Why did the German invasion of Russia fail?

Answer 1

Hitler was an idiot. He didn't care for gaining the Russians for his cause. That would had made easier for him to win.
Also, there was the great distances to cover, the extreme cold and other factors

Answer 2

German Invasion Of Russia

Answer 3

multiple reasons, some of which are the following. Germany planned to take over russia in a single summer, not counting on large resistance or anything. It didnt go as planned and lasted into the winter, which the Germans were not prepared for in the least (they only had summer/spring clothing so they could move more quickly). When winter came around a German soldier was dying every 7 seconds due to the cold. Then the resistence at many places were far beyond what they had ever counted on, if they took over a place it was block by block. Even after they captured it the russians would take it back, the germans might take a building, going through all the floors killing the russians, but once they got to the top floor more russians were in the building at the bottom and would come up to kill the germans. Then the russians were also willing to kill themselves in order to save their country, they would have a single man (crazy Ivans) run in with an explosive and destroy a tank along with himself, therefore the German losses became much worse than the Russian losses. It is overall more complicated then what i just described, but it was things like that that led to the Germans failure.

Answer 4

1. Started too late in the year, by the time they reached Moscow, the coldest winter in years hit and the Werhmact was totally unprepared.

2. Guderian's Panzers were diverted south at the gates to Moscow in 1941.

3. Again in 1942, the Germans made the fatal mistake of splitting Army Group South in two culminating in the debacle at Stalingrad and the failure to reach to Caucasus oil fields.

4. The Soviets were into a mindset of ordering important and troop saving withdrawals. At Stalingrad the Germans lost 25% of their entire operational strength in the Eastern Front, a heavy blow by all accounts but NOT decisive. It would however be the main factor for Germany's not being able to complete the conquest of Russia.

5. The Germans blew another chance during their offensive in the summer of 1943. Against Guderian's opinion that the production of Tiger and Panther tanks should be up to operational standards, Hitler launched the ill fated offensive at Kursk. The results being the destruction of the panzer armies. The fact that the German still had the capability to launch an offensive of this magnitude in 1943 proves that Stalingrad was not a decisive turning point in the war. From then on, it was just a delaying tactical war against the Red Army.

Answer 5

The German invasion of Russia failed for a number of reasons.

1. Hitler forgot the rule to never fight a campaign in Europe on two fronts, this is what did for Napoleon in 1812.
2. The Germans did not make sufficient progress during the initial summer months and got caught in the winter (same as 1812). Progress in the summer months was slow because insufficient men and equipment were committed and, because the Russian adopted a "scorched earth" policy of destroying everything as they retreated, the German supply lines thus became over extended.
3. When caught in the winter the Germans had no equipment or clothing to cope with the winter conditions.
4. The Germans underestimated the Russian ability to fight, their generals, their production (T34 Tank most notably) and their ruthless commitment to throwing more and more troops into battle.
5. The allies supplied the Russians with equipment via the Arctic Convoys.
6. Hitler did not listen to his generals and became fixated on taking Stalingrad and Leningrad. His troops bled out trying to capture these cities, which gave the Russians the opportunity to build strength and counter attack, capturing or killing hundreds of thousands of German troops (German 6th Army at Stalingrad).
7. Second and Third fronts being opened up by the allies then began stretch the German war machine too far.

A short list but gives you the core reasons and things to look for in Google etc. Hope it helps.

Answer 6

There were a myriad of reasons for the failure- "General Winter, Hitler's hubris, the patriotism of the Russian people for Mother Russia- not Godless Communism, Stalin's leadership (give the devil his due), the overconfidence of the German Military Command,,and massive American aid to beleagured Russia. The invasion failed, but Russia lost 20 million people in what they still call The Great Patriotic War.

Answer 7

I believe that the German invasion of Russia failed because the Germans failed to learn from history. The French, also, failed to invade Russia. Russia is a very large place. It has very harsh winters. The Russians will allow an army to go deep inside it's territory, then cut off the supply lines. Through a scorch earth policy, they destroy all food and shelter. Then they let mother winter do her damage. The invading army simply freezes and starves.

Answer 8

The emphasis of the German war machine was placed on quick overwhelming tactical victory, not prolonged campaigns.

The tanks and planes used by Germany were frequently cutting edge technology that only worked in fair weather and were, even then, challenging to maintain. Old man winter played merry hell with their finicky high-tech war machines.

The Russian design ethos was one of sturdiness, reliability and ease of maintenance. The doggedness of the Russian defense held the Nazis in check after blistering early victories, which might not have happened if Stalin hadn't recently purged the ranks of the military.

Russia got supplies, aircraft, tanks and military vehicles from the US as well, which helped beat back the advance till the USSR could reestablish it's manufacturing base outside the range of German bombers.

The western powers like to think of the Russian invasion as a useful distraction that helped them win the war. In reality Germany's strongest battalions were always in the east, and the soviet union was the first of the allied powers to enter Berlin. Slow and clumsy though it may be, a sledgehammer can be a devastating weapon.

Answer 9

The German invasion failed on several levels. First , the German Army was ill-equipped to handle another battlefront. When winter set in, they were totally unprepared especially against the Russians who were used to dealing with harsh weather. The Germans also underestimated the the abilities of the Russian Army. They felt that it would be another easy victory like Poland.

Answer 10

The failure of Operation Barbarossa in WWII was due to a number of factors that just added up against the German forces.

They encountered unexpectedly fierce resistance from the Russians. Combine that with muddy roads from rainly fall weather, which caused the Gerrman supply lines to weaken and become vulnerable to attack, and the cold Russian winter, for which the German troops were inadequately prepared, and that all ultilmately lead to the invasion's failure.

Answer 11

A combination of events. The main reason is because they attacked Russia in the winter. The area has severe storms and russia has the tendancy to burn everything when they retreat. The lack of resources caused Germanys advance to fail. Basically they ran out of supplies just like Napolean. So in the end greed and power got the best of them. It is best to have patience when at war.