Transcript WESTCIVOperationBarbarossa

Hitler Heads East
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler’s Plan
• June, 1941
– Frustrated after the Battle of Britain, Hitler
sets his sights on Russia
– Hitler sends 3 million soldiers and 3,500 tanks
into Russia
– He wants to conquer Russia and expand
Germany into the east
Hitler’s Battle Plan
Success…At First
• The Russians are taken by surprise
– They had signed a Non-Aggression Pact with
Germany in 1939
• Many Russian cities fall to German
advances
Hitler Runs into Trouble
• Hitler doesn’t want to repeat mistakes
made by Napoleon
• He wants to beat Russia quickly, but:
• He doesn’t expect fighting to last into winter
• He doesn’t expect the bad autumn conditions (rain, mud)
• He underestimates Russia’s army and resources
Tables Turn
• November, 1942
– German soldiers
are freezing to
death
– Russians start
winning battles
Battle of Stalingrad 
Russia won – February, 1943
Battle of Stalingrad
• Most decisive but costly
victory for the Soviet Union
• German planes bombed
the city and fought the
Soviets building-to-building
• Soviet forces outlasted
and exhausted German
troops and material
• More than 1 million Soviet
casualties
• Almost the entire German
Sixth Army perished
Another Loss for Hitler
Propaganda
1.) What is a “wolf
in sheep’s
clothing?”
2.) What do you
think is the
message of this
propaganda
poster?