The Eastern Front: From Barbarossa to Berlin

The Largest War in History

The Eastern Front of the Second World War was the largest military confrontation in human history. From the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 (Operation Barbarossa) to the fall of Berlin in May 1945, the fighting involved over 400 divisions and resulted in approximately 30 million military and civilian deaths.

Key Battles

The Eastern Front included some of the most significant battles of the war: the Battle of Moscow (1941-42), the Siege of Leningrad (1941-44), the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-43), and the Battle of Kursk (1943). Each of these battles was larger in scale than any single engagement on the Western Front.

The Road to Berlin

From 1943 onwards, the Soviet forces conducted a series of massive offensive operations that drove the Wehrmacht back across Eastern Europe. The final assault on Berlin in April-May 1945 involved over two million Soviet troops.

Legacy in Britain

Many Soviet veterans who settled in the United Kingdom have shared their Eastern Front experiences with the Immortal Regiment UK. Their stories provide a vital perspective on the war that is often underrepresented in British historical narratives.