Operation Barbarossa: German invasion of the Soviet Union
- Date
- 22 June 1941
- Category
- Military & conflict
- Region
- Eastern Europe (Soviet Union)
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
On 22 June 1941 Germany and its Axis allies launched Operation Barbarossa, invading the Soviet Union along a front of roughly 2,900 km with more than three million troops.
It was the largest land invasion in history and opened the Eastern Front, which became the largest and deadliest theatre of the war. German forces advanced deep into Soviet territory, besieging Leningrad and threatening Moscow, but failed to achieve a decisive victory before winter and a Soviet counteroffensive halted them outside the capital in December 1941. The invasion brought the USSR into the Allied camp and unleashed a war of extermination, with mass killings of Jews, prisoners of war and civilians. Fighting on the Eastern Front would account for the majority of military deaths in the European war, with total deaths there estimated above 26 million.
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Empires active in 22 June 1941
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- Empire of Japan1868 CE – 1947 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
Related military & conflict events
- Battle of Stalingrad23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943
- Attack on Pearl Harbor7 December 1941
- German invasion of Poland and outbreak of World War II1 September 1939
- D-Day: the Normandy landings6 June 1944
- Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki6 & 9 August 1945
- Second Sino-Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre7 July 1937 – 2 September 1945
Further reading
The wider story
Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire
Fast-paced narrative of Portugal's seaborne empire.
Get it on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.