WORLD WAR II 1941 1945
THE START OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Russia’s advanced military technology
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Harsh winter climate
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Steel fortifications of Russian cities
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Lack of open-water ports
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Detailed explanation-1: -If there’s one generally accepted rule of warfare, it’s that you should never invade Russia during the winter. Hitler tried it and failed horribly, Napoleon tried before that and found equally terrible results, and the Swedes who fought in the Great Northern War would tell a similar story.
Detailed explanation-2: -The weather gave Russians the time and preparation needed to dig trenches, build defenses, and push back the Germans from Moscow. The German war machine faltered, broke down, and never recovered.
Detailed explanation-3: -Schlieffen wished to emulate Hannibal by provoking an Entscheidungsschlacht (“decisive battle”), using a massive force, in a single act, to bring a swift and conclusive victory. He decided that France was the enemy to be defeated first, with Russia held off until the French were annihilated.
Detailed explanation-4: -As the German armies were approaching the Soviet capital in the Operation Typhoon in the autumn of 1941, Hitler determined that Moscow, like Leningrad and Kiev, would be levelled and its 4 million inhabitants killed, to destroy it as a potential center of Bolshevist resistance.