Storm on the Düna

In the summer of 1941, the German attack on the Soviet Union, code-named Operation Barbarossa, began with a surprise attack. Huge armies mobilised for the largest campaign ever.

Stalin’s armies were positioned very west of the German army, which offered the opportunity to encircle them. This could have decided the war at an early stage.

The army group north (Heeresgruppe Nord) also had to attack quickly in depth and destroy the Red Army before the river Düna. It would turn out differently. The race to the river and the establishment of bridgeheads met with stubborn resistance. The first major tank battle on the eastern front took place at Rossieni. The Soviets were defeated and the Red Army reached the river, but there was no question of an overall collapse. Large encirclements, which did occur elsewhere, did not take place here. This was the first fatal chapter in what would culminate in the dramatic siege of Leningrad.

Dr. Perry Pierik obtained his doctorate on the geopolitics of Karl Haushofer and wrote dozens of books and articles on the Second World War. His best-known works include From Leningrad to Berlin, Hungary 1944-45 the forgotten tragedy, The Geopolitics of the Third Reich, Emperor Wilhelm II the abandoned monarch, Erich Ludendorff, biography, The Polish War and Brothers in Arms about the German-Romanian alliance.