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The Eastern Front
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- 2. What made upthe eastern front The eastern front is made up of 9 countries Germany Hungary Ukraine Rumania Poland Bulgaria Belorussia Lativia Russia
- 3. The Beginning The invasionof PolandWorld war 2 began with the invasion of Poland, and with this invasion began the fighting in the eastern front. 1939 Sept 1- Germany invades Poland Sept 17- Soviet union invades from the east, for filling the requirements of the none aggression pact with Germany Oct 6 - Poland is occupied by Germain and Soviet forces. Reasons for polish defeat 1. The late response to the advancing German forces 2. The poor concentration and positioning of polish soldiers 3. The lack of English and French support
- 4. Operation Barbarossa The betrayalof Russia Hitler planed to invade the Soviet Union in an attempt to gain more living space Hitler belived that the Russians (Slavs) we inferior to the people of Germany. 1941 June 22 - hitler goes against the Nazi- soviet non aggression pact by invading the Soviot Union The Nazi army was split into three groups; North, centre, and South • North - attacks from the north targeting Leningrad. • Centre - carve a path through central Russia and entrap Moscow • South - take control of the Crimean peninsula oil fields
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- 6. Actions and reactionsfrom the Germain invasion Soviet Union • The late mobilisation of soviet forces resulted in heavy casualties on the soviet side. • Stalin decreed that any deserters of battle were to be shot. • By now the soviets had relocated their industrial heartland to eastern Russia. • By now the whole of the Soviet Union was in a state of total war, meaning that the whole country, every man woman and child was fighting the German invaders. Germany • By now the northern Germain group had reached Leningrad, this began a 900 day siege on the city. • By October the centre army group were 40 miles away from the city of Moscow • The southen army group was 60 miles away from the oil feilds, until hitler redirected the attack towards the city of Stalingrad.
- 7. The battle ofMoscow (Oct 1941 - Jan 1942) The plan Hitler believed that the destruction of Moscow would be the destruction of the Soviet Union. 1941 October: German forces had reached the outskirts of Moscow. December: soviets begin a counter offensive tactic, whilst the soviets maintain a steady stream of fresh reserves. Eventually German forces are pushed back by the soviet resistance.
- 8. The battle ofStalingrad (Aug 21 1942 - Feb 2 1943) The battle of starling grad was a Rat war, meaning an urban war fought in a city. The Germain war machine become bogged down in the city By the end of the battle 90% of the city's surface was destroyed. Eventually the Germain supply line was cut off from the city. The soviets used a double encircling tactic, which successfully destroyed the German army. The total number of soviet casualties from the battle of Stalingrad was 1.1 million. More then the total number of USA causalities in the entire war. The battle of starlingrad is know as the bloodiest battle in the history of war, it embodies the idea of total war, and was the turning point for the Soviet Union.
- 9. The battle ofKursk ( July 3 - August 23 1943) The battle of Kursk is the largest tank battle to date • Germans had: 2700 tanks, 800000 in men and 2000 air crafts • Soviets had: 3000 tanks, 1.5 million men, and 2400 aircrafts Soviets were able to divid and conquer the German forces. The Germans final battle against the soviets resulted in a soviet victory.
- 10. Joseph Stalin I believein one thing only, the power of human will. The Eastern Front Aftermath 1939-1945 Eventually Soviet forces began to push the German army back to Berlin. Over 80% of the German army was situated at the eastern front. 6 million soviets died protecting their homeland.