Beyond Barbarossa: The Eastern Front of World War 2

Sponsor: The Eastern Front Trilogy by Scott Bury

The true story of a Canadian drafted into the Soviet Red Army in World War II. 

https://scottburyauthor.com/books/the-eastern-front-trilogy/

As the Germans strangle Leningrad and sweep across Ukraine, we can see just how complicated the Eastern Front is, and how connected to events and decisions a world away. 

Map 1: Closing on Leningrad.

Photos: Rasputitsa

Horses sank up to their bellies in mud in Ukraine during rasputitsa. 

Even tracked vehicles became mired in the deep mud. 

 
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Having captured most of Ukraine and with a choke-hold on Leningrad, Germany appears to be winning as it advances on Moscow. But the big picture looks different close up. 

The Battle of Smolensk may just be the big turning point in the was in the East. 

This episode sponsored by The Eastern Front Trilogy, the true story of a Canadian drafted into the Red Army in World War II. 

The Eastern Front Trilogy.

All proceeds from the sales of The Eastern Front Trilogy in paperback or its constituent e-books will go to helping Ukrainian refugees until all Ukrainians can return home safe from Russian military aggression. 

Contact the author by email to [email protected] 

Support the podcast on Patreon.

Map 1: The situation in the summer of 1941

Map 2: The Battle of Smolensk 

The best tank of the war: the Soviet T34

 This file is licensed under the 

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Лишь человек 
The Soviet KV-1 heavy tank 

The Soviet PTRD-41 anti-tank gun 

Source: RIA Novosti archive, image #4408 / N. Bode / CC-BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. 

The Katyusha 

The Katyusha in action 

This file is licensed under the 
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.Attribution: RIA Novosti archive, image #303890 / Zelma / CC-BY-SA 3.0  Books cited in this episode: 
David Glantz: Operation Barbarossa: Hitler's Invasion of Russia 1941. Stroud, Gloucetershire, UK, 2011.  

David Stahel: Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

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After the Battle of Smolensk, Germany changes its strategy. It diverts forces away from the drive on Moscow toward two other key objectives: Leningrad in the north, and Kyiv in Ukraine. 

This is how that played out. 

Map source: US Military Academy. 

Bibliography:

Glantz, David: Operation Barbarossa: Hitler’s Invasion of Russia, 1941. The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 2001. https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/ 

Bury, Scott: Army of Worn Soles. The Written Word Publishing Company, Ottawa, Canada, 2012. https://writtenword.ca/books-by-scott-bury/army-of-worn-soles/

Music by Nicolas Bury. 

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Operation Barbarossa caught the USSR unready. But that doesn't mean they were helpless. They hit back—hard. 

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Beyond Barbarossa, the first English-language podcast in the world to focus on the Eastern Front of World War II, takes a close look at the opposing forces facing off across the border on June 22, 1941. 

Music by Nicolas Bury. Links

Beyond Barbarossa: the website for more maps and information. 

Enjoy this podcast? Support us on Patreon to help cover the costs of production. 

The Eastern Front Trilogy: the true story of a Canadian drafted into the Soviet Red Army in 1941—just in time for Operation Barbarossa. Maps: 

The initial OKH plan for Operation Barbarossa

German advances to August 1941

Maps sources: World War II Database, United States Military Academy

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What brought Nazi Germany and the USSR to the brink of war in June 1941? What about their odd alliance in the late 1930s? 

The relationship between these opposite tyrannies played out like the macabre inverse of a romantic comedy. Nothing was funny.

Maps to help: 

Battle of Khalkin Gol 

German invasion of Poland: 

Soviet invasion of Poland 

Finland 1940

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The first day of the biggest land invasion in the history of warfare.

See the maps on the website, https://beyondbarbarossa.podbean.com.

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com.

Music by Nicolas Bury. 

Support the program by becoming a Patreon patron: https://www.patreon.com/BeyondBarbarossa 

Get all the info on the web page. 

Contact us by email: [email protected] 

Follow the author on Twitter @ScottTheWriter 

Visit the Facebook page 

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Beyond Barbarossa: The first English-language podcast to focus on the biggest part of World War II— the largest war in human history—the Eastern Front, launches June 22, 2022, the 81st anniversary.

Music by Nicolas Bury. 

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