On 22 June 1941 the Germans launched their long-expected invasion of the Soviet Union. It was codenamed Operation Barbarosa, after the famous 12th-century crusading emperor. What followed was perhaps the greatest clash of arms the world has ever witnessed. The attack was a culmination of Hitler's long-held desire to extend the borders of the Reich eastwards to create lebensraum (living space) for the German people. In the early summer of 1941, the Germans amassed an army of 3 million men, 3,300 tanks, and 2,000 aircraft. Facing them was the still-mobilizing Red Army, consisting of 3.5 million men and 20,000 tanks. The struggle that followed was one of the most ferocious, uncompromising conflicts in the history of Modern Warfare. -- From the book jacket.

The rise of a new order -- The search for lebensraum -- Soviet dispositions -- “All hell broke loose!” -- Army Group North -- Army Group Centre -- Army Group South -- Death in the snow -- Appendix: directive no. 21: case Barbarossa -- Order of battle.