Daniel Sabat
Historical Investigation
March 23, 2010
Electronic Note cards
Operation Barbarossa
Source: Trueman, Chris. Operation Barbarossa. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/operation_barbarossa.htm>.
Subject: What is this Operation?
Keywords: Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany, blitzkrieg, Hitler
Abstract: Operation Barbarossa was the name given to Nazi Germany’s invasion of Russia on
June 22nd 1941. Barbarossa the largest military attack of World War Two and was to have
appalling consequences for the Russian people. Operation Barbarossa was based on a massive
attack based on blitzkrieg. Hitler had said of such an attack that “when the attack on Russia starts
the world will hold its breath.” In total, Germany amassed 117 army divisions for the attack
excluding Rumanian and Hungarian units. In total, Russia amassed 132 army divisions for the
defense of the ‘motherland’, including 34 armored divisions.
This operation was led by Hitler as the vastest military movement ever seen. Hitler wanted to
seek power in Russia in order to expand the hegemony of Germany in Europe at this time.
Source: Simkin, John. Operation Barbarossa. Amazon.com. Web. 24 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSbarbarossa.htm>.
Subject: Reason for the Operation
Keywords: Hitler, Lebensraum policy, Mein Kampf
Abstract: In Mein Kampf and in numerous speeches Adolf Hitler claimed that the German
population needed more living space. Hitler's Lebensraum policy was mainly directed at the
Soviet Union. He was especially interested in the Ukraine where he planned to develop a German
colony. The system would be based on the British occupation of India: "What India was for
England the territories of Russia will be for us... The German colonists ought to live on
handsome, spacious farms. The German services will be lodged in marvellous buildings, the
governors in palaces... The Germans - this is essential - will have to constitute amongst
themselves a closed society, like a fortress. The least of our stable-lads will be superior to any
native."
Here are the reasons of why Hitler wanted to invade Russia as he argued that Germany
needed more space and that his people needed better land. He also wanted Ukraine for its
agriculture and Russia will give more space to his hegemony.
Daniel Sabat
Historical Investigation
March 23, 2010
Source: "1939-1940 Nazi-Soviet Relations." Operation Barbarossa. Wikipedia.com. Web. 24
Mar. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa>.
Subject: 1939-1940 Nazi-Soviet relations
Keywords: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, non-aggression,
Abstract: The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact had been signed shortly before the German and Soviet
invasion of Poland in 1939. It was ostensibly a non-aggression pact but secret protocols outlined
an agreement between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union on the division of the border states
between them. The pact surprised the world because of the parties' mutual hostility and their
competing ideologies. As a result of the pact, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had reasonably
strong diplomatic relations and an important economic relationship. The countries entered a trade
pact in 1940, in which the Soviets received German military and industrial equipment in
exchange for raw materials, such as oil, to help Germany circumvent a British blockade. But
despite the parties' ongoing relations, both sides were strongly suspicious of each others'
intentions. After Germany entered the Axis Pact with Japan and Italy, it began negotiations about
a potential Soviet entry into the pact. After two days of negotiations in Berlin from November 1214, Germany presented a proposed written agreement for Soviet entry into the Axis. The Soviet
Union offered a written counterproposal agreement on 25 November 1940, to which Germany did
not respond. As both sides began colliding with each other in Eastern Europe, conflict appeared
more likely, though they signed a border and commercial agreement addressing several open
issues in January 1941.
Before Hitler would attempt Operation Barbarossa Germany and the Soviet Union had a
good relationship as they both signed agreements of peace between them. Their
relationship started to decline when they separated between Axis and allies, before that
they negotiated and even exchanged raw materials.
Source: "Operation Barbarossa-The German Assault On The Eastern Front."
CyberEssays. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. <http://www.cyberessays.com/History/133.htm>.
Subject: Hitler´s ambition
Keywords: Lebensraum, Mein Kampf, Thousand Year Reich
Abstract: "When Operation Barbarossa is launched, the world will hold its
breath!" - Adolf Hitler
On the night of June 22, 1941, more than 3 million German
soldiers, 600 000 vehicles and 3350 tanks were amassed along a 2000km
front stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Their sites were
all trained on Russia. This force was part of 'Operation Barbarossa',
the eastern front of the greatest military machine ever assembled.
This machine was Adolf Hitler's German army. For Hitler, the
inevitable assault on Russia was to be the culmination of a long
standing obsession. He had always wanted Russia's industries and
agricultural lands as part of his Lebensraum or 'living space' for
Germany and their Thousand Year Reich. Russia had been on Hitler's
agenda since he wrote Mein Kampf some 17 years earlier where he
stated: 'We terminate the endless German drive to the south and the
west of Europe, and direct our gaze towards the lands in the east...If
we talk about new soil and territory in Europe today, we can think
primarily only of Russia and its vassal border states'i Hitler wanted
Daniel Sabat
Historical Investigation
March 23, 2010
to exterminate and enslave the 'degenerate' Slavs and he wanted to
obliterate their 'Jewish Bolshevist' government before it could turn
on him. His 1939 pact with Stalin was only meant to give Germany time
to prepare for war. As soon as Hitler controlled France, he looked
east. Insisting that Britain was as good as defeated, he wanted to
finish off the Soviet Union as soon as possible, before it could
significantly fortify and arm itself. 'We only have to kick in the
front door and the whole rotten edifice will come tumbling down'ii he
told his officers. His generals warned him of the danger of fighting a
war on two fronts and of the difficulty of invading an area as vast as
Russia but, Hitler simply overruled them. He then placed troops in
Finland and Romania and created his eastern front.
Hitler was a ambitious man and always knew his objectives and what he wanted. He knew that
for him to be huge in power he needed to get the lands of Russia and expand but for me this was
his worst mistake which led to his fall. Because of this he tried to expand too much and all his
power got divided by attempting to get inside Russia. He got to excited for it to be historical as
his quote in the begging proof.
Source: Spilling, Michael. Great Battles of World War II. Ed. Chris Mann. London:
Parragon, 2009. Print.
Subject: Outcome
Keywords: Death knell, Zhukov, United States enters War, Hitler´s defeat
Abstract: Ultimately the result of Barbarossa would decide the outcome of WWII. The
failure of Typhoon spelled the defeat of Barbarossa. In the long run, the Soviet
counterattack sounded the death knell to the German Nazi Reich as well. Two days after
Zhukov began his offensive, the United States entered the war, and Hitler´s defeat was
now only a question of time.
Hitler´s obsession led him to his failure as Russia was too big and had a vast military to
defeat. After his failure in Britain he turned to Russia as a relief before the United States
entered but the US entered at the correct time just to defeat him after he had made the
mistake of attacking the Soviet Union.
Daniel Sabat
Historical Investigation
March 23, 2010
Source: Chen, Peter C. "Operation Barbarossa." World War II Database. Osprey. Web.
24 Mar. 2010. <http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=121>.
Subject: Battles of Barbarossa
Keywords: high level orders, commissars, communist idelogies
Abstract: Hitler gave three high-level orders to his commanders:

The commanders must educate their subordinates that the Russians might not respect a
gentlemanly conduct of war, as seen in Finland; therefore, if necessary, German soldiers
might have to fight likewise.

There must be no mercy given to the commissars, the political officers, in the Russian
forces; they must be shot on sight because they were known to incite commoner uprisings
against their enemies.

No Russians prisoners of war would be brought within German borders for fear of the
spread of communist ideologies to the German people.
Later on this website each of the battles is explained in depth. Hitler had a high ideology
for this battle as he did not accept failure but made the huge mistake of
underestimating the Russian army which gave to much confidence to the Germans
before the War.