182. Operation Barbarossa

What military parallels does Putin's invasion of Ukraine have with Hitler's attempt to invade the Soviet Union?

On today's pod Tom and Dominic are joined by historian - and brother of Tom - James Holland to discuss Operation Barbarossa and the Nazi invasion of 1941, whether it was doomed to fail, and the role it played in the escalation of the Holocaust.

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Producer: Dom JohnsonExec Producer: Tony Pastor

[robspecht]

This is criminally underviewed. You chaps are top notch.

[alancartwright]

Fully agree this podcast series is brilliant!

[blairhicks]

Keep doing these podcasts. Well spoken and credentials galore. Build it and they will come

[fionamclaughlin]

Lads, you guys are first class, thanks!

[WHITERAGS]

Would love to hear both of them do shows together. They play off each other well. Big fan of both.

[th_Moon]

Great talk, we all need more history knowledge! I am Russian, my grandparents spent their teen years either under nazi occupation or were war prizoners. This episode sends me chills. Hate hate all the wars 😢

[sifridbassoon]

You guys are absolutely fascinating! Your short explanation of why the Germans had all these vehicles but couldn't use them for lack of parts that fit. Excellent

[shoofly]

Some historians now state that Stalins plan to not retreat, to suffer repeated defeats after defeats, was actually the correct strategy bc it turned the war from a blitzkrieg one into a war of attrition by wearing out the German Army. By December, 1941, the tide had essentaly turned with Generals January & Febuary yet to appear. A country of 90M (all in) cannot win a conventional war against a country with a (much younger) population of 185M. "Quantity has a quality all its own."-Stalin.
Also the overwhelming majority of Eastern European Jews were concentrated in the former 'Pale of Settlement' region of eastern Poland/Ukraine/ Soviet Union border area. This made it much easer for German forces to initiate the 'Holocaust by Bullets' phase of the Holocaust.

[kamila]

What is your take on Victor Suborov Icebreaker book?

[serwombles]

Love your show guys can i recommend a very good vid on this done by TIK called why did the axis loose ww2. It explains very well alit of the stuff u guys covered here

[dvt]

Excellent episode. But why the hell is James shouting and speaking at 100mph?

[anthonychase]

James, be very careful making bland parallels between "Putin's invasion of Ukraine" and other monumental military blunders. Reason? Ukraine has been contested territory for 1000 years.

[koxwell]

I love the topic but would enjoy it more with a more conversational style. Too much energy cutting off interesting branches. Bit frustrating.

[launiesoult]

How long did it take the Soviets to set up a defense

[davidpryle]

It wasn’t that the Soviets were “completely useless” in the winter war, it was actually because the Finns were so unbelievably good.

[Truffle_Pup]

Although I enjoy listening to James, he is without a doubt a "Two Pinter". As in, you enjoy everything he says and love his enthusiasm, but you leave the pub before he comes to sit back down with his third pint.

[_eddiecole]

I did not know how much I did not know about ww2 lol

[HHM]

You were right the first when you said Germans

[fastpublish]

Anyone who has ever experienced -27C in Moscow knows what's involved in trying to conquer Russia?

[helmutsecke]

Splendid chaps, absolutely top! Oh but I'd be chuffed in extremis if you boys could do a program on El Caudillo Francisco Franco. Jolly good!