Lincoln’s Last Days Part One: The Beginning of the End of the War (pages 1-58) 1. Explain why the Battle of Petersburg was a turning point in the war? I think the Battle of Petersburg was a turning point in the war because the Union started to get an advantage.
Without much warning, on June 22, 1941, Hitler’s German army invaded the Soviet Union, his goal was to destroy communism, and turn a large population of the Soviet Union into slaves. This invasion became the largest force in the whole European history. Joined by the Romanians and Finnish allies, the Nazis destroyed 3.6 million troops and thousands of tanks and planes along the 1,800 miles from the Arctic to the Black sea. At that time, the German armies went through western Russia, destroying and capturing entire Soviet armies. This rounded up to, 3 million captured in the year of 1941.
Research question: "Was Stalin's Great Terror in the late 1930s driven by a fear of foreign infiltration?" This investigation focuses on the late 1930s when the state-orchestrated purges were most intense. This investigation studies the purge of foreign elements who might betray the state during war. The purge of the Red Army and the intelligence apparatus is analysed in relation to the threat of these organisations being penetrated by foreign countries. The Kulak Operation is analysed in relation to the threat of foreign countries encouraging rebellion amongst kulaks.
Furthermore, Stalin was paranoid that the Soviet Union only had a decade to build up their industry in comparison to the western war before Germany would
However, they both knew that this wasn’t true, they would eventually attack each other, the pat just bought them time. Hitler too would make the mistake in attacking Russia, he too would begin to spiral downward. Hitler lost in Russia due to being unprepared for the war and being blinded by his ego. His troops were not ready for the harsh Russian winter, and it did not help that they Russians once again used the Scorched Earth Policy as they retreated. Hitler severely msjudged the numerous amounts of soldiers Russia had.
Another tactic was they Hitler wanted to enter a non-aggression treaty with Joseph Stalin and his Soviet Union. Hitler had taken down Poland and France with the
Hitler’s plan was to invade the Russian territory before the winter sets in. The commander in chief thought “that the Red Army could be defeated in two or three months” time, and by the end of October, they would have conquered the European regions of Russia (Royde-Smith). They never thought that the war would last for another three years and did not prepare for the winter that had yet to come. The ‘German planners had failed to equip their troops for winter warfare … sufficient food and medicines… [and] outran their supply lines” (Invasion of Soviet Union). By December of 1941, the Red Army had recovered a bit from the millions that was lost on the first few days of war.
It appeared that Germany was going to win, however the rest of the world wondered, why did they attack their Ally, Russia? Russia supported Germany by providing gasoline for their tanks and other equipments. German needed more supplies from Russia, so they invaded Russia for the gasoline in the oil field. It was going to be a quick win, however they did not think understand how cold Russian winters were and it halted German troops until it got warmer. During this time, Russia became partners with Allies.
Germany needed resources for their Blitzkrieg strategy. “‘The Soviets did all they could to prove to the Germans that they were more valuable as friends than enemies. They continued to deliver huge amounts of raw materials to the Germans (including 232,000 tons of petroleum and 632,000 tons of grain’” (Reas 87). Therefore, Hitler having these materials led him to use the Blitzkrieg
Napoleon invaded Russia on june 24th 1812 in hopes of taking control of the vast empire. He did not know what Russia’s winter had in store for him and his men. 200,010 men died. He was forced to retreat in december of 1812. Hitler did not learn form the mistakes of Napoleon.
Therefore, in 1912, Germany began preparations to enact major war that could (hopefully) be blamed on Russia. Considering Russia would have completed its military armament and railroads by 1917, Germany realized they needed to strike sooner rather than later – they needed to maximize their own
Almost immediately after the war, Stalin began to taunt the United States. His Red Army quickly moved in on Europe and many diplomats including Churchill feared that Stalin would attempt to take over the continent. The most notable incident of Stalin’s attempt at expansionism was after WWII when Stalin made territorial demands against Turkey and requested Soviet bases in the Turkish Straits. Stalin knew that Great Britain supported Greece and Turkey economically and militarily; yet, Stalin continued to intervene in Greece and
‘We underestimated him’. To what extent does this explain Stalin’s rise to power? Stalin’s rise to power was made easier by the weaknesses of his opponents, particularly through their underestimation of his political skills. However, through the consideration of Lenin’s attitude to Stalin, Trotsky’s personality clashes, Stalin’s alliance with Kamenev and Zinoviev, as well as Bukharin’s passivity, it may be argued that it was Stalin’s own manipulation and shrewdness that secured his position of power.
Hitler, and by proxy the Nazi’s, viewed the Soviets as “others,” often comparing the Bolsheviks and the Jews that needed to be fought in order for the German people to exist. The Germans ideologically, were much like the Greco-Romans, they were civilized and cultured whereas everyone else were barbarians. The concept of Lebensraum, living space, also fueled Hitler to pursue the Soviet Union. Germany,
Background Adolf Hitler’s deep hatred of the Jews and communism, and his desire to unite the German people and showcase the superiority of the Aryan race drove him to subjugate most of Europe in order to gain “Lebensraum” or living space for the German, cleanse mankind of inferior species, and attain his vision of a Thousand Year Reich. His grand plan of conquering the whole of Europe was initially to focus German expansion in the western part before dealing with the Soviets in the east. Hence, as a matter of convenience, Germany initiated a Nonaggression Pact with Russia in 1939 to keep the Soviets in check while their military efforts are still focused in Western Europe (History in an Hour, n.d.). Following the Soviet occupation of the Baltic
