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| 1879 | Moltke |  |
| To avoid war on two fronts develops a strategy for invading Russia & then France |
| 1914 | Moltke | |
| France will be defeated in 6 weeks then Germany will concentrate on Russia |
| 1918 | Hoffman, Maximilian | |
| 18th Feb Brest Litovsk A reply to the ultimatum of 17th Feb is not received & the German invasion continues |
| 1940 | Brauchitsch, Walter von | |
| Dec Brauchitsch's advice to attack Moscow directly is rejected by Hitler |
| 1940 | Halder, Franz von | |
| Warns Hitler about underestimating Russia |
| 1940 | Hitler, Adolf | |
| 31st July Announces Russian invasion plans to his military commanders |
| 31st July Originally intended to last 5 months |
| 17th Aug Sets Spring 1941 for an invasion of Russia which should last no longer than 5 months |
| Sep Army Groups A, B & C are moved to the Eastern Front |
| 10th Sep A memo is issued to increase the Army from 143 to 180 Divisions |
| 18th Dec All preparations for the invasion of Russia are to be completed by 15th May 1941 |
| 18th Dec Issues Directive 21 finalizing orders for the invasion of Russia |
| 1940 | Marcks, Erich | |
| July Involved in planning the invasion of Russia |
| 1940 | Raeder, Erich | |
| Tries to convince Hitler to defeat Britain before the Americans join the British |
| 1941 | Bock, Fedor von | |
| Dec Moscow Admits there is no hope of "strategic success" after the failure to capture Moscow |
| 1941 | Brauchitsch, Walter von | |
| July Brauchitsch's advice to attack Moscow directly is rejected by Hitler |
| 1941 | Goering, Herman | |
| Tries to dissuade Hitler from invading Russia |
| 24th June By the 2nd day of the invasion the Luftwaffe has destroyed 2,000 Russian aircraft |
| 1941 | Guderian, Heinz | |
| 7th Nov Moscow Progress on Moscow is stopped due to the weather & Russian resistance |
| 21st Nov Reports to Hitler that the Russian weather has brought his forces to a standstill |
| 1941 | Halder, Franz von | |
| 3rd Feb Outlines the General Staff's invasion plans to Hitler, the OKW & OKB |
| 12th Nov Convinces Hitler that the Russian resistance is on the verge of collapse |
| 1941 | Heinrici, Gotthard | |
| Takes part in Operation Barbarossa while serving under Heinz Guderian in the 2nd Panzer Army |
| 1941 | Hitler, Adolf | |
| Asks Japan to attack Russia, Japan agrees only if Germany's invasion is successful |
| Asks Japan to attack Russia, Japan agrees only if Germany successfully invades Russia |
| 1st Jan Negotiations begin for passage of troops through Bulgaria to reach Greece & Russia |
| 3rd Feb Orders Keitel to make it appear as if Germany is invading Britain rather than Russia |
| 3rd Feb "When Barbarossa commences, the world will hold its breath & make no comment" |
| 8th Feb The Bulgarian General Staff allow German troops to pass through Bulgaria |
| 28th Feb River Danube German Army Units cross the Danube from Rumania & take up positions in Bulgaria |
| 27th Mar Delays invasion by 4 weeks to invade Yugoslavia after an Allied coup in Belgrade |
| 30th Mar At a General Staff meeting says Germany must destroy the Red Army & the Soviet State |
| 30th April Sets the date for the German invasion of Russia, June 22 |
| 15th May The original day planned for operation Barbarossa |
| 21st June 3,050,000 troops, 3,350 tanks , 7,000 field guns & 2,000 arcraft are ready |
| 22nd June German planes bomb Russian border cities |
| 24th June Brest Litovsk Vilna & Kovoo are taken after the fall of Brest-Litovsk during the German invasion of Russia |
