Page 14 - Cause & Effect: World War II

Defeated German troops are marched through Moscow in 1944. Hitler’s
tactical error allowed the Soviets to overcome invading Nazi troops, leading
to the eventual surrender of Germany.

Germany Surrenders

As Rommel predicted, the Soviet offense began soon after his meet-
ing with Hitler. At 5:00 a.m. on June 22, the Soviets commenced a
massive artillery bombardment along the German-Soviet front in the
Soviet republic of Belarus, which borders Poland to the east. As with
the Normandy invasion, the Germans guessed wrong about where the
Soviet offensive would be launched. Hitler was convinced the offen-
sive would be staged further south, targeting Hungary, Romania, and
Bulgaria—countries he believed Stalin wished to annex into the So-
viet Union. Therefore, the German military concentrated its forces in
that region, some 400 miles (644 km) from the action.
Germany’s much-feared panzer corps was easily overwhelmed.
Near the Belarus city of Vitebsk, the Soviets encircled a panzer corps
under the command of German general Friedrich Gollwitzer, who
was forced to surrender. Some thirty-five thousand German troops

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