What was the name of Hitler's plan of attack on the USSR. It was smooth on paper, but they forgot about the ravines. The USSR as the last barrier to German dominance in Europe

The fascist aggression against the Soviet Union, named after the Roman emperor "Plan Barbarossa", was a fleeting military campaign pursuing one single goal: to defeat and destroy the USSR. The final date for the completion of hostilities was supposed to be the autumn of 1941.

A year before in December 1941, late in the evening, the Fuhrer signed the directive under the serial number 21. It was printed in nine copies and was kept in the strictest confidence.

The directive received a code name - the Barbarossa plan. It provided for the end of the campaign to defeat the USSR even before the end of the war against Great Britain.

What was this document and what goals did the Barbarossa Plan pursue - this is a carefully designed aggression directed against the Soviet Union. With it, Hitler, intending to achieve world domination, had to remove one of the main obstacles to his imperial goals.

Moscow, Leningrad, Donbass and the Central Industrial Region were indicated as the main strategic objects. At the same time, a special place was assigned to the capital, its capture was considered decisive for the victorious outcome of this war.

To destroy the USSR, Hitler planned to use all German ground forces, with the exception of only those that were supposed to remain in the occupied territories.

Barbarossa's plan provided for the release of the forces of the fascist Air Force to assist the ground forces of this eastern operation, so that the ground part of the campaign could be completed as quickly as possible. At the same time, the directive ordered by any means to minimize the destruction of eastern Germany by enemy aircraft.

Naval combat operations against the Northern, Black Sea and Baltic Soviet fleets were to be carried out by ships of the Reich Navy together with the naval forces of Romania and Finland.

For a lightning attack on the USSR, the Barbarossa plan considered the participation of 152 divisions, including tank and motorized, two brigades. Romania and Finland intended to field 16 brigades and 29 land divisions in this campaign.

The armed forces of the satellite countries of the Reich were to operate under a single German command. The task of Finland was to cover the northern troops, who were supposed to attack from Norwegian territory, as well as the destruction of Soviet troops on the Hanko Peninsula. At the same time, Romania was supposed to bind the actions of the Soviet troops, helping the Germans from the rear areas.

Barbarossa's plan set certain goals, which were based on pronounced class contradictions. It was the idea of ​​starting a war, which turned into the destruction of entire nations with unlimited use of violent methods.

Unlike the military invasion of France, Poland and the Balkans, the blitz campaign against the Soviet Union was prepared very meticulously. The Hitlerite leadership spent enough time and effort to develop the Barbarossa plan, so defeat was ruled out.

But the creators could not accurately assess the strength and strength of the Soviet state and, based on the exaggeration of the economic, political and military potentials of the fascist empire, they underestimated the power of the USSR, the combat capability and morale of its people.

Hitler's "machine" was gaining momentum for victory, which seemed to the leaders of the Reich very easy and close. That is why the fighting had to be a blitzkrieg, and the offensive - a continuous advance deep into the USSR, and at a very high speed. Short breaks were provided only for pulling up the rear.

At the same time, the Barbarossa plan completely ruled out any delays due to the resistance of the Soviet Army. The reason for the failure of this seemingly victorious plan was excessive self-confidence, which, as history has shown, destroyed the plans of the fascist generals.

The Great Patriotic War

The plan of the German attack on the USSR

Adolf Hitler studying a map of Russia

The Soviet-Finnish war served as a harsh lesson for the country's leadership, showing that our army, weakened by mass repressions, was 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 or four years; but all countries are catching up, and soon Germany may lose this advantage, and therefore it is necessary to solve military problems on the continent in a year or two. Despite the fact that in 1939 Germany and the USSR made peace, Hitler still decided to attack the Soviet Union, as it was a necessary step towards the world domination of Germany and the "Third Reich". German intelligence officers came to the conclusion that the Soviet army was in many ways inferior to the German one - it was less organized, worse prepared and, most importantly, the technical equipment of Russian soldiers left much to be desired. It should be emphasized that the British intelligence service MI-6 also played its role in inciting Hitler against the USSR. Before the war, the British managed to get the German Enigma cipher machine and thanks to this they read all the encrypted correspondence of the Germans. From the encryption 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 foment a German-Soviet conflict. She also owns a fake that was distributed in the United States - supposedly the Soviet Union, having received information about the impending attack by Hitler, decided to get ahead of him and is preparing a preventive strike against Germany. This disinformation was intercepted by Soviet intelligence and reported to Stalin. The widespread practice of fakes caused him to distrust all the information about the imminent Nazi attack.

