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(
February 2018
)
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The
Eastern Front
during
World War II
or the
Great Patriotic War
was where the
Axis countries
and the
Soviet Union
fought. It began in 1941 with
Operation Barbarossa
and ended in 1945 by the
Soviet soldiers capturing Berlin
. Both the Axis countries and the Soviet Union had many millions of soldiers, and both sides lost millions.
Romania, Italy and other Axis members joined the war, and Finland fought the
Continuation War
against the Soviet Union in cooperation with the bigger Axis war.
The Eastern Front is called the "Great Patriotic War" in
Russia
, and it is sometimes called the "Soviet-German War" in the West.
About four fifths of the Axis soldiers killed in World War II died on the Eastern Front. Even more millions of Soviet soldiers died. Many
war crimes
were committed by German troops. The Eastern Front was the most important conflict in Europe during World War II.
The
winter
of 1941-1942 began unusually early. It was not noted as being particularly bad by the Soviets, but the Germans were accustomed to warmer temperatures and so were ill-prepared. The Germans' equipment broke down in the cold, and some men were still wearing summer uniforms, which they stuffed with newspapers in an attempt to stay warm. Many German soldiers froze to death in the extreme cold.
The partly successful Operation Barbarossa was followed in 1942 by the failed "Fall Blau" (Case Blue), which was intended to take the
Caucasus
region and its oilfields.
A few years later, the Soviets pushed the German soldiers and invaded the German-occupied territories in
Eastern Europe
. The Soviets then invaded Germany itself and fought the
Battle of Berlin
, the final battle before Germany's surrender. And the soviets linked up with the
western allies
and the
western front
, Although the Soviets eventually repelled the Germans, the tremendous cost was five times as many Soviet deaths as Germans.