Red Army on the Run - Operation Barbarossa Continues

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Kings and Generals historical animated documentary series on the Eastern Front of World War II continues with the second week, as the largest invasion in history - Operation Barbarossa, continues with the capture of Minsk and the Red Army on the run. Previously we have covered the first week of Barbarossa (). Week two of Operation Barbarossa began with rapid German gains—but the cracks were showing. The Luftwaffe had claimed thousands of Soviet planes destroyed, yet commanders like Waldau warned that Soviet air power was still formidable. At the same time, Panzer spearheads were outpacing logistics and intelligence. Army Group North surged toward Pskov, overwhelming the collapsing Northwestern Front. In the center, the encirclement of Minsk closed, trapping four Soviet armies. Yet thousands of Red Army soldiers escaped, foreshadowing the war’s growing complexity. Marshal Timoshenko rushed to form a new defensive line with understrength reserve armies, buying time for Moscow’s defense. The first major Soviet counterattacks at Lepel and Polotsk failed, revealing deep flaws in coordination and mechanical reliability—but also a willingness to resist. In the south, Army Group South faced stubborn Soviet defense and conflicting orders. Rundstedt pushed for encirclement; Hitler demanded Kyiv. The Wehrmacht split its forces. By week’s end, Smolensk loomed. German generals sensed the war would not end quickly. Soviet resilience was building, and the myth of a swift victory began to collapse. What began as a blitzkrieg was already shifting into a brutal war of attrition—one Germany was not prepared to fight.

Eastern Front of WW2 Week-by-Week:
Eastern Front Podcast:
Pacific War:
Modern Warfare:
Winter War:
Khalkhin Gol:

Video: Hazimin Arif
Script: Russell Hellyer
VO: Devin &

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Production Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound:

00:00 – Illusions of Victory: Cracks in the Blitzkrieg
01:57 – Luftwaffe Overextended: The Air War Misjudged
03:49 – Collapse in the North: Riga Falls, Pskov Threatened
06:36 – Encirclement at Minsk: Germany’s Miscalculated Triumph
09:23 – Soviet Reserves Mobilize: Smolensk Becomes the Next Line
12:48 – War of Attrition Begins: Ukraine’s Bloody Defense

Bibliography:

#WWII #OperationBarbarossa #EasternFront #KingsAndGenerals #HistoryDocumentary #MilitaryHistory