[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile. Also visit our general discussion thread

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
German Invasion of Russia – Operations, 22 June-25 August 1941
The Mediterranean Basin
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941 – The Imperial Powers, 1 September 1939

[beebuster2000]

thanks

[mrmeyer]

Thank you very much for posting these threads. Keep up the great work!

[CougarGA7]

Here are some more quotes and other items from my notes today:

• "He [the Soviet soldier] is a much better soldier than the Frenchman. Extremely tough, devious and deceitful." - General of Infantry, 4th Army, Gotthard Heinrici.

• "The Russians are defending themselves desperately; heavy counterattacks near Grodno against the VIII and XX Army Corps; Panzer Group Guderian is also being held up near Slonim by enemy counterattacks." - Field Marshal Fedor von Bock

• Hoth's Panzer Group takes the town of Vilnius

• Lieutenant-General Dmitrie Pavlov launches desperate counter attacks against Army Group Center with the 11th and 6th Mechanized Corps. While the 11th Mechanized Corp was relatively weak with only 60 of 260 tanks being the newer T-34 and KV-1 design, the 6th had 960 tanks of which around half were the T-34 and KV-1 models. Despite this, poor communications and organization made this counter offense doomed from the start.

• Marshal law is declared throughout the western portion of the Soviet Union.

• Panzer Group 3 already begins reporting that the forests are full of fugitive Soviet soldiers who are "attacking from the flank and rear"

• Panzer Group 3's war diary complains that the roads restrict movement to single-file columns making it only as fast as its slowest vehicle. Additionally they made the comment that, "All routes marked as roads turned out to be unsealed, unmaintained sand tracks. The difficulties are placing great demands on the divisions."

• The 13th and 14th Panzer Divisions of the III Motorized Corps are hit by the 215th Motorized and 19th Tank Division of Major-General Kondrusev's 22nd Mechanized Crops. The Russians take heavy loses including the loss of Kondrusev and every regimental commander in the 19th Division.

• The GKO creates the Council for Evacuation to relocate industry eastward to the Urals and Siberia.

[dfwgator]

Keep in mind, at this stage what the Nazis are invading is occupied Poland, and not the Soviet Union proper.