In 1941, the German army invaded the Soviet Union and launched an all-out offensive against the Soviet Union, and the Soviet-German war broke out in full swing. At the beginning of the war, Germany's armored forces were like stepping into no man's land on the territory of the Soviet Union, encroaching on the territory of the Soviet Union all the time. Although the Soviet army resisted, it could not resist the German blitzkrieg, and millions of square kilometers of land were occupied. When they saw that they could not hold on, the Soviets still united as one, gritted their teeth and held on, and finally turned defeat into victory and won the Soviet-German war.
Why did the Soviet Union, after such a miserable defeat in the early stages of the war, finally turn defeat into victory? Although the efforts of the Soviet military and civilians to defend the country and the same hatred of the enemy were the main factors, it had to be admitted that the weather helped the Soviet Union a lot, and the ill-prepared German army fell into the quagmire of the Soviet Union's cold and frozen weather, and lost a good situation. According to statistics, the number of German troops freezing to death in the Moscow region alone reached hundreds of thousands. So since the Situation of the German Army was so miserable, why not find ways to keep warm, such as robbing the Soviet Union of warm equipment? Today, let's take a look at this history.
I. The Soviet Side Took a Tough Attitude and Implemented the "Scorched Earth Policy"
Before Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the two countries maintained superficially harmonious and friendly relations, the Soviet Union and Germany also signed a Soviet-German treaty of friendship and non-aggression, the Soviet side believes that at this time Britain is still struggling to resist, the main target of the German army must still be the western front battlefield, the eastern front must still be relatively safe, and did not expect Germany to invade. Even in the 24 hours before the German invasion, trains filled with Soviet goods were constantly flowing to Germany. The entire Soviet army was completely ill-prepared, and they underestimated Hitler's ambition and cunning. Thus, in the early stages of the war, the German armored forces could travel hundreds of miles in a day, the Soviet troops could not organize an effective defense, and the front-line combat troops retreated again and again.
In the face of Germany's powerful attack, the Soviet side also gradually came up with a way to deal with it, after all, Germany's labor division is far away, logistics supply will definitely be a problem, then we must not let our own land be used by Germany. Therefore, the Soviet Union began to implement a scorched earth policy, the land can be captured, but all minerals, oil, railway tracks, including grain, grain, etc. can not be left to the enemy, so that the enemy can not be effectively replenished, can only rely solely on their own logistical supplies, delay the Offensive of the German army, give the Soviet side a chance to breathe.
Second, the Soviet Union was freezing cold, and the German army was ill-prepared
Germany launched the war at the end of June 1941, and the end of June to September was the hottest time in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, during this time, Germany's combat was almost unstoppable. But over time, in the winter, Germany found that the weather in the Soviet Union was not only as cold as cold, but cold to the point of death, and the offensive ability of the troops was also greatly constrained. Because the Soviet Union was located at a high latitude and the weather was very cold, reaching minus thirty or forty degrees Celsius at its coldest, most of the German soldiers had never been exposed to such a cold temperature. In the Western Front, because the latitude is relatively close, the weather is relatively adaptable. The Germans obviously did not learn the lesson of Napoleon's attack on Tsarist Russia, and Napoleon's 600,000 French troops attacked Tsarist Russia and were defeated because of the weather.
So this gave Germany a way out. And because the war tends to be glued, logistics supplies have not been in place, many soldiers have insufficient warm and cold facilities, and some veterans know how to keep warm as much as possible because they are more experienced, and they can also rely on their own experience to maintain their lives. But some German recruits, young and inexperienced, froze to death, let alone picked up guns to fight.
Third, the Soviet army suffered from the same cold, and snatching clothes was only a luxury
The Germans were in a terrible position, but the Soviets did not give in much. Many soviet soldiers' clothes were also tattered, not too strong resistance, some clothes may be thicker, but many clothes have a large number of bullets through the bullet hole. The war was almost a war of attrition, with both sides competing over who could hold on. But what was relatively better was that the Soviet Union was fighting on its own, especially in terms of logistics supplies that were much better than the Germans. In addition, they have lived here since childhood, and they are more accustomed to cold weather and know some cold resistance skills. Therefore, the winter period was still in a clear ascendant in the confrontation with the German army.
It's not just front-line combat soldiers who are freezing. In the cold weather, the German armored forces could not exert their combat effectiveness. On the one hand, because the weather was too cold, many tanks and car engines could not be started, making the German tanks almost a pile of scrap iron; on the other hand, the German fuel oil supply could not be followed from time to time, and the muddy roads also hindered the forward route of the German armored forces. The Soviet Union could continuously transport its own equipment and soldiers from other regions to the front lines of the war. The Offensive Front of the German Army was also constantly weakened, and the Soviet Army took the opportunity to launch a counter-offensive, and many German troops were instead surrounded by the Soviet Union. It is not easy for the German army to protect itself now, it really lacks the courage to stand out in the siege, the troops do not have too strong combat effectiveness, and many soldiers can only sit still. Although Hitler had already rewarded and promoted the front-line troops, these were no longer helpful, and for many people it was worse than a thick blanket.
In the war of attrition, the Soviet Union survived, the German army slowly changed from attack to defense, and the balance of the war gradually fell to the Soviet Union. After 1944, the Soviet Union began to recover its previously lost territory on a large scale, and even organized troops to march to the European continent and to germany itself. At this time, the German army no longer had to worry about the cold weather, but its military strength had been greatly reduced, not enough to resist the anti-fascist alliance all over the world. With the landing of allied troops in Normandy, Germany can be described as a belly and back, not only to defend its own territory, but also France, Belgium and other countries need to invest their own troops to defend. In April 1945, the Soviet Union invested a total of 2.5 million troops to attack Berlin, Hitler was deeply overwhelmed, chose to commit suicide, and the Germans finally surrendered.
According to statistics, the Soviet Union died more than 20 million people in the entire Great Patriotic War, and it can be said that almost a generation of men died on the battlefield. Until the end of the last century, the ratio of men to women in Russia did not return to normal levels. This reminds me of the sons and daughters of China in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and it is precisely because they dare to fight and are not afraid of sacrifice that we have today, when the mountains and rivers are unharmed, then what years are quiet, but some people carry the weight for us, let us pay tribute to the martyrs who died in the anti-fascist war!