Original subtitles

[Music]

[Applause]

between

june 1941 and february 1942

the third reich and the soviet union

clashed in a titanic struggle which

changed the course of history

[Music]

in the battle for russia the german

wehrmacht the most highly trained and

successful military machine on earth

attempted to defeat the red army and win

for germany

a vast eastern empire

the result was a collision of

unprecedented violence

beginning with the german invasion and

culminating in the fight for moscow

more men tanks guns and aircraft were

committed to the inferno

than had ever before been thrown into

any battle

[Applause]

[Music]

with each side led by an unscrupulous

dictator and each army driven

by a pitiless ideology war was waged

with a ferocity and barbarism

up to then unimaginable

to adolf hitler the assault on the

soviet union was meant to bring a

victory unmatched in the annals of

warfare

in reality the battle for russia would

end in disaster

for germany

instead of a lightning conquest the

wehrmacht would suffer a catastrophic

defeat

a defeat that would mark the beginning

of the end for hitler's right

[Music]

in moscow on august 23rd 1939

nazi germany and the soviet union signed

an agreement which shocked the world

the third reich the most violently

anti-communist regime in existence

had agreed to cooperate with stalin's

dictatorship

each undertook not to attack the other

and huge quantities of soviet food

oil and minerals would be exchanged for

german manufactured goods

there was also a secret protocol a

protocol which assigned to germany and

russia their own spheres of influence in

europe

areas in which the other would not

interfere

for adolf hitler the agreement came just

in time

his armies were already massing on the

polish border and he needed an absolute

assurance from the russians

that they would not intervene if he

invaded

eight days after the signing of the nazi

soviet pact

german armies surged across polish

frontiers

[Music]

for the poles struggling desperately in

the face of the nazi tide

the german soviet pact quickly took on a

chilling reality

two weeks into the battle the red army

invaded poland from the east

with german connivance the soviets were

to take more than half the country

within a few days of hitler's attack on

poland

britain and france had declared war on

germany

to joseph stalin the site of the great

european powers at each other's throats

was deeply satisfying

it was a priceless opportunity to seize

yet more territory

with little fear of opposition

anxious to strengthen his northern flank

stalin demanded strategically important

areas of finland

he was refused and on november the 30th

1939

29 divisions of the red army attacked

across finnish borders

russian forces were deployed in five

armies

in the south the main blow was struck by

seventh and thirteenth armies

pushing across the corellian isthmus

[Music]

to the world's amazement the finns

checked the advance

[Music]

in the north the russian fourteenth army

cut off the port of patsamo on the

arctic coast

a strategically important nickel mining

area

[Music]

however in the center the soviets

suffered humiliating defeats

[Music]

the most costly when a penetration by

ninth army

was completely cut off and destroyed

[Music]

the battle for finland lasted four

months

during which a finnish army of only nine

divisions fought with exceptional

determination

the terrain was a wilderness of lakes

and forests

greatly favoring the defenders and it

was only when the soviets brought up

another 11 divisions

more armor and heavy air power that the

red army made a significant breakthrough

in march 1940 the finns were forced to

sue for peace

to the red army which had thrown a

million men into the battle

the cost of the finnish war was almost

two hundred thousand killed

but the real damage was even greater

in the eyes of the world the much

vaunted soviet armed forces

looked incompetent and utterly

ineffective

less than a month after the end of the

soviet finnish war

adolf hitler launched his own campaign

of conquest in scandinavia

on april the 9th norway and denmark were

invaded by land

sea and air the invasions were carried

out with ruthless efficiency

the germans had complete control of the

skies and in spite of interventions by

the british royal navy

and a franco british expeditionary force

within weeks

all of denmark and most of norway were

in german hands

however for the western allies the worst

blows were yet to come

on may the 10th 1940 seven german armies

spearheaded by powerful armoured

formations struck at france

and the low countries

[Music]

for the campaign in the west the germans

deployed three army groups

army group a in the center was given

most of the armored formations

facing the wehrmacht with the belgian

and dutch armies

[Music]

three french army groups and a highly

mobile british expeditionary force

in the north army group b swept into

holland and northern belgium

drawing the french and british up to

meet them

in the center army group a spearheaded

by its panzer groups

bypassed the fortifications of the

maginot line

smashed through thin french defenses and

raced into the interior

[Music]

the tanks then swung north to reach the

channel coast

[Music]

by may 27th most of the allies best

divisions and almost

all their mobile formations were trapped

in a huge cauldron

by june the 5th the pocket had been all

but eliminated

and the british had been evacuated from

dunkirk

[Music]

the main german effort now switched to

the south

and four days later army group b reached

the send below paris

army group a broke through on may the

12th and with

army group c encircled french forces

behind the maginot line

[Music]

with the french retreating all along the

front on june the 17th

the government sued for peace

[Music]

in less than six weeks germany had

conquered

four countries and a quarter of a

million square miles of territory

on june the 22nd the french signed the

armistice that confirmed adolf hitler as

master of western europe

the campaign had succeeded beyond his

wildest dreams

but even as his generals looked forward

to their field marshals batons

their estates and the wealth of plunder

that would be theirs

hitler's own thoughts were elsewhere

he had won his empire but he also faced

a fundamental strategic

problem to sustain the german military

machine

the reich needed oil raw materials and

foodstuffs

and neither germany nor the newly

conquered territories could provide them

hitler worried that germany was already

dependent on huge imports from the

soviet union

and there was no telling how long these

would be forthcoming

even more troubling russia had once

again

taken advantage of german commitments in

the west

[Music]

to the soviet conquest of eastern poland

in september 1939

and the seizure of finnish territory

that winter

stalin now added the baltic states of

lithuania

latvia and estonia

[Music]

in june 1940 they were declared part of

the soviet union

threatening german trade in the baltic

[Music]

hitler's reply was an agreement with the

finns that would allow

german troops on finnish soil

the next stirrings of soviet ambition

were felt in the south

romania was ordered to hand over bess

arabia and northern bukavina

and on june the 27th these territories

were occupied by the red army

romania was germany's main source of oil

and the soviets now had strong forces

massed within striking distance

hitler's response was to deploy powerful

formations in poland

and later he would win a string of

agreements allowing him to send

german troops to romania hungary

and bulgaria

while germany and the soviet union

jockeyed for advantage in the balkans

and the baltic

in the west there remained a thorn in

germany's side

britain was still defiant

her army had been driven from france

leaving nearly all its heavy weapons

behind

but winston churchill the new prime

minister

was refusing to negotiate

not only did he proclaim that britain

would fight to the end

but he also launched a diplomatic

initiative to turn

russia against germany

in fact stalin had no intention of being

drawn into a war

which could only benefit the capitalist

west

the british overture was firmly rebuffed

[Music]

