ukraine, lifted the Siege of Leningrad, invaded Poland, Lithuania, Romania and Hugary

Question 26

★ What was the cause of the Siege of Leningrad?

Answer 26

★ Political and symbolic statues of Leningrad
★ Military and industrial importance
★ Operation Barbarossa

Question 27

★ What were the consequences of the Siege of Leningrad?

Answer 27

★ 900 day siege
★ 800,000 Soviet deaths

Question 28

★ What was the significance of the Siege of Leningrad?

Answer 28

★ Psychological: “Insance with hunger”
★ Physical: Germans pushed back 60-100km, Germans loot historical palaces, damaged 3200 residential homes, 9000 wooden houses, 840 factories and plants

Question 29

★ How many people died of hunger?

Answer 29

★ 600,000

Question 30

★ When did Russians reach Berlin?

Answer 30

★ April 1945

Question 31

★ What did the Germans do to Soviet people at Leningrad?

Answer 31

★ Wanted to free them from Communism
★ Instantly executed Soviet Commissars
★ Massacres and deportations of Jews (Babi Yar)

Question 32

★ Why did Russia win the war?

Answer 32

★ Hitler’s weaknesses: Made serious misjudgements, micro-managed the army, army was ill-equipped for Russian winter, atrocities against Soviet citizens made them more loyal to Stalin

★ Stalin’s leadership: Took the advice of his generals, was less harsh and oppressive, allowed greater freedoms

★ Vast improvements in the relationship between the Red Army and Communists

★ Military tactics: USSR formed new tank armies and reorganised the air force into fleets, dramatically improved their communication systems which helped during the Battle of Stalingrad

★ Military leadership: Extremely talented military leaders Zhukov amd Shaposhnikov, learned from the Germans by examining their techniques and fought with ferocity

★ Discipline of Soldiers: 1942, uniforms and ranks of Tsar leadership were brought back and desertion was faced with execution, creating a more professional army

★ Soviet propaganda, freedom of religion, discipline of citizens at the homefront, centrally planned structure

★ War economy: 1943, Russian production of tanks and tanks and planes had surpassed German numbers

★ Foreign aid from Allies: Provided 53% of explosives, aircraft fuel, copper, aluminium and rubber tyres. In 1963, Zhukov admitted that they couldn’t have won without the help of the Allies

Question 33

★ What were the wartime experiences of the industry?

Answer 33

★ Struggled to adjust to peacetime conditions in 1945 and 1946
★ Mining production was running at less than half of the 1940 level, electric power at 52%
★ 1950: Considerable industrial recovery under the 4th FYPn wartime reparations helped
★ Average Soviet income levels rose to 1938 levels

Question 34

★ What were the wartime experiences of agriculture?

Answer 34

★ 98,000 collective farms ruined
★ Loss of 137,000 tractors, 49,000 combine harvesters, 7 million horses, 17 million cattle, 20 million pigs and 27 million sheep
★ Food production 60% of 1940 levels
★ Severe labour shortage
★ 1946 ended up being the driest year since 1891, caused famines in some regions