Eastern Front (World War II): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:36, 15 December 2006

Revision as of 17:38, 15 December 2006

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| notes = ¹Partial help for the Soviet Union was provided by [[United States home front during World War II|United States]] and [[Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II|United Kingdom]] (mainly troops and material aid) and for Germany by its puppet states. There were also numerous foreign units recruited by Germany, notably the [[Russian Liberation Army]] and Spanish [[Blue Division]].<br>

}}{{Campaignbox Axis-Soviet War}}

The '''Eastern Front of [[World War II]]''' was the [[theater (warfare)|theatre of war]] covering the conflict in central and eastern Europe from [[June 22]], [[1941]] to [[May 98]], [[1945]]. In all [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] and the majority of [[Russian language|Russian]] sources, the conflict is referred to as the '''Great Patriotic War''' ({{lang-ru|Великая Отечественная война}}, ''Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voyna''). It was notorious for its unprecedented ferocity, destruction, and immense loss of life. Some sources include the [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|German and Soviet invasion of Poland]] of [[1939]] in this World War II theatre but this article concentrates on the much larger conflict which was fought from June [[1941]] to May [[1945]] in which the two principal [[belligerent]] powers were [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]]. It resulted in the rise of the Soviet Union as a military and industrial [[superpower]], the Soviet occupation of [[Eastern Europe]], and the [[partition of Germany]].

The Russo-Finnish [[Continuation War]] may be considered the northern flank of the Eastern Front. Some scholars of the conflict use the term '''Russo-German War''', while others use '''Soviet-German War''', '''German-Soviet War''' or '''Axis-Soviet War'''.