Why was operation Barbarossa so important?

Answer 1

Conquering the Soviet Union had been Hitler's great dream ever since 1918. With Operation Barbarossa he finally embarked on this project (in June 1941). Stalin had disregarded intelligence reports that the Germans were about to attack, and not suprisingly, it seems he had some kind of nervous breakdown when the attack took place. For ten days he was unable to bring himself to broadcast on the radio to the peoples of the Soviet Union and when he finally did so his audience heard a man close to sobbing and tears.

Answer 2

Operation Barbarossa was a turning point in ww2 because that was when Russia Stopped supporting Both sides ( Allies and Axis) and fully joined the allies. So when Russia started pushing back agains the Germans they took over alot of german land and eventually Took Berlin which ended The war in Europe.

Answer 3

The main reason it was a turning point was because because Hitler was so confident in his victories that he thought he could take on Russia.He appointed the right man for the job,Erich von Manstein.However,it was not so much the Russians that defeated Hitler.Hitler defeated himself by removing Manstein,which gave the Russians an advantage along with their winter.Combine Hitler's foolish tactics,the Russian winter,and the gigantic Russian population of guerrillas and soldiers,and the Germans had some real problems.

Answer 4

It was the greatest turning point of the war...or rather the outcome of Operation Barbarossa decided the fate of the second world war. Not only did it open up a major front (since a second front wasn't established until D-Day in 1944), but it was the largest land battle in history.

On the German side, as mentioned above, 3 million Axis troop struck on a wide front. The Russians possessed the best tanks and artillery of its time and both were of superior quality and quantity. At the time the Red Army was the only army in the world to be equipped with heavy tanks (KV-1) and superior medium tanks (T-34). The Soviets had at the time of the invasion 4,700,000 troops, that lacked good leadership, tactics and more importantly experienced officers. Stalin's purges and outdated tactical know how was a key factor in the opening days of Barbarossa.

The goal of the Hitlerites was to capture the oil fields in Caucasiaus, something vital to carry-on an effective war. Moscow was politically important, but not necessary, nor was Stalingrad (even more so). The oil fields were the prime target and without that, Operation Barbarossa, and indeed the second world war, was a foregone conclusion.

Also, it was a turning point based on the scale of the armies involved and the consequences of not achieving the needed oil fields.

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Altenatively it was not a turning point in the war:

There were events such as the Bombing of Pearl Harbor and Hitler's declaration of war against the US which were more important. Or defeat in North Africa and the failure to take Malta without which Hitler would have had full control of the region and never had to worry about oil. Or the loss of the Battle of Britain, which allowed the US a foot hold in Europe.

It was however the event that started the Holocaust.

Answer 5

Operation Barbarossa was a turning point in the Eastern Front of the War in the European Theater. The Germans at first defeated the USSR in many battles but when it came to the Battle of Stalingrad the Germans were defeated and thousands of Germans were captured by the Red Army. Hitler and the Nazis had lost ground in the war. It was the beginning of the end for the Nazis.

Answer 6

Operation Barbarossa is the codename for Nazi Germany's invasion of Soviet Russia in 1941, as part of World War II. Even though the Nazis and Soviets had promised in 1939 that they would not attack each other, the Nazis had always intended to conquer Russia and create a large empire for themselves- so they broke their promise.

The Operation was significant because it was one of the world's largest military operations at the time. While it was initially very successful and Germany conquered a large portion of western Russia, it ultimately failed. The Soviets were able to turn the tide after winning key victories at places like Leningrad and Stalingrad; the German military suffered heavy damage and was forced to retreat. The powerful Soviet Red Army attacked newly weakened Germany in return, until in April 1945, they invaded and captured Berlin. Germany's dictator, Adolf Hitler, killed himself before he could be captured by the Red Army. A week later, Germany surrendered, ending the war in Europe.

So Operation Barbarossa's long term outcome was that Nazi Germany was defeated. Up until the Operation's failure, Nazi Germany seemed to be invincible, having conquered most of Europe between 1938 and 1941.

Answer 7

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