Transcript The Eastern Front- Operation Barbarossa

Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern
Campaign
• The Blitz on Britain was called
off in May 1941. Hitler had a
far more prized target
• Hitler needed to conquer the
USSR in order to fulfill his longterm plan for a German
Empire
• Hitler was suspicious of Stalin’s
motives and decided to
invade
• This decision turned out to be
a miscalculation on his part…
Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern
Campaign
• 22 June 1941 Operation
Barbarossa was
launched – the attack
on Russia.
• The German invasion
caught the Soviet
military and civilian
leadership largely by
surprise.
Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern
Campaign
• The huge military
force needed for this
attack included
many bombers and
two-thirds of the
German military was
to be tied up on the
Eastern Front for the
duration of the war.
Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern
Campaign
• The battles on the Eastern Front
constituted the largest military
confrontation in history.
They were characterized by:
• Unprecedented ferocity
• Massive destruction
• Mass deportations
• Immense loss of life variously
due to combat, starvation,
exposure, disease, and
massacres.
Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern
Campaign
• Of the estimated 70 million deaths attributed to
WWII, over 30 million, many of them civilians, died
on the Eastern Front.
• The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the
outcome of World War II, eventually serving as the
main reason for Germany's defeat
Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern
Campaign
• German troops were able to push the Soviet army
deep into the Soviet Union
• By autumn, they reached the outskirts of Moscow
and Leningrad.
• But German troops were ill equipped for the long
and cold Soviet winters and soon lost their
advantage
• In 1942, German troops got as far as Stalingrad…but
again, were stopped by the bitterly cold winter
Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern
Campaign
• The situation grew worse for the German army and
after suffering more than 300,000 losses, they
surrendered in 1943.
• The Soviets took advantage of this, and went on the
offense—retaking much of their territory and by
1944 they were advancing toward Germany
THE WAR SPREADS:
WAR IN THE PACIFIC
• With the Battle of Britain,
Canada was forced into a
more prominent role in the
war than it ever had
intended
• When war spread to the
Pacific, Canada became
even more involved
• After the bombing of Pearl
Harbour in December 1941,
Canada and its allies were
now at war with Japan
THE WAR SPREADS:
WAR IN THE PACIFIC
• The war had now become
truly global—Canadian
troops saw their first action
at Hong Kong shortly
afterwards.
• The battle was a disaster
for Canadian troops.
THE WAR SPREADS:
WAR IN THE PACIFIC
• Hours after Japanese planes bombed Pearl
Harbour—the troops began their surprise invasion of
Hong Kong.
• By Christmas day, 1941 Hong Kong had fallen
• Months earlier, Canada had sent troops to Hong
Kong
• During the battle, the losses were heavy: 290 killed
in action and hundreds wounded.
• The survivors were all taken prisoner. Suffering from
malnutrition, disease, overwork, and brutality, nearly
300 more Canadians died in captivity.
THE WAR SPREADS:
WAR IN THE PACIFIC
December 8, 1941 the U.S. joined the Allies and
declared war on Japan.
Japans Allies- Germany and Italy- then declared war
on the United States.
The whole world was now at war