What was Operation Barbarossa?
Operation Barbarossa was a military action by Nazi Germany that organized and carried out the invasion of the Soviet Union, starting at 3:15 am on June 22, 1941. This operation mobilized 3.6 million German soldiers, aided by 3,600 tanks and 2,700 planes|1|. The invasion of the Soviet Union had as main objectives to destruction of bolshevism and the obtaining the resources of the Soviet Union.
Background
With the escalation of tension in Europe, it was expected, with great apprehension, that a conflict in that continent would necessarily go through a direct clash between the Germans and the Soviets. This is because, throughout his career, Hitler had openly expressed his opposition to Bolshevism, including in his book meinKampf (My fight). Nazism's ideological opposition to Bolshevism led to a veritable indoctrination of the German population, which he came to see Bolshevism as part of a Jewish conspiracy and to see the Slavs as “peoples inferiors”.
All this existing rivalry caused the whole world to be surprised with the signing of an agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union in August 1939. This agreement, known as
German-Soviet Pact, instituted peace between these two nations for a period of ten years, even if war broke out in Europe.In addition, this treaty signed a series of trade agreements between the two countries and, in secret clauses, stipulated that they would invade and would divide Polish territory among themselves (the agreement also gave Germany authorization for the Soviet Union to invade Finland and the other countries. Baltic Seas).
This agreement, however, was part of an important strategy of the two nations. In the case of the Germans, the agreement guaranteed access to important resources for their country's economy and it gave them the possibility to concentrate on the Western war scenario (against French and British people). For the Soviets, the deal made it possible to better prepare their defenses for a future (and likely) German attack.
A few days after the signing of this pact, Germany started the invasion of poland (September 1, 1939), event that started World War II.
German Strategy and Objectives
Firstly, the German objectives with the invasion of the Soviet Union were part of the idea of “living space” (lebensraum), formed by Adolf Hitler. This idea consisted in the formation of a kingdom aimed at housing the Aryan people (Germans) and their survival at the expense of the exploitation and enslavement of the Slav people.
This idea of the enslavement of the Slav people even stated that about 30 million people should starve so that the grain produced by the Soviet Union could be displaced for the survival of the people German. Meanwhile, the Slavs would receive as little food as possible while being enslaved by the Germans.
Ideologically, the invasion of the Soviet Union was aimed at the overthrow of Stalin's government and the destruction of Soviet Bolshevism. The Nazi Party, from its origins, had fought against communist parties and groups and anarchists in Germany and, with the war, Hitler put into practice his project to extinguish with this ideology.
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Militarily speaking, Operation Barbarossa's strategy was to conquer the Soviet Union as quickly as possible. eight weeks). This is because the territorial dimensions and the Union's ability to mobilize resources and soldiers Soviet were gigantic, and with a quick victory, draining resources would be avoided. Germans.
Hitler's strategy was designed to conquer four targets, from three groups of the German army:
To the north, the Germans would attack the city of Leningrad, which was an important Soviet industrial center.
To the center, the Germans would attack the capital Moscow.
To the south, the German armies should concentrate against Kiev and then against Stalingrad.
The attacks were aimed at neutralizing the Soviet Union, in a deadly manner, by destroying the industrial capacity of the country by conquering Leningrad, by decapitating the power structure. conquering Moscow and guaranteeing important resources for the functioning of the German economy by obtaining the production of grain from Kiev and the minerals and oil concentrated in Stalingrad.
Soviet Union just before the invasion
The German attack took the Soviets completely unprepared, and this contributed to the speed of the German advance during the first few weeks. Blame for the Soviet army's unpreparedness was placed on the country's leader, Joseph Stalin, who, in his paranoia, had carried out purges of the Red Army and executed key military strategists, replacing them with inexperienced strategists.
Furthermore, Stalin vehemently refused to believe that the Germans were planning to attack Soviet territory. Warnings about this probable attack came from different parts, like a German ambassador, of Soviet agents installed in Berlin and Tokyo, of British intelligence, of a German deserter etc. Altogether, there were more than 80 warnings received regarding this German offensive, and all were labeled as “disinformation” by the Soviet leader.|2|. Stalin even ordered the execution of people who informed him of this military action by Germany.
Just before the German attack, the border posts had received information about the alleged German attack just an hour before the Germans arrived. In addition, air-raid barriers had been installed in an emergency way in the capital Moscow. In all, the Soviet army had mobilized 2.5 million soldiers, in addition to 10,000 tanks and 8,000 aircraft.|3|.
|1| HASTINGS, Max. Hell: the world at war 1939-1945. Rio de Janeiro: Intrinsic, 2012, p. 157.
|2| BEEVOR, Anthony. The Second World War. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 2015, p. 216.
|3| HASTINGS, Max. Hell: the world at war 1939-1945. Rio de Janeiro: Intrinsic, 2012, p. 157.
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History