Introduction Hitler began planning an attack on the Soviet Union in mid-1940 and signed the directive for Operation Barbarossa in December. Stalin, refusing to believe the worst, disregarded abundant messages from his intelligence services about an impending aggression. When Germany finally invaded, on June 22, 1941, it came as a tactical surprise and caught the Red Army, already weakened by Stalin's purges, at a terrible disadvantage. Why did Hitler invade the USSR? Hitler was arrogant. He had …showed first 75 words of 491 total…

…showed last 75 words of 491 total…second German defeat and they were left feeling humiliated. They were also losing the confidence that they once had. This defeat left the German forces weakened and while Germany was fighting Russia the other Allies had time to build up their strength. One of the most important things was that the Russians proved that it was actually possible to defeat the Germans and this gave the Allies confidence. Germans confidence decreased and Allies confidence increased.