Operation Barbarossa

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German soldiers during Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa: Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union

Why did the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 fall short?

Operation Barbarossa

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Operation Barbarossa, German troops in Russia, 1941. Nazi German soldiers in action against the Red Army (Soviet Union) at an along the frontlines in the early days of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941. World War II, WWII

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Operation Barbarossa: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Operation Fritz
Date	June 22, 1941
Location	Soviet Union
Participants	Germany • Red Army • Soviet Union
Context	World War II • Eastern Front

Did You Know?

Stalin had been informed that the Germans would invade, but he did not believe the sources.
Accompanying the army were Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing units that murdered Jewish people, Roma, individuals with intellectual or physical disabilities, and political enemies.
The Russian winter was nicknamed "General Winter."

Photos and Videos

German soldiers during Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa: Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union

Why did the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 fall short?

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Timeline

Samuel Bak: Smoke

Holocaust

1933 - 1945

Invasion of Poland

Invasion of Poland

September 1, 1939 - October 5, 1939

Learn how the Third Reich utilized U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic to destroy Allied supply convoys

Battle of the Atlantic

September 3, 1939 - May 8, 1945

Dunkirk evacuation

Dunkirk evacuation

May 26, 1940 - June 4, 1940

North Africa campaigns of World War II

North Africa campaigns

June 1940 - May 13, 1943

Battle of Britain

July 1940 - September 1940

Vichy: Battle of France

Vichy France

July 1940 - September 1944

German bombing of London during the Blitz

the Blitz

September 7, 1940 - May 11, 1941

aftermath of the Battle of Crete

Battle of Crete

May 20, 1941 - June 1, 1941

German soldiers during Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

June 22, 1941

German troops at the Battle of Moscow, 1941–1942

Battle of Moscow

September 30, 1941 - January 7, 1942

Pearl Harbor attack

Pearl Harbor attack

December 7, 1941

Battle of Wake Island

December 8, 1941 - December 23, 1941

U.S. troops advancing on Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, in 1943

Pacific War

December 8, 1941 - September 2, 1945

Bataan Death March

Bataan Death March

April 9, 1942

eastern New Guinea, from the 10th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, c. 1902

Kokoda Track Campaign

July 1942 - January 1943

Battle of Stalingrad

Battle of Stalingrad

August 22, 1942 - February 2, 1943

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

April 19, 1943 - May 16, 1943

Allied decoy tank

Operation Fortitude

1944

Normandy Invasion

Normandy Invasion

June 6, 1944 - July 9, 1944

U.S. Marines on Saipan, Mariana Islands, 1944

Battle of Saipan

June 15, 1944 - July 9, 1944

Operation Bagration

June 23, 1944 - August 19, 1944

Cowra, New South Wales, Australia

Cowra breakout

August 5, 1944

The John Frost Bridge in Arnhem, the Netherlands

Operation Market Garden

September 17, 1944 - September 27, 1944

Battle of the Bulge

Battle of the Bulge

December 16, 1944 - January 16, 1945

Yalta Conference

Yalta Conference

February 4, 1945 - February 11, 1945

Battle of Iwo Jima

Battle of Iwo Jima

February 19, 1945 - March 26, 1945

Battle for Castle Itter

May 5, 1945

Atomic bombing of Hiroshima

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

August 6, 1945 - August 9, 1945

Key People

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

dictator of Germany

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

premier of Soviet Union

Georgy Zhukov

Georgy Zhukov

Soviet marshal

Gerd von Rundstedt.

Gerd von Rundstedt

German field marshal

Ivan Konev

Ivan Stepanovich Konev

Soviet general

Heinz Guderian

Heinz Guderian

German general

Bock, Fedor von

Fedor von Bock

German military officer

Kleist, Paul Ludwig von

Paul Ludwig von Kleist

German general

Brauchitsch, Walther von

Walther von Brauchitsch

German military officer

Quiz

Germany invades Poland, September 1, 1939, using 45 German divisions and aerial attack. By September 20, only Warsaw held out, but final surrender came on September 29.

Pop Quiz: 17 Things to Know About World War II

Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)

World Wars

D-Day. American soldiers fire rifles, throw grenades and wade ashore on Omaha Beach next to a German bunker during D Day landing. 1 of 5 Allied beachheads est. in Normandy, France. The Normandy Invasion of World War II launched June 6, 1944.

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U.S. marines raising the American flag over Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, in February 1945

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List

Photo shows captured German soldiers, their uniforms tattered from the battle, making their way in the bitter cold through the ruins of Stalingrad, January 1943. World War II Battle of Stalingrad Russia

Timeline of the Battle of Stalingrad

American soldiers in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge.

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