the great patriotic war

What was the date and codename of the German invasion of the USSR?

22 June 1941; Operation Barbarossa

Why was the USSR initially so unprepared for the invasion?

Stalin ignored 80 warnings in 8 months; he believed Germany wouldn't attack until Britain fell; and the Red Army was weakened by pre-war purges of 35,000 officers.

What was Stalin's Order No. 270 (August 1941)?

It declared soldiers who fell into captivity as traitors; their families were liable to arrest and loss of state entitlements.

What was the 'Moscow Panic' of October 1941?

Government offices were evacuated 500 miles east to Kuibyshev as Germans neared the capital; Stalin stayed to maintain morale.

What was Stalin's Order No. 227 (July 1942)?

Known as 'Not a step back!'; it forbade unauthorized retreats and created punishment companies and blocking detachments to shoot 'panic-mongers'.

What was the decisive battle and turning point of the war in the south (1942-43)?

Battle of Stalingrad; ended with the surrender of the German 6th Army on 31 Jan 1943.

What was the largest set-piece battle in history (July 1943)?

Battle of Kursk; the repulsed German offensive ended any realistic prospect of a German victory in the east.

What was Operation Bagration (June 1944)?

A massive Soviet offensive that destroyed the German Army Group Centre in Belorussia and drove the Germans from Soviet territory.

When did Berlin surrender to Soviet forces?

2 May 1945.

How did the USSR protect its industrial base in 1941?

An evacuation committee moved 1,523 factories and hundreds of thousands of workers to the east (Urals/Siberia) within the first few months.

What was the 'Lend-Lease' programme?

US-led military aid that provided vital Studebaker trucks, food (spam), and railway materials, contributing 10% of Soviet GDP in 1943-44.

How did Soviet tank production outpace Germany's?

By focusing on mass production of fewer models; the T-34 tank production time dropped from 8,000 hours in 1941 to 3,700 hours in 1943.

What was the estimated total Soviet death toll (military and civilian)?

Approx. 26-27 million people.

What was the significance of the Siege of Leningrad (the '900 days')?

800,000 civilians starved to death; it became a symbol of Soviet endurance.

What roles did Soviet women play in the front line?

500,000 served in active ranks as snipers, pilots (the 'Night Witches'), and medics (100% of nurses).

Who was Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya?

An 18-year-old partisan volunteer executed by the Germans; she became a legendary propaganda symbol of resistance.

How did Stalin's policy toward the Orthodox Church change?

In 1943, he met the Metropolitan, abolished the League of the Godless, and allowed churches to reopen to boost patriotism.

What is the Zhdanovshchina (started 1946)?

A post-war cultural purge led by Andrei Zhdanov to enforce ideological purity and attack Western 'bourgeois' influences in arts and science.

How were returning Soviet Prisoners of War (POWs) treated?

They were treated as traitors for having surrendered or being 'contaminated' by the West; approx. half were sent to the Gulag.

What happened to ethnic minorities like the Crimean Tartars and Chechens?

Two million were forcibly deported to the Soviet interior based on unsubstantiated claims of collaboration with the Germans.