by the time adolf hitler had returned to

berlin after his triumphant campaign in

france

he had already made up his mind to

attack and conquer the soviet union

from the beginning hitler had built the

nazi party on a deep hatred of

communists

jews and slavs and he was convinced

that soviet communism was a jewish

conspiracy

now he had a unique opportunity to

destroy his ideological and racial

enemies

at the same time he could win for

germany

the resources that would secure the

reich for generations to come

[Music]

hitler was haunted by two great fears

the first was that the soviet union

already embarked on a massive armaments

program

would soon be so well prepared for war

that the chance of a successful german

attack would vanish forever

the second was the prospect of an

alliance between russia

britain and the united states an

alliance which germany's slender

resources could never defeat

hitler concluded that the reich's only

hope of survival

lay in the complete destruction of the

soviet union

however it would have to be done within

a year at the very most

[Applause]

on july the 31st 1940 hitler announced

to his senior military commanders

that he intended to attack russia not

later than the summer

of 1941.

the generals protested that with britain

still hostile

germany was exposing itself to the

danger of a war on two fronts

hitler dismissed their fears he had seen

the red army's dismal performance in

finland

and now he predicted you have only to

kick in the door

and the whole rotten structure will come

crashing down

[Music]

since 1928 joseph stalin had kept his

position of supreme power in the soviet

union

by the most devious and ruthless means

everyone who might conceivably threaten

his authority was killed

in 1937 he had turned his attention to

the soviet armed forces

in a relentless sweep stalin executed

all 11 deputy commissars for defence

three out of five field marshals 13 out

of 15 army commanders

and tens of thousands of middle-ranking

and junior officers

many more were sent to labor camps

stalin replaced the executed senior

commanders with cronies from his civil

war days

however incompetent and within a year

the red army was firmly under the

dictator's personal control

in 1940 the army's humiliation at the

hands of the finns had persuaded stalin

that the soviet armed forces had to be

reformed

the incredible speed of germany's

victory over france

only underlined the urgency of the task

however with so many of russia's most

effective commanders gone

progress was slow and hesitant

although stalin was deeply worried about

german intentions

he was sure that while britain was still

fighting

hitler would never attack the soviet

union the german leader

would apply pressure to get what he

wanted but unless he was provoked

hitler would stop short of actual war

surrounded by men who did not question

his judgment

stalin would persist until the very end

in believing that the german threat

was no more than a gigantic bluff

[Music]

the key to a german victory over russia

would be

speed above all else

hitler insisted that soviet forces in

the west would have to be defeated

within 10 weeks of the start of the

invasion

a complete german victory would have to

be won within 17 weeks

the reason was not just the notorious

russian winter

but also the inescapable fact that there

would only be enough

fuel ammunition and supplies for a quick

and decisive campaign

time was everything

from the start german planners had to

take account of a major natural obstacle

which lay in the path of any direct

thrust into the soviet union

the privet marshes was a vast area of

swamps and forests

150 miles long and 300 miles deep

[Music]

it was expected that the soviet

defenders would be in two main

concentrations

divided by the marshes with a reserve

around moscow

[Music]

the german offensive codenamed operation

otto

would be launched by three army groups

two of them to the north of the marshes

and one to the south

army group center would have the most

important task

a drive straight towards moscow the hub

of the soviet system

[Music]

army group north would push towards

leningrad

an important arms production center

army group south would attack towards

kiev

from southern poland and from romania

after all three army groups had pushed

deep into the interior

the northern and southern groups would

swing inwards to support army group

center

for the final advance on the soviet

capital

the threat to moscow would draw in the

remnants of the red army

and ensure their total destruction

[Music]

although the army high command had

developed its plan over four painstaking

months

testing and refining it with war games

adolf hitler was far from satisfied

haunted by the fate of napoleon who had

taken moscow but failed to destroy the

russian army

he insisted that the soviet capital was

irrelevant

in early december at a stroke hitler

changed the entire emphasis of the

campaign

his new plan was named operation

barbarossa

hitler insisted that the red army had to

be destroyed

west of a line linking the river's

nipper and davina

his plan was designed above all else to

prevent the enemy from withdrawing

into the interior as before

army group north would strike towards

leningrad

army group center would force a

breakthrough towards minsk

and smolensk

however in the new plan their main task

would be to destroy the red army

in the north

they would achieve this by two

encirclement operations

one around minsk and the second

in the baltic states

[Music]

the baltic offensive would culminate in

the capture of leningrad

and give the vermont valuable ports to

supply its offensive

[Music]

below the prippet marshes army group

south would make a single thrust towards

the nipper at kiev

and would drive southeast along the

river to prevent a russian withdrawal

the soviets would be attacked from the

rear and annihilated

army group south would then push east

towards the industrial donets basin

and the oil fields of the caucasus

only after their great flanking

operations have destroyed the bulk of

the red army

would the invaders turn their attention

to the capture of moscow

after the destruction of the reserve

russian armies and the fall of the

soviet capital

the next stage would be the

establishment of a german defensive line

stretching from archangel to the river

volga

the last remaining industrial areas east

of the volga

and beyond the ural mountains

would now be in easy reach of the german

air force

and would be bombed into the ground

without an industrial base the russians

would be unable to mount an effective

resistance

for the foreseeable future

[Music]

operation barbarossa depended for its

success on the performance of the

armored formations which would spearhead

every thrust

however the men who led the panzer

groups were already deeply unhappy with

the plan

heinz gadarian the tactician who had

done most to develop german armored

warfare

pleaded for a bolder stroke the panzers

stripped to their fighting core and

supplied by parachute drop

should race deep into the soviet union

perhaps even to moscow

completely paralyzing the russian

defense

mopping up could be left to the infantry

following on behind

hitler and his senior commanders nearly

all infantry and artillery men by

training

would have none of godarian's plan

the panzers were to fight classic

battles of encirclement

no deeper than a few hundred miles into

the soviet union

in the early stages the armor would even

be controlled by infantry generals

the panzer leaders germany's greatest

assets in its campaign

so far would begin the most ambitious

offensive in the reich's history

with their hands firmly tied

[Music]

since the start of the war in europe the

soviet union had been building

vast stockpiles of food strategic metals

and oil

at the same time an increasing

proportion of soviet industry

was being located far to the east in

relative safety

beyond the urals however

stalin resolutely ignored advice to move

the strategic stockpiles east

as well

the disagreement was part of a larger

dispute between stalin

and his military planners

where should the forces defending the

soviet union be deployed

on the western borders or deeper inside

the russian heartland

[Music]

