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Actually the German armored Corps where far smaller then that of the Russians.
At the start of hostilities on June 22, 1941 the following numbers for the two sides are as follows.
Germany and Allies
Divisions 166
Personnel 4,306,800
Guns and mortars 42,601
Tanks (incl assault guns)4,171
Aircraft 4,846
The Panzers where greatly outnumbered actually, by the Red Army.
Red Army
Divisions 190
Personnel 3,289,851
Guns and mortars 59,787
Tanks (incl assault guns) 15,687
Aircraft 10,743
Indeed.
In 1941 the Soviet Union had as many aircraft and MORE tanks than the REST of the world COMBINED.
On the other hand, they were poorly trained and terribly led.
Yes, they where in fact poorly trained- and Stalin had many of the Senior Officer Corp either executed or sent to Siberia during the purges of the 30s.
The Germans had a smaller force- but thought their superior training and leadership would destroy the Red Army. However they still underestimated the size of the Russian military.
To understand why the Ukrainians hated their Russian rulers, one would have to remember that, during the madness of 1929 to 1937, Stalin and his henchmen forced independent peasants, or Kulaks, to collectivize or be forced into boxcars and sent to Siberia. Women were known to hand their babies over to strangers, knowing they would never survive the trip. There were other minorities who suffered the same fate, such as the Tatars of the Crimea. Stalin imposed impossible agricultural goals on the collectivized farms, and the "Breadbasket of Europe" became a place of death and dying, known as the "terror famine" of 1932-33. Untold millions perished. A definitive book on that period, is Robert Conquest's excellent "Harvest of Sorrow."
One of the biggest mistakes Hitler ever made, beyond invading the Soviet Union at all, was treating the Ukrainians as subhumans. Alfred Rosenberg, who had been appointed by Hitler to administer Ukraine, was sympathetic to the Ukrainians. He said that the day the Ukrainian flag was lowered and German flag raised over Kiev, he knew the war was lost. Hitler later sent Erich Koch, a master-race sadist, who carried out a reign of terror on the Ukrainians. It proved to be a colossal mistake. Ukrainian partisans harassed the Germans throughout the war. Even so, it's said that 50,000 Ukrainians fought on the German side at Stalingrad.
One name I haven't seen discussed here is Georgi Zhukov, perhaps the most successful general of WWII. Zhukov was the architect of the defense of Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad, He also laid out the strategy for the battle of Kursk and the assault on Berlin. It's said that Stalin was so jealous of his fame after the war that Zhukov was careful to keep a low profile.
Something interesting about the German army is that, although it was noted for it's panzers, it was hardly a completely mechanized army. Their army in WWII was about 75 percent infantry. They had about 1.1 million horses, of which at least 25,000 were used at Stalingrad. One interesting point made by
William Craig in his great book on Stalingrad, "Enemy at the Gates," is that Goering had assured Hitler that his Luftwaffe could supply Von Paulus' trapped army. As it turned out, they were only able to supply a fraction of the 350 tons of supplies needed every day. One bizarre note is that one package contained thousands of condoms! Not exactly what a dying army needed.
Almost as interesting as Stalingrad is the story of the battle for Sevastopol in the Crimea and the incredible defense put up by the Russian defenders. The Germans had built two huge railroad-mounted siege guns for that purpose.
They were called called Gustav guns, but one was known as "Dora." It required several hundred personnel to install and maintain. It had something like a 31-1/2 inch (800mm) bore, with a range of 30 miles. One shell is said to have penetrated 90 feet underground. The Germans had to literally go into the cave fortresses to remove the Russians, who fought to the death.
The carnage of the eastern front was beyond anything ever known in human history. Hitler was said to have remarked late in the war that had he known the Russians had so many tanks he wouldn't have invaded. It's doubtful that any other army could have driven that far into Russia, Antony Beevor said
in his book "Fall of Berlin 1945" that, while Russian soldiers pillaged booty from palatial homes in Prussia, they asked the question: "Why did they invade us?"
It's a good question. Why, indeed, except for the madness of their leader.
German Invasion of Russia 1941; Operation Barbarossa
Hitler must have been flushed with self-confidence after the swift blitzkriegs of western Europe. Observing the trouble that the Russian forces had with tiny Finland in 1939-40, most likely gave him a sense of disdain for the Russian military. He said, "Smash in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down!" In his megalomania, it's thought that Hitler had ideas of turning the European part of Russia into a colony. In effect, it would have become the granary for Germany, and he definitely had plans for the Caucasus oil fields.
Hitler vastly underestimated the resourcefulness of the Russian people in moving their heavy industry to the Ural mountains. That, in itself, must have been a Herculean task. I read that the heavy industries at Leningrad and Kharkov were relocated just weeks ahead of the German armies' arrival. The Stalingrad Tractor works was still producing tanks while the fighting raged. Although the Germans built state-of-the art tanks, the Russians probably outproduced them four or five to one. They produced something like 50,000 tanks during WWII.
Ironically, the T-34 tank is thought to have evolved from the 1930s plans of an American engineer, Walter Christie, who found little interest in his ideas in the US at the time. I know little about tanks, but the T-34 must have been remarkable for its maneuverability, sloped armor and reliable diesel motor, giving it some advantage over the highly regarded but complex Tiger tanks, which required frequent maintenance. BTW, there is a series of interesting photos and videos of a T-34, with German markings, being pulled from an Estonian Lake by a 65-ton Komatsu bulldozer. The tank was amazingly preserved for 56 years under several feet of water and peat. The website is as follows: Update On Recovered T-34 Tank With German Markings
Another miscalculation of Hitler was that crafty Stalin held back his Siberian troops until he was absolutely certain that Japan wasn't going to invade Siberia. The arrival of a million or more fresh Siberian troops must have been a crushing blow to the exhausted German forces. After Stalingrad, the war on the eastern front became a controlled retreat for the Germans. A psychological factor not often mentioned, but one that must have had a profound effect on the average German soldier, who came from the forested hills of Central Europe, was the flat, treeless Ukrainian steppes that stretched into infinity. Much is made of the Russian winters, but the summer heat of the
steppes could also be brutal.
John
Hitler must have been flushed with self-confidence after the swift blitzkriegs of western Europe. Observing the trouble that the Russian forces had with tiny Finland in 1939-40, most likely gave him a sense of disdain for the Russian military. He said, "Smash in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down!" In his megalomania, it's thought that Hitler had ideas of turning the European part of Russia into a colony. In effect, it would have become the granary for Germany, and he definitely had plans for the Caucasus oil fields.
Hitler vastly underestimated the resourcefulness of the Russian people in moving their heavy industry to the Ural mountains. That, in itself, must have been a Herculean task. I read that the heavy industries at Leningrad and Kharkov were relocated just weeks ahead of the German armies' arrival. The Stalingrad Tractor works was still producing tanks while the fighting raged. Although the Germans built state-of-the art tanks, the Russians probably outproduced them four or five to one. They produced something like 50,000 tanks during WWII.
Ironically, the T-34 tank is thought to have evolved from the 1930s plans of an American engineer, Walter Christie, who found little interest in his ideas in the US at the time. I know little about tanks, but the T-34 must have been remarkable for its maneuverability, sloped armor and reliable diesel motor, giving it some advantage over the highly regarded but complex Tiger tanks, which required frequent maintenance. BTW, there is a series of interesting photos and videos of a T-34, with German markings, being pulled from an Estonian Lake by a 65-ton Komatsu bulldozer. The tank was amazingly preserved for 56 years under several feet of water and peat. The website is as follows: Update On Recovered T-34 Tank With German Markings
Another miscalculation of Hitler was that crafty Stalin held back his Siberian troops until he was absolutely certain that Japan wasn't going to invade Siberia. The arrival of a million or more fresh Siberian troops must have been a crushing blow to the exhausted German forces. After Stalingrad, the war on the eastern front became a controlled retreat for the Germans. A psychological factor not often mentioned, but one that must have had a profound effect on the average German soldier, who came from the forested hills of Central Europe, was the flat, treeless Ukrainian steppes that stretched into infinity. Much is made of the Russian winters, but the summer heat of the
steppes could also be brutal.
John
Yes indeed, I agree with all of this.
I should add that among the T-34's advantages over the early German armor (Tigers came later) was the extra-wide tracks that gave superior mobility in the snow and thick Russian mud, and also the fact that the T-34 was FAST. I read somewhere that a T-34 could drive around a Panzer III faster than than the Panzer III could TRAVERSE THE TURRET.
Also, having lived in North Dakota for a year and half (TWO winters - one day we hit -40 with a 57 MPH wind!!!!) I can attest to the numbing effect of both the incredible cold and (as you mention) the psychological impact of all that incredible vastness of the treeless plains. In sure the Russian steppes - like the American plains - seem to go on and on endlessly, with just earth and sky. Both the vastness and the cold made a big impression on me.
And yes, you are right, it's hot in the summer as well (and with little to no shade).
I also love to go on Youtube and watch those Barbarossa and other war film clips by the Germans. They are in German but who cares as i like to hear the Artillery and Tank/Gun fire you can hear in these.They have these of all army groups along the front at different years and battles.
Here's a sample video (1.45 sec) of the outskirts of Lenigrad in the snow in Operation Barbarossa 1941. Turn up the volume.
I think the major factor in Barbarossa failing is the one month delay ...the climate of Russia is such that German forces would have to be in a position to take Moscow by early fall at the latest ...later in the fall the ground gets really muddy ...then comes the harsh Russian winter ....even so they did made remarkable progress in 1941 ...Hitler deliberately did not provide winter clothing as he thought it would be all over by then ....keep in mind there was an element of surprise ...Germany had a pact with Russia (Pact of Steel) ...Stalin ignored reports of troop build up near east borders ....if Hilter had been able to launch operation Barbarossa in May 1941 they could have won ....true the Red Army was larger ...but poorly led as Stalin sacked most of his best generals in the pogroms of the 1930's and installed ones loyal to him ....alot of Russians hated Stalin but Hitler did not take advantage of that .....in 1941 even the Russian tanks we not very good ...only a handful of prototype T-34's ....their best tank in 1941 was the heavy KV-1 tank ..it had the same 76 mm gun as the T-34 ....the T-34 was an amazing tank ....very fast ....efficient ....it ran on diesel ....not as finely engineered as the German tanks ....it could tolerate more dust and debris ....same with Russian machine guns ....German MP-42's would tend to jam in harsh conditions ...the famous German Tiger One tank was first used in the Battle of Kharkov (in 1942) .....later at Kursk (operational Citadel July 1943) the even better Panther Tank first saw action (alot of them broke down as they were too new ...rushed to front)..it was the largest tank battle in history ....German forces were slaughtered as the allies tipped off the Russians (via breaking enigma codes) ....Russians drew in the Germans and lined up heavy artillery in either side .....also by that time Hitler was calling the shots not allowing his generals any chance to develop any productive strategies ...also many other factors mentioned ...moving industries behind the Urals ....scorch and burn .....Siberian troop reinforcements ...they were tough ...Russian winter was nothing to them !!
The 1 month delay as I alluded to earlier was crucial in Barbarossa, when Hitler delayed the attack to intercede in the Balkans.
The Battle for Kursk in July 1943 or operation Citadel was doomed from the start and Hitler knew it. It was the greatest tank force and battle in history. But the Russians where ready for the attack- and the Germans fell back after making little progress. Hitler withdrew the forces after nearly half the Panzers where destroyed. The Germans had brought into the battle the Tiger and Panther tanks.
After this failure the Germans fell back to the Dnieper River, where they hoped to establish a fortified line.
I also love to go on Youtube and watch those Barbarossa and other war film clips by the Germans. They are in German but who cares as i like to hear the Artillery and Tank/Gun fire you can hear in these.They have these of all army groups along the front at different years and battles.
Here's a sample video (1.45 sec) of the outskirts of Lenigrad in the snow in Operation Barbarossa 1941. Turn up the volume.
In his megalomania, it's thought that Hitler had ideas of turning the European part of Russia into a colony. In effect, it would have become the granary for Germany, and he definitely had plans for the Caucasus oil fields.
I've often wondered how the British, French and U.S supported the Soviets who invaded Finland (which, ironically, it was only Germany who came to their aid) yet declared war on Germany when the bigger threat was the Soviets.
If it wasn't for Germany, Stalin most likely would of ran all the way to Spain.
Britain & France never should of declared war on Germany. At the outbreak of the second world war in 1939, Britain had massive colonies all over the world, as did France. Yet they were scared of Germany's 'domination', in which they had no colonies? Kind of ironic and a bit hypocritical if you ask me.
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German Invasion of Russia 1941; Operation Barbarossa
