Operation Barbarossa was supposed to be Hitler’s rapid victory against the Soviet Union, a massive World War II invasion built on speed, surprise, and overwhelming military force. In the early months ...

In December 1940, Hitler formally approved Operation Barbarossa and turned long discussed invasion planning into Germany’s next great gamble. The decision came at a moment of confidence, with Nazi ...

To mark the 85th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa—Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union and the start of the most barbaric war of annihilation in history—we are republishing here an article ...

One of the most momentous decisions in history was Adolf Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Operation Barbarossa transformed Nazi Germany’s war from a one-front struggle, against ...

On 22 June 1941, the German Wehrmacht launched a war of aggression against the Soviet Union under the code name 'Operation Barbarossa'. Millions of people died as a result. At the beginning of the ...

In early September 1941, the German Wehrmacht was advancing on all fronts in the Soviet Union. Kyiv had fallen, the Smolensk stronghold had been defeated and Leningrad was under siege. Hitler intended ...

The Battle of Britain is over. The Luftwaffe has been driven to exhaustion, and Germany suffers its first major defeat. Even though Britain remains undefeated, it is so isolated that Hitler has no ...

Soviet forces advancing on Kiev are briefly stalled at the Dnieper River until a tank unit crosses a shallow ford and promptly drives the Nazis from the city. The Soviet charge through Ukraine becomes ...