during the 1930s the backbone of the

russian defense was the stalin line

a series of fortified areas

[Music]

the most formidable stretches were in

the north

those between the privet marshes and the

upper nisto

and those guarding the approaches to key

cities and towns near the frontier zone

leningrad scove

smolensk kiev

carloston and odessa

[Music]

the system was capable of causing

immense problems for any invader

and it sheltered the main red army

formations along with their supply

depots

and training areas

by 1941 russian expansion in poland

the baltic and romania had left the

defenses of the stalin line

well to the east of the soviet frontier

stalin now insisted that the red army

should move west

leaving its fortifications and supply

dumps behind

and take up positions on the new borders

stalin's insistence on a forward defense

was strongly opposed by many russian

commanders

they feared that in the event of a

german attack they would be outflanked

all too quickly

there was little time to build new

defenses and the army's lines of

communication to its base areas were now

dangerously stretched

nor were there adequate mobile forces

well behind the borders

to counter attack a german breakthrough

stalin however had his own agenda

he had hopes that he might yet mount

another invasion of finland

or snatch more territory in the balkans

meanwhile the red army was expected to

mount a defense of the soviet union

from little more than an incomplete

system of trenches

[Music]

[Music]

walter von brauchich was appointed by

hitler commander-in-chief of the german

army

in 1938

a competent but by no means outstanding

soldier

he was chosen more for his pliability

than for his professional qualities

at the same time the once powerful post

of commander-in-chief

was downgraded becoming merely an

instrument for carrying out hitler's

[Music]

orders

although browhich was in charge of

operational matters during the polish

and western campaigns

he had no real say in the way the war as

a whole was fought

on one occasion browhich did try to

stand up to hitler

during the preparation of the french

campaign he criticized the logistical

side of the plan

and for his pains he was severely

reprimanded

[Music]

to add to the indignity hitler refused

to let him resign

when operation barbarossa was being

drawn up

brow hitch voiced doubts that the

luftwaffe could fight both britain

and russia at once hitler instantly brow

beat him into submission

and when browhich supported a direct

thrust at moscow he was told that

only ossified brains could think of such

an idea

humiliated it was the last attempt

brouhich made to challenge hitler's plan

or to defend the professional

independence of the german army

[Music]

[Music]

had joined the russian army during the

great war and the red army in 1918

rising quickly through the ranks

a ruthless and hard-driving commander

utterly intolerant of weaknesses in his

subordinates

zhukov made his reputation during the

russian japanese war in mongolia in 1939

there he won his victories by insisting

on rigid cooperation between artillery

tanks and infantry and by a total

disregard for casualties

in january 1941 zhukov had taken part in

elaborate war games

supervised by the defense commissar

marshall timochenko

[Music]

zhukov had commanded the forces

representing the germans

and had succeeded in wiping out the

russian defenders on the borders

and penetrating deep into soviet

territory

afterwards stalin fired the chief of the

general staff

and zhukov was given his job

virtually all soviet commanders zhukov

subscribed to the belief that the best

form of defense was attack

and that to do this room was needed for

maneuver

he disagreed profoundly with stalin's

plan for a forward defense of the

western frontiers

and wanted to hold back strong

formations in the interior

although zhukov would go on to be one of

the few red army commanders willing to

argue openly with the dictator

this time he did not dare press his case

too hard

[Music]

following his decision to invade russia

hitler had ordered a major expansion in

the german army

[Music]

by the time of operation barbarossa it

would be almost

4 million strong with over 200 divisions

however there would be no corresponding

increase in quality

at hitler's insistence the number of

panzer divisions had been doubled from

10 to 20.

[Music]

typically the order had been made

without considering where the extra

tanks were to come from

as a result the number of machines in

each division

fell by more than a third down to an

average of 160 tanks

[Music]

nor were there enough of the newer

heavier models to compensate

more than half the machines available

for barbarossa would be mark ones and

twos

and check 38s light tanks never meant to

be part of the panzer divisions

there was also a shortage of supporting

vehicles

each armored division needed almost 3

000 trucks to carry

infantry fuel and other supplies

newly formed motorized infantry

divisions also needed trucks

and hitler had made no provision for

increased production

many units were instead equipped with

captured vehicles

mostly french much less robust than

german types

there was also a 50 shortfall in stocks

of tyres

in fact so far was the german army from

being a mechanized fighting force

that the infantry divisions would haul

their supplies into the soviet union

using 625 000 horses

in poland and the west the luftwaffe had

played a key role in supporting ground

operations

german aircraft had provided an umbrella

for the infantry

had disrupted enemy communications and

had hammered troop concentrations and

fortified positions

this time it was by no means certain

that the air force could perform

anything like as well

in the battle of britain the luftwaffe

had been dreadfully mauled

and it had no more aircraft for the

russian campaign than it had deployed

against france

in 1940 meantime

one third of its available machines were

desperately in need of service

or repair

the mark iii panzer had been designed in

1937

as the mainstay of the german armored

divisions

in the battle of france the mark iii had

encountered allied tanks with very heavy

armor

and its 37 millimeter gun proved nowhere

near powerful enough to cope

after the 1940 battles hitler ordered

the mark iii fitted with a more powerful

50 millimeter l60 high velocity gun

however because of supply problems and

the confusion which typically arose when

attempts were made to keep up with the

furore's personal interventions

a different gun was actually fitted

the 50 millimeter l42 had a lower muzzle

velocity than the l60

and in the soviet union it would prove

ineffective

against the thick sloping armor of the

latest soviet tanks

[Music]

for operation barbarossa german fighter

groups were equipped with the

messerschmitt 109 a superb aircraft

superior to any current soviet fighter

the 109 f which reached the squadrons in

the spring of 1941

was a substantial improvement on its

predecessor its fuselage was

aerodynamically cleaner

and its wingspan had been slightly

increased giving a better performance

at all altitudes

the airframe was also strengthened to

exploit the extra power offered by new

versions of the db601 engine

fast maneuverable and a delight to fly

the 109f was armed with a single cannon

firing through the spinner and two

machine guns on the nose

because pilots were unhappy with the 15

millimeter cannon fitted to early f's

later versions mounted a far more

destructive 20 millimeter weapon

[Music]

the pac-36 anti-tank gun had entered

service with the german army in 1938

in the battle of france the 37

millimeter weapon

had been far from adequate against the

heavy armor of many french and british

tanks

its shot could penetrate 50 millimeters

of plate at 500 meters

but only in ideal conditions with the

projectile

hitting the armor at right angles

in 1940 a more powerful version of the

gun was introduced

the 50 millimeter pac-38 could penetrate

80 millimeters of armor

at 500 meters although again only under

perfect conditions

in russia of the 72 anti-tank guns in

each infantry division

less than one-tenth would be pac-38s

the rest would be the much less

effective 37 millimeter weapon

the stunning victories of the previous

two years had left the german soldier

utterly confident of the invincibility

of the wehrmacht

[Music]

