What was the name of the original plan of attack on the USSR. Revealed the true plans of Hitler's attack on the USSR (7 photos). German troops advance plan map

The Great Patriotic War

German attack plan on the USSR

Adolf Hitler examines a map of Russia

The Soviet-Finnish war served as a harsh lesson for the country's leadership, showing that our army, weakened by massive repressions, is not ready for a modern war. Stalin drew the necessary conclusions and began to take measures to reorganize and re-equip the army. In the upper echelons of power, there was complete confidence in the inevitability of war, and the task was to have time to prepare for it.

Hitler also understood our unpreparedness. In his inner circle, he said shortly before the attack that Germany had made a revolution in military affairs, ahead of other countries by three to four years; but all countries are making up for lost time, and soon Germany may lose this advantage, and therefore it is necessary to solve the military problems on the continent in a year or two. Despite the fact that in 1939 Germany and the USSR concluded peace, Hitler nevertheless decided to attack the Soviet Union, as it was a necessary step on the path to world domination of Germany and the "Third Reich". German intelligence officers came to the conclusion that the Soviet army is in many ways inferior to the German one - it is less organized, less prepared and, most importantly, the technical equipment of the Russian soldiers leaves much to be desired. It should be emphasized that the British intelligence "MI-6" also played its role in inciting Hitler against the USSR. Before the war, the British managed to get hold of the German Enigma encryption machine, and thanks to this they read all the encrypted correspondence of the Germans. From the ciphers of the Wehrmacht, they knew the exact timing of the attack on the USSR. But before Churchill sent a warning to Stalin, British intelligence tried to use the information received to fuel the German-Soviet conflict. She also owns a fake spread in the United States - allegedly the Soviet Union, having received information about the impending attack by Hitler, decided to get ahead of him and himself is preparing a preemptive strike against Germany. This disinformation was intercepted by Soviet intelligence and reported to Stalin. The widespread practice of forgeries caused him to mistrust all information about the imminent Nazi attack.

Plan "Barbarossa"

In June 1940, Hitler instructed Generals Marx and Paulus to develop a plan for an attack on the USSR. On December 18, 1940, the plan, code-named the Barbarossa Plan, was ready. The document was made only in nine copies, of which three were handed over to the commander-in-chief of the ground forces, the Air Force and the Navy, and six were hidden in the safes of the Wehrmacht command. Directive No. 21 contained only a general concept and initial instructions for waging a war against the USSR.

The essence of the Barbarossa plan was to attack the USSR, taking advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, defeat the Red Army and occupy the Soviet Union. Hitler made the main emphasis on modern military equipment, which belonged to Germany, and the effect of surprise. It was planned to attack the USSR in the spring and summer of 1941, the final date of the attack was made dependent on the successes of the German army in the Balkans. In appointing a time limit for the aggression, Hitler declared: “I will not make the mistake of Napoleon; when I go to Moscow, I will perform early enough to reach it before winter. " The generals convinced him that a victorious war would last no more than 4-6 weeks.

At the same time, Germany used the November 25, 1940 memorandum to put pressure on those countries whose interests were affected by it, and above all on Bulgaria, which in March 1941 joined the fascist coalition. Soviet-German relations continued to deteriorate throughout the spring of 1941, especially in connection with the invasion of Yugoslavia by German troops a few hours after the signing of the Soviet-Yugoslav Treaty of Friendship. The USSR did not react to this aggression, as well as to the attack on Greece. At the same time, Soviet diplomacy managed to achieve great success by signing a non-aggression pact with Japan on April 13, which significantly reduced tensions on the USSR's Far Eastern borders.

Tank group

Despite the alarming course of events, the USSR could not believe in the inevitability of a German attack until the very beginning of the war with Germany. Soviet deliveries to Germany increased significantly as a result of the resumption of the 1940 economic agreements on January 11, 1941. To demonstrate to Germany its "confidence", the Soviet government refused to heed the numerous reports of an impending attack on the USSR since the beginning of 1941 and did not take the necessary measures on its western borders. Germany was still viewed by the Soviet Union "as a great friendly power."

