June 22, 1941, the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany

On June 22, 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union called Operation Barbarossa. Germany accomplished complete surprise and devastated the poorly trained and equipped Red Army. The German Army, the Wehrmacht made it to the gates of Moscow before being beaten in the Battle of Moscow. From this point on Germany would control much of the Soviet Union's territory and some of its largest cities until finally Army Group Center was annihilated by the Red Army in the Summer of 1944.

The Soviet Union was too big and had plenty of natural resources. I've seen discussions of historians and few people believe there is any scenario where Germany could ever beat the Soviet Union. Only if the Soviets crumbled and quickly surrendered like the French could Germany win in the East. Really the amazing thing is that Germany survived and wasn't beaten back by the Soviets earlier.




Probably the most stunning statistic is that in the first 8 months of Operation Barbarossa 2.8 million Soviet soldiers who surrendered and were POWs were murdered by the Wehrmacht.