in training tactics and leadership in

the field

the german army had been shown to be

without equal

by 1941 it was even better than before

[Music]

training had been improved in the light

of battlefield experience

and the relations between the men and

their officers always good

had been tempered in combat to a new

level of confidence and trust

as for the officers themselves although

they were as tactically skilled and as

disciplined as at any time in the

history of the german army

many had little else in common with

their forebears

under hitler the influence of the

traditional military class had declined

and rearmament had increased the size of

the officer corps very quickly

[Applause]

a large number of newly commissioned men

were committed nazis and even amongst

the rest

there was a gradual acceptance of many

nazi beliefs

the conviction that russians were an

inferior race

and a hatred for jews was by now

widespread amongst german officers

when hitler demanded that in russia

ruthless measures must be taken against

bolshevists

partisans and jews there was little

protest from german commanders at any

level

in the soviet union the german army

would descend to levels of barbarism

that the officer of only a generation

before would have found

[Music]

unthinkable

although the red army could field four

and a half million

men and twenty three thousand tanks

more armor than the rest of the world

put together its equipment was mostly

obsolete

its doctrines were confused and its

operational effectiveness

was abysmally poor finland

and now the german victories in france

had shocked the army into frantic

efforts to reform itself but the task

was a mammoth one a top priority

was rebuilding the large-scale

mechanized core which stalin had

disbanded in 1939

their tanks have been scattered amongst

the infantry divisions

and now they had to be equipped manned

and trained

from scratch

by the spring of 1941 the reorganization

of the soviet armed forces was still far

from complete

only 30 of russian tanks were fully

serviceable

the new mechanized core had only half

the machines they had been promised

lacked motorized support vehicles and

had no tracked supply or infantry

vehicles at all

motor transport was short throughout the

red army as were spare parts

ammunition supplies were a problem for

the artillery

for the newer tanks and for the

anti-tank guns

there was also a desperate lack of

ancillary equipment particularly radios

and in nearly all russian armoured

formations only the tank of the unit

commander

would be equipped with wireless

like the rest of the red army the air

force was burdened with huge numbers of

obsolete machines

and it too suffered from poor

maintenance and equipment shortages

the air force's problems would be

compounded by the fact

that of 1 000 airfields in the west only

200

were operationally serviceable

the bt series of fast tanks was based on

a revolutionary suspension system

developed in america and licensed to the

russians in the early 1930s

the machines had a superb cross-country

performance and were capable of almost

50 miles per hour

although it was armed with a 45

millimeter gun almost as good as the

best of its german counterparts

the bt-7 was lightly armored and could

easily be destroyed by any german

tank or anti-tank gun

bt sevens made up the bulk of red army

medium tank forces

on the eve of the german invasion

the t-34 was the best all-round tank

design of the second world war

and entered service with the red army in

the summer of 1940

its excellent suspension had been

developed from the bt-7

and with its wide tracks and powerful

diesel engine

it was capable of traversing ground that

would be impossible

to any other tank of its weight

the t-34's armor was thick and well

sloped

to deflect anti-tank rounds

the tank was armed with a high velocity

75 millimeter gun

better than any other tank gun in the

world with such a powerful weapon

the t-34 could engage and destroy an

enemy

at long range with little risk to itself

in the 12 months after the german

invasion the soviet union produced

almost 1200

t-34s and in spite of initial teething

troubles

they would have an effect on the course

of the battle out of all proportion to

their numbers

the petlakov pe 2 entered frontline

service with the soviet air force in

late 1940

although designed as a high-altitude

fighter it was as a light bomber that

the aircraft became one of the most

useful weapons in the russian armory

a popular aircraft with the men who flew

it the pe-2 was easy to handle

stable in a dive and capable of very

accurate bombing

it was also faster than the german 109e

fighter

although when it encountered the later

109f it had to depend for survival on

its high altitude capability

and bombing accuracy suffered as a

result

the pe-2 would prove one of the most

successful aircraft of its type in any

allied air force

and it will be updated throughout the

war

although only 458 were in service at the

start of operation barbarossa

before the battle was over the aircraft

would take a very heavy toll of german

armor

and supply columns

[Music]

before stalin's purge the red army had

been an innovative and highly

professional force

[Music]

the loss of a whole generation of highly

trained men

had left it desperately lacking skilled

commanders of all ranks

there was a wave of early promotions and

thousands of officers

suddenly held commands well beyond their

abilities

of those leading regiments barely more

than 10 percent have been trained

above the level of junior lieutenant

[Music]

a massive training program was mounted

particularly

aimed at infantry officers but there was

little time

the situation was so serious that 4 000

ex-commanders were released from labor

camps or brought back from disgrace

[Music]

the rapid expansion of the russian air

force posed even greater training

problems than those faced by the army

pilots took a great deal of time to

produce

and the flying schools were overburdened

and ill-equipped

there was also a shortage of combat

experienced instructors

many russian pilots would fight the

veterans of the luftwaffe

with only 15 hours flying time behind

them

and even amongst the better trained

tactical skills

were extremely poor

[Music]

so

in directive 21 hitler's order for the

attack on russia

he had given a date of may the 15th by

which time

all preparations must be complete

by the beginning of the month nearly 80

german divisions were already in place

their movements covered by an elaborate

campaign of deception

and disinformation

dozens of forward airfields have been

built in secret and vast quantities of

fuel

stores and ammunition stockpiled close

to the jumping off areas

[Music]

however there were already signs that

hitler's timetable

was falling to pieces

[Music]

the winter of 1940 had been

exceptionally long

and harsh and the eastern frontier

regions were still a quagmire

neither had the army yet received

anything like the number of trucks it

needed

with a postponement looking ever more

likely events in the south

soon made it inescapable

in october 1940 greece had been invaded

by the italians

but the greeks had succeeded in driving

them back to albania

the british sent an expeditionary force

to help greece

suddenly posing a grave threat to

germany's romanian oil supplies

adolf hitler was furious at the british

intervention and ordered the invasion

and occupation of greece

the greek campaign was intended to be a

simple operation

and hitler thought he could count on the

support of yugoslavia

however on march the 27th an anti-german

faction encouraged by british agents

mounted a coup and deposed the yugoslav

government

hitler was forced to improvise

on april the 6th german troops led by

powerful panzer formations

swept into both yugoslavia and greece

until the armored units could be

retrieved from the balkans

the invasion of the soviet union would

have to wait

the new date for operation barbarossa

was june the 22nd

[Music]

