Operation Barbarossa Failed In Every One Of Its Goals

The grand offensive did not capture a single major objective

(Public domain)

Adolf Hitler shocked and changed the world when he invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The massive offensive was launched all along the Soviet border, stretching hundreds of miles. Hitler was hoping that ferocious blitzkrieg would cause the Soviet Union to collapse in a matter of months. Despite initial gains and victories based on the element of surprise, the offensive quickly stalled.

At the outset, Operation Barbarossa had three main goals, and it achieved none of them. Each goal was tasked to an army group. The main army groups of Barbarossa were Army Group North, Army Group Center and Army Group South.

Operation Barbarossa was launched on June 22nd, 1941, and would result in millions of casualties.

Here are each of the goals of Barbarossa and how the Germans failed to capitalize on any of them.

Army Group North

Goal: Capture Leningrad

Result: Stalemate

Army Group North (AGN) was tasked with pushing forward through the Baltic states to capture the key city of Leningrad. Army Group North was equipped with a powerful panzer force that rapidly overran the piecemeal Soviet forces lying between themselves and the cultural capital. In just three weeks, the army quickly crossed the Dvina River and the Luga River.

As the communist forces pulled back, they decided to reinforce and fortify the city of Leningrad heavily. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were pressed into service digging trenches and erecting defense. Leningrad was rapidly turned into a fortress. Despite the quick gains of AGN, the offensive began to stall.

Hitler ordered panzers to be deployed from Army Group Center (AGC) to help with the final push on Leningrad. Unfortunately, the city was too well reinforced, and storming the city was no longer an option. Hitler ordered that Leningrad be sieged and starved into submission. The Germans believed with a looming winter on the horizon that, the city would capitulate quickly.

They were terribly mistaken. The city would hold out for nearly three years, and the siege…