Russia vs. Germany essays

Russia vs. Germany essays The only successful attempt to conquer Russia was by the Mongolian army under the leadership of the great Genghis Khan in the 1200s. Many other historical figures have tried to repeat his accomplishments, which somehow eventually led to their downfall. Adolf Hitler was the most recent to try to duplicate Khans achievements. The codename for Hitlers invasion of the Soviet Union was Operation Barbarossa, named after a German emperor that won many military victories. It was the largest offensive force ever assembled for a single operation in military history. Despite impressive victories in most of Europe, Hitler terribly miscalculated his assault on the USSR because he underestimated the forces of the Soviet Union, attacked in the cold Russian winter, and fought on multiple fronts at once. On August 23, 1939, Hitler and Stalin shocked the world by signing a Nazi-Soviet pact. Hitlers intentions were to attack Poland and Western Europe without any fear from an invasion from the East. Stalin signed the pact to buy him some time while his nation mobilized for the inevitable war with Germany. The other alternative for Russia was to ally themselves with Britain and France, but he knew Hitler would attack him right away if he did. After the conquest of Western Europe, Hitler turned his divisions towards the Soviet Union in 1941. The largest battles took place on the Eastern Front, as did the greatest atrocities committed by the Germans. He attacked on June 22, and believed his Wehrmarcht would capture Moscow in eight weeks. The Germans attacked in three directions, North, West, and South of Russia. The north army was to capture Leningrad, and the central was to conquer Ukraine, and the south to capture Caucasus. Many high ranking German officers felt the Red Army coul d not successfully resist a German advance on the Soviet capital. To their dismay, Hitler insisted on giving Leningrad and Kiev priority. It w...