the defeat of yugoslavia took the

germans only 12 days

it was a savage campaign in which the

capital belgrade was bombed into rubble

killing 17 000 civilians

two more weeks and greece was also

overrun

by the end of april the british

expeditionary force had been evacuated

by sea

leaving thousands of its men prisoners

and abandoning most of its heavy

equipment as soon as the balkan campaign

was over

german armored forces and headquarters

units began to trickle northwards to

join the massive forces

already assembling in romania poland and

east prussia

meanwhile reconnaissance units of the

luftwaffe

worked at a frantic pace

every available hour of daylight was

used to plot russian troop

concentrations

supply dumps headquarters and airfields

and mark them down for destruction

[Music]

for the invasion of russia fully 75

percent of the entire german army

more than three million men was

assembled into three massive army groups

[Music]

the armored fists of the attack deployed

more than three and a half

thousand tanks and the ground forces

were supported by two and a half

thousand aircraft

it was an enormous effort and there was

no possibility that it could be

completely hidden from the russians

however adolf hitler had a ready

explanation for stalin

with breathtaking audacity he sent a

message telling him that he had moved

his troops to poland

to protect them from british bombers

by the beginning of june the infantry

divisions were in place

close to the soviet frontiers

soon after the motorized units and

armored divisions

the spearheads of the assault began to

edge nearer to their jumping off

positions

[Music]

army group north was concentrated in

east prussia

commanded by field marshal wilhelm von

labe

army group north had 18th and 16th

armies

von labe's armoured spearhead was

general herpner's panzer group

four the infantry armies would field 20

divisions

and the panzer group three armoured and

three motorized infantry divisions

the finnish karelian and southeastern

armies would join the battle later

in loose cooperation with army group

north

for air support von labe could call on

the first

air fleet

army group center was deployed in poland

commanded by field marshal fedor von

bach army group center had

ninth and fourth armies

its armored forces were hoths panzer

group 3

and godarian's panzer group 2

the two infantry armies fielded 33

divisions

and the panzer groups nine armored six

motorized

and a cavalry division army group center

could call on second air fleet for

support

army group south was deployed in

southern poland and romania

commanded by field marshal gert von

runstead army group

south had 6th and 17th armies in poland

and 11th army in romania

its armoured force was kleist's panzer

group 1

the infantry armies had 33 divisions

and the panzer group 5 armoured and 3

motorized divisions

supporting von munstead would be two

romanian armies

the third and fourth one hungarian and

one slovakian infantry corps

and an italian motorized corps

the fourth air fleet would support

ground operations

[Music]

in the last fortnight before the german

invasion the pace of soviet preparations

for war

accelerated dramatically

[Music]

although stalin was still refusing to

believe that the german danger was real

his commanders were forcing through

precautionary measures wherever they

could

[Music]

793 000 reservists were called up for

training

so at least some frontline units could

be brought up to strength

the building of fortifications on the

frontiers were stepped up

although to do so often meant stripping

army divisions of transport

tractors and man

anti-aircraft defenses were also

strengthened although their crews were

still under the strictest instructions

not to open fire on german aircraft

of total soviet strength two million

nine hundred thousand were deployed on

the western frontiers

along with fifteen thousand tanks and

nine thousand aircraft

more divisions were on their way

however by the time of the german

invasion

a full soviet mobilization would not

even have begun

the western soviet union was divided

into four military areas

the baltic western kiev

and odessa districts

after the start of the battle these were

reorganized and renamed

france

[Music]

the north west front was commanded by

colonel general theodore kuznetsov

kuznetsov fielded 8th and 11th armies

with 27th army in its second echelon

altogether northwest front had 28 rifle

4 tank and two motorized divisions

the west front was commanded by general

dmitry pavlov

west front deployed third 10th and 4th

armies

with 13th as a supreme command reserve

all together 25 rifle and cavalry

divisions

13 tank and 7 motorized divisions

the south west front was in the ukraine

and was commanded by colonel general

mikhail caponos

kurpanos had fifth sixth

26th and 12th armies

with 27 rifle and cavalry divisions

12 tank and 6 motorized divisions

bordering the black sea was the south

front commanded by general ivan chulanev

chulanef had ninth and later 18th armies

with 17 rifle and cavalry divisions six

tank divisions

and three motorized divisions

[Music]

as well as the armies in place with the

four soviet fronts

another four armies the 22nd 19th

21st and 16th a total of 114 divisions

were already under orders to move west

these would arrive after the start of

the battle

each of the fronts also had its own

aviation component of bombers and

fighters

for support of ground operations

[Music]

[Music]

