Permanent historical factsheet

Invasion of Russia

Russia · Warfare / World War, 2nd. Chronological records rendered directly from the World History Database.

22Records
1941–1942Date range
7Named people
4Places

Chronological records

1941

Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov25 February 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

Zhukov issues a secret directive naming Germany as a probable enemyand instructs frontier regions to make preparations

Joseph Stalin3 April 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

Churchill warns Stalin the Germans had regrouped in order to invade Russia

Joseph Stalin21 June 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

All forces are placed on alert

Semyon Timoshenko21 June 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

Timoshenko & Zhukov co-sign the order to put all forces on alert

Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov21 June 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

Timoshenko & Zhukov co-sign the order to put all forces on alert

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov22 June 1941

Moscow · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Announces over the radio to the Russian people that Germany has invaded Russia

Joseph Stalin22 June 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

Stalin is so demoralized by the German invasion that he remains drunk for 11 days. At 3:40 German planes bomb Russian border cities

Joseph Stalin22 June 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

3 million German soldiers attack the Soviet army of 5.7 million, 2.5 of them in the west, in the coming weeks, Stalin mobilizes some 10 million reservists

Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin22 June 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

Informs the Politburo of the invasion by German forces

Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov22 June 1941

Kiel · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Ordered by Stalin to begin counter-offensve operations

Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov24 June 1941

Kiel · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Sends the Eighth & 15th mechanized corps on the offensive

Joseph Stalin26 June 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

The western front is broken & the Germans charge towards Minsk. Builds a reserve front 300 km behind the front

Joseph Stalin29 June 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

The Central Commitee declares this the "Great Fatherland War"

Joseph Stalin3 July 1941

Moscow · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Warns Russia of the danger of the German invasion during a broadcast

Joseph StalinJuly 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

By mid July Russia has lost 3,500 tanks, 6,000 aircraft & 2 million men

Joseph Stalin5 October 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

Stalin calls an emergency session of the State Defence Committee

Joseph Stalin17 November 1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

Orders Red Army units to destroy all houses & farms 40 miles behind the German lines

Semyon Timoshenko20 November 1941

Rostov-on-Don · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Kleists Panzers seize a bridge over the Don but are forced back by Timoshenko

Semyon Mikhaylovich Budenny1941

Ukraine · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Has 69 Divisions to hold the Ukraine

Richard Sorge1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

Spy Dr. Richard Sorge gave Stalin the exact German launch date

Joseph Stalin1941

Warfare / World War, 2nd

Spy Dr. Richard Sorge gave Stalin the exact German launch date

1942

Joseph Stalin5 January 1942

Moscow · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Plans a counter-offensive at the meeting of the Stavka & State Defence Committee

Names involved

Georgi Konstantinovich ZhukovJoseph StalinNikolai Fyodorovich VatutinRichard SorgeSemyon Mikhaylovich BudennySemyon TimoshenkoVyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov

Provenance

This factsheet is generated from stored World History Database records matching the country, broad category, detailed category and exact Event value shown above. Duplicate display records are collapsed; database wording is otherwise preserved. Source provenance varies by record, so formal academic citation should be checked against the relevant primary source, archive or specialist historical reference.