| 26th June The western front is broken & the Germans charge towards Minsk |
| 10th July After the pincer battles of Bialystok & Minsk are concluded: 324,000 prisoners, 3,332 tanks & 1,809 guns are captured |
| 13th July The Stalin Line was broken through on all important points |
| 3rd Nov Temperatures in Russia begin to drop below zero |
| 7th Nov 1st cases of frostbite are reported in the German Army |
| 1st Dec Russian prisoners amount to 3,806,865; the number of tanks destroyed or captured 21,391, guns, 32,541 & aeroplanes, 17,322 |
| 1941 | Keitel, Wilhelm | |
| 3rd Feb Hitler orders Keitel to make it appear as if Germany is invading Britain |
| 1941 | Kesselring, Albrecht | |
| Ordered to provide air support for Army Group Centre under von Bock |
| 1941 | Kleist, Paul Ludwig Ewald von | |
| June Rostov on Don Kleist commands 1st Panzergruppe, comprising XVIII and XL Panzer Corps, which spearheads the Blitzkrieg-style invasion of Russia |
| 22nd June First day of Operation Barbarossa, commands the 5 divisions of the 1st Panzer Group |
| 19th Nov Rostov on Don Kleist's leading divisions begin to reach Rostov-on-Don |
| 20th Nov Rostov on Don Crooses the Don but is forced back by Timoshenko |
| 20th Nov Rostov on Don Kleist's Panzers seize a bridge over the Don, the last barrier before the Caucasus |
| 1941 | Kluge, Guenther Hans von | |
| 21st June Moscow The 4th Army reaches the outskirts of Moscow |
| 1941 | Leeb, Wilhelm Ritter von | |
| 22nd June First day of Operation Barbarossa, commands the Army Group North |
| 22nd June Responsible capturing Baltic ports & moving to Leningrad |
| 22nd June Responsible for advancing into the Baltic States |
| 1941 | Lohr, Alexnder | |
| 1st June Poltava Present at a meeting with Hitler to plan the invasio of Russia |
| 1941 | Model, Otto Moritz Walter | |
| Bug Bridge Captures the Bug Bridge leading to Brest-Litovsk |
| Orel Leads an encirclement of Russian troops between Orel & Briansk |
| 1941 | Rundstedt, Karl Rudolf von | |
| Appointed Commander of the Army Group South |
| 22nd June 1st day of Operation Barbarossa, commands the Army Group South consisting of 52 Divs |
| 22nd June Ukraine Responsible for capturing the Ukraine & the Caucasus |
| 1942 | Halder, Franz von | |
| Kerch The Kerch Peninsular, Kharkov, Crimea & Sebastopol are captured |
| 1942 | Hitler, Adolf | |
| Commands the Soviet winter offensive, von Brauchitsch is dismissed |
| Feb Moscow By the end of Feb German forces are driven 200 miles from Moscow |
| Feb Moscow By the end of Feb there are over 1 million German losses |
| 5th April Hitler's HQ issues orders for the "final victory in the East" |
| 16th July Vinnitsa Hitler moves his HQ to Vinnitsa in the Ukraine |
| Aug Ordzhonikidze The Germans reach Ordzhonikidze, the most easterly part of the invasion |
| 21st Aug Mount Elbrus The Swastika is raised over Mount Elbrus |
| 29th Sep Berlin In the Chancellery says Russia will be defeated in 1943 by a push in the Spring |
| 1942 | Nehring, Walter Kurt Josef | |
| River Dneiper Holds the Corps bridgehead on the east bank of the Dneiper River |
| 1943 | Hitler, Adolf | |
| Klessheim Believes Mussolini is losing control & diverts forces from Russia to Italy |
| Nov Kiev Kiev is re-captured & German armies in the Ukraine are threatened with encirclement |
| Nov The German Armies are split at the Pripet Marshes |
| 1943 | Nehring, Walter Kurt Josef | |
| Holds the Corps bridgehead on the east bank of the Dneiper River |
