The story of the Russo-German conflict from 1941 to 1945, famously documented in Alan Clark's "Barbarossa" , is the most violent and vast land war in human history. It began with Hitler’s "Operation Barbarossa"—a massive gamble that ultimately doomed the Third Reich. The Initial Onslaught (June – December 1941)
: In just six months, the German Wehrmacht captured nearly 3 million Soviet prisoners and drove within sight of Moscow.
Barbarossa: The Russian-German Conflict, 1941-45: Clark, Alan Barbarossa: The Russian German Conflict, 1941-45
: The German advance was finally halted in December 1941 by a combination of "thickening Russian resistance" and a brutal winter where temperatures hit -40 degrees , causing over 100,000 cases of frostbite. The Turning Tide (1942 – 1943)
: Soviet forces pushed the Axis back through Eastern Europe, culminating in the Fall of Berlin in May 1945. The story of the Russo-German conflict from 1941
: The vast Russian landscape and muddy seasons (Rasputitsa) crippled German supply lines that were only designed for a short campaign.
: In the summer of 1943, the largest tank battle in history took place. After failing to regain the initiative here, the Wehrmacht would never again mount a major offensive in the East. The Soviet Steamroller (1944 – 1945) : In the summer of 1943, the largest
Historians often point to three main reasons for the German failure: