Why was the German invasion of the USSR in 1941 a success?

Answer 1

The German invasion of the Soviet Union was NOT a success. It's true of course that in the early stages of the invasion Germany advanced rapidly and inflicted very severe losses on the the Soviet Union. However, the very speed of the German advance encouraged some German commanders to depart from the official plans and to some extent do as they pleased. By the December 1941 the German advance on Moscow was halted and the Soviet forces pushed the Germans back. The Germans had also failed to take Leningrad. The attempt to stage a 'blitzkrieg' on the Soviet Union had failed and the Germans had to fight a war that they had little chance of winning. .

Answer 2

The Germans used the tried-and-true method of Blitzkreig, or lightning war. They invaded Russia without any warning and with such speed that the Red Army had no time to react.

Also, The Soviets' weapons were not as advanced as the German ones. And, the German air force was superior than the Soviet Air force.

Answer 3

The invasion was actually wildly unsuccessful, and is generally considered to have been Nazi Germany's single greatest mistake.

Initially the invasion went very well for Germany. The Soviets were not very well prepared for the sudden attack- Stalin did not expect Germany to violate the non-aggression pact the two countries had made (or he did expect to be betrayed, but not so soon). Prior to Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, the Soviets and Nazis had signed an agreement to leave each other alone, and even agreed to cut Poland in half, splitting it between them.

Additionally, the Soviet military had suffered a bloody purge in the mid-to-late 1930s, where Stalin's paranoia caused him to have show trials that resulted in thousands of high-ranking officers being executed for crimes like not being loyal enough or not being Communist enough. So while the Germans had well-trained, hardened troops who had fought in Poland, Norway, France and Greece, Soviet Russia had untested troops led by fresh new officers.

The Soviets eventually overcame the initial shock of the invasion. Once the German military bogged down while attacking major cities like Leningrad and Stalingrad, the Soviets were able to marshal large and powerful armies, and began counterattacking. The Soviets also knew the terrain better, and did not as badly suffer the effects of the nasty winters that Russia has. The Germans took heavy casualties, including losing the powerful Sixth Army, which had attacked Stalingrad. The well-trained, hardened German troops began dying off, which caused the German army overall to become less effective.

A little more than two years after the Soviets finally defeated the Germans at the pivotal battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet Red Army was triumphantly marching through Berlin, and Nazi Germany was defeated.

Answer 4

because the population was less than Germany

Answer 5

The winter snows and spring rains