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The Eastern Front during World War II

The Eastern Front during World War II. USSR 1941-1945. Nazi Germany – USSR conflict. Eastern Front in 1941 Operation Barbarossa Siege of Leningrad Battle of Moscow Battle of Kursk. Propaganda Symbols Casualties Consequences. Eastern Front in 1941. 2900 km wide front

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The Eastern Front during World War II

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  1. The Eastern Front during World War II USSR 1941-1945

  2. Nazi Germany – USSR conflict • Eastern Front in 1941 • Operation Barbarossa • Siege of Leningrad • Battle of Moscow • Battle of Kursk • Propaganda • Symbols • Casualties • Consequences

  3. Eastern Front in 1941 • 2900 km wide front • 300-600 km inside the USSR • 3.5 million soldiers captured • Major cities and industrial zones lost

  4. Operation BarbarossaJune 22, 1941 Armies Fronts • Northern => Baltic states => Leningrad • Central =>Moscow • South => Kiev

  5. Statistics

  6. September 8, 1941- Leningrad was entirely blocked, siege began Artillery bombardment took most victims until the first winter The siege of LeningradSeptember 1 1941- August 9 1944

  7. 2,500,000 people and thousands refugees Lack of supplies Vital goods sent to Moscow and Stalingrad Power stations destroyed Supply routes cut off The Road of Life( road to closest city) and Lagoda lake rarely during winter ice was thick enough to allow heavy transport The Hunger1941-1942

  8. Survival • Ratios bread given according to social status • Soldiers at frontline- 500 g • Workers- 250 g • Children- 125 g • Bread was 50% mixed • All cats and dogs eaten • Black market thrived • All wood, incl. furniture was burned

  9. End of Siege January 1944- Red Army entirely chased out German troops Consequences • Barbarossa plan was never accomplished • German invasion to the North was stopped

  10. Battle of Moscow “Operation Typhoon” • At 5.30 a.m. on October 2, 1941 “Operation Typhoon” – the attack on Moscow finally started and ironically the weather was very good. • Hitler ordered units in other parts of the Russian campaign to be moved to Moscow • For the attack Field Marshall von Bock had at his disposal 1 million men, 1,700 tanks, 950 combat aircraft and 19,500 artillery guns – 50% of the German men in Russia nad 75% of all the tanks • To defend Moscow, the Russians had under 500,000 men, less than 900 tanks and about 300 combat planes.

  11. The Tension continues to grow More information 1941, November –October Revolution Celebration

  12. Second German Assault • The second assault in the middle of November narrowed its target area but it was met with fierce Russian resistance • In 20 days the Germanslost 155,000 menwhile the Russianshad 58 infantry and cavalrydivisions in reserve The Defense of Moscow 1941

  13. Russian Counter-Offensive • Stalinhimselfmadeitclear to Zhukovthatheexpected a counter-attack to start on December 5th to the north of Moscow and on December 6th to the south. • Theseattacksprovedextremelyeffectiveagainstanenemywhowashithardbytemperatures of minus 50 degreesCelsius • The Wermachtwaspushedbackbetween 60 and 155 miles in places and byJanuary, 1942 the threat to Moscowhadpassed

  14. The Battle of Kursk: Reasons and Preparation • Reasons • After the defeat at Stalingrad, the German army had to continue its offence while there was no European front • A defeat of the Red Army would increase tension between the Allies • Preparation • The Red Army was advancing towards the German troops based at Orel and Khrakov; if not stopped they would completely surround the Germans • Germany planned the attack with great care and used all available resources to ensure victory • The Soviets captured German shock troopers and learned important details of the Nazi plan. • Through both army and civilian involvement, the Soviets created a strong defense line

  15. Hitler gave support for the attack “Thisoffensiveis of decisiveimportance. Itmustend in swift and decisivesuccess. Everycommander, everyprivatesoldier, mustbeindoctrinatedwithawareness of the decisiveimportance of thisoffensive. Victoryat Kursk willbe a beaconfor the wholeworld.” The German commander of the Kursk offence was ErichvonManstein The Soviet defense of Kursk was given to two generals: Rokossovsky and Vatutin. In change of all, however, was Marshall Zhukov Erich von Manstern From left to right: Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Vatutin Leadership

  16. Konstantin Rokossovsky(December 21, 1896 – August 3, 1968) Born in Warsaw He advocated the creation of strong armored core for the army Victim of Stalin’s purge, but released as WWII broke Played a key role in defending Moscow, together with Zhukov Participated in Stalingrad 1943: Commander of Central Front and commander at Kursk By 1944 became Marshall of the USSR Fought in Belarus after and joined with forces of Montgomery Nikolai Vatutin(December 16, 1901-April 14, 1944) Born in Kursk province Promoted to Lieutenant General during the Great Purge. June 31: Commander of North-Western front. Aided the defense of Leningrad, but ultimately failed. Had a contributing role at Stalingrad. In January 1943 was driving Germans out of Ukraine. Commanded recapture of Khrakov. On February 28th, 1944 was ambushed and died in hospital 6 weeks later Praised tactician Soviet Commanders

  17. The Battle

  18. Consequences • The Battle of Kursk was a turning point for the course of WWII. It was the last major German offence at Eastern Front. • The German army was devastated: 500.000 men were killed, wounded, or missing. 900 tanks and 200 airplanes were destroyed. • The Red Army had even greater losses: around 600,000 killed, wounded, or captured and more than 1000 tanks and airplanes destroyed. • "The three immense battles of Kursk, Orel and Kharkov, all in the space of two months, heralded the downfall of the German army on the Eastern Front." • Winston Churchill

  19. Propaganda • “For Stalin, for fatherland” • The Red Army was being stimulated for the cause and was taught to be ready for everything in the name of success • Manipulative propaganda (part of totalitarian ideology) • Propaganda mobilized the soldiers spiritually and helped them withstand the harsh conditions • Supported the battle spirit of the army • Most commonly used medium: radio • Other media: posters, rallies

  20. Propaganda

  21. Symbols Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)

  22. Casualties

  23. Immediate Consequences after WWII • As a victorious nation, the USSR gained a lot of moral and political authority after the war. • The USSR was arguably considered the greatest and most realistic winner, because: • it fought ALONE on around a 2000 km long front with the Germans and won; • sustained the most casualties (30 million); • was ready for fighting on a second front with the Japanese (had 1 million soldiers on standby in the East). • USSR becameone of the mostpowerfulnations in the world. • Became one of the two remaining Great Powers (along with the USA). • USSR and USA “split” the world and the USSR dominated Eastern Europe => Communism spread in Eastern Europe • Gained support of not only the newly formed Socialistic Republics in Eastern Europe, but also of many “neutral” states. • Cold War

  24. END

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