starting at 3 15 on the morning of

sunday june the 22nd

1941 german guns opened up on one sector

of the soviet frontier after another

the salvos were carefully targeted

communication centers

fuel and ammunition dumps border

defenses and barrack accommodation

were all pounded without mercy

at hundreds of border posts soviet

guards were killed without warning by

specially trained assault troops

who secured the bridges and crossing

points

far behind the beleaguered soviet

frontier units

german warplanes had appeared with the

dawn

the first waves concentrated their

destructive power on red army airfields

most russian aircraft were caught

helpless on the ground

on the first day alone the luftwaffe

would destroy more than 1400 russian

planes

as the hail of high explosives reigned

on the soviet frontier defenses and rear

areas

russian commanders frantically tried to

interpret their instructions from moscow

they had been warned not to react to

provocations

but no one had told them how to tell a

provocation from a full-scale attack

in a welter of confusion orders were

given and then

countermounted many units received no

orders at all

key communication centres were out of

action bombed

or the victims of nationalist saboteurs

trained by the germans

by 6 am the whole frontier zone from

east prussia to the carpathians

was engulfed in one gigantic battle

however it was in the center in belo

russia

where half of all germany's mechanized

units were in action

that the most crucial battles of the

opening phase were about to take place

opposite the german army group center

were four soviet armies

the tenth third and fourth of the west

front

and the eleventh army of the west front

the russians occupied a salient which

jutted into german territory

its center at bialystok

beyond bialystok was minsk a key rail

junction

and guardian of the main highway to

moscow

to the north panzer group 3 smashed

through of the junction between the two

soviet fronts

and crossed the river niemann panzer

group two

forced the river bug and by the second

day had penetrated 40 miles into soviet

territory

with the panzers racing forward on the

outside

fourth and ninth infantry armies cut

into the salient

with pincer movements squeezing between

them the russian armies

around the alistar

the panzer's objective was to meet at

minsk

and prevent any russian withdrawal

as the german spearhead sliced through

the soviet frontier armies

moscow failed completely to grasp the

dimensions of the catastrophe which had

befallen russia

on the evening of the first day the

defense commissar

marshal timoshenko had ordered all three

soviet fronts to mount a general

counter-offensive

and sweep the enemy from soviet

territory

timoshenko's order was a fantasy the

soviet reserve was not yet fully

mobilized

and there was no operational plan

all general pavlov commander of the key

west front could do

was turn for inspiration to war games

played the previous january

with controlled communications in the

frontline areas almost completely broken

down

with fuel and ammunition dumps burning

and the german air force in control of

the skies

the attacks were doomed from the start

on june the 27th five days after the

invasion

the armored jaws of gadarian's panzer

group 2 and hoth's panzer group 3

closed near minsk

200 miles into the soviet union and a

third of the way to moscow

it was a stunning achievement in the

vast pocket that had been created around

bialystok and minsk

32 soviet infantry and eight tank

divisions

were facing annihilation

while army group center was smashing its

way into the soviet west front

army group north had thrown its 600

tanks at the junction of the soviet 8th

and 11th armies of the north west front

the german spearheads were the 41st and

56th panzer cores of panzer group four

their objectives were to cross the

rivers niemann and davina

the most difficult natural obstacles in

front of army group north

on the first day of the attack the

armoured spearheads crossed the neiman

and penetrated 50 miles

[Music]

near rossainier on the second day 41st

panzer was counter-attacked by

300 tanks of the soviet 12th and third

mechanized corps

it took four days for the germans to

encircle and destroy the russian force

meanwhile 56 panzer corps dashed for the

river divina

and in a remarkable coup seized bridges

at davinsk

intact

after the seizure of the davina bridges

in the fall of davinsk

the leading formations of 56th panzer

corps

furiously set about enlarging the

bridgehead

a priceless opportunity now offered

itself

an immediate drive forwards would make

it almost impossible for the soviets to

defend leningrad

however it was not to be orders

received with disbelief by the tankman

were to wait for the infantry to arrive

in the end the weight would last almost

a week

while german operations in the north and

in the center had produced dramatic

advances

in the south the invasion forces

attacked a sector whose commanders had

woken up quickly to the german threat

and whose tank forces vastly outnumbered

the panzers

from the start the invaders faced a

determined resistance

on the german side the left wing of army

group

south was made up of the 17th and sixth

armies

along with one panzer group the first

opposite stood the soviet 5th 6th

and 26th armies

[Music]

while german infantry struck at the

junctions between russian formations

panzer group one drove its armored

spearhead of 600

tanks towards the town of brodie

on june the 26th five soviet mechanized

corps

with over a thousand tanks mounted

massive counter attacks from north

and south the aim was to cut through the

flanks of panzer group one

and meet near dubno

the battle between panzer group one and

the massed armor of the soviet

southwestern front

was one of the fiercest of the whole

invasion lasting a full

four days

the russians fought furiously and crews

of german tanks and anti-tank guns

found to their horror that the new

soviet t-34s and heavy kvs

were almost immune to their weapons

however the tanks were seldom handled

well or

concentrated into powerful groups they

could be isolated

and after they had been immobilized by

blowing off their tracks

they could be destroyed at close

quarters

meanwhile the luftwaffe was ranging

freely over the battlefield

smashing russian armor wherever it was

found

the soviet armoured pincers failed to

meet

at dubno

although panzer group one took a severe

battering in the battles around dubno

it survived the confrontation still

capable of operations

the soviets did not the last substantial

tank forces in the south

had been used up consumed in the inferno

[Music]

by the end of the first week of

operation barbarossa

all three german army groups had won

major battles on the frontiers

and had shattered every counter-attack

which had been thrown at them

the german high command was jubilant and

there was already talk of reaching

moscow within a fortnight

hitler told his followers to all intents

and purposes

the russians have lost the war

[Music]

the euphoria would last barely a week

events would occur on the central front

that changed hitler's mood from

exuberance

to extreme anxiety

to the astonishment of german soldiers

the encircled russian forces in the

pockets of minsk and bialystok

were fighting on even when their

situation was plainly hopeless

[Applause]

mopping up was taking far too long and

costing too many german casualties

the german infantry with no motor

transport had been slow to seal the

encirclements

and many russians were escaping the net

the very thing that hitler had been most

anxious to avoid

although 290 000 russian prisoners were

marched westwards

and 1500 guns and two and a half

thousand tanks were destroyed or

captured

a quarter of a million russian soldiers

would evade the trap

or fight their way back to soviet lines

as hitler and his commanders realized

that the victories of bialystok and

minsk had been only partial

there were bitter recriminations

hitler blamed the leaders of army group

center particularly the panzer generals

for leaving gaps in the ring

the panzer leaders for their part were

deeply frustrated

for almost a week their advance east had

been stopped while they closed the

pocket

and waited for the infantry to catch up

they feared that if the momentum of the

armor defensive was lost

further east russian resistance would

stiffen behind the river's nipper

and davina

[Music]

on july the 3rd joseph stalin made his

first broadcast to the soviet

people since the start of the german

invasion

laying aside the cloak of communist

ideology he appealed for a patriotic war

there would be no surrender and

everything that could be of use to the

invader

was to be destroyed in his path

behind the lines partisan bands were to

be formed

and meantime the strategy was to defend

the soviet union

as far to the west as possible where

most of its population and its

industries were based

provision was being made to dismantle

key factories which lay in the path of

the invader

and ship them east along with their

skilled workers

but it would all take time

terrified that the soviet state faced

complete collapse

stalin quickly introduced the harshest

penalties for those accused of being

panic mongers

cowards or incompetence

in the following weeks pavlov the

commander of west front

was executed along with members of his

staff

as for lesser commanders many who had

broken out of encirclements were also

shot for not having resisted to the end

meanwhile on the german side of the

lines

captured red army soldiers thought to be

communists commissars or jews

were handed over by the army to ss

special action groups for immediate

execution

in the months to come many red army

units would fight to the bitter end

because their leaders dared neither

surrender nor

retreat

on the same day as stalin called for a

great patriotic war

the panzer leaders of army group center

at last got the go-ahead to resume

their drive east

the main panzer forces have been static

for almost a week

and now on the very day the general

offensive was resumed

the weather broke

as sudden rainstorms typical of early

july

turned the sandy tracks into streaming

rivers of mud

the advancing armored divisions found

themselves immobile for hours at a time

all the while the russian defense became

more determined

many bridges were blown and for the

first time

mines were laid to slow the german

advance an easy task with the convoys

confined to the very few

roads

the delays gave the soviets time to

organize for a massive armored counter

blow

the ultimate objective for army group

center was the city of smolensk

which commanded the road to moscow

facing the germans along the rivers

nipper and davina

were stretches of the old stalin line

fortifications

the defenders were 13th army of the west

front

and the 22nd 20th and 21st armies of the

supreme command reserve

another army the 19th was forming up at

vitebsk

while the 16th was arriving at smolensk

it was the threat in the north from

panzer group 3's 39th panzer corps that

most worried the russians

on july the 6th 20th army's seventh and

fifth mechanized corps

launched an attack with 700 tanks

[Music]

