Operation Barbarossa

E2845

World War II campaign invasion military operation

Operation Barbarossa was Nazi Germany’s massive 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, marking a pivotal and brutal turning point on the Eastern Front of World War II.

Aliases (15)

German invasion of the Soviet Union ×16
German 1941 offensive Operation Barbarossa ×2
German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) ×2
Invasion of the Soviet Union ×2
1941 German summer campaign in the USSR ×1
Axis invasion of the Soviet Union ×1
German 1941 campaign against the Soviet Union ×1
German 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union ×1
GermanInvasionOfTheSovietUnion ×1
Invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) ×1
Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union ×1
OperationBarbarossa ×1
Soviet participation in World War II ×1
World War II Eastern Front operations ×1
invasion of the Soviet Union ×1

Statements (53)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	World War II campaign → invasion → military operation →
alsoKnownAs	Unternehmen Barbarossa →
associatedWith	Einsatzgruppen mass shootings → Holocaust in the East →
belligerent	Nazi Germany → Soviet Union →
casualties	millions of military and civilian deaths →
characteristic	blitzkrieg tactics → mass atrocities against civilians → war of annihilation →
commandedBy	Adolf Hitler → Fedor von Bock → Gerd von Rundstedt → Walther von Brauchitsch → Wilhelm von Leeb →
conflict	World War II →
endDate	1941-12-05 →
followedBy	Battle of Stalingrad → Case Blue →
front	Eastern Front →
historicalSignificance	largest invasion in history by manpower → pivotal campaign determining outcome of World War II in Europe →
ideologicalGoal	Lebensraum for Germany → destruction of Bolshevism → extermination and enslavement of Slavic populations →
involvedUnit	Army Group Centre → Army Group North → Army Group South → Luftwaffe → Red Army → Wehrmacht →
location	Soviet Union →
objective	capture of Moscow → conquest of the western Soviet Union → destruction of the Red Army → seizure of Ukraine and the Caucasus →
opposedBy	Georgy Zhukov → Joseph Stalin → Semyon Timoshenko →
partOf	Eastern Front of World War II →
plannedBy	Adolf Hitler → German High Command →
precededBy	Fall of France → German invasion of Poland → Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact →
result	German strategic failure → Soviet defensive victory → end of German–Soviet non-aggression → opening of the Eastern Front →
startDate	1941-06-22 →
turningPoint	shift of strategic initiative to the Soviet Union →

Referenced by (134)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
18th Army (Wehrmacht) → 2nd Panzer Army → 4th Army → 6th Army → Army Group A → Erhard Raus → Erich von Manstein → Ernst Busch → Georg-Hans Reinhardt → Gerhard Barkhorn → Heeresgruppe Süd → Hermann Hoth ("invasion of the Soviet Union") → Hermann Hoth → Maximilian von Weichs → VIII Army Corps → Waffen-SS → Walter Model → Walther Nehring → Walther von Brauchitsch → Wilhelm List → Wilhelm von Leeb → Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen →	participatedIn
Battle of Smolensk (1941) → Battle of Uman → Bryansk pocket ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") → Bryansk pocket → Donbass defensive operations (1941) ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") → Donbass defensive operations (1941) → Kharkov defensive operations (1941) ("German 1941 campaign against the Soviet Union") → Kharkov defensive operations (1941) → Operation Typhoon → Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942) ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") → Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942) → Unternehmen Taifun ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") → Unternehmen Taifun → Vyazma pocket →	partOf
Alfred Jodl → Eduard Dietl → Ewald von Kleist → Fedor von Bock → Fedor von Bock ("Invasion of the Soviet Union") → Josef Harpe → Karl von Rundstedt → Maximilian de Angelis ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") → Walther von Reichenau →	participantIn
40th Army Corps → 9th Army → Army Group B → Axis forces on the Eastern Front → German 1st Panzer Army → Luftflotte 2 →	engagedIn
16th Army → Army Group South → Battle of Kiev (1941) → German 4th Panzer Army → German 6th Army → GermanArmyGroupNorth →	operation
Battle of Moscow ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") → Battle of Moscow → Case Blue → Fall Blau → Operation Blue ("German 1941 offensive Operation Barbarossa") → Operation Braunschweig ("German 1941 offensive Operation Barbarossa") →	precededBy
Battle of Odessa (1941) ("Axis invasion of the Soviet Union") → Battle of Uman ("1941 German summer campaign in the USSR") → Commander-in-Chief Luftflotte 2 → European theatre of World War II → Luftflotte 1 (in air support role) →	campaign
Eastern Front (World War II) → Oberkommando der Wehrmacht → Royal Romanian Air Force → Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt → Wehrmacht →	conflict
4th Army ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") → 7th Panzer Division → Army Group Centre → German 17th Army ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") → Heinz Guderian →	tookPartIn
16th Army (Wehrmacht) → Army Group North → German 17th Army → Luftflotte 4 →	notableOperation
18th Army (Wehrmacht) → 9th Army (Wehrmacht) → GermanArmyGroupNorth ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") →	notableEngagement
HungerPlan ("Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union") → Operation Citadel → Sikorski–Mayski agreement ("German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa)") →	relatedTo
Dietrich Hrabak → Slovak Air Force (WWII) → VIII Army Corps →	theaterOfOperations
Ghost Division ("Invasion of the Soviet Union") → Ghost Division →	associatedWithCampaign
Chief of the OKW → OKH (Oberkommando des Heeres) →	associatedWithEvent
Soviet occupation of Eastern Poland ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") → Soviet occupation of Eastern Poland →	followedBy
Backe Plan ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") → Backe Plan →	implementedDuring
SovietPrisonersOfWar ("OperationBarbarossa") → SovietPrisonersOfWar ("GermanInvasionOfTheSovietUnion") →	majorCapturePhase
Battle of Perekop (1941) ("German 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union") → Hungary in World War II →	militaryCampaign
Stalin era ("Soviet participation in World War II") → Third Reich →	notableEvent
Heer →	activeInConflict
Unternehmen Barbarossa →	alsoKnownAs
Friedrich Paulus ("Invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa)") →	battle
Siege of Leningrad →	cause
Commissar Order →	conflictContext
3rd Panzer Army →	engagement
Army Group South →	formedFor
Isthmus of Perekop ("World War II Eastern Front operations") →	hasHistoricalEvent
World War II →	hasPart
HungerPlan →	historicalContext
Battle of Uman ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") →	historicalPeriod
European Theater of Operations →	includesEvent
Eastern Front (World War II) →	initiatedBy
Commander of Army Group A ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") →	involvedIn
Lebensraum ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") →	justified
European theatre of World War II ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") →	keyEvent
Panzer division →	majorCampaign
Soviet-German Front →	majorOperation
Slovak Republic (1939–1945) →	militaryOperation
Axis powers →	notableCampaign
Blitzkrieg campaigns →	notableExample
Georg von Küchler →	operationParticipatedIn
Finnish offensive of 1941 →	relatedOperation
Panzer III →	sawActionIn
Protection Squadron →	significantEvent
CommissarOrderImplementation ("German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa)") →	startContext
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact →	terminatedBy
Panzer II →	usedInConflict
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact ("German invasion of the Soviet Union") →	violatedBy