According to the "Barbarossa plan" 153 German divisions were involved in the aggression against the USSR. In addition, Finland, Italy, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary intended to participate in the upcoming war. Together they fielded another 37 divisions. The invasion force numbered about 5 million soldiers, 4275 aircraft, 3700 tanks. The troops of Germany and its allies were united in 3 army groups: "North", "Center", "South". Each of the groups consisted of 2-4 armies, 1-2 tank groups, from the air German troops were supposed to cover 4 air fleets.

The most numerous was the Army Group South (Field Marshal von Runstedt), which consisted of German and Romanian soldiers. This group was tasked with defeating Soviet troops in Ukraine and Crimea and occupying these territories. Army Group Center (Field Marshal von Bock) was supposed to defeat Soviet troops in Belarus and advance to Minsk-Smolensk-Moscow. Army Group "North" (Field Marshal von Leeb), with the support of Finnish troops, was to capture the Baltic States, Leningrad, the Russian North.

Discussion of the plan "OST"

The final goal of the "Barbaros plan" was to destroy the Red Army, reach the Ural ridge and occupy the European part of the Soviet Union. The basis of German tactics was tank breakthroughs and encirclements. The Russian company was supposed to become a blitzkrieg - a lightning-fast war. Only 2-3 weeks were allotted for the defeat of the Soviet troops located in the western regions of the USSR. General Jodl told Hitler: "In three weeks this house of cards will fall apart." The entire campaign was planned to be carried out in 2 months.

German troops were instructed to pursue a policy of genocide against the Slavic and Jewish population. According to the "OST" plan, the Nazis planned to destroy 30 million Slavs, the rest were planned to convert slaves. The Crimean Tatars and the peoples of the Caucasus were considered as possible allies. The enemy army was almost an ideal military machine. The German soldier was rightfully considered the best in the world, the officers and generals were superbly trained, the troops had a wealth of combat experience. The most significant drawback of the German army was the underestimation of the enemy's forces - the German generals considered it possible to wage war in several theaters at once: in Western Europe, in Eastern Europe, in Africa. Later, already at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, such miscalculations as lack of fuel and unpreparedness for hostilities in winter will affect.

Gabriel Tsobehia

The art of war is a science in which nothing succeeds except what has been calculated and thought out.
Napoleon

Barbarossa's plan is a plan for Germany's attack on the USSR, based on the principle of lightning war, blitzkrieg. The plan began to be developed in the summer of 1940, and on December 18, 1940, Hitler approved a plan according to which the war was to be ended by November 1941 at the latest.

The Barbarossa Plan was named after Frederick Barbarossa, the 12th century emperor who became famous for his campaigns of conquest. In this, elements of symbolism were traced, to which Hitler himself and his entourage paid so much attention. The plan got its name on January 31, 1941.

The number of troops for the implementation of the plan

Germany trained 190 divisions for warfare and 24 divisions as a reserve. 19 tank and 14 motorized divisions were allocated for the war. The total number of the contingent that Germany sent to the USSR, according to various estimates, ranges from 5 to 5.5 million people.

The apparent superiority in Soviet equipment should not be taken into account especially, since by the beginning of the wars, Germany's technical tanks and aircraft were superior to Soviet ones, and the army itself was much more trained. Suffice it to recall the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, where the Red Army demonstrated weakness in literally everything.

Main impact direction

Barbarossa's plan defined 3 main directions for attack:

Army Group "South". A blow to Moldova, Ukraine, Crimea and access to the Caucasus. Further movement to the line Astrakhan - Stalingrad (Volgograd).
Army Group "Center". Line "Minsk - Smolensk - Moscow". Advance to Nizhny Novgorod, aligning the "Volna - Severnaya Dvina" line.
Army Group "North". A blow to the Baltic states, Leningrad and further advance to Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. At the same time, the Norwegian army was to fight in the north together with the Finnish army.

Table - offensive targets agree with Barbarossa's plan

	SOUTH	CENTRE	NORTH
Target	Ukraine, Crimea, access to the Caucasus	Minsk, Smolensk, Moscow	Baltic, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk
Number	57 divisions and 13 brigades	50 divisions and 2 brigades	29th division + army "Norway"
Commanding	Field Marshal von Rundstedt	Field Marshal von Bock	Field Marshal von Leeb
common goal	Get on line: Arkhangelsk - Volga - Astrakhan (Northern Dvina)

Around the end of October 1941, the German command planned to enter the Volga-Severnaya Dvina line, thereby capturing the entire European part of the USSR. This was the plan for a lightning war. After the blitzkrieg, there should have been lands beyond the Urals, which, without the support of the center, would quickly surrender to the winner.

Until about mid-August 1941, the Germans believed that the war was going according to plan, but in September there are already records in the diaries of officers that the Barbarossa plan failed and the war would be lost. The best proof that Germany in August 1941 believed that there were only a few weeks left before the end of the war with the USSR was Goebbels' speech. The propaganda minister suggested that the Germans collect additional warm clothes for the needs of the army. The government decided that this step was not necessary, as there would be no war in winter.

Implementation of the plan

The first three weeks of the war assured Hitler that everything was going according to plan. The army was rapidly advancing, gaining victories, the Soviet army suffered huge losses:

28 divisions out of 170 were disabled.
70 divisions lost about 50% of their personnel.
72 divisions remained combat-ready (43% of those available at the start of the war).

During the same 3 weeks, the average rate of advance of German troops inland was 30 km per day.

By July 11, Army Group "North" occupied almost the entire territory of the Baltic States, providing access to Leningrad, Army Group "Center" reached Smolensk, Army Group "South" went to Kiev. These were the last achievements that fully corresponded to the plan of the German command. After that, failures began (still local, but already indicative). Nevertheless, the initiative in the war until the end of 1941 was on the side of Germany.

Germany's failures in the North

Army "North" occupied the Baltic region without any problems, especially since there was practically no partisan movement there. The next strategic point to be captured was Leningrad. Here it turned out that the Wehrmacht was not capable of this task. The city did not surrender to the enemy and until the end of the war, despite all efforts, Germany was unable to capture it.

Army Failures Center

Army Center reached Smolensk without any problems, but got stuck under the city until 10 September. Smolensk resisted for almost a month. The German command demanded a decisive victory and the advance of troops, since such a delay under the city, which was planned to be taken without heavy losses, was unacceptable and cast doubt on the implementation of the Barbarossa plan. As a result, the Germans took Smolensk, but their troops were pretty battered.

Historians today assess the battle for Smolensk as a tactical victory for Germany, but a strategic victory for Russia, since it was possible to stop the advance of troops to Moscow, which allowed the capital to prepare for defense.

The advance of the German army into the interior of the country was complicated by the partisan movement of Belarus.

Failures of the Army South

Army "South" reached Kiev in 3.5 weeks and, like the Army "Center" near Smolensk, got stuck in battles. Ultimately, it was possible to take the city in view of the obvious superiority of the army, but Kiev held out almost until the end of September, which also made it difficult for the German army to advance, and made a significant contribution to the disruption of the Barbarossa plan.

German troops advance plan map

Above is a map showing the plan of the German offensive command. The map shows: green - the borders of the USSR, red - the border to which Germany planned to reach, blue - the deployment and plan for the advance of German vyosk.

General state of affairs

In the North, they failed to capture Leningrad and Murmansk. The advance of the troops stopped.
With great difficulty, the Center managed to reach Moscow. At the time the German army reached the Soviet capital, it was clear that no blitzkrieg had taken place.
In the South, they failed to take Odessa and capture the Caucasus. By the end of September, Hitler's troops had just captured Kiev and launched an offensive on Kharkov and Donbass.

