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The Eastern Front was a theatre of World War II fought between the European Axis powers and Allies, including the Soviet Union (USSR) and Poland. It encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe , and Southeast Europe , and lasted from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945.
Eastern Front, (June 22, 1941–May 8, 1945), major theatre of combat during World War II that included operations in the Soviet Union, the Balkans, the Baltic States, and eastern and central Europe. The principal belligerents were the Soviet Union ( Allied powers ) and Germany ( Axis powers ).
The fighting on the Eastern Front was terrible and incessant, brutal beyond belief. Both sides fought with demonic fury—the Germans to crush the hated Slavs, and the Soviets to defend the sacred soil of Mother Russia. Atrocities including beheadings and mass rapes occurred daily. Millions of captured soldiers died of exposure and maltreatment.
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Eastern Front, major theater of combat during World War I that included operations on the main Russian front as well as campaigns in Romania. The Eastern Front, which stretched from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south, was more than twice as long as the Western Front.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 2 min
- Joseph Stalin disregarded early warnings of the German attack. Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union was the largest surprise attack in military history, but according to most sources, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise at all.
- Most people believed Germany would quickly crush the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa was intended to deal a total defeat to the Soviets in only three to six months, but in the early days of the invasion, many thought the fall might come even sooner.
- Extreme weather conditions played a crucial role in the Soviet victory. In addition to the might of the Red Army, German troops were also worn down by “General Winter”—the nickname used to describe the deadly Soviet frost.
- Soviet women served in front line combat roles. Soviet-era Communism tended to embrace the equality of the sexes, and perhaps nowhere was this more apparent than in the attitude toward female soldiers.
Eastern Front Overview. More combatants were killed on the Eastern Front than in all other theaters of World War II combined. These bitterly contested, racial battles prevented Germany from mounting a more resolute defense against Allied armies in Normandy, and later on the Reich’s western borders. Learn More.
Feb 16, 2022 · The eastern front in WW2: how it all went wrong for the Germans. When Hitler unleashed the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, he fully expected his armies to triumph in a matter of weeks. Instead, the operation cost him the war. Sir Richard J Evans considers how it all went wrong for the Germans on the eastern front.