Plan "Barbarossa"

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

The essence of the Barbarossa plan was to attack the USSR, taking advantage of the unpreparedness of the enemy, to 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. Assigning the term of aggression, Hitler declared: “I will not make such a mistake as Napoleon; when I go to Moscow, I will set out early enough to reach it before winter. The generals convinced him that the victorious war would last no more than 4-6 weeks.

At the same time, Germany used the memorandum of November 25, 1940 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 friendship treaty. 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 a major success by signing a non-aggression pact with Japan on April 13, which significantly reduced tension on the Far Eastern borders of the USSR.

tank group

Despite the alarming course of events, the USSR, until the very beginning of the war with Germany, could not believe in the inevitability of a German attack. Soviet deliveries to Germany increased significantly due to the renewal on 11 January 1941 of the 1940 economic agreements. In order to demonstrate its "confidence" to Germany, the Soviet government refused to take into account the numerous reports that had been received since the beginning of 1941 about an attack being prepared against the USSR 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 "Plan Barbarossa", 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 forces 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 included 2-4 armies, 1-2 tank groups, from the air the 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 given the task of defeating Soviet troops in the Ukraine and Crimea and occupying these territories. The Army Group "Center" (Field Marshal von Bock) was supposed to defeat the Soviet troops in Belarus and advance to Minsk-Smolensk-Moscow. Army Group "North" (Field Marshal von Leeb), with the support of the Finnish troops, was to capture the Baltic states, Leningrad, the Russian North.

Discussion of the "OST" plan

The ultimate goal of the "Barbaros Plan" was to destroy the Red Army, reach the Ural Range and occupy the European part of the Soviet Union. The basis of German tactics were tank breakthroughs and encirclements. The Russian company was supposed to become a blitzkrieg - a lightning 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 completed 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 be converted into slaves. The Crimean Tatars, the peoples of the Caucasus were considered as possible allies. The enemy army was an almost perfect military mechanism. The German soldier was rightfully considered the best in the world, the officers and generals were excellently trained, the troops had rich 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, Eastern Europe, and Africa. Later, already at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, such miscalculations as lack of fuel and unpreparedness for hostilities in winter conditions would affect.

Gabriel Tsobechia

PLAN" BARBAROSSA ". In the evening December 18, 1940. Hitler signed a directive on the deployment of military operations against the USSR, which received the serial number 21 and the code name option " Barbarossa"(Fall" barbarossa"). It was made only in nine copies, three of which were handed over to the commanders-in-chief of the branches of the armed forces (ground forces, air force and navy), and six were closed in OKW safes.

It stated only the general plan and initial instructions for waging war against the USSR and did not represent a complete war plan. The war plan against the USSR is a whole complex of political, economic and strategic measures of the Hitlerite leadership. In addition to directive N21, the plan included directives and orders of the supreme command and the main commands of the branches of the armed forces on strategic concentration and deployment, logistics, preparation of the theater of operations, camouflage, disinformation and other documents.. Among these documents, the directive on the strategic concentration and deployment of ground forces was especially important. dated January 31, 1941. It concretized and specified the tasks and methods of action of the armed forces set out in Directive N21.
plan" Barbarossa"the defeat of the Soviet Union was envisaged in the course of one short-term campaign even before the war against England was over. Leningrad, Moscow, the Central Industrial Region and the Donets Basin were recognized as the main strategic objects. A special place in the plan was given to Moscow. It was assumed that its capture would be decisive for the victorious outcome of the entire war. " The end goal of the operation, - stated in directive N21, - is the creation of a protective barrier against Asiatic Russia along the Volga-Arkhangelsk common line. Thus, if necessary, the last industrial region left by the Russians in the Urals can be paralyzed with the help of aviation". To defeat the Soviet Union, it was planned to use all the ground forces of Germany, excluding only the formations and units necessary for the occupation service in the enslaved countries. The German Air Force was tasked with "release such forces to support the ground forces during the eastern campaign, so that you can count on the rapid completion of ground operations and at the same time limit to a minimum the destruction of the eastern regions of Germany by enemy aircraft. "For combat operations at sea against the three Soviet fleets of the Northern, Baltic and Black Sea, it was planned to allocate a significant part of the warships of the German Navy and the naval forces of Finland and Romania .according to plan" Barbarossa"152 divisions (including 19 tank and 14 motorized) and two brigades were allocated to attack the USSR. Germany's allies fielded 29 infantry divisions and 16 brigades. Thus, if we take two brigades for one division, a total of 190 divisions were allocated. In addition , two-thirds of the air force available in Germany and significant fleet forces were involved in the war against the USSR. The ground forces intended to attack the Soviet Union were reduced to three army groups: " South"- 11th, 17th and 6th field armies and 1st tank group;" Center"- 4th and 9th field armies, 2nd and 3rd tank groups;" North"- the 16th and 18th and 4th tank groups. The 2nd separate field army remained in the OKH reserve, the army" Norway"received the task of acting independently in the Murmansk and Kandalash directions.
Plan" Barbarossa"contained a somewhat refined assessment of the Armed Forces of the USSR. According to German data, by the beginning of the German invasion (June 20, 1941), the Soviet Armed Forces had 170 rifle, 33.5 cavalry divisions and 46 mechanized and tank brigades. Of these, as stated by the Nazi command, 118 rifle, 20 cavalry divisions and 40 brigades were deployed in the western border districts, 27 rifle, 5.5 cavalry divisions and 1 brigade in the rest of the European part of the USSR, and 33 divisions and 5 brigades in the Far East. It was assumed that Soviet aviation had 8,000 combat aircraft (including about 1,100 modern ones), of which 6,000 were in the European part of the USSR. The Nazi command assumed that the Soviet troops deployed in the west, using field fortifications on the new and old state borders for defense, as well as numerous water barriers, would engage in battle in large formations west of the Dnieper and Zapadnaya Dvina rivers. At the same time, the Soviet command will strive to keep air and naval bases in the Baltic, and rely on the Black Sea coast with the southern wing of the front. " With the unfavorable development of operations south and north of the Pripyat swamps, - noted in the plan " Barbarossa ", - the Russians will try to stop the German offensive on the line of the Dnieper, Western Dvina rivers. When trying to eliminate German breakthroughs, as well as possible attempts to withdraw threatened troops beyond the Dnieper line, Western Dvina, one should reckon with the possibility of offensive actions from large Russian formations with using tanks".