Why Germany did not succeed in the blitzkrieg

Germany did not succeed in the blitzkrieg because the Wehrmacht was preparing the Barbarossa plan, as it later turned out, according to false intelligence data. Hitler recognized this by the end of 1941, saying that if he knew the real state of affairs in the USSR, he would not have started the war on June 22.

The tactics of lightning war were based on the fact that the country has one line of defense on the western border, all large army units are located on the western border, and aviation is located on the border. Since Hitler was sure that all Soviet troops were located on the border, this formed the basis of the blitzkrieg - to destroy the enemy army in the first weeks of the war, and then to rapidly advance deep into the country without encountering serious resistance.

In fact, there were several lines of defense, the army was not located with all its forces on the western border, there were reserves. Germany did not expect this, and by August 1941 it became clear that the lightning war had broken down and Germany could not win the war. The fact that World War II lasted right up to 1945 only proves that the Germans fought in a very organized and brave manner. Thanks to the fact that they had the economy of all of Europe behind them (speaking of the war between Germany and the USSR, many for some reason forget that the German army included units from almost all European countries) they managed to fight successfully.

Did Barbarossa's plan foil

I propose to evaluate the Barbarossa plan according to 2 criteria: global and local. Global(landmark - the Great Patriotic War) - the plan was thwarted, since lightning war did not work, German troops got bogged down in battles. Local(landmark - intelligence data) - the plan was executed. The German command drew up the Barbarossa plan on the basis that the USSR had 170 divisions on the country's border, there were no additional echelons of defense. There are no reserves or reinforcements. The army was preparing for this. In 3 weeks, 28 Soviet divisions were completely destroyed, and in 70, about 50% of personnel and equipment were disabled. At this stage, the blitzkrieg worked and, in the absence of reinforcements from the USSR, gave the desired results. But it turned out that the Soviet command has reserves, not all troops are located on the border, mobilization brings high-quality soldiers to the army, there are additional lines of defense, the "charm" of which Germany felt near Smolensk and Kiev.

Therefore, the failure of the Barbarossa plan must be viewed as a huge strategic mistake of German intelligence, led by Wilhelm Canaris. Today, some historians associate this person with the agents of England, but there is no evidence of this. But if we assume that this is really so, then it becomes clear why Canaris slipped an absolute "linden" to Hitler, that the USSR was not ready for war and all the troops were located on the border.

Indiscriminate means of achieving their geostrategic goals is a "calling card" of politicians in Western Europe. At a time when in the spring of 1945, at the cost of great sacrifices, Soviet troops hammered the war machine of the fascist Reich, a vile betrayal was taking place behind the back of the USSR. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the development of plans for the Third World War. The codename for this treacherous action was Operation Unthinkable.

In his comments on the plan of operation, Churchill indicated that this was just a preventive measure for a hypothetical case. However, this is just diplomatic casuistry in the event that this plan becomes known to Stalin. In fact, a full-scale war plan was being prepared, the goals of which were the actual fulfillment of the tasks specified in the fascist plan of "Barboros". Namely, the exit and fortification on the Arkhangelsk-Stalingrad line. It was assumed that Great Britain and its allies, unlike the Nazis, would still be able to organize a "blitzkrieg". The inevitability of the fall of Nazi Germany was already quite obvious by the end of 1944. Therefore, at the Yalta Conference, held from 4 to 11 February 1945, the leaders of the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition discussed the issues of the post-war arrangement of the world order. The main issues discussed at the conference were the change of European borders and the unofficial division of spheres of influence. After all, the impossibility of the existence of the unification of the capitalist countries and the Soviet Union after the defeat of the fascists was already becoming obvious. On all the issues discussed, the allies came to an agreement. But, as it turned out, not all participants were going to observe them. The Western Allies did not like the idea that the Soviet Union could emerge from the war stronger thanks to the industrial potential of the countries occupied by Hitler and expanding its political influence throughout Eastern Europe. To this end, everything was done to ensure that the Red Army got only destroyed enterprises. For this, the city of Dresden, which was part of the Soviet zone of occupation, was practically wiped off the face of the earth by air raids by the Anglo-American aviation. The oil fields in Ploiesti, Romania, were bombed days before they were occupied by Soviet troops.

