INVASION OF THE USSR

NON-AGGRESSION PACT

• Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression pact
• Signed on August 23, 1939
• Only a temporary tactical maneuver
• After the France campaign hitler decided to invade the USSR
• Code named- operation Barbarossa

BEGINNING

• Nazi invasion began on June 22, 1941
• Soviet military was caught by surprise
• Forced to retreat
• Had always been a goal of the nazi's to conquer USSR
• Nazi's believed that the Jews were the racial basis of all communist states

BEGINNING CONTINUED

• Germany launched an attack with 134 divisions and another 73 in reserve
• The soviet army was initially overwhelmed because they did not have air support

POLICE

• A group of SS would follow the army into occupied territory
• A new police force would then be put in place to control the populace

STALINGRAD

• At first the invasion went well and the nazi's were able to push the soviets back to Stalingrad
• On September 3, 1942 the Germans reached Stalingrad and thought it would be an easy victory
• Soviets set up major defenses around the city
• Long battle

BATTLE

• The invaders fought fiercely for days
• Eventually they were worn down and were losing men and supplies
• Strong counter offensive by the soviets ended the battle and forced the Germans into a retreat

AFTERMATH

• Eventually the soviets were able to get the Germans to surrender
• They then launched a massive counter offensive and drive the Germans back all the way to Berlin
• When the battle was over there were more casulaties than the United States had in the entire Second World War
• The combined casualty figures for both sides equaled about 1.9 million in one battle

WORKS CITED

• "Battle of Stalingrad." History of Russia. N.p., 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2015
• UHistory Authors. "Battle of Stalingrad." History. History Channel, 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
• "Invasion of the Soviet Union, June 1941." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. N.p., 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.