According to sir" Barbarossa"Large tank and motorized forces, using aviation support, were supposed to deliver a swift strike to a great depth north and south of the Pripyat marshes, break through the defenses of the main forces of the Soviet Army, presumably concentrated in the western part of the USSR, and destroy the scattered groupings of Soviet troops. North of the Pripyat marshes was planned offensive of two army groups: " Center F. Bock) and " North"(Commander Field Marshal W. Leeb) . Army Group" Center"delivered the main blow and had to, concentrating the main efforts on the flanks, where the 2nd and 3rd tank groups were deployed, to carry out a deep breakthrough by these formations north and south of Minsk, to reach the Smolensk area, scheduled for the connection of tank groups. It was assumed that with the release of tank formations in the Smolensk region, prerequisites will be created for the destruction of the field armies of the Soviet troops remaining between Bialystok and Minsk. Subsequently, upon reaching the Roslavl, Smolensk, Vitebsk line by the main forces, the army group " Center"It was necessary to act depending on the situation developing on its left wing. If the neighbor on the left fails to quickly defeat the troops defending in front of him, the army group was supposed to turn tank formations to the north, and the field armies should lead the offensive in an easterly direction towards Moscow. If the group armies" North"will be able to carry out the defeat of the Soviet Army in its offensive zone, army group" Center"It was necessary to immediately strike at Moscow. Army Group" North"received the task, advancing from East Prussia, to deliver the main blow in the direction of Daugavpils, Leningrad, to destroy the troops of the Soviet Army defending in the Baltic states and, having captured the ports on the Baltic Sea, including Leningrad and Kronstadt, to deprive the Soviet Baltic Fleet of its bases. If this army group the defeat of the grouping of Soviet troops in the Baltic states would be beyond its power, the mobile troops of the army group should have come to its aid " Center", the Finnish army and the formations transferred from Norway. Thus strengthened by the army group" North"It was necessary to achieve the destruction of the Soviet troops opposing it. According to the plan of the German command, the operation of a reinforced army group" North"provided to the army group" Center"freedom of maneuver to capture Moscow and the solution of operational and strategic tasks in cooperation with the army group" South".
South of the Pripyat swamps army group planned to attack South"(Commander General Field Marshal G. Rundstedt ) . She delivered one strong blow from the Lublin region in the general direction to Kyiv and further south along the bend of the Dnieper. As a result of the strike, in which powerful tank formations were to play the main role, it was supposed to cut off the Soviet troops stationed in Western Ukraine from their communications on the Dnieper, capture the crossings across the Dnieper in the Kyiv region and south of it. In this way, it provided freedom of maneuver for developing an offensive in an easterly direction in cooperation with troops advancing north, or for an attack on the south of the Soviet Union in order to capture important economic regions. Troops of the right wing of the army group " South"(11th Army) were, creating a false impression of the deployment of large forces on the territory of Romania, to pin down the opposing troops of the Soviet Army, and in the future, as the offensive developed on the Soviet-German front, to prevent the organized withdrawal of Soviet formations beyond the Dniester.
In terms of " Barbarossa"it was planned to use the principles of military operations that had justified themselves in the Polish and Western European campaigns. However, it was emphasized that unlike operations in the West, an offensive against Soviet troops must be carried out simultaneously on the entire front: both in the direction of the main attacks and in secondary sectors. "Only this way, - stated in the directive of January 31, 1941, - it will be possible to prevent the timely withdrawal of enemy combat-ready forces and destroy them to the west of the Dnieper-Dvina line".