On May 6, 1945, a US tank division under the leadership of General Paton, contrary to all agreements, occupied the Czechoslovak city of Plesen. Here the goal was a complex of factories of the Skoda company that worked for the war. In addition, it was at these factories that the archive of Hans Kammler, who was responsible for the creation of the German miracle - weapons, was located. The Americans refused to liberate the city even after the arrival of the Soviet command and left it only a day later. What they managed to take with them remains unknown to this day. In general, the war in its last months has acquired very strange features. On the Eastern Front, German troops fought to the last for every fortified area or settlement, while on the Western Front, whole divisions with all their weapons surrendered. It is interesting that these divisions were not disbanded, but were withdrawn to Schleswig-Holstein and southern Denmark. There, weapons were handed over to warehouses, and German soldiers and officers continued to engage in military training under the guidance of British instructors. Why this happened, the general public had to find out much later. It turns out that these divisions were prepared for their place in the combat formations envisaged by the "Unthinkable" plan. The attack on its ally, the USSR, was planned to be carried out on July 1, 1945. Forty-seven divisions of the Americans and the British were to deliver the blow. And also ten to twelve divisions of the Germans, with such plans, even the SS divisions were not disbanded. In the future, the Polish expeditionary force was to join the troops of "Western civilization" fighting the Russian "barbarians". The so-called "Polish government in exile" was based in London. His prime minister Tomasz Archiszewski, back in 1943, prepared an appeal in which he expressed a protest against the possible invasion of the Soviets into Polish territory without the consent of his government. The powerful organization of anti-communist underground fighters from the "Home Army" could well provide soldiers for an expedition to the USSR.

The "Unthinkable" plan very cynically assumed that the victory over the Red Army, which would emerge from the battles with the Nazis bled and tired, would be easy. It was believed that the material part of the Soviet weapons would be badly worn out, and the ammunition would be running out. All these advantages and were going to take advantage of the Allies, who, under Lend-Lease, partially controlled the supply of weapons and ammunition to the Soviet Union. But even in such ideal, from the point of view of the traitor-allies, conditions, it was assumed that in order to successfully achieve the goals of the war, it was necessary to destroy up to sixty-five million Soviet citizens. For this purpose, it was planned to carry out massive bombing strikes on large cities of the USSR. The technique has already been worked out in Dresden and Tokyo, and practically nothing has remained of these cities. The death of US President Roosevelt on April 12, 1945, brought Harry Truman, a longtime hater of the USSR, to power in this country. The American atomic bomb program was at the final stage. So the misanthropic plan "Unthinkable" could well try to bring to life.

However, this did not happen. The Soviet leadership promptly received information about the "Unthinkable", presumably from the Cambridge Five. Modern researchers believe that it was the information about the presence of aggressive plans against the USSR that led to the forcing of the Berlin offensive operation conducted under the leadership of G.K. Zhukov. During this operation, Soviet troops demonstrated the highest combat readiness. And also the availability of modern military equipment, which was the best in the world in a number of parameters. The mood of analysts at the British Staff Committee began to change. Reports began to come to Churchill that the lightning war would fail and enter a protracted stage, the prospects of which could be very dire for Great Britain. Two days before the planned strike, Marshal Zhukov carried out an unexpected regrouping of his forces. Erickson, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, believes that the order to organize the defense came from Moscow from Stalin and was connected precisely with the exposure of Churchill's treacherous plan. In such conditions, those wishing to fight have significantly diminished. At the same time, the American military constantly pointed out to Truman the need to involve the USSR to defeat the Japanese Kwantung Army. In their opinion, this could reduce the losses of the Americans by one to two million people. Naturally, they were not interested in our losses.

