The eastern front was the largest and bloodiest theatre of world war ii. Deaths of pow were 450,600 including 356,700 in nkvd camps and 93,900 in transit. Aircraft held in reserve are also considered, to provide a full picture of german resources. Walter warda, a soldier in the german army during world war ii, was. All history books mention the hordes of t34 tanks attacking german positions and the tiger and panther tanks fighting against superior forces. Eastern front plays greater role than dday in german. Of the german troop losses on the eastern front against.
The myth of german superiority on the ww2 eastern front. His description of the weapons and the action is vivid and believable. His very last flight book was lost at the end of the war and the following information was taken from what remains of his letters. He gives an honest account of the action and horror while being on the front lines during the war. Mullerhillebrand maintained that the okw figures did not present an accurate accounting of german casualties because they understated losses in the final months of the war on the eastern front and post war deaths of pow in soviet captivity. The 1941 invasion of the soviet union by nazi germany was a major turning point in ww2. Sep 09, 2019 on june 22, 1941, the german wehrmacht and luftwaffe struck soviet forces across a wide front along the german soviet frontier. You should get the book dirty little secrets of ww2, a statistical analysis of ww2. The eastern front, as the site of nearly all extermination camps, death marches, ghettos, and the majority of pogroms, was central to the holocaust. Mar 02, 2017 so other than about 1618 months of the war not on the eastern front. So those losses in eastern front have been about 12,1% of german aircraft production. What was the ratio of german to soviet losses on eastern.
Of the 19 million soldiers who fought on the side of the axis in ww2, 17 million of them fought on the eastern front against the russians. Jul 28, 2019 war between russia and germany along with other axis powers. Leopold wengers last letters from the eastern front, aug. Romanian forces attacked into sovietoccupied bessarabia on the same. Germanys allies hungary, italy, romania and finland lost 1,725,800 fighting the soviet union.
Their irrecoverable losses on the german soviet front came to 6,923,700. Central to the holocaust, more than 30 million of the wars 70. German premier adolf hitlers disastrous 1941 order to invade the vast soviet union mired nazi germany in a bloody, grinding. In the summer of 1941 german army was the strongest in europe and was preparing to use its superiority to defeat the soviet union in a threemonth lightning campaign. Both sides built large numbers of tracked armored vehicles and their armored divisions spearheaded major operations. After world war 2, soviet archives were simply inaccessible to western scholars so as a result western academia had a very germancentric viewpoint on the. Unlike other ww2 books such as, the forgotten soldier, there is no question i my mind that bidermann was there on the eastern front and served in the german army in ww2. According to the military historian peter lieb, whose book on the landings was published this month, the main reason for this is the overpowering role in. For comparison, in the battle of halbe on the eastern front from 24 april to 1 may 1945, over 30,000 german soldiers. Statistics for german world war ii military casualties are divergent. Churchill, in his statistical foray into casualty figures, reckoned that 1,697,000 german casualties occurred on fronts other than the western, and this tallies in quite well with other sources of information. Operation barbarossa and germanys defeat in the east cambridge. From september 1939june 22nd 1941 not on the eastern front, then from june 22ndnovember 1942 about 23rds on the eastern front, then from november 1942may 1945 at least 55% if not 23rd on other fronts. German army veteran of world war ii remembers the eastern front.
The eastern front was the decisive theater of world war ii in europe. War losses germany international encyclopedia of the. Total losses 33,324 tanks, assault guns, tank destroyers, selfpropelled guns, armored personnel carriers and armored cars lost on the eastern front from 22 june 1941 until. Eastern front plays greater role than dday in german memories. Of the estimated 7085 million deaths attributed to world war ii, around 30 million occurred on the eastern front. More german soldiers died on the eastern front than on all other fronts combined. According to the military historian peter lieb, whose book on the. The air war over the eastern front gobbled up men and machines. Since fighting began on the eastern front in june 1941, german and soviet forces were engaged across the width of the soviet union. Mar 01, 2009 dennis, this topic has intrigued me too. Being a man who survived three years of fighting he gives terrifying account of losses on german and soviet side, with an extra personal detail added fallen soldiers on both sides are not just numbers.
Strength and loss data eastern front christos military and. When following both german eastern front and soviet official loss figures 22th june 1941 to 31 decemberg 1944 we will get these figures. The book is well researched and full of firsthand accounts from german soldiers and civilians plus a few from russian soldiers who were involved in the fighting. Based on soviet sources krivosheev put german losses on the eastern front from 19411945 at 6,923,700 men. A few people have asked me what i thought of the video because i have done some work on calculating the soviet and axis rocps relative overall combat proficiency on the eastern front during wwii. Oct 27, 2014 ww2 tank losses by nation posted in historical discussions. It is thoroughly worth reading if you are even remotely interested in ww2 eastern front. When hitler decided to invade the ussr, although he might have forced stalin to a negotiated surrender if opperation barbarossa hadnt begun later. Military and civilian losses of the combatants from 1939 to 1945 note on the soviet union. The eastern front of world war ii was a theatre of conflict between the european axis powers. Nov 04, 2011 well, the difference is that the figure i provided is the sum of total german casualties on eastern front mia, kia, and wia by dec. Oct 19, 2016 the eastern front was the decisive theater of world war ii in europe. There is no detailed losses breakdown available for the german army in the eastern front during ww2. Having halted the enemy at moscow, the soviets were able to slowly push the germans west aided by key victories at stalingrad and kursk.
