The First Day on the Eastern Front: Germany Invades the Soviet Union, June 22, 1941

by Craig W.H. Luther

Sunday, June 22, 1941: three million German soldiers invaded the Soviet Union as part of Hitler's long-planned Operation Barbarossa, which aimed to destroy the Soviet Union, secure its land as lebensraum for the Third Reich, and enslave its Slavic population. From launching points in newly acquired Poland, in three prongs--North, Central, South--German forces stormed western Russia, virtually from the Baltic to the Black Sea. By late fall, the invasion had foundered against Russian weather, terrain, and resistance, and by December, it had failed at the gates of Moscow, but early on, as the Germans sliced through Russian territory and soldiers with impunity, capturing hundreds of thousands, it seemed as though Russia would fall. In the spirit of Martin Middlebrook's classic First Day on the Somme, Craig Luther narrates the events of June 22, 1941, a day when German military might was at its peak and seemed as though it would easily conquer the Soviet Union, a day the common soldiers would remember for its tension and the frogs bellowing in the Polish marshlands. It was a day when the German blitzkrieg decimated Soviet command and control within hours and seemed like nothing would stop it from taking Moscow. Luther narrates June 22--one of the pivotal days of World War II--from high command down to the tanks and soldiers at the sharp end, covering strategy as well as tactics and the vivid personal stories of the men who crossed the border into the Soviet Union that fateful day, which is the Eastern Front in microcosm, representing the years of industrial-scale warfare that followed and the unremitting hostility of Germans and Soviets.

Genres: World War II, History, Military Fiction, Military History, Russia, Nonfiction, Germany

475 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2018

About the author

Dr. Craig Luther is a former Fulbright Scholar (Bonn, West Germany, 1979-80) and retired Air Force historian.

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As dawn broke on June 21, 1941, and the final hours of peace ticked irretrievably away, millions of ordinary German soldiers across the vast reaches of the eastern front made their final preparations for battle, like soldiers everywhere on the eve of a great new campaign." pg 49

This was a thorough and detailed narrative on the first day of the invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, that started at 0315 on 22 June, 1941. Craig H.W. Luther did an outstanding job of explaining the planning, preparation, and execution of the largest invasion in modern warfare.

The non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union was honored at face value, but each side began arming up. The Germans at Hitler's orders mobilized troops and equipment to the eastern line of demarcation in fear of secret Russian & British/American alliances as well as the Soviet encroachment into Eastern Europe that would jeopardize German-run oil fields and fuel production in Romania (pgs 7-11).

On the other hand, Stalin began his murderous campaign of industrialization and building the military (pgs 29-35). Luther did a great job of explaining the details involving strategic political & military viewpoints from both German and Russian preemptive strike and imminent & overwhelming counteroffensive.

Each chapter was dedicated to planning starting in 1940, Stalin's denial of attack & Hitler's call for action, and examinations of Army Group North, Army Group Center, & Army Group South, and the the deployment of the Luftwaffe operations in the operation. Each latter chapter presented tables of organization and equipment, leadership, and its role in the operation.

Overwhelming and impressive facts were mentioned in the introductory chapter:

•The main Russo-German front reached a maximum length of 2,050 kilometers in 1942, while the depth of the German advance was 1,730 kilometers from the start line.

•From 1941 to 1944, some ten million German soldiers saw active duty service on the Eastern Front. More than 4.5 million of these men lost their lives, including over one million who died in Soviet captivity.

•During the war 34.5 million men and women served in the Soviet armed forces. Nearly 14.6 million were killed in battle; died of wounds, illness, or accidents; perished in captivity, went missing or were executed by their own people. Nearly 27 million Soviet citizens (military and civilian) died in thr war.

•The economic impact were also staggering. The areas occupied by German invaders embraced two-fifths of the grain and four-fifths of the sugar beets produced in the Soviet Union, as well as about one-quarter of the country's farm animals, tractors, and combine harvesters. Between them, the Germans and Russians destroyed 1,710 towns, 70,000 villages, 32,000 industrial plants, and 65,000 kilometers of railway track. Alone inside Russia 23,000 schools were razed and between half & two-thirds of Soviet basic industrial capacity was put out of action.

This was an excellent narrative about the first day of the invasion of Operation Barbarossa . I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the Eastern Front campaign of World War II. Thanks!

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sunday; June 22; 1941: three million German soldiers invaded the Soviet Union as part of Hitler's long-planned Operation Barbarossa; which aimed to destroy the Soviet Union; secure its land as lebensraum for the Third Reich; and enslave its Slavic population. From launching points in newly acquired Poland; in three prongs--North; Central; South--German forces stormed western Russia; virtually from the Baltic to the Black Sea. By late fall; the invasion had foundered against Russian weather; terrain; and resistance; and by December; it had failed at the gates of Moscow; but early on; as the Germans sliced through Russian territory and soldiers with impunity; capturing millions; it seemed as though Russia would fall. In the spirit of Martin Middlebrook's classic First Day on the Somme; Craig Luther narrates the events of June 22; 1941; a day when German military might was at its peak and seemed as though it would easily conquer the Soviet Union; a day the common soldiers would remember for its tension and the frogs bellowing in the Polish marshlands. It was a day when the German blitzkrieg decimated Soviet command and control within hours and seemed like nothing would stop it from taking Moscow. Luther narrates June 22--one of the pivotal days of World War II--from high command down to the tanks and soldiers at the sharp end; covering strategy as well as tactics and the vivid personal stories of the men who crossed the border into the Soviet Union that fateful day; which is the Eastern Front in microcosm; representing the years of industrial-scale warfare that followed and the unremitting hostility of Germans and Soviets.

[Philip Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book overall about the war on the Eastern Front in WWII. Very well written book. It is also expertly researched by Craig Luther. I mean that sincerely. Lots of great notes and other books to check out. The narrative flows along well and doesn't get bogged down or repetitive. I gave it four stars because I thought it could have uses better maps. They were too small and hard to read. I used a Google search to find better maps. Recommended for WWII people.

PHIL Kuhn

[Trent L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the first hand accounts of both German and Russian troops, especially the ground troops

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's particularly ominous for the 80th anniversary of the most calamitous clash of totalitarian systems to come as the United States continues its descent into the soft totalitarianism of the political right. So what stands out in this book is the voices of German soldiers, in the main convinced that their cause, damnable as it appeared on its face even in the moment, was "just and necessary." Exposing that criminally flawed mindset is well and good, but this book still calls to mind the duty of the historian to keep a moral context front and center. Luther does note the illegality of the German cause (not the mention the deep cynicism of the non-aggression pact Germany violated,) and even takes time to debunk the notion that the invasion of the Soviet Union was "preemptive" or "preventative." But at some point I got tired of reading how seemingly each German general in the campaign was "a fine leader of men" and "apolitical," and while the ominous trend of Lithuanian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian peasants meeting the German army with bread and salt little realizing the genocide awaiting that army's wake is reported, in part because this book seeks to stick to only that one, tragic day, the full payout of that horror is left for the reader to discover on their own. Despite the author's fair warning, I worry that the call to face that discovery might be unheeded by too many readers.

[Andi]

Excellent. And written to be read.
Enjoyed every page. And, learned so much.