The German-Soviet War, known in the USSR and today's Russia as the Great Patriotic War or, in Western Europe, as the Eastern Front of the Second World War (1939-45), began in June 1941 with Operation Barbarossa and ended in Germany's total defeat in May 1945. The German-Soviet campaign involved such key battles as Kiev (Kyiv), Moscow, Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), Stalingrad (Volgograd), and Kursk. This particularly brutal front of the war witnessed the largest troop movements, sieges, and battles in history, as well as tens of millions of combatant and civilian deaths.
More about: German-Soviet WarDefinition
Timeline
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Jun 1941 - Dec 1941Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's failed attempt to conquer the USSR.
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Jun 1941 - Jul 1941Battle of Białystok–Minsk during Operation Barbarossa. Axis victory over the USSR.
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22 Jun 1941Launch of Operation Barbarossa where Axis troops attack the USSR.
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Jul 1941 - Aug 1941Battle of Uman during Operation Barbarossa. Axis victory over the USSR.
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Jul 1941 - Sep 1941Battle of Smolensk during Operation Barbarossa. Axis victory over the USSR.
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Jul 1941 - Sep 1941Battle of Kiev during Operation Barbarossa. Axis victory over the USSR.
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Sep 1941 - Oct 1941Battle of the Sea of Azov during Operation Barbarossa. Axis victory over the USSR.
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Sep 1941 - Jan 1944The Siege of Leningrad begins during Operation Barbarossa. USSR victory over Axis forces.
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8 Sep 1941 - 27 Jan 1944Siege of Leningrad (Saint Petersburg). Soviet victory over Axis forces.
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Oct 1941 - Jan 1942Battle of Moscow during Operation Barbarossa. USSR victory over Axis forces.
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Oct 1941 - Jul 1942Siege of Sevastopol begins during Operation Barbarossa. Axis victory over the USSR.
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Nov 1941 - Dec 1941Battle of Rostov during Operation Barbarossa. USSR victory over Axis forces.
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Jul 1942 - Feb 1943Battle of Stalingrad (Volgograd). Soviet victory over Axis forces.
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Apr 1943 - May 1943Warsaw Uprising.
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Jul 1943 - Aug 1943Battle of Kursk. Soviet victory over Axis forces.
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Aug 1943 - Sep 1943The Battle of Smolensk. Soviet victory over Axis forces.
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Aug 1944Romania, Germany's Axis ally, surrenders.
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Jan 1945The Soviet Red Army launches its offensive against Berlin.
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30 Apr 1945Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his Berlin bunker.
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2 May 1945The garrison of Berlin surrenders to the Soviet Red Army.
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24 Jun 1945Joseph Stalin oversees a parade in Moscow’s Red Square to celebrate victory in the German-Soviet War.
