Operation Barbarossa: Why Hitler's betrayal of Stalin was a major turning point of World War II

At the start of World War II, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin became allies through the signing of a non-aggression paced named the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on August 23, 1939.

This alliance surprised the rest of the world because Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had been ideological enemies.

Hitler was openly anti-Bolshevik, while Stalin's Soviet Union was anti-fascist.

However, the pact included a secret agreement that divided Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence, which led to the partition of Poland after Germany invaded from the west on September 1, 1939, and the Soviet Union invaded from the east on September 17.

Ultimately, this agreement allowed both nations to pursue their territorial ambitions without fear of interference from each other.

This meant that Germany focused on Western Europe for the first two years of the war and the Soviet Union expanding into Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.

After these countries were captured by the Soviets during World War II, they became part of the USSR.

However, the alliance between the two countries was pragmatic rather than ideological, as it provided Germany with raw materials from the Soviet Union and allowed Stalin to expand Soviet territory.

However, this alliance was temporary, as Hitler always intended to invade the Soviet Union, but he did not want to provoke Stalin too early.

There were several reasons why Hitler decided to invade the Soviet Union. He saw it as an opportunity to finally defeat communism, and he also wanted to plunder the resources of the Soviet Union.

Additionally, Hitler believed that the Soviets would not be able to mount a successful counterattack, because he thought the Soviet military was inferior and the Soviet state would quickly collapse under German assault.

He also believed in the concept of Lebensraum, or 'living space', which called for the expansion of Nazi Germany into Eastern Europe to provide more living space for the German people.

On 18 December 1940 Hitler issued Führer Directive 21 (The "Barbarossa Decree") which called for the invasion of the Soviet Union.

The directive stated that the main goals of the operation were to:

• destroy the Soviet armed forces and annihilate communism
• secure Lebensraum in the east for the German people
• seize control of the economic resources of the Soviet Union
• prevent the Soviets from ever again becoming a threat to Nazi Germany.

The invasion was originally planned for May 1941, but Hitler delayed it until June to assist Mussolini's Italy in the Balkans.

Germany and Italy had signed an alliance in 1939, known as the Pact of Steel.

When Mussolini had invaded Greece in October 1940, he had been expecting a quick victory.

However, the Italian forces were met with fierce Greek resistance and were pushed back into Albania.

This situation embarrassed Mussolini and jeopardized the Axis's strategic position in the Balkans.

So, to prevent British intervention in the region and secure Germany's southern flank before launching the invasion of the Soviet Union, Hitler was forced to intervene.

In early 1941, German forces launched invasions of both Yugoslavia and Greece, where they swiftly defeated both countries.

However, this diversion meant that Germany had to delay the start of Operation Barbarossa from its planned date in May 1941 to June 1941.

Despite numerous intelligence reports warning of an impending invasion, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was initially in denial, believing Hitler would not break the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

His refusal to act upon intelligence reports ultimately delayed Soviet defensive actions.

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and it would be the largest military operation in history, both in terms of manpower and territory.

It involved over 3 million Axis troops, 600,000 motor vehicles, and 600,000 horses, and covered a battle front of over 1,800 miles from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

The vast German forces were split into three groups: north, centre, and south. 

Army Group North invaded the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and aimed for Leningrad.

Army Group Centre invaded Belarus and aimed for Moscow, while Army Group South invaded Ukraine.

Within the first five months of the invasion, the Nazis had captured major Soviet cities.

Minsk was captured on June 28, Kiev fell on September 19, and Rostov on November 21.

In addition, they had captured large amounts of territory and resources. They also succeeded in taking Ukraine's breadbasket away from Russia, which dealt a major blow to the Soviet war effort.

Other battles went well for the Germans as well. Within a few months of the invasion's start, they had reached Leningrad in the north.

But not all went well for the invaders. At the Battle of Smolensk, from July to September 1941, Soviet resistance significantly slowed the German advance, which allowed some Soviet forces to regroup and strengthen the defenses around Moscow.

On October 2, Hitler launched Operation Typhoon, with the primary objective of capturing Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union before winter.

The operation began with a series of successful German advances that encircled large numbers of Soviet troops near Bryansk and Vyazma, which led to the capture of over 600,000 soldiers.

Fearing the inevitable fall of their capital to the invaders, the Soviet Union relocated over 1,500 factories east of the Ural Mountains, beyond the reach of the German advance.

It was hoped that this would ensure continuous production of weapons and supplies.

However, as the Germans approached Moscow, they encountered increasingly fierce Soviet resistance and worsening weather conditions.

In particular, the autumn rains had turned roads into mud, which severely hampering German mobility.

Regardless, they finally reached the outskirts of Moscow by December 2nd.

However, the Germans were not prepared for the harsh Russian winter, which arrived early in December 1941.  

During December 1941, temperatures dropped to extreme lows. The lowest recorded temperature in December was −28.8 °C (−20 °F) according to official Soviet Meteorological Service records.

However, there are reports of even colder conditions, with General Fedor von Bock claiming a temperature of −45 °C (−49 °F) on November 30, and General Erhard Raus recording temperatures between −36 to −38 °C (−37 to −38 °F) during early December.

These severe cold conditions significantly impacted the German army, which was not equipped for such weather.

This led to problems with getting food and ammunition to the invading army, as many of the vehicles in the supply train were not equipped for winter travel.

In fact, the harsh conditions led to over 130,000 cases of frostbite among German soldiers.

As a result, the German advance slowed down significantly, and it meant that Hitler could see that his initial plan to take Moscow before winter would not succeed.

On the 5th of December 1941, the Soviet Union mounted a counteroffensive against the Nazis at Moscow.

The Battle of Moscow, as it would be called, culminated in a Soviet victory in January 1942, and was the first time the German Wehrmacht suffered a major defeat.

This effectively shattered the myth of Nazi invincibility. In particular, it was thanks to Soviet General Georgy Zhukov who was in charge of orchestrating the successful counteroffensive in December 1941 that the Germans were pushed back from the gates of Moscow.

So, Bu the end of 1941, German forces had suffered around 730,000 casualties, which were the result of a combination of battlefield losses and the extreme conditions of the Russian winter.

The Soviets were able to push back the Germans and prevent them from capturing Moscow, but it came at a heavy cost in human life: over one million people died on both sides during this battle, with Soviet casualties alone numbering 650,000.

Operation Barbarossa officially ended in December 1941, but the Eastern Front conflict continued until the end of the war in Europe in May 1945.

Over the next few years, there would be bitter and difficult fighting across the Eastern Front.

In particular, the Siege of Leningrad was one of the bloodiest. Even though it began in September 1941 as part of Barbarossa, it lasted an unimaginable 872 days.

It led to over a million Soviet deaths, which were mostly civilians, but the city never surrendered.

Ultimately, the failure of Operation Barbarossa placed an enormous strain on Germany's economy and manpower, particularly as fuel shortages and losses in equipment mounted.

Also, throughout the invasion, Soviet civilian partisans waged a relentless guerrilla campaign against the Nazi forces.

They sabotaged many German supply lines and communications systems, which contributed to the eventual German defeat on the Eastern Front.

However, it would be the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-43 that became the true turning point of the war, as the German 6th Army was encircled and surrendered to the Soviets in February 1943.

By early 1944, the German army was in retreat and their casualties across the entire Eastern Front were in the millions.

The Soviets were able to push them all the way back into Germany by 1945, and they captured Berlin in April of that year.