His flight log book ends on 24 august 1944 with the entry of his 368th combat mission, out of bielice. Fighting officially began there june 22, 1941, 75 years ago wednesday. This hollywood film about the battle of stalingrad is a hugely atmospheric piece with stunning battle scenes. He actually wrote this book for the other survivors of his army regiment and not for the general public.
As the british historian, catherine merridale explains in her book ivans war. I highly recommend this book to any historical buffs or modeling fans who are interested in wrecked and abandoned vehicles. The fateful siege, 19421943 by antony beevor, hitler moves east 19411943 by paul carell, battleground. It is generally accepted as being the deadliest conflict in human history, with over 30 million killed as a result. German armour losses on the western front from 1944 1945. German casualties in world war ii military wiki fandom. It appears that german casualties on the eastern front were heavier than many might have supposed. German casualties in world war ii project gutenberg self.
Soviet losses in the battle for the don bend were particularly heavy, even. The pictures are clear and the supporting text provided, factual. German armour lost on the western front is an excellent pictograph reference book covering german losses during the second world war. Jun 11, 2019 \\\compared to 32,800 german afvs on the eastern front during the second world war. It involved more land combat than all other world war ii theatres combined. German army veteran of world war ii remembers the eastern front and his years as. In the hell that was world war ii, the eastern front was its heart of fire and ice. Jun 06, 2019 losses in world war ii losses and casualties during world war ii. German losses are considerably less, obviously this guy is getting his figures from some russian bs history book like wikipedia. For instance, in his epic book on the battle of berlin, historian antony. In 1914, losses on the eastern front were actually higher than on the western front, though very quickly the situation was reversed, and deaths in the west were regularly higher than in the east. The eastern front was also made possible by the germansoviet border and commercial agreement in which. Jun 05, 2014 according to the military historian peter lieb, whose book on the landings was published this month, the main reason for this is the overpowering role in german memory played by the eastern front.
The soviets won because of overwhelming numbers, hitlers stupidity and the second front, the usa. See more ideas about world war two, world war ii, world war. A book by paul farrel im reading at the mo suggests about 1. Of the german troop losses on the eastern front against the. Operations on the eastern front, 19411945 chapter 12 the. German premier adolf hitlers disastrous 1941 order to invade the vast soviet union mired nazi. In the ground war in world war ii did the americans cause. Jewish germans died at the same rate as nonjewish germans this would become a heated issue in the 1930s about 12,000 jewish germans died in the. In the three major victorious land campaigns conducted by the western allies north africa, italy and western europe, the number of dead and wounded on either side was more or less equal. This is a very good account of the russian offensives into prussia during the final stages of ww2. A new history of germanys winter campaign, 19411942. Eastern front level brutality in western front during ww2. The german armed forces suffered 80% of its military deaths in the eastern front. The same authors in analyzing world war ii eastern front battles give for 1 june 1944 a german istarke of 2.
Western europe, i believe, was a sideshow in comparison. Ww2 tank losses by nation historical discussions official. On june 22, 1941, the german wehrmacht and luftwaffe struck soviet forces across a wide front along the germansoviet frontier. May 02, 2017 after world war 2, soviet archives were simply inaccessible to western scholars so as a result western academia had a very german centric viewpoint on the events that occurred in the east front. However the truth is that the war in the east was an infantry war. Estimated total german population losses directly related to the war range between 5.
The war on the eastern front, known to russians as the great patriotic war, was the scene of the largest military confrontation in history. German produced in 19421944 total 68 497 fighters, groundattack aircraft, bombers, transport, reconnaissance and sea planes. What were the german losses on the eastern front answers. Sam peckinpahs violent and confrontational film focuses on german troops in the eastern front s final phase. Eastern front plays greater role than dday in german memories d. There were major causes for loss of manpower in every army, the germans were no different. The eastern front of world war ii was a brutal place. This figure does not include noncombat ghq units and units directly under command of okh which were quite numerous. According to foreign military studies p059 tank losses by generalmajor burkhart mueilerhillebrand total losses on all fronts for december 1941 comes to 525 tanks and spgs but not all were lost in the east since at the same time there was heavy fighting in n. Poldi stands in front of a german headquarters building in krosenow, poland in september 1944.
May 20, 2018 in the summer of 1941 german army was the strongest in europe and was preparing to use its superiority to defeat the soviet union in a threemonth lightning campaign. A very interesting book for the amateur ww2 historian i never realized how. The memoirs are of a ww2 german soldier who spent almost four years on the eastern front. Aircraft losses in the eastern front axis history forum.