Humpday History Highlight
By Wyatt Earp | June 22, 2011
June 22, 1941 – Operation Barbarossa Launched
On June 22, 1941, three German army groups struck Russia hard by surprise. The Russian army was larger than German intelligence had anticipated, but they were demobilized. Stalin had shrugged off warnings from his own advisers, even Winston Churchill himself, that a German attack was imminent. By the end of the first day of the invasion, the German air force had destroyed more than 1,000 Soviet aircraft. And despite the toughness of the Russian troops, and the number of tanks and other armaments at their disposal, the Red Army was disorganized, enabling the Germans to penetrate up to 300 miles into Russian territory within the next few days.
Despite Germany’s immediate successes in the Soviet Union, Hitler’s pride did him in. He was so intent on capturing a city on the Volga named after his nemesis – Stalingrad – he effectively lost the Western front, and eventually the war.
Now don’t misunderstand; of course I am glad Germany was defeated. But if Hitler ignored Stalingrad – a city with no real strategic value – Germany had the war won. His armies would have reached the oil fields near the Black Sea, and it would have been game over for Europe and the Soviet Union. But no, Hitler’s pride frakked it up. It’s stupid mistakes like these that piss me off to no end.
Topics: HHH | 12 Comments »
June 22nd, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Thankfully, he DID screw up… otherwise the war might have ended differently. Just sayin…
June 22nd, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Als Hitler gewartet hatte bis zum Frühling 1942, um in Russland einzufallen, können wir alle Deutsch als eine zweite Sprache sprechen.
I’m just glad he wasn’t the military genius he thought he was.
June 22nd, 2011 at 7:37 pm
(Had Hitler waited until the spring of 1942 to invade Russia, we may all be speaking German as a second language.)
Forgot the english translation. Mein schlechtes. (My bad.)
June 22nd, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Clearly the greatest tank battle in history, The T34 and it’s vast numbers overwhelmed the panzers…
June 22nd, 2011 at 8:51 pm
The Germans seem to have forgotten that there was only one rail line to the Russian front. With little to no supplies the Russian winter was as much an enemy as the Russian military.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:21 pm
He was so intent on capturing a city on the Volga named after his nemesis – Stalingrad –
(Had Hitler waited until the spring of 1942 to invade Russia, we may all be speaking German as a second language.)
After Pearl Harbor, we declared war on Japan.
In turn, Japan declared war on us.
Hitler also declared war on us, hoping Japan would reciprocate and declare war on Russia.
Japan didn’t reciprocate.
After Hitler declared war on us, we entered into war with Germany.
Historians consider these facts as blunders by Hitler which led to his demise.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Clearly the greatest tank battle in history, The T34 and it’s vast numbers overwhelmed the panzers…
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I believe you are referring to Kursk.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Clearly the greatest tank battle in history, The T34…
Beg to differ with you on that, Sully. The T-34 was the best tank of its day, but the M-1 Abrams is still unrivaled three decades after its introduction.
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:32 pm
The Germans seem to have forgotten that there was only one rail line to the Russian front.
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The German military High Command didn’t forget.
That bunch was on top of their game.
They wanted to pull back to an optimal defensible position, consolidate their lines of supply, and resume the attack in the spring.
Hitler forbade any such thing.
Good thing for us that he was a raving lunatic that thought he knew more than his highly professional Officer Corps.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Old NFO – Agreed. Thank God he didn’t listen to his generals.
Robert B. – And if Stalin didn’t wait TEN DAYS to respond to the invasion, the blitzkrieg ay have stalled sooner.
Sully – One of the greatest tanks in history.
Otis – No doubt. And Hitler didn’t help things by constantly telling Paulus to keep his armies moving – supplied or not.
JT – Hitler should have let Japan worry about us. They weren’t in any shape to attack us, anyway.
John D. – There was a show on The Military Channel that ranked the best tanks of all time. The M1 finished behind the T-34, primarily because the T-34 was proven moreso in battle than the M1. Captain America, a former tanker, vehemently disagrees
June 23rd, 2011 at 11:13 am
If Hitler had waited 5 years before launching hostilities, he would have had atomic weapons and ICBMs to deliver them, along with jet fighters.
Stay safe
June 23rd, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Lergnom – Plus, v2 rockets out the arse. Bad news for everyone.