Name: 蘇聯風暴。二戰在東方--巴巴羅薩行動。第一集。StarMedia。Babich-設計 (Soviet Storm. WW2 in the East - Operation Barbarossa. Episode 1. StarMedia. Babich-Design)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T06:32:48.000Z
Duration: 44 min 21 s
Description: 【看影片學英語】數萬部 YouTube 影片，搭配英漢字典即點即查，輕鬆掌握單字發音與用法，長久累積看電影不必再看字幕。

Spring 1941. Nazi Germany dominates Europe. Poland and France have been occupied.

情態副詞

Hitler now turns east to the Soviet Union,

where Nazi dreams of a new land empire are to be fulfilled.

April 1941. In a field in western Ukraine, a satisfied Soviet pilot

counted bullet holes in the aircraft he’d just shot down.

The twin-engined German aircraft had civilian markings.

But the military bearing of the pilots was obvious.

The smell of burning plastic was further cause for suspicion.

It came from a smouldering pile of photographic film,

which the Germans had hurriedly tried to destroy.

In the spring of 1941 Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were allies.

German reconnaissance aircraft, flying 33,000 feet above the Soviet Union,

usually passed unnoticed. But on 15th April 1941,

engine trouble forced one Junkers 86 to lose altitude.

It was quickly intercepted and shot down.

Under interrogation, the Junkers pilots said they’d lost their way

flying to Krakow in German-occupied Poland. It wasn’t very convincing.

They’d been shot down near Rovno, more than 200 miles from Krakow —

The pilots were from the elite ‘Rowel’ high-altitude reconnaissance squadron.

They had been secretly photographing Soviet territory for months,

in preparation for the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Ten days later, a top-secret report arrived in Moscow from Major General Tupikov,

His report made two conclusions. “Number One —

The Germans are planning war with the Soviet Union. Number Two —

They plan to attack soon — definitely before the end of the year.”

In the spring of 1941, neither Tupikov nor other Soviet agents

could say exactly when the German invasion would come.

had claimed that the invasion would begin around March,

after the harvest was sown. Then, he said the end of May.

When that passed, he said the second half of June.

The reports from Soviet agents were confused and contradictory.

In short, no one in Moscow was certain if or when the Germans would invade.

In later years it was rumoured that the German invasion plans were on Stalin’s desk

almost as soon as they were signed. But in reality, no such plans were stolen.

Masses of information was received from the Soviet intelligence network.

But only a few reports received proper analysis.

Many valuable ones got lost in the Soviet bureaucracy.

5 months earlier, in December 1940, Hitler had issued Fuehrer Directive 21.

It ordered German forces to prepare  for the invasion of the Soviet Union –

Now, German troops were streaming eastwards,

taking up position along the Soviet frontier.

Hitler would later claim that the Red Army had been massed along the border,

poised to invade Germany. Thus he claimed Operation Barbarossa

was a pre-emptive strike — a legitimate act of self-defence.

But this was classic Nazi propaganda. Hitler wanted others,

particularly in the neutral countries, to believe his invasion was justified.

In private, Hitler was more candid about his reasons for invading the USSR.

“It is only the possibility of Russia entering the war”, he said,

“that now gives the English hope. If that hope is ruined,

Operation Barbarossa was an ambitious invasion plan,

relying on the blitzkrieg tactics that had proved so effective against the French

The attack was to be spearheaded by 4 Panzer Groups.

Their tank and motorised infantry divisions would seek to make rapid advances deep

into enemy territory, leading to the encirclement

and destruction of enemy armies on the frontier.

The four panzer groups were commanded by generals von Kleist…

The ultimate goal was the capture of Moscow, and the whole of European Russia.

German strategists believed that their military superiority

For the invasion, German forces were divided into three formations.

Army Group North was to advance towards Leningrad…

and Army Group South towards Kiev and the Donets Basin.

Army Groups North and South each had one panzer group.

Army Group Centre had two, including Third Panzer Group commanded by Hoth.

Colonel-General Herman Hoth had distinguished himself

in the campaigns against Poland and France.

He was 56 years old, and referred to affectionately

Unlike Russia, where many senior officers had been killed in political purges,

Germany could call on a wealth of experienced commanders.

Most Soviet generals were in their 40s. In contrast, Guderian was 53...

Panzer Group command staffs arrived at the Soviet frontier during the winter of 1940.

At first only staff officers and signals troops were sent.

The tanks were not to arrive until the very eve of the attack.

Hitler wanted it to look like he still planned to invade Britain,

and prepared only defensive operations in the east.

And so an invasion army quietly assembled on Russia’s doorstep.

In 1941, the Wehrmacht was at the height of its power.

Its divisions had been brought to full strength.

Morale was high after victory in the west.

The last few months had been spent in intensive training

In contrast, the Red Army was dispersed across the Soviet Union,

with many of its units still at peacetime strength.

The forces at the border spent much of their time listening to political lectures.

It would take two or three weeks of redeployment to properly reinforce them.