Decline on all fronts Hermann Göring

hitler meeting göring , automotive engineer ferdinand porsche @ wolf s lair in 1942

in spite of molotov–ribbentrop pact, signed in 1939, nazi germany began operation barbarossa—the invasion of soviet union—on 22 june 1941. luftwaffe @ advantage, destroying thousands of soviet aircraft in first month of fighting. hitler , top staff sure campaign on christmas, , no provisions made reserves of men or equipment. but, july, germans had 1,000 planes remaining in operation, , troop losses on 213,000 men. choice made concentrate attack on 1 part of vast front; efforts directed @ capturing moscow. after long, successful, battle of smolensk, hitler ordered army group centre halt advance moscow , temporarily diverted panzer groups north , south aid in encirclement of leningrad , kiev. pause provided red army opportunity mobilize fresh reserves; historian russel stolfi considers 1 of major factors caused failure of moscow offensive, resumed in october 1941 battle of moscow. poor weather conditions, fuel shortages, delay in building aircraft bases in eastern europe, , overstretched supply lines factors. hitler did not give permission partial retreat until mid-january 1942; time losses comparable of french invasion of russia in 1812.

hitler decided summer 1942 campaign concentrated in south; efforts made capture oilfields in caucasus. battle of stalingrad, major turning point of war, began on 23 august 1942 bombing campaign luftwaffe. sixth army entered city, because of location on front line, still possible soviets encircle , trap there without reinforcements or supplies. when sixth army surrounded end of november in operation uranus, göring promised luftwaffe able deliver minimum of 300 tons of supplies trapped men every day. on basis of these assurances, hitler demanded there no retreat; fight last man. though airlifts able through, amount of supplies delivered never exceeded 120 tons per day. remnants of german sixth army—some 91,000 men out of army of 285,000—surrendered in february 1943; 5,000 of these captives survived russian prisoner of war camps see germany again.