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==== Operation Barbarossa ====

June 22, 1941 marked the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. For this intricate attack, German troops were split into three divisions: Army Group North, under von Leeb; Army Group South, commanded by von Rundstedt; and Army Group Center, led by von Bock. Army Group North was destined for Leningrad, the troops under von Rundstedt in the south were to proceed through Ukraine to secure the plentiful natural resources of that country, and von Bock’s men in the Center Group were ordered through the Soviet portion of Poland to Belorussia and on to Moscow.<ref>Lyons, 107. For two excellent, in-depth accounts of the invasion, see John Erickson and David Dilks, eds., ''Barbarossa: The Axis and the Allies'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1994) and David Glanz, ''Barbarossa: Hitler’s Invasion of Russia, 1941'' (Charleston, SC: Tempus, 2004).</ref>

The battle for Leningrad began on September 8, 1941. The Germans dismantled the Russian railroad, which cut supplies to the city. Hitler’s plan was to starve Leningrad into submission. More than 200,000 Russians died of starvation or starvation related diseases. The valiant efforts of the citizens of Leningrad, who fought with any weapon they were able to fashion (even going so far as to throw pans of boiling water into the faces of German soldiers), allowed the Russian industrial plants the opportunity to produce armaments and supplies.<ref>Toth, November 3, 2011.</ref>

At the end of September, German armor was deployed back to the Center Group and the advance on Moscow was renewed. The delay in attacking the city afforded Russian General Zhukov ample time to dispatch his reserve troops. By the end of November, the Russian soldiers under Zhukov’s command were successful in out-flanking German Army Group Center. Seeing that he was trapped and aware that the German soldiers were grossly ill-equipped to survive a Russian winter, von Bock requested permission from Hitler to retreat. His request was denied by the infuriated Hitler, who forbade retreat by any of his troops. Due to yet another tactical mistake made by the Führer, the Eastern Front was in a stalemate by March 1942.<ref>Lyons, 112-13.</ref>