Plan" Barbarossa"Take into account the possibility of active opposition by Soviet aviation to the offensive of the German ground forces. From the very beginning of hostilities, the German Air Force was tasked with suppressing the Soviet Air Force and supporting the offensive of the ground forces in the directions of the main strikes. To solve these problems at the first stage of the war, it was planned to use almost all of the German aviation allocated for action against the Soviet Union... It was planned to begin strikes on the rear industrial centers of the USSR only after the troops of the Soviet Army were defeated in Belarus, the Baltic states and Ukraine. The offensive of the army group " Center"it was planned to support the 2nd air fleet," South"- 4th Air Fleet," North- 1st Air Fleet.
The navy of fascist Germany was supposed to defend its coast and prevent the breakthrough of the ships of the Soviet Navy from the Baltic Sea. At the same time, it was envisaged to avoid major naval operations until the land forces captured Leningrad as the last naval base of the Soviet Baltic Fleet. In the future, the naval forces of Nazi Germany were tasked with ensuring freedom of navigation in the Baltic Sea and supplying the troops of the northern wing of the ground forces. The attack on the USSR was planned to be carried out on May 15, 1941.
So according to the plan Barbarossa" nearest The strategic goal of the Nazis in the war against the USSR was to defeat the troops of the Soviet Army in the Baltic States, Belarus and the Right-Bank Ukraine. The subsequent goal was to capture Leningrad in the north, in the center - the Central Industrial Region and the capital of the Soviet Union, in the south - to capture all of Ukraine and the Donets Basin as quickly as possible. The ultimate goal of the eastern campaign was the exit of the Nazi troops to the Volga and the Northern Dvina..
February 3, 1941. meeting in Berchtesgaden Hitler in the presence Keitel and Jodl heard a detailed report Brauchitsch and Hyder about the plan of war against the USSR. The Führer approved the report and assured the generals that the plan would be carried out successfully: " When the implementation of the Barbarossa plan begins, the world will hold its breath and freeze". The armed forces of Romania, Hungary and Finland - allies of Nazi Germany - were to receive specific tasks immediately before the start of the war. The use of the Romanian troops was determined by the plan " Munich", developed by the command of the German troops in Romania. In mid-June, this plan was brought to the attention of the Romanian leadership. June 20, Romanian dictator Antonescu gave on its basis an order to the armed forces of Romania, which outlined the tasks of the Romanian troops. Before the outbreak of hostilities, the Romanian ground forces were supposed to cover the concentration and deployment of German troops in Romania, and with the outbreak of war, to tie down the grouping of Soviet troops located on the border with Romania. With the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the line of the Prut River, which, as was believed, would follow as a result of the offensive of the German army group " South", the Romanian troops had to move on to energetic pursuit of the units of the Soviet Army. If the Soviet troops managed to hold their positions along the Prut River, the Romanian formations had to break through the Soviet defenses in the Tsutsora, New Bedrazh sector. The tasks of the Finnish and German troops deployed in the North and Central Finland, were identified OKW directive of April 7, 1941. and announced by the operational directives of the Finnish General Staff, as well as the directive of the army commander " Norway"dated April 20. The OKW directive provided that the armed forces of Finland, before the offensive of the Nazi troops, were to cover the deployment of German formations in Finland, and with the Wehrmacht going on the offensive, the Soviet groups in the Karelian and Petrozavodsk directions were to attack. With the release of the army group " North"on the line of the Luga River, the Finnish troops had to go on a decisive offensive on the Karelian Isthmus, as well as between the Onega and Ladoga lakes, in order to connect with the German armies on the Svir River and in the Leningrad region. The German troops deployed on the territory of Finland, according to the directive of the army commander "Norway" was tasked with advancing in two groups (each consisted of a reinforced corps): one - to Murmansk, the other - to Kandalaksha.The southern group, having broken through the defenses, was supposed to go to the White Sea in the Kandalakshiya region, then advance along the Murmansk railway to the north, in order, in cooperation with the northern grouping, to destroy the Soviet troops stationed on the Kola Peninsula and capture Murmansk and Polyarnoye.The air support of the Finnish and German troops advancing from Finland was assigned to the 5th Air Fleet of Germany and the Finnish Air Force.
At the end of April, the political and military leadership of fascist Germany finally set the date for the attack on the USSR: Sunday, June 22, 1941. The postponement from May to June was caused by the need to redeploy to the borders of the USSR the forces involved in the aggression against Yugoslavia and Greece.
In preparing for a war against the USSR, the Hitlerite leadership outlined major measures for the restructuring of its armed forces. They concerned primarily the ground forces. It was planned to bring the number of divisions of the active army to 180 and increase the reserve army. By the beginning of the war against the USSR, the Wehrmacht, including the reserve army and the SS troops, was supposed to have about 250 fully equipped divisions. Particular attention was paid to the strengthening of mobile troops. It was planned to deploy 20 tank divisions instead of the existing 10 and to increase the level of infantry motorization. To this end, it was planned to additionally allocate 130 thousand tons of steel for the production of military trucks, all-terrain vehicles and armored vehicles at the expense of the fleet and aviation. Big changes were planned in the production of weapons. According to the planned program, the most important task was the production of the latest models of tanks and anti-tank artillery. A significant increase in the production of aircraft of those designs that withstood the test during the fighting in the West was also envisaged. Great importance was attached to the preparation of the theater of operations. Directive of 9 August 1940, which received the code name " Aufbau Ost" ("Construction in the East"), it was planned to transfer supply bases from west to east, build new railways and highways, training grounds, barracks, etc. in the eastern regions, expand and improve airfields, communication networks.
In preparations for aggression against the USSR, the Hitlerite leadership assigned the most important place to ensuring the surprise of the attack and the secrecy of carrying out each preparatory measure, whether it concerned the restructuring of the economy, strategic planning, the preparation of a theater of military operations or the deployment of armed forces, etc. All documents related to the planning of the war in the East were prepared with the utmost secrecy. An extremely narrow circle of people was allowed to develop them. The concentration and operational deployment of troops was planned to be carried out in compliance with all camouflage measures. However, the Nazi leadership understood that it was impossible to completely hide the concentration and deployment of a multi-million army with a huge amount of military equipment near the Soviet borders. Therefore, it resorted to a widely conceived political and operational-strategic camouflage of the impending aggression, recognizing the number one task of misleading the government of the Soviet Union and the command of the Soviet Army about the plan, scale and time of the start of aggression.


Both the operational-strategic leadership bodies and the Abwehr (intelligence and counterintelligence) took part in the development of measures to disguise the concentration of Wehrmacht troops in the east. The Abwehr developed a directive signed on September 6, 1940 by Jodl, which specifically outlined the goals and objectives of disinformation. Directive N21 - version " Barbarossa". But perhaps most fully the perfidious tactics of the Nazis are revealed by the directive on disinformation of the enemy, issued by the OKW on February 15, 1941." The purpose of disinformation is, - indicated in the directive, -h to hide preparations for Operation Barbarossa". This main goal should form the basis of all measures to disinform the enemy.". Camouflage measures were planned to be carried out in two stages. First stage- until about mid-April 1941 - included the camouflage of general military preparations not related to the mass regrouping of troops. Second- from April to June 1941 - masking the concentration and operational deployment of troops near the borders of the USSR. At the first stage, it was planned to create a false idea about the true intentions of the German command, using various kinds of preparations for the invasion of England, as well as for the operation " Marita" (against Greece) and " Sonnenblume"(in North Africa). The initial deployment of troops to attack the USSR was planned to be carried out under the guise of the usual movements for the army. At the same time, the tasks were to create the impression that the center of concentration of armed forces was located in southern Poland, in Czechoslovakia and Austria and that the concentration of troops in the north At the second stage, when, as noted in the directive, it would no longer be possible to hide the preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, it was planned to present the concentration and deployment of forces for the eastern campaign in the form of false measures, allegedly carried out with the aim of diverting attention from the planned invasion of England This distracting maneuver was presented by the Hitlerite command as "the greatest in the history of wars. " At the same time, work was carried out aimed at preserving the impression among the personnel of the German armed forces that preparations for the landing in England were continuing, but in a different form - allocated for this purpose troops are withdrawn to the rear until a certain point . " Necessary, - the directive said, - keep as long as possible in error about the real plans even those troops intended to operate directly in the east". Importance was attached, in particular, to the dissemination of disinformation about non-existent airborne corps, allegedly intended to invade England. The forthcoming landing on the British Isles should have been evidenced by such facts as the secondment of translators from English to military units, the release of new English topographical maps, reference books, etc. Among the officers of the army group " South"Rumors spread that German troops would allegedly be transferred to Iran to wage a war to seize the British colonies. The OKW directive on disinformation of the enemy indicated that the more forces were concentrated in the east, the more efforts must be made to keep public opinion astray regarding In the instructions of the Chief of Staff of the OKW of March 9, it was recommended to present the deployment of the Wehrmacht in the east and as defensive measures to ensure the rear of Germany during the landings in England and operations in the Balkans.


The Hitler leadership was so confident in the successful implementation of the plan " Barbarossa", which, approximately from the spring of 1941, began the detailed development of further plans for the conquest of world domination. In the official diary of the Supreme High Command of the Nazi armed forces for February 17, 1941, Hitler's demand was stated that "after the end of the eastern campaign, it is necessary to provide for the capture of Afghanistan and the organization of an offensive against India"Based on these instructions, the OKW headquarters began planning Wehrmacht operations for the future. These operations were scheduled to be carried out in the late autumn of 1941 and in the winter of 1941/42. Their concept was set out in the draft directives N32 "Preparing for the post-Barbarossa period", sent to the ground forces, air force and navy on June 11, 1941. The project provided that after the defeat of the Soviet Armed Forces, the Wehrmacht would have to seize British colonial possessions and some independent countries in the Mediterranean basin, Africa, the Near and Middle East, the invasion of the British Isles, the deployment of military operations against America. G As early as the autumn of 1941, Hitler's strategists expected to begin conquering Iran, Iraq, Egypt, the Suez Canal region, and then India, where it was planned to join the Japanese troops. The fascist German leadership hoped, by annexing Spain and Portugal to Germany, to quickly accept the siege of the islands.. The development of directive N32 and other documents indicates that after the defeat of the USSR and the decision " English problem"the Nazis intended to ally with Japan" eliminate the influence of the Anglo-Saxons in North America". Capture of Canada and the United States of America It was supposed to be carried out by landing large amphibious assaults from bases in Greenland, Iceland, the Azores and Brazil - on the east coast of North America and from the Aleutian and Hawaiian Islands - on the west. In April-June 1941, these questions were repeatedly discussed at the highest headquarters of the German armed forces. Thus, even before the aggression against the USSR, the German fascist leadership outlined far-reaching plans for the conquest of world domination. The key position for their implementation, as it seemed to the Nazi command, was given by a campaign against the USSR.
In contrast to the preparation of campaigns against Poland, France and the Balkan states, the war against the USSR was prepared by the Hitlerite command with special care and over a longer period of time. Aggression against the USSR according to the plan " Barbarossa"was planned as a fleeting campaign, the ultimate goal of which - the defeat of the Soviet Armed Forces and the destruction of the Soviet Union - was supposed to be achieved in the fall of 1941 .
The fighting of the armed forces was supposed to be carried out in the form of a blitzkrieg. At the same time, the offensive of the main strategic groupings was presented in the form of a continuous offensive at a fast pace. Short pauses were allowed only for the regrouping of troops and pulling up the lagging rear. The possibility of stopping the offensive due to the resistance of the Soviet Army was ruled out. Excessive confidence in the infallibility of their intentions and plans " hypnotized"fascist generals. Hitler's machine was gaining momentum to win victory, which seemed so easy and close to the leaders of the" Third Reich ".

Barbarossa Fall"), the code name for the German war plan against the USSR (named after Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa).

In 1940, after the defeat of the French army, the moment came that Hitler and his associates considered convenient for the implementation of their aggressive plans in the East. On July 22, 1940, the day of the surrender of France, General Franz Halder, Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces, received instructions from Hitler and the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Walther von Brauchitsch, to develop a plan for the invasion of the Soviet Union. The command of the ground forces (OKH) in July-December developed several options at the same time, each independently. One of the options was developed in the German High Command of the Armed Forces (OKW) under the leadership of Alfred Jodl and his deputy General Walter Warlimont and was code-named "Lossberg Study". It was completed by September 15 and differed from the other option - General Marx - in that the main blow in it was determined on the northern sector of the front. In making the final decision, Hitler agreed with Jodl's considerations. By the time the plan was completed, General Friedrich Paulus was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff, who was instructed to bring all the plans together and take into account the comments made by the Fuhrer. Under the leadership of General Paulus in mid-December 1940, staff games and meetings of the military and Nazi leadership were held, where the final version of the Barbarossa plan was worked out. Paulus wrote in his memoirs: "The preparatory game for the operation" Barbarossa "was held under my leadership in mid-December 1940 for two days at the headquarters of the command of the ground forces in Zossen.

