Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War
- Cambridge Companions to History
- The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Conceptions of War
- Part II Opposing Forces
- Part III Campaigns
- 7 Operation Barbarossa, 1941
- 8 Stalingrad and the Eastern Front, 1942
- 9 The Battle of Kursk, 1943
- 10 The Siege of Leningrad, 1941–1944
- 11 Operation Bagration, 1944
- 12 The Soviet Conquest and Occupation of Germany, 1945
- Part IV Criminality and Occupation
- Part V Home Fronts
- Part VI Comrades in Arms
- Part VII Post-war Legacies and Myth-Making
- A Guide to Further Reading
- Index
7 - Operation Barbarossa, 1941
from Part III - Campaigns
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 November 2025
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Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War
- Cambridge Companions to History
- The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Conceptions of War
- Part II Opposing Forces
- Part III Campaigns
- 7 Operation Barbarossa, 1941
- 8 Stalingrad and the Eastern Front, 1942
- 9 The Battle of Kursk, 1943
- 10 The Siege of Leningrad, 1941–1944
- 11 Operation Bagration, 1944
- 12 The Soviet Conquest and Occupation of Germany, 1945
- Part IV Criminality and Occupation
- Part V Home Fronts
- Part VI Comrades in Arms
- Part VII Post-war Legacies and Myth-Making
- A Guide to Further Reading
- Index
Summary
This chapter recounts the major events from Operation Barbarossa, the codename for the invasion of the Soviet Union beginning on 22 June 1941. It looks briefly at the German operational planning and then the invasion itself. It considers how German operations sought to implement the strategic plan to defeat the Soviet Union in a summer campaign. Much of the discussion focuses on the panzer groups in the battles of Minsk, Smolensk, Kiev, and Moscow. It looks at the problems they encountered as well as the strategic disagreements in the German High Command. Key personalities like Franz Halder, Heinz Guderian, Hermann Hoth, Fedor von Bock, as well as Adolf Hitler are discussed. The final section discusses the Soviet winter offensive, which began in December 1941, and the subsequent German retreat from Moscow.
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- The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War , pp. 119 - 136Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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