The plan for Operation Unthinkable was never brought to life. However, one should not think that the former allies have calmed down. Already in the next year, 1946, the British government, under the leadership of the new Prime Minister, Labor Attlee, began developing a new plan of war against the USSR with the involvement of the Americans and Canadians. And even now, for sure, in the headquarters of the Anglo-Saxons "feathers creak" over the new plans of war, and targets on the territory of Russia are plotted on the map. We should continue to strengthen our Army and Navy.

On August 1, 1940, Erich Marx presented the first version of the plan for the war against the USSR. This option was based on the idea of a fleeting, lightning-fast war, as a result of which the German troops were planned to enter the Rostov-Gorky-Arkhangelsk line, and later - to the Urals. The capture of Moscow was of decisive importance. Erich Marx proceeded from the premise that Moscow is "the heart of Soviet military-political and economic power, its seizure will lead to the end of Soviet resistance."

This plan provided for the delivery of two strikes - north and south of Polesie. The northern strike was planned as the main one. It was supposed to be applied between Brest-Litovsk and Gumbinen through the Baltic States and Belarus in the direction of Moscow. The southern strike was planned to be carried out from the southeastern part of Poland in the direction of Kiev. In addition to these strikes, a "private operation to seize the Baku region" was planned. The plan was given from 9 to 17 weeks.

Erich Marx's plan was played out at the headquarters of the Supreme Command under the leadership of General Paulus. This check revealed a serious flaw in the presented option: it ignored the possibility of strong flank counterattacks by Soviet troops from the north and south, capable of disrupting the advance of the main group towards Moscow. The headquarters of the supreme command decided to revise the plan.

In connection with Keitel's message about the poor engineering preparation of the bridgehead for the attack on the USSR, the Hitlerite command issued an order on August 9, 1940 under the name Aufbau Ost. It outlined measures for the preparation of a theater of military operations against the USSR, the repair and construction of railways and highways, bridges, barracks, hospitals, airfields, warehouses, etc. The transfer of troops was carried out more and more intensively. On September 6, 1940, Jodl issued an order, which stated: “I order an increase in the number of occupation forces in the east over the next weeks. For security reasons, Russia should not give the impression that Germany is preparing for an offensive eastward. "

On the 5th of September 1940, at a regular secret military conference, Halder's report on the Otto plan, as the plan for the war against the USSR was originally named, and on the results of the headquarters exercises. In accordance with the results of the conducted exercises, it was planned, before the capture of Moscow, to destroy the flank groupings of the Red Army by developing an offensive on Kiev and Leningrad. In this form, the plan was approved. There was no doubt about its implementation. Supported by all those present, Hitler declared: "It is to be expected that the Russian army, at the very first blow of the German troops, will suffer an even greater defeat than the French army in 1940" 3. Hitler demanded that the war plan provide for the complete destruction of all combat-ready forces on Soviet territory.

The participants in the meeting had no doubt that the war against the USSR would be over quickly; indicated and CPOK ~ weeks. Therefore, it was planned to provide winter uniforms for only a fifth of the personnel, Hitler's General Guderian admits in his memoirs published after the war: was provided only for every fifth soldier. " German generals subsequently tried to shift the blame for the unpreparedness of the troops of the winter campaign onto Hitler. But Guderian does not hide the fact that the generals were also to blame. He writes: "I cannot agree with the widespread opinion that Hitler alone is to blame for the lack of winter uniforms in the fall of 1941" 4.

Hitler expressed not only his own opinion, but also the opinion of the German imperialists and generals when, with his characteristic self-confidence, he said in the circle of those close to him: “I will not make such a mistake as Napoleon; when I go to Moscow, I will perform early enough to reach it before winter. "

The day after the conference, December 6, Jodl instructed General Warlimont to draw up a directive on the war against the USSR on the basis of decisions taken at the conferences. Six days later, Warlimont presented the text of the directive No. 21 to the yodel, who made several corrections to it, and on December 17 it was handed to Hitler for signature. The next day, the directive was approved under the title Operation Barbarossa.

When meeting with Hitler in April 1941, the German ambassador in Moscow, Count von Schulenburg, tried to express his doubts about the reality of the plan, a war against the USSR. BUT he achieved only that he fell out of favor forever.

The fascist German generals developed and put into effect a plan of war against the USSR, which met the most predatory aspirations of the imperialists. The military leaders of Germany were unanimously in favor of the implementation of this plan. Only after the defeat of Germany in the war against the USSR, the beaten fascist commanders for self-rehabilitation put forward a false version that they objected to the attack on the USSR, but Hitler, despite the opposition shown to him, nevertheless unleashed a war in the East. For example, the West German general Btomentrit, an active Nazi in the past, writes that Rundstedt, Brauchitsch, Halder discouraged Hitler from war with Russia. “But all this did not bring any results. Hitler insisted on his own. With a firm hand, he took the wheel and led Germany to the cliffs of complete defeat. " In reality, not only the "Fuhrer", but the entire German generals believed in the "blitzkrieg", in the possibility of a quick victory over the USSR.

Directive No. 21 said: "The German armed forces must be ready to defeat Soviet Russia by a fleeting military operation even before the end of the war with England" - the main idea of the war plan was defined in the directive as follows: "The military masses of Russian armies must be annihilated in daring operations with deep advance of armored units. It is necessary to prevent the retreat of combat-ready units into the vastness of Russian territory ... The ultimate goal of the operation is to fence off the common line of Arkhangelsk - Volga from Asian Russia. "

On January 31, 1941, the headquarters of the main command of the German ground forces issued a "Directive for the concentration of troops", which outlined the general concept of the command, determined the tasks of army groups, and also gave instructions on the deployment of headquarters, demarcation lines, interaction with the fleet and aviation, etc. This directive, defining the "first intention" of the German army, set before it the task of "splitting the front of the main forces of the Russian army, concentrated in the western part of Russia, with fast and deep blows of powerful mobile groupings north and south of the Pripyat swamps and, using this breakthrough, destroy the disunited groupings of enemy troops ".

Thus, two main directions for the offensive of the German troops were outlined: south and north of Polesie. North of Polesye, the main attack was delivered by two groups of armies: "Center" and "North". Their mission was defined as follows: “North of the Pripyat Marshes, Army Group Center is advancing under the command of Field Marshal von Bock. Having introduced powerful tank formations into battle, it makes a breakthrough from the Warsaw and Suwalki area in the direction of Smolensk; then turns tank forces to the north and destroys, together with the Finnish army and German troops brought up for this from Norway, finally depriving the enemy of the last defensive capabilities in the northern part of Russia. As a result of these operations, freedom of maneuver will be provided for performing subsequent tasks in cooperation with German troops advancing in the southern part of Russia.

In the event of a sudden and complete defeat of the Russian forces in the north of Russia, the turn of the troops to the north disappears and the question of an immediate attack on Moscow may arise. "

South of Polesie, it was planned to launch an offensive with the forces of Army Group South. Its mission was defined as follows: “South of the Pripyat Marshes, Army Group South under the command of Field Marshal Rutzdstedt, using a swift strike from powerful tank formations from the Lublin region, cuts off Soviet troops in Galicia and Western Ukraine from their communications on the Dnieper, captures crossings across the Dnieper River in the Kiev region and to the south of it, thus, provides freedom of maneuver for solving subsequent tasks in cooperation with the troops operating to the north, or performing new tasks in the south of Russia. "

The most important strategic goal of the Barbarossa plan was to destroy the main forces of the Red Army, concentrated in the western part of the Soviet Union, and to capture important militarily and economically areas. In the future, German troops in the central direction hoped to quickly reach Moscow and capture it, and in the south - to occupy the Donetsk basin. In the plan, great importance was attached to the capture of Moscow, which, according to the plan of the German command, was to bring Germany a decisive political, military and economic success. The Hitlerite command believed that its plan of war against the USSR would be carried out with German precision.

In January 1941, each of the three army groups received a preliminary task in accordance with directive No. 21 and the order to conduct a war game in order to check the expected course of battles and obtain material for a detailed development of an operational plan.

In connection with the planned German attack on Yugoslavia and Greece, the beginning of hostilities against the USSR was postponed for 4-5 weeks. On April 3, the main command issued an order, which stated: "The start time of Operation Barbarossa, due to the operation in the Balkans, has been postponed by at least 4 weeks." 1941 An intensified transfer of German troops to the Soviet border began in February 1941. Tank and motorized divisions moved up to last so as not to reveal a premature plan of attack.

On June 17, 1941, the High Command of the German Armed Forces issued a final order, which indicated that the implementation of the "Barbarossa" plan should begin on June 22. The headquarters of the high command was moved to the command post "Wolfsschanze", equipped in East Prussia near Rastenburg.

Long before the attack on the USSR, the head of the Gestapo Himmler, on behalf of the German government, began to develop master plan"Ost" - a plan to conquer by fire and sword the peoples of Eastern Europe, including the peoples of the Soviet Union. The initial guidelines of this plan were reported to Hitler on May 25, 1940. Himmler expressed confidence that as a result of the implementation of the planned measures, many peoples would be completely exterminated, in particular Poles, Ukrainians, etc. primary in special schools. The program of these schools, as Himmler suggested, was to include: “a simple count, up to 500 at the most; the ability to sign, the suggestion that the divine commandment is to obey the Germans, to be honest, diligent and obedient. The ability to read, - added Himmler, - I consider it unnecessary. " After reviewing these proposals, Hitler fully approved and approved them as a directive.

In advance, special teams and "equipment" were created for the mass extermination of civilians. The German armed forces and authorities in the occupied territories were to be guided by the corresponding instructions of Hitler, who lectured: “We are obliged to exterminate the population - this is part of our mission to protect the German population. We will have to develop a technique for exterminating the population ... If I send the flower of the German nation into the heat of war, without the slightest pity shedding precious German blood, then, without a doubt, I have the right to destroy millions of people of the lower race who multiply like worms. "

Bibliography

For the preparation of this work were used materials from the site referat.ru

Balkan - in the south. The war against the countries of Western Europe allowed Germany to provide a significant amount of strategic rear. Military operations on the Soviet-German front. On June 22, 1941, the treacherous attack of fascist Germany on the Soviet Union began the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people, which became the most important component of the Second World War. Forced entry of the USSR into the war ...

Labonne will have to meet, as relations between France and the USSR have become strained. The ambassador should take into account the fears of the Soviet leaders. Having won a victory over France, the German Reich will undertake aggression against the USSR. Therefore, it can be assumed, the instructions said, that the Soviet Union is interested in changing the balance of power between Germany and the Anglo-French coalition. However, don't ...

The foothills of the Carpathians. And by the end of March 25, the formations of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the state border of the USSR. Exit to the border. The summer of 1944 came. The German command believed that the Red Army would continue its offensive in the southern direction. However, since the spring of 1944, preparations were under way for an operation codenamed "Bagration". The front configuration at the site of the operation represented ...

USSR resigned. Changes in the political system of Russia in the first half of the 1990s. The beginning of changes in the political system of Russia is associated with the election of B.N. Yeltsin as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (May 1990) and the adoption of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of the Russian Federation (June 1990), which in fact meant the emergence of a dual power in the country. By this time...