Terror", the attempt to merge the social classes had left the Russian armies battered and weak. To Hitler, it seemed like the right moment to invade.
             On Sunday, June, 22, 1941, elements from 148 divisions were mobilised and ready to invade. They totalled 3 300 000 German soldiers, 3 500 tanks, 7 184 artillery pieces, 600 000 vehicles, 625 000 horses, and 2 000 aircraft. There was also support from the German navy, and support from the Finnish, Rumanian, Italian, Hungarian, Slovak, Croatian, and Spanish armies. Hitler had divided the army into three separate divisions. The northern division marched to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), the central division marched to Moscow, and the southern division invaded the Ukraine and Caucasus regions (both rich in wheat and oil). The amount of troops Hitler sent is quite significant in understanding the reasons for Operation Barbarossa's failure. At the time Hitler was already in a war with the Allies on one front. Starting a war on a second front meant Hitler
             could not dedicate the numbers of troops that he otherwise could have. The timing was terrible as the army's vital needs desperately required restocking. If an invasion of Russia was to take place, supplies would be needed there as well. Hitler had sound reason to invade the Ukraine and Caucasus area.
             Operation Barbarossa opened with the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) taking out most of the Russian air support. It was a well rehearsed attack using Hitler's method of blitzkrieg. This was one of the more intelligent moves that was made during the invasion. This tactic to eliminate any support the Russians could have had from the air was a clever use of making a good offence one's best defence. The problem following this strike was that Hitler failed to send in more aircraft as support to his 3 300 000 troops. The added support of aircraft from the Luftwaffe could have been the edge the Germans needed to defeat the...