Preview

Why Is Russia Hard to Invade?

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1785 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Is Russia Hard to Invade?
Since the early eighteenth century, Russia has been a major power in Europe, but its influence on a global scale has consequently made Russia a matter of desire for power hungry oppressors. However, history has shown that Russia possesses certain traits that have acted as a deterrent to invading forces. Most notably, Napoleon’s disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 and its association with Hitler’s failed Operation Barbarossa are prime examples; their failures were caused by a number of factors such as; faulty logistics, Russian weather and geography, which led to the overall downfall of their invasions. The word logistics originated from the Greek word logistikos; meaning “skilled at calculating”. In military terms it can be defined as the supply, movement and maintenance of an armed force. The importance of military logistics can be verified through both Napoleon and Hitler’s failed invasions of Russia. Napoleon and Hitler took advantage of the summer by commencing their invasions in June. Like previous operations in central Europe, Napoleon acquired a method to supply his massive Grand Army; by foraging the farms to feed his troops. This method worked very well as the sluggish supply lines often slowed down mass marches which gave the enemy ample time to assemble a counter-attack or mount a defence. Napoleon’s method of foraging provided a rapid and swift concentration of troops, allowing him to commit a decisive blow to the enemy. Central Europe also provided a stable network of roads that could be used in conjunction with his foraging tactic for maximum speed.
Hitler’s tactics were quite the same; the blitzkrieg was used to great effect throughout central Europe. A turn of the 20th century obviously introduced new technology which hadn’t existed in Napoleon’s time; but the underlying idea of their tactics were very much the same, as they were centred around massive troop concentration alongside speed and mobility.
However, unlike central Europe, Russian

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    There are many reasons why Russia was difficult to govern, such as the size and diversity of the country and many differences in opinions contributed to the resentment of the government which in turn made the country very difficult to govern.…

    • 1851 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crimean war was fought by Russia and an alliance of Britain, France, Prussia, Austria and the Ottoman Empire from 1853 to 1856. Due to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, each country was competing for influence in the Middle East, with Russia attempting to gain access to its seas. In the end Russia was vastly overpowered, leading Alexander II to speedily begin peace talks, the Treaty of Paris bringing an end to the bloodshed. The defeat of the war highlighted the fact that Russia had lost its dominance as a military power, having had its warships banned from the Black Sea. Why such a vast country with a strong military tradition lost was due to the traditional values of Russia, like the out-dated military manoeuvres, the out-dated bayonet against the newest rifles, the inability to support the war effort and the undersupplied armies due to a lack of transport. Russian troops weren’t equipped to fight against the advanced weapons of the French and British, when their ammunition ran out they were unable to restock since there was no form of transport other than ox drawn carts. Proof of Russian backwardness was exemplified here; Russia’s serfdom based economy was unable to support the cost of the war, influencing Alexander II greatly to change.…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though it may sound heartless and selfish, the needs and aims of countries usually are the primary factor controlling their foreign relations. During the period of the czars, from 1547 to 1917, Russia’s need for land and modernization shaped its relationships with Western Europe and the Ottoman Empire, causing Russia’s leaders to respect and imitate Western Europe while competing with the European powers to fill the power vacuum of the failing Ottoman Empire.…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    policies of control and the expansion of Russian territory. Since the incursion of the Mongols,…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Battle of Stalingrad

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages

    OPERATION BARBAROSSA: “When the attack on Russia starts the world will hold its breath.” Hitler (Trueman)…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The intent of this paper will be to provide a purposeful explanation of the events leading up to the Allied invasion of “Fortress Europe.” It will also provide an analysis of Allied, as well as Axis strategy throughout the Allied invasion and sweep across northwest Europe that resulted in the eventual defeat of the Third Reich in Germany - at the hands of the Soviets.…