Moscow was the main target. To achieve this goal and eliminate the threat from the north, Russian troops in the Baltic republics had to be destroyed. Then it was supposed to take Leningrad and Kronstadt, and the Russian Baltic Fleet to deprive its base. In the south, the first target was Ukraine with Donbass, and later - the Caucasus with its oil sources. Of particular importance in the plans of the OKW was attached to the capture of Moscow. However, the capture of Moscow was to be preceded by the capture of Leningrad. Several military goals were pursued by the capture of Leningrad: the elimination of the main bases of the Russian Baltic Fleet, the disabling of the military industry of this city and the elimination of Leningrad as a point of concentration for a counteroffensive against the German troops advancing on Moscow. When I say that a decision has been made, I do not mean to say that there was complete unity in the opinions of the responsible commanders and staff officers.

On the other hand, although little was said about this, the opinion was expressed that a quick collapse of Soviet resistance should be expected as a result of internal political difficulties, organizational and material weaknesses of the so-called "colossus with feet of clay ..

"The entire territory in which operations will take place is divided by the Pripyat swamps into northern and southern halves. The latter has a poor road network. The best highways and railways are on the Warsaw-Moscow line. Therefore, more favorable conditions are presented in the northern half for the use of a large number of troops In addition, a significant concentration of troops is planned in the Russian grouping in the direction of the Russian-German demarcation line. It should be assumed that immediately beyond the former Russian-Polish border there is a Russian supply base, covered by field fortifications. The Dnieper and Western Dvina are the easternmost line on which the Russians will be forced to give battle.

If they retreat further, they will no longer be able to defend their industrial areas. As a result, our plan should be to prevent the creation of a continuous defensive front by the Russians west of these two rivers with the help of tank wedges. A particularly large strike group should advance from the Warsaw region to Moscow. Of the three army groups envisaged, the northern one will need to be sent to Leningrad, and the southern forces will deliver the main blow in the direction of Kyiv. The ultimate goal of the operation is the Volga and the Arkhangelsk region. In total, 105 infantry, 32 tank and motorized divisions should be used, of which large forces (two armies) will initially follow in the second echelon.

"We moved through the frozen swamps, often the ice cracked, and ice water got into the boots. My gloves were soaked through, I had to take them off and wrap my stiff hands with a towel. I wanted to howl in pain." From a letter from a German soldier, a participant in the Russian campaign of 1941-42.

"The most important goal is to prevent the Russians from withdrawing while maintaining the integrity of the front. The offensive should be carried out so far to the east that Russian aircraft could not raid the territory of the German Reich and that, on the other hand, German aircraft could launch air strikes against the Russians military-industrial regions. To do this, it is necessary to achieve the defeat of the Russian armed forces and prevent their reconstruction. Already the first blows must be delivered by such units as to be able to destroy large enemy forces. Therefore, mobile troops should be used on the adjacent flanks of both northern army groups, where strike the main blow.

In the north, it is necessary to achieve the encirclement of enemy forces located in the Baltic countries. To do this, the army group that will advance on Moscow must have enough troops to be able to turn a significant part of the forces to the north. The army group advancing south of the Pripyat Marshes must move later and encircle large enemy forces in Ukraine by performing an enveloping maneuver from the north ... The number of troops provided for the entire operation of 130-140 divisions is sufficient.

The final version of the plan is set out in the directive of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces (OKW) ´21 of December 18, 1940 (see.

Directive 21) and the "Directive on the Strategic Concentration and Deployment of Troops" of the OKH of January 31, 1941. The "Barbarossa" plan provided for "defeating Soviet Russia in a fleeting campaign even before the war against England is over." The idea was "to split the front of the main forces of the Russian army, concentrated in the western part of Russia, with quick and deep strikes from powerful mobile groups north and south of the Pripyat marshes and, using this breakthrough, destroy the disunited groupings of enemy troops." At the same time, the main forces of the Soviet army were supposed to be destroyed west of the Dnieper, Western Dvina lines, preventing them from retreating into the interior of the country. In the future, it was planned to capture Moscow, Leningrad, Donbass and reach the Astrakhan, Volga, Arkhangelsk line (see "A-A"). The plan "Barbarossa" set out in detail the tasks of army groups and armies, the procedure for interaction between them, the tasks of the Air Force and the Navy, issues of cooperation with allied states, etc.

