What was the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union?

The code name for Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union was Operation Barbarossa. The invasion began on 22 June 1941, opening the Eastern Front, the largest and deadliest land theater of the Second World War.

Germany and its Axis allies attacked across a front roughly 2,900 kilometers long. The operation aimed to destroy the Soviet Union, seize territory and resources, and conquer land for German settlement. Its name referred to Frederick I Barbarossa, the 12th-century Holy Roman Emperor, whom Nazi propaganda presented as a symbol of German imperial power.

The invasion was originally known within German planning as Operation Otto, but Adolf Hitler changed the code name to Barbarossa in December 1940. German forces initially advanced rapidly and captured or encircled huge numbers of Soviet troops. However, Soviet resistance, vast distances, logistical problems, harsh weather, and Germany’s failure to achieve a quick victory eventually turned the campaign into a catastrophic war of attrition.