Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front during World War II or the Great Patriotic War was where the Axis countries and the Soviet Union fought. It began in 1941 with Operation Barbarossa and ended in 1945 by the Soviet soldiers capturing Berlin. Both the Axis countries and the Soviet Union had many millions of soldiers, and both sides lost millions.
Romania, Italy and other Axis members joined the war, and Finland fought the Continuation War against the Soviet Union in cooperation with the bigger Axis war.
The Eastern Front is called the "Great Patriotic War" in Russia, and it is sometimes called the "Soviet-German War" in the West.
About four fifths of the Axis soldiers killed in World War II died on the Eastern Front. Even more millions of Soviet soldiers died. Many war crimes were committed by German troops. The Eastern Front was the most important conflict in Europe during World War II.
Main events
- 22 June 1941 - German invasion.
- 22-29 June 1941 - Defense of Brest Fortress.
- 2 October 1941 - 7 January 1942 - Battle of Moscow;
- 5 December 1941 - counterattack starting.
- 23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943 - Battle of Stalingrad.
- 5 July - 23 August 1943 - Battle of Kursk.
- 16 April - 3 May 1945 - Battle of Berlin.