Its implementation was supposed to begin in May 1941, however, in connection with operations against Yugoslavia and Greece, this date was postponed. In April 1941, the final order was given for the day of the attack - June 22.

A number of additional documents were developed to the directives of the OKW and OKH, incl.

including the directive on disinformation, which demanded that the "strategic deployment of forces for Operation Barbarossa" be presented as the greatest disinformation maneuver in the history of wars, aimed at diverting attention from the latest preparations for the invasion of England.

In accordance with the Barbarossa plan, by June 22, 1941, 190 divisions (including 19 tank and 14 motorized) of Germany and its allies were concentrated near the borders of the USSR. They were supported by 4 air fleets, as well as Finnish and Romanian aviation. The troops concentrated for the offensive numbered 5.5 million.

people, about 4300 tanks, over 47 thousand field guns and mortars, about 5000 combat aircraft. Army groups were deployed: "North" consisting of 29 divisions (all German) - in the strip from Memel (Klaipeda) to Goldap; "Center" consisting of 50 divisions and 2 brigades (all German) - in the strip from Goldap to the Pripyat swamps; "South" consisting of 57 divisions and 13 brigades (including 13 Romanian divisions, 9 Romanian and 4 Hungarian brigades) - in the strip from the Pripyat swamps to the Black Sea. The army groups had the task of advancing, respectively, in general directions towards Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv. The German army "Norway" and 2 Finnish armies were concentrated in Finland and Norway - a total of 21 divisions and 3 brigades, supported by the 5th air fleet and Finnish aviation.

They were tasked with reaching Murmansk and Leningrad. 24 divisions remained in the OKH reserve.

Despite the initial significant successes of the German troops, the Barbarossa plan proved to be untenable, since it proceeded from the false premise of the weakness of the Soviet Union and its armed forces.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Back in 1940, the Barbarossa plan was developed and approved briefly, according to which it was supposed to establish complete total control over the Soviet Union, the only country that, according to Hitler, could resist Germany.

It was planned to do this in a very short time, striking in three directions by the joint efforts of Germany and its allies - Romania, Finland and Hungary. The attack was supposed to be in three directions:
in a southerly direction - Ukraine was put under attack;
in the northern direction - Leningrad and the Baltic States;
in the central direction - Moscow, Minsk.

Full coordination of the actions of the military leadership to seize the Union and establish complete control over it, and the end of the preparation of military operations was supposed to be completed as early as April 1941. The German leadership mistakenly assumed that they would be able to complete the fleeting capture of the Soviet Union, according to the developed plan Barbarossa, much earlier than the war with Great Britain was over.

The whole essence of Barbarossa's plan boiled down to the following.
The main forces of the ground forces of the Soviet Union, which were located on the territory of the western part of Russia, had to be completely destroyed with the help of tank wedges. The main goal of this destruction was the task of preventing the withdrawal of even a part of the combat-ready troops. Next, it was necessary to take a line from which it would be possible to carry out air raids on the territory of the Reich. The final goal of the Barbarossa plan is a shield that could divide the European and Asian parts of Russia (Volga-Arkhangelsk). In this state of affairs, the Russians would have industrial facilities only in the Urals, which could be destroyed, in the event of an urgent need, with the help of the Luftwaffe. When developing the Barbarossa plan, a special place was given to coordinating actions in such a way that the Baltic Fleet would deprive the Baltic Fleet of any opportunity to participate in hostilities against Germany. And possible active attacks from the air forces of the Union were supposed to be prevented by preparing and implementing an operation to attack them. That is, the advance nullification of the air force's ability to effectively defend itself.

Coordinating the Barbarossa plan, Hitler considered it important that the commanders bring to the attention of their subordinates that all measures that are taken in connection with the implementation of such a plan are considered exclusively preventive - so that the Russians cannot take a position other than that assigned to them by the German leadership. Information about the development of this kind of attack was kept secret. Only a small number of officers were allowed to plan military operations, which was supposed to be carried out against the Soviet Union. This is due solely to the fact that an undesirable outflow of information will lead to the onset of grave political and military consequences.

Your work "barbarossa's plan in brief" was sent by the customer sebastian1 for revision.