Events
Did Hitler cop out of his failure and push the blame onto Mussolini?
Operation Barbarossa
Looking back near the end of the war, as Germany's inevitable and impending defeat loomed ever closer, Hitler attributed great blame to Mussolini's Greek fiasco as the cause of his own subsequent catastrophe. Shirer argues that the fatal decision of the operation was the postponement from the original date of 15 May because Hitler wanted to intervene against an anti-German coup in Yugoslavia and Greek advances against Italy's occupation of Albania. As an explanation of Germany's calamitous defeat in the Soviet Union, this had little to commend it. But, although the diversion of German resources into Greece just prior to the attack on the Soviet Union scarcely helped the latter enterprise, Mussolini's foolishness did not undermine 'Barbarossa' before the operation started. During the campaign, Hitler ordered the main thrust toward Moscow to be diverted southward to help the Southern Army Group capture Ukraine. This move delayed the assault on the Soviet capital, though it also helped secure Army Group Center's southern flank. By the time they turned to Moscow, the Red Army's fierce resistance, the mud following the autumn rains and, eventually, snow, brought their advance to a halt. In addition, resistance by the Soviets, who proclaimed a "Great Patriotic War" in defense of the motherland, was much more fierce than the German command had expected. The border fortress of Brest, Belarus illustrates that tenacity: attacked on the very first day of the German invasion, the fortress was expected to fall within hours, but held out over a week. (Soviet propaganda later asserted it held out for six weeks). German logistics also became a major problem, as supply lines grew very long and vulnerable to partisan attacks in the rear. The Soviets also carried out a scorched earth policy on some of the land they were forced to abandon in order to deny the Germans food, fuel and buildings. Despite the setbacks, the German advance continued, often destroying or surrounding whole armies of Soviet troops and forcing them to surrender. The battle for Kiev was especially brutal. On 19 September, Army Group South seized control of Kiev, and took 665,000 prisoners. Kiev was later awarded the title Hero City for its defense. Army Group North, which was to conquer the Baltic countries and eventually Leningrad, reached the southern outskirts of Leningrad by August 1941. There, fierce Soviet resistance stopped it. Since capturing the city seemed too costly, German command decided to starve the city to death by blockade, starting the Siege of Leningrad. The city held out, despite several attempts by the Germans to break through its defenses, unrelenting air and artillery attacks, and severe shortages of food and fuel, until the Germans were driven back from the city's approaches in early 1944. The siege resulted in the deaths of some one million of the city's inhabitants. Leningrad was the first Soviet city to receive the title of 'Hero City'. In addition to the main attacks of "Barbarossa", German forces occupied the Finnish district of Petsamo in order to secure its important nickel mines. They also launched a series of attacks against Murmansk beginning on 28 June 1941, known as Operation Silberfuchs.