the germans had overwhelming air support

and in a three-day battle

the two soviet mechanized cause were

virtually wiped out

meanwhile 20th panzer division won a

bridgehead on the eastern bank of the

divina

and threatened vitebsk

the south away from the main crossings

panzer group two launched surprise

attacks

forcing the river nipper

[Music]

the 13th army was pushed back losing

five divisions

as both german panzer groups drove east

three soviet armies faced the prospect

of encirclement around smolensk

[Music]

south of smallen scadarian second panzer

group advanced at speed

and its 29th motorized infantry division

took the city on july the 16th

however to the north hoth's third panzer

was moving much more slowly

the terrain was swampy the rain was

still a problem

and the russians were fighting

desperately to escape the trap that was

developing

on july the 18th the great armoured

princes of the two panzer groups came

within 10 miles of closing

but the jaws would not finally snap shut

for another eight

days in the end although 300 000

russians were captured

more than two hundred thousand would

break out to stand between the germans

and moscow

by now nearly four weeks into the

campaign

it was obvious to german commanders and

to adolf hitler himself

that the number of divisions the red

army could field had been grossly

underestimated

there was no sign that the soviet union

was about to collapse

in fact there were worrying threats to

the flanks of army group center

on august the 4th adolf hitler flew to

army group center's headquarters at

borisov

east of minsk

[Music]

by now he had lost faith in battles of

encirclement

and had begun to believe that he could

best defeat the soviet union

by inflicting severe economic damage

that meant making better progress in the

south to cut off russia's oil

and in the north the speedy capture of

leningrad

he had come to minsk to tell the

commander of army group center

field marshall von bark that his drive

east towards moscow

was to be stopped and his tanks were to

be sent to leningrad and the ukraine

hitler's plan involved sending the armor

on 300 mile detours

the panzer generals guderian and hoth

were appalled

moscow was only 200 miles from the front

and most of the red army was deployed

around the city

the generals were certain that only an

attack there

gave any chance of winning the war

outright

however hitler was adamant and a final

desperate

appeal by the army commander-in-chief

von braunkich

was rejected out of hand

hitler complained that his generals knew

nothing of the economic aspects of war

the panzers were to be diverted and that

was final

by mid-july below the prippet marshes

the sixth army of army group south

along with panzer group one had reached

to within a few miles of kiev

the armor had then swung south while the

advance from romania

with the romanian third army and the

german 11th and 17th

pushed east three soviet armies were

squeezed into a pocket near uman

[Music]

as the pocket was eliminated the tanks

turned north

and crossed that nipper

meanwhile guderian's panzer group two

had driven

south and crossed the river desner

with second army on its right

[Music]

the two panzer groups now threatened to

trap four soviet armies

and parts of two more against the great

bend of the river nipper

for its final thrust at leningrad fourth

panzer group of army group

north had on hitler's orders been

reinforced by

tanks from army group center

on august the 8th the panzers broke

through soviet defenses

and while 16th army attacked to the

northeast

18th army cleared estonia and advanced

around lake pipers

by the end of august panzer group 4 and

18th army

had penetrated to within 30 miles of

leningrad

meanwhile the finns had pushed southeast

on both sides of lake lodoga

reaching the old finnish soviet

frontiers

[Music]

on september the 9th army group north

began a final push on leningrad

within two days german soldiers were on

the heights

only seven miles from the city and

artillery was pounding the inhabitants

relentlessly

hitler's latest orders were that

leningrad should not be stormed

the advance had severed all of its road

and rail links to the rest of the soviet

union

and the city was now to be bombed

shelled

and starved into submission

the fiora had changed the priorities of

the campaign yet again

leningrad could wait army group north's

tanks were to be sent to the center

for an all-out drive on moscow

it was the soviet west front launching

furious

counter attacks with its ground and air

forces which had drawn hitler's restless

attention to the moscow sector

the problem was that army group center

was in no position to launch an

immediate offensive

it was only 13 days since most of the

group's tanks had been sent on their

marathon drives to the north and south

these operations particularly the one

around kiev

had to be finished before operation

typhoon

the assault on moscow could begin

the encirclement of soviet forces in the

south was achieved on september the 16th

when kleist's panzer group won and

gadarian's 24th corps

met at lok vitser 120 miles behind kiev

for the russians a disaster of

staggering dimensions now unfolded

the encircled russian armies at kiev did

not give up easily

a savage battle in which the soviets

were hammered by artillery

tanks and aircraft had to be fought

before the pocket was reduced

in the end after 10 days of carnage

the germans claimed 600 000 red army

soldiers captured

no one knew how many had been killed in

what hitler called the greatest battle

in history

after kiev for the first time since the

invasion

the red army no longer outnumbered the

germans

and there were no more reserves

to defend moscow stalin could field 800

000 men

in 83 divisions but no more than 25 of

those divisions were fully effective

and there was a desperate shortage of

armor and aircraft

on the german side there were two

million men in seventy divisions

almost one third of the divisions were

mechanized

the highest proportion of mechanized

units to infantry

in any german attack of the war so far

operation typhoon the drive on moscow

began on october the second

in front of army group center were the

soviet west and bryansk fronts

there was also a series of elaborate

defense lines

up to 250 miles long the first centered

on viasma

and the others on mojisk

the first blow took the soviets

completely by surprise

guderian's second panzer army returning

from the kiev battle

took rl a vital road junction 75 miles

behind the first russian defense line

three days later the panzers pushed on

briansk

another communications center while

second army

attacked from the west three russian

armies

were trapped

to the north third and fourth panzer

armies

threw their pincers around viasma

trapping another five soviet armies

moscow's first line of defense had been

shattered

in the opening blows and the door to

moscow

had been burst open

it was stalin's insistence on manning

defensive lines to the very end

that made the situation at brian's and

the asmr so catastrophic

the pockets yielded 663 000 russian

prisoners

bringing the tally since the start of

the invasion to 3 million

once again the german high command

allowed itself to believe that the war

in the east was won

this time they were certain their belief

was justified

[Music]

