Operation Barbarossa: When the Eastern Front Began

At 3:15 AM on 22 June 1941, three million German soldiers, supported by 3,350 tanks and 2,770 aircraft, crossed the Soviet border in the largest military invasion in history. Operation Barbarossa, as it was codenamed, opened the Eastern Front—the theatre of war where the outcome of World War II would ultimately be decided.

The initial German advance was devastating. Within weeks, entire Soviet armies were encircled and destroyed. By October, German forces had reached the outskirts of Moscow and Leningrad. But the Soviet Union did not collapse as Hitler had predicted. Fierce resistance, the vast distances of Russia, and the onset of winter gradually slowed the advance.

The Eastern Front became the deadliest theatre of the war by an enormous margin. An estimated 27 million Soviet citizens—soldiers and civilians—died between 1941 and 1945. The scale of sacrifice is central to the mission of the Immortal Regiment movement, which began in Russia and spread to communities around the world, including the UK.