Page 21 - History of War - Issue 29-16

OPERATION BARBAROSSA

WILHELM RITTER VON LEEB Von Leeb SEMYON BUDYONNY
YEARS ACTIVE: 1895-1938; 1939-1942 remains one of YEARS ACTIVE: 1903-1954
the high-ranking
ALLEGIANCE: THIRD REICH of cials to ALLEGIANCE: SOVIET UNION
openly criticise
In World War I, Wilhelm Josef Franz Ritter von Leeb core Nazi
had carved a respectable career in the German Army, policies, which
receiving the Knight’s Cross of the Military Order of often put him at
odds with Hitler
Max Joseph in 1916 in honour of his bravery. Von
Leeb was famously involved in the dismantling of the
Nazi Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 that saw the rise of
Hitler begin to nd traction.
As a result, von Leeb remained one of Hitler’s least
favoured commanders when the Nazi Party assumed
control of the country – something perpetuated even
further by his criticisms of the party’s more extreme
policies. As such, he was pensioned off in 1938 but
was soon recalled in 1939 when the Wehrmacht was
in need of experienced of cers.
As the commander of Army Group North, von Leeb
regained Hitler’s con dence with the swift manner in
which his forces crushed the Soviets in the opening
months of the invasion, eventually surrounding
Leningrad entirely. Despite then directly ordering the
advance to halt, Hitler soon began criticising von Leeb
for a lack of decisiveness. Now utterly exasperated
with his leader’s interference, von Leeb requested he Budyonny retired as a Hero of the Soviet Union
be relieved of command and Hitler soon complied. and died in 1973 from a brain haemorrhage

FEDOR VON BOCK A red cossack, a cavalryman and close ally
YEARS ACTIVE: 1898-1945 of Stalin, Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny had
already carved himself an illustrious career in
ALLEGIANCE: THIRD REICH the Red Army by the time Hitler ordered the
Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock was a ery commander invasion of the Soviet Union. As a passionate
who had earned the nickname ‘Der Sterber’ due to his total devotion soldier, Budyonny had an infamous distaste for
to the German Army. He believed that dying on the battle eld for the the tank and other symbols of modern military
Fatherland was the highest honour a soldier could achieve. hardware but he was well respected and
Von Bock entered the German invasion of the Soviet Union as was promoted to Commander-In-Chief of the
one of Hitler’s most favoured generals. He had a string of successful Southwestern Direction in 1941.
campaigns and battles under his belt and held enough in uence to However, the German advance was
alter Hitler’s invasion plans, opting for a more direct approach to take relentless in the opening months of the
invasion and its tactic of total encirclement
Moscow swiftly. In the rst few months, however, Hitler and von Bock (surrounding a city from all sides and
clashed when the Führer ignored the commander’s request to ignore bombarding it into submission) led to the
pockets of resistance and point the Axis forces at Moscow. bloody battles of Uman and Kiev where the
Von Bock was eventually given command of Operation Typhoon, region eventually fell 650,000 to 850,000
the new plan to take Moscow and his orders and tactics brought the Soviet soldiers into German hands.
Germans incredibly close to taking the city. However, a mixture of It was an unmitigated disaster for the
terrible winter conditions and increasing Soviet resistance led to a Soviets and Stalin was quick to blame
retreat from Moscow in December 1941.
Budyonny, but ultimately he would avoid any
Left: Following Operation Typhoon, von Bock’s military real punishment, remaining one of the Union’s
career continued to falter in the years that followed most revered political gures.
“WHEN GERMANY BEGAN ITS GRAND INVASION IN 1941, HE WAS

GIVEN COMMAND OF THE NORTHWESTERN DIRECTION”

KLIMENT VOROSHILOV in 1941, he was given command of the
When Germany began its grand invasion
YEARS ACTIVE: 1917-1941 Northwestern Direction, commanding several
ALLEGIANCE: SOVIET UNION different fronts against the advancing Nazis.
By September 1941, he was one of the main
Another gure with a tumultuous relationship commanders in control of the Leningrad
with Stalin, Voroshilov’s prominent place among defences and was commended on his personal
the Soviet Union’s highest ranking of cials had bravery, leading a counterattack against the
been in doubt in the run up to the 1941 invasion. Germans with nothing more than a pistol to
A member of the State Defence Committee, he defend himself. However, his tactics were seen While Voroshilov’s military career ended
had overseen Soviet participation in the Winter as archaic and ineffective against the onslaught in 1941, it segued into a successful Images: Alamy
War, but a string of humiliating defeats had seen of the Axis and he was soon replaced with political career alongside Stalin
his seat of power brought into question. Georgy Zhukov.

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