on the russian side only 90 000 men

and a handful of tanks were left on the

last defense line in front of moscow

in desperation stalin summoned general

zhukov

who had been organizing the defense of

leningrad and gave him the job of saving

the capital

weeks before zhukov had resigned as

chief of the general staff

after a disagreement with the dictator

but now

stalin chose to forget their differences

by this time the situation outside

moscow was critical

on october the 13th fourth infantry army

penetrated the last

soviet defense line at kaluga

at the same time to the north third

panzer penetrated to within 90 miles of

the capital

and looked set to break into the soviet

rear

for the russians serious as the

situation was on the flanks

in the center there was mortal danger

there 10th panzer division and the ss

das reich motorize division

had beaten off a furious counter-attack

at borradino

they were now driving up the smelensk to

moscow highway

advancing on mojask the key to the

central sector of the moscow defense

line

and only 60 miles from the city

with the german armies on the threshold

of the capital there was panic in moscow

martial law was declared government

departments and embassies were evacuated

and there was a frantic effort to build

last-ditch defenses in and around the

city

although the citizens of moscow expected

little mercy from the germans

in fact none knew the savage reality of

hitler's plans for the soviet capital

the german armies had been instructed

not to accept its surrender

its inhabitants might be allowed to flee

but the city

was to be obliterated from the face of

the earth

in its place was to be built a gigantic

reservoir

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almost from the beginning of operation

typhoon the weather had deteriorated

steadily

the german advance first in the south

and then in the center

had gradually slowed as the season of

rain and sleet had begun

under the weight of traffic the three

roads on which the whole offensive

depended for its supplies

were reduced to quagmire's

as the rain and snow persisted into a

third week

the supply system broke down completely

eventually only tracked vehicles could

move at all

and their fuel consumption soared while

engines rapidly wore

out

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meantime the troops were living in

appalling conditions

permanently wet cold and utterly

exhausted

the advance slowed to as little as two

miles a day

on october the 31st the german army high

command

ordered a halt in operation typhoon

for general zhukov the pause was of

priceless benefit

although his forces were desperately

weak down to 190 working tanks

fresh formations were being created at

great speed

and in little over a month 11 new armies

would be raised

although some of the new formations were

made up of barely trained conscripts

30 divisions would be well-equipped and

immensely tough siberian troops

these had been freed from the eastern

frontiers as soviet intelligence assured

stalin there was no longer a threat from

the japanese

with the siberians would come a thousand

tanks

and a thousand aircraft

on november the 7th in a defiant gesture

of normality

the annual revolution day parade was

held in moscow

the night before the first severe frosts

had hardened the ground

only 50 miles from the city the german

armored columns were once more capable

of movement

the last great effort to capture moscow

began on november the 15th

in increasingly heavy falls of snow and

with temperatures sinking ominously

the germans threw themselves at the

soviet defenses

for their part the russians on zhukov's

orders

launched a series of spoiling attacks

little quarter was given on either side

both attacking and defending troops knew

that this could be a war winning battle

facing the german advance on moscow were

three soviet fronts

kalinin west and southwest

however it was the six mostly under

strength armies of general zhukov's west

front

that would bear the main weight of the

assault

the german intention was that third and

fourth panzer armies

would cross the volga canal and envelop

moscow from the northeast

second panzer army would first take tula

then strike behind moscow from the

southeast

to close with the northern pincer

as the russians reacted and moved to the

flanks

fourth infantry army would smash in the

center

in two weeks of desperate fighting in

ever more arduous and exhausting

conditions

the battle in the north slowly but

remorselessly crept towards the russian

capital

however in the south against all the

odds

gadarian's second panzer army was being

blocked

but tula the soviet 50th army

in spite of being almost surrounded

could not be dislodged

then came a stunning blow for the

germans

at kashira on november 27th a savage

attack by well-equipped siberian

infantry

t-34s and new kachisha rocket launchers

inflicted a severe and shocking defeat

on gadarian's forces

while gadarian's attack was being

blocked then broken to the north

after 10 days of bitter and continuous

fighting

fourth panzer succeeded in crossing the

volga canal within 20 miles of moscow

and beginning the encirclement of the

capital

on december the second a forward patrol

penetrated to within 15 miles of the

kremlin

hitler and his senior commanders were

convinced that one

last gargantuan effort would see the

final collapse of russian resistance

it would all depend on the last

battalion

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on december the second the first

blizzards of winter swept across the

german armies facing moscow

the war in the east was supposed to have

been long since

won and the vermont had never been

equipped for conditions like these

at night the temperature would soon

plummet to as low as minus 40 degrees

fahrenheit

frostbite and disease had already begun

to cause as many german casualties as

the endless russian counter-attacks

dead and wounded had reached 155 000 in

three weeks

and the strength of the infantry

divisions had fallen to 50 percent

meanwhile the bitter cold caused serious

problems for weapons and vehicles

guns failed as their recoil systems

froze

and engines had to be run every four

hours devouring

fuel that was already in desperately

short supply

most disturbing of all for men who had

always been able to count on protection

from the air

conditions all too often grounded the

luftwaffe

while the red air force seemed to grow

more active as each day

passed

on december the first in the center the

german fourth army had launched a final

massive effort

to smash what defenses remained in front

of moscow

everything depended on the russians

having no reserves

however for weeks zhukov had been denied

reinforcements

as stalin had held back increasingly

powerful reserve formations

including the bulk of the siberian

divisions and their armor

the strength of the defenders was now up

to over half a million men

on december the 5th zhukov launched the

reserves

in a massive counter-attack

the russian offensive was launched along

a front 600 miles long

to the germans whose own offensive was

being carried on with the last ounce of

their strength

it came as a hideous shock

along the entire length of the line

german armies were shattered into

thousands of isolated units

fighting desperately for survival

the battle of moscow was lost and with

it

the german wehrmacht had lost the battle

for russia

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so

although the russians were strong enough

to throw the germans back from the gates

of moscow

and liberate 11 000 towns and villages

they were still nowhere near capable of

inflicting a decisive defeat on the

invaders

a second counter-offensive in january

stalled against increasingly solid

german defenses

on a line still deep inside the soviet

union

the battle for russia had cost the

german army

a quarter of a million dead half a

million wounded

and most of its tanks hitler fired two

field marshals and 35 generals

but nothing could change the fate to

which germany was now condemned

no new sources of oil or strategic

materials have been won

and the vermont was embroiled in

conflicts on two fronts

worst of all america had entered the war

the previous december

hitler now had to face the very thing he

had been desperate to avoid from the

start

russia britain and the united states

in an alliance germany could never hope

to defeat

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