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Risks Faced by Germany in Operation Barbarossa 22 June - September 1941 -…
Risks Faced by Germany in Operation Barbarossa
22 June - September 1941
Would the Russian's fight back? - Hitler predicted them to withdraw in disorder
The Germans were met with Soviet resistance in the outskirts of Leningrad and Kiev.
Could the army be resupplied in Russia - Goring believed the Luftwaffe was capable of doing so
The Luftwaffe's cargo missions were threatened by the Red Army's anti-aircraft crews, landing heavy aircraft was very dangerous because of the frozen airstrips, supplies that were parachuted down from high altitudes frequently missed their target and were captured by Russian troops
How would Germany escape if it became trapped in Russia?
Was Hitler's plan to attack 3 targets at once to big and prudent? - Army officers expressed with concerns and frustrations with the campaign before it begun believing that three fronts would extend the German armies too far and make them vulnerable to the Russians. If this was to happen, there would be little to no chance of getting reinforcements
Hitler's wide front line meant that he had to redeploy troops including the ones close to Moscow. Not only did this delay the Moscow attack by 2 months but also gave the Russians time to mobilise and set up defensives.
Russia's roads and lack there of didn't suit Blitzkrieg tactics - if it rained, unsealed roads would turn into mud thus slowing German divisions
At the beginning of winter, the panzer units weren't able to go further into Russia due to the muddy conditions. This halted the German line thus allowing the Russians to prepare for battle and set up defensives in Moscow.
Russia's winter weather - if there wasn't a win by October, the Germans would have to fight a winter war in snow and sub-zero temperatures (feared by German officers)
By Aug/Oct the Germans were starting to face the realities of the Russian winter:
Over 100,000 cases of frostbite within German army
Other common diseases included hypothermia, trench foot, lice and pneumonia
No one could bury their dead because the ground was frozen --> in Leningrad and Moscow corpses were piled up on the streets
Russian winter froze the oil sumps in German tanks and trucks making them immobile until they thawed in the Spring
A bare hand on a frozen rifle barrel would take off the skin
Fingers and toes were burned black and became dysfunctional
Power lines snapped, water pipes burst then froze again within minutes
750,000 German men died in Russia between Aug 1941 - Feb 1942