Operation Barbarossa
At the height of his power, Adolf Hitler had the world by the throat. His reign of terror was known in every country around the globe. His strengths as a leader were based mainly in politics; charisma mixed with intelligence. People would follow his lead, run blindly into battle, commit atrocities the likes of which the world had never seen, and not think twice about it. An uncanny ability to sway millions to follow, does not however constitute ability as a military general. Hitler's eventual decline begun with the invasion of Russia, code named "Operation Barbarossa". After this military blunder, the tide of the war began to sway, and the power of Nazi Germany decreased with each passing day. Why did Operation Barbarossa fail so terribly? Hitler's generals had tried desperately to talk him out of it, but he was convinced Russia would fall to the Werhmarcht (German Army). Breaking his non-aggression pact with Stalin, to invade Russia was the most costly mistake Hitler ever made. It seems that fate is not without irony, as it would be the advancing Russians that eventually brought Germany to its knees. The ultimate ideological goal for Operation Barbarossa was to destroy Communist Rus
Hitler had left his Wehrmarcht ill-equipped and ill-clothed for the winter. Hitler dismissed General Guderian from his command for disobeying orders against strategic relief. Had Hitler listened to the information coming back from the front, the chances for the success of Operation Barbarossa would have been raised significantly. He also was certain that Stalin's "Great Terror", the attempt to merge the social classes had left the Russian armies battered and weak. But the military error was that Hitler had lost Moscow, as the delayed siege had yielded precious time for Stalin to rally his army around the city. At the time Hitler was already in a war with the Allies on one front. If the primary objective was to seize control of Moscow then, expand from there, the result would likely have been in favour of the Hitler and the Nazis. This combined to lead to a number of blunders, unresolved conflicts, and unmet objectives. In September of 1941 the southern division had also run into trouble in Kiev - they found themselves opposed by a formidable Russian army. After General Zhukov's successful defence of Leningrad, Stalin moved him to protect Moscow. If the German armies had been able to fight through the winter, there may have been a different result. Hitler orders were followed, and worked quite brilliantly as a short term goal, as the Russians found themselves pinched from either side. To Hitler, it seemed like the right moment to invade. The Germans would then have been able to fight through the winter months, meaning the Russians would have never had time to recuperate from any losses. The army headed for Stalin's capital were halted 20 miles outside of the city by the army which Hitler's incompetence had allowed to amass outside.
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