Many people criticise Hitler for invading the Soviet Union because it eventually ended in defeat. But this criticism is unfounded as Operation Barbarossa was a military necessity as Stalin was preparing to invade Europe.
http://forum.codoh.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=7999
Yeah he had no option. Either fight the Soviets in German territory or go on the offensive first. It's also interesting reading about how Hitler wanted to operation played out, his generals didn't like his idea of a two-pronged attack and opted for a full frontal assault.
shareSorry, but this is rubbish. The notion of a Russian invasion of Europe is based almost entirely on one book by a Soviet defector and is not taken seriously by the majority of war historians.
Sorry, but this is rubbish. The notion of a Russian invasion of Europe is based almost entirely on one book by a Soviet defector and is not taken seriously by the majority of war historians.
Stalin was preparing for an offensive and most observers believe that the Soviet high command considered that the country would be ready for war by 1943. Their target was Germany, what they saw as a pre-emptive assault on a country that posed a major threat. You can blame the failure of the British, French and Italians for failing to engage with the Soviet Union in enforcing the Treaty of Versailles and safely containing Germany for this policy. Appeasement was the right approach, but it should have been tempered with a unified diplomatic front in enforcing key security elements of the Treaty. The Soviets were left sidelined from all of these discussions so they had to take their own steps to safeguard their security, signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Nazi-Soviet pact in May 1939 - a gamble to buy time until they could be ready to face off any German threat. German knowledge of Soviet arms building forced them to bring their timetable forward to the earliest possible window for Barbarrossa
Barbarrossa was a mistake, it directly resulted in Germany's defeat, but by 1940/1941 they had no choice, war with the Soviet Union was inevitable, the only question was when. Blame Hitler's outlandish ambitions, public rhetoric and continual unwillingess despite many opportunities to allay Soviet concerns. He took every opportunity in the 1930s to convince the Soviets that he wanted to take everthing they had by force.
The main problem with Barbarossa was the timing. Hitler had to go to the Balkans to bail out Mussolini which delayed the offensive in the East.
I still believe that Hitler should have delayed Barbarossa and given Rommel whatever he needed to go as far East as possible in North Africa. If Rommel had taken Egypt and perhaps even Syria/Palestine and into Iraq, you have a possible two front entry in Russia that next year. Plus, Germany would have had plenty of oil as well as crippled the British.
Conquer your fear, and I promise you, you will conquer death.