When Hitler lost the Battle of Britain he turns his eyes towards Russia. Now Hitler will break his treaty with the Soviet Union and will invade the vast country. The campaigned was called Barbarosa. It was on June 22 1941, a train from the east passing across the Volga river bringing Germany oil and corn from the Soviet Union. One hour later six thousand artillery guns fired, the invasion of Russia has began. The battle plan was developed by Hitler's order it will form three army groups. The northern group seizes Leningrad, The center group which is given much more Armour will go to Smolensk on the road to Moscow. The southern group will push through the Ukraine to Kiev and to Crimea. The army smash eastward in a high rate of speed even there are no reliable maps and few roads. In the first day they destroyed one thousand Soviet airplanes, with in a week they defeated five Russian armies.
In the grain rich Russian Ukraine the Germans were greeted by the peasants with flowers and food they are treated as liberators. Hatred of the Soviet runs deep here, Millions of Ukrainians have been murdered and starve to death by the Soviet governments. The Ukrainian wants to dissolve the farm collectives and re-open their churches and have the right to own their land. Instead the SS death squad arrived and began killing Jews and communist and anyone else who commits even the smallest infractions of German orders.
The peasant grain was shipped back to Germany leaving them to starve. The angry peasant form a partisan group, when they are caught they are hanged. Viewed from the military perspective the German raids on the Ukraine is a terrible mistake, but not to Hitler because terminating the slugs in what he always wanted to do. Some historian believed this is the place where Hitler lost the war of Russia. If only Hitler liberated Ukraine from Russia he had a vast Russian population to fight Stalin.
Meanwhile the German center army have reached Smolensk two thirds on the way to Moscow victory seems assured. But then once more Hitler calls for a halt. He commanded that the armored division should be split,one part will go to Leningrad and other will go to Kiev to trap a huge Russian force. The tasks take all summer, and then when the Russian winter came Hitler change his mind again, he decided to take Moscow after all. He ordered the forces he sent to the north and south to return to the center. By now Hitler controlled the strategy and tactics with tightness that the generals jokes that they cannot open the door without Hitler permission. The long delayed drive to Moscow begins,by now Russian women begin digging deep tanks trap outside Moscow. Then it begins to rain and the Germans paved road experienced something new, the Russian mud. The vehicles stuck on the mud and the German armies and tanks division cannot move on.
When finally turns winter and the tanks are able to move again, but then it turns unbelievably cold. The German had planned to win the war in one season and still they are in their Summer uniforms, the cold was horrible, even they are now stationed 35 km west of Moscow. The temperature so cold that it dropped 55degress below zero, and the wind was blowing. There was no way to move or to get the guns even the Russian planes are attacking them.
Hitler finally acknowledges the need for warm clothes, he collect it form German civilians and airdroped it to the front. In the 20km near Moscow the Germans was ordered to stop a complete halt for the attack due to exhaustion and cold. But the Russian counter attacked with their fresh armies from Siberia. They brought there new tank the T-34 which is better than the German tanks and their ski troops is a surprise. But the most surprising of all is how they used there man power, to clear the minefields, by droving cows through it and they did it also with man (soldiers). The soldier is in line arm in arm, behind them are machine guns and when they stepped on the mines they are blown-up. The Germans retreated.
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