--- title: "Operation Barbarossa" description: "Study the maps of the largest battles of WW2 in detail. Get a good perspective of these history changing clashes." url: "https://www.normandy1944.info/home/maps/operation-barbarossa" date: "2026-07-26T13:04:20+00:00" language: "en-GB" --- # Operation Barbarossa [![Map of the Operation Barbarossa](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/maps/soviet_union/D-Day-normandy-beyond-map-operation-barbarossa-1942.jpg)](#js-0) ![](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/maps/soviet_union/D-Day-normandy-beyond-map-operation-barbarossa-1942.jpg) --- **Note: Click on the map for an enlargement!** - Battle location: Soviet Union - Country affected: Soviet Union - Duration: June 22, 1941 – December 5, 1941 --- [This map provides an overview of the battlefield. Visit the full battle page to explore the complete history, key events, commanders and historical photographs. Explore the full battle ](https://www.normandy1944.info/home/battles/operation-barbarossa) ### Total Allied casualties - Killed: 566.852 - Wounded: 235.339 - Captured: 2.335.482 - Total: ± 4.973.820 ### Total Axis casualties - Killed: 186.452 - Wounded: 655.179 - Captured: 40.157 - Total: ± 1.000.000 --- Please keep in mind that 100% accurate figures about the number of casualties cannot be given with complete certainty. ##### "No one foot of our land will be given to the enemy." Joseph Stalin, July 3, 1941 ## History and facts about Operation Barbarossa [**Operation Barbarossa**](https://www.normandy1944.info/home/battles/operation-barbarossa) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by German troops and its allies during World War II, launched on **22 June 1941** on the orders of [**Adolf Hitler**](https://www.normandy1944.info/home/commanders/life-and-death-of-adolf-hitler). The operation was named after **Frederick Barbarossa** ("Red Beard"), the 12th-century Holy Roman Emperor and German king. Its aim was to conquer the western Soviet Union, destroy [**Joseph Stalin's** ](https://www.normandy1944.info/home/commanders/life-and-death-of-joseph-stalin)regime and implement Nazi racial ideology by creating **Lebensraum** ("living space") for Germany. The German **Generalplan Ost** called for the forced deportation, enslavement and eventual destruction of millions of people whom the Nazis regarded as **Untermenschen** ("subhumans"). Under the authority of [**Heinrich Himmler**](https://www.normandy1944.info/home/commanders/life-and-death-of-heinrich-himmler), the [**Einsatzgruppen**](https://www.normandy1944.info/holocaust/einsatzgruppen) followed behind the advancing **Wehrmacht**, carrying out mass shootings of Jews, Communist officials and other civilians across the occupied territories. In the two years before the invasion, Germany and the Soviet Union had signed the **Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact**, a non-aggression agreement that enabled both countries to divide and occupy Poland. The pact, signed on **23 August 1939** by **Joachim von Ribbentrop** and **Vyacheslav Molotov**, remained in force until Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following the Soviet occupation of **Bessarabia** and **Northern Bukovina**, the German High Command began planning the invasion in July 1940. More than **3,8 million troops** advanced along a **2,900-kilometre (1,800-mile)** front, supported by around **600,000 motor vehicles** and **600,000 horses**, making Operation Barbarossa the largest land invasion in military history. ![](https://www.normandy1944.info/media/yootheme/cache/5f/Soviet-Red-Army-Hat-Star-badge-5fd9e54f.png?src=images/patches/Soviet-Red-Army-Hat-Star-badge.png&thumbnail=252,270,&hash=f44f849a)#### Battle outcome: Soviet Victory [](#) [](#) --- ![](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/patches/German-Wehrmacht-eagle-cloth.png)#### Insignia of the defeated forces [](#) [](#) ### Discover other epic battles of the Second World War ![Battle of Midway](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/battles/midway/Battle-of-Midway-June-3-1942.jpg) ### Battle of Midway 3 June 1942 What was the Battle of Midway? The Battle of Midway, fought between 4 and 7 June 1942, was one of the most decisive naval battles of the Second World War. 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The battle took pla… ![Attack on Pearl Harbor](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/history/pearlharbor/d-day-normandy-beyond-pearl-harbor2-slider.jpg) ### Attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941 What was the Attack on Pearl Harbor? The Attack on Pearl Harbor took place on the morning of 7 December 1941, when the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise military st… [](#) [](#) ## Schema ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://www.normandy1944.info/home/maps/operation-barbarossa" }, "headline": "Operation Barbarossa", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://www.normandy1944.info/images/maps/soviet_union/D-Day-normandy-beyond-map-operation-barbarossa-1942.jpg" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Normandy1944.info – D-Day, Normandy and Beyond", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://www.normandy1944.info/images/logo/D-Day-Normandy-1944-WW2-logo.png" } }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank C. Everards", "url": "https://www.normandy1944.info/blog/how-it-started" }, "datePublished": "2022-06-10T10:18:53+02:00", "dateCreated": "2022-06-10T09:18:53+02:00", "dateModified": "2026-07-22T09:56:25+02:00" } ```