Why did Operation Barbarossa fail to meet its objectives in 1941? This topic is important as codename Barbarossa was the largest campaign in terms of manpower ever launched , and its failure started the turn of the tides that would ultimately cause Hitler and Nazi Germany 's destruction. A brief overview on the causes and objectives of the operation will be given, referencing Hitler 's Mein Kampf, and then the reasons for failure will be examined: underestimating Soviet forces, fighting a two-front war, setbacks due to Soviet partisan brigades, Hitler 's indecisiveness, and the Russian weather and terrain. The evidence will be collected from a variety of secondary sources …show more content…
He worked in many universities in England before becoming the head of the Center for Defence studies in the University of Edinburgh. His wife, Professor Ljubica Erickson, helped him in his research and writing of Russian military affairs. The book holds great value as John Erickson had many relations with Soviet Generals, and had direct access to Russian archives, allowing him detailed pieces of evidence to use in his own writings. However, the book is limited to the Russians and their peoples during the war, and displays a bias towards the Russians, as the German side is not told in detail, and the supporting evidence is mostly on Soviet …show more content…
Russia 's extensive use of partisan forces is another reason, as the partisans were the unseen army that heavily slowed the German advance with sabotage tactics. Hitler 's meddling and indecisiveness towards a main target caused a backlash that would slow the German advance until wintertime, where the troops froze in freezing temperatures. Finally, the Russian weather and terrain concludes the arguments as to why Barbarossa was unable to meet its objectives, but instead began Hitler and the Nazi party 's