The Invasion of Russia

The invasion of Russia started on the 22nd of June, 1941 when just over 3 million of Hitler's troops marched into Russia. This was called 'Operation Barbarossa.' Because Hitler's war effort was now directed towards Russia, most of the bombing in Britain stopped. This gave Britain time to recover. This was good news for Britain because the German bombers had gone for a while. Josef Stalin, the Russian leader, was expecting a German raid sometime despite his deal with Hitler before the war but, nevertheless, it still took Stalin by surprise. The Germans were advancing towards Moscow, and Stalin was forced to sacrifice huge numbers of troops to stop the Germans' approach. Hitler wanted to reach Moscow quickly, before the winter set in, but eventually he gave up his attempt and ordered all troops out of Russia.