    • 4211 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1914 Germany and Austria declared war on Russia and their allies Serbia. Despite the fact that in 1908 Tsar Nicholas II had put into action ‘The Grand Military Programme’, aiming to rearm his forces and get Russia ready for war, the plan was set to finish in 1917, not three years earlier. Nevertheless, Russia went into war with its head held high, with full support and enthusiasm from the Russian people. By 1916 however, this support for the war had changed dramatically, as the fighting at the front had lived up to nobody’s expectations. Russia was now occupied by the enemy, proving the weakness of the Russian’s defence and the strength of the enemy. On the front line one out of three men had a rifle, due to the lack of weapons and supplies the incomplete military programme had been able to offer. The number of casualties, missing in action and death toll was catastrophic: 4 million by the end of 1915. Evidently moral of the men fighting was almost at breaking point, it was clear Russia was losing a battle they did not even want to fight. Another affecting factor on the front line was the fact that most of the…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    The lands of Tsarist Russia once stretched from Scandinavia to the Pacific. The largest landlocked Empire in the world, stretching thousandths of miles across woods, plains, mountains, deserts, and the endless Siberian Taiga. 1The Russian people consist one of the most diverse ethnic groups in the world. In the west, descendants of Europeans known as the Kievan Rus founded Kyiv and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Yet these former Europeans are distinctly different, both physically and mentally than Western Europeans. 2The Eastern Steppe consisted of various Central Asian races such as the Tatars, the Mongols, the Ugurs, and the Turks, who occupied various regions of what would become the Russian Empire. One aspect of the Russian Empire that always seemed to remain constant was its path of warfare, whether it was defensive or conquering other Empires. The Russian Empire always wanted to increase the size of their land for economic reasons. 3The political philosophies of the Russian people and State constantly changed due to the position that the Empire was in. The story of Russia is dramatic, ruthless, and most importantly a failure. Authoritarian governments have ruled the Russian people, since the creation of Kyiv. 4Whether it was the Mongol Empire, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, The USSR, or the Russian Federation, all these governments oppressed their citizens. Peter the Great is an independent thinker in the history of Russia, he saw Europe as the centre of knowledge and culture in the world. He, unlike so many of his countrymen, wanted Russia to be fully incorporated in European society.…

    • 2122 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Not only this but there was terrible famines during the early 1890s, anti-Jewish pogroms and savage repression of other constituent nationalities cultures, most notably in Poland, the Ukraine and the Baltic states. Whilst Alexander III was successful in keeping Russia out of any wars during his time in power he sowed the seeds for a future one by entwining his nation’s fate with that of the Allied powers. And despite his obsession with the military, as Tsar he never managed to bridge the technological and material gap between the Russian military and the militaries of the Western and central European…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia was one of the Great Powers of Europe, but it was the one socially, economically and politically most underdeveloped.…

    • 994 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1682 Peter the Great becomes tsar ruling with his half brother Ivan V until 1696 (his sister is regent until 1689)…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In June of 1812, Napoleon began his deadly Russian campaign, a landmark in the history of the caustic potential of warfare. All mainland Europe was under his control, and the invasion of Russia was an effort to force Tsar Alexander planned once again to the terms of a treaty that Napoleon had enforced upon him four years earlier. Having collected nearly half a million soldiers, from France as well as all of the states of Europe, Napoleon entered Russia at the lead of the largest army ever seen. The Russians, under the power of Marshal Kutuzov, could not hope to defeat him in a direct conflict.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Religious Conflict in Russia

    • 5032 Words
    • 21 Pages

    Any discussion of Russia must begin with its single most striking feature—its sheer vastness. During World War II, a German general noted how his troops "were depressed by the monotony of the landscape and the immensity of the stretches of forest, marsh, and plain." Russia is, in fact, a land of vast spaces and colossal distances. This fact alone has had a singularly dramatic effect upon the history of the Russian people and the development of their culture and religion. It is the world's largest country in area, covering over 6.5 million square miles of territory, extending over a large part of both Europe and Asia. It has coastlines on the Artic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Caspian Sea, and Pacific Ocean. It also borders eight European countries and three Asian countries. However, it lacks any significant physical barriers from its neighbors—a reality which has opened the Russian heartland to invasion numerous times.…

    • 5032 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    1914 was a devastating year for many countries of the world, as world war one began to take full effect. But as world war one shook the world; it began to question Nicholas II’s ability to rule Russia. In this essay i will discuss the extent of world war one’s responsibility in Nicholas II’s downfall, and the extent of other contributing factors. I will argue that Nicholas II’s own traits as a leader were the main reason for his downfall.…

    • 1429 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    One of the problems concerning Russia 's advancement in military technology and strategy wasn 't necessarily the lack of thinkers, but the lack of a will to change. Once Peter the Great modernized Russia in the late 17th century, there was a vast improvement in military procedure all across the board. The change created strong military victories for Russia, and abandoning any of these strategies was, for a long time, considered foolish. Furthermore, the Russian ideal method of war was of having one grand, decisive, battle. These ideas prevented the Russian military from competing with the new technology being developed in the rest of the world and developing the new strategies needed to operate against it.…

    • 1707 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays