On June 22, 1941, most Soviet citizens were confident that the Red Army would defeat the Nazis in a matter of months. However, disillusionment set in very quickly.
“Our troops’ offensive seemed to come as a complete tactical surprise to the enemy on the entire front. The border bridges across the Bug and other rivers were seized everywhere without a fight and no damage. The total unexpectedness of our attack was evidenced by the fact that the units in the barracks were caught unawares, planes were on the airfields covered with tarpaulins, and the vanguard elements attacked by our troops had to ask the command for instructions..." This is how the chief of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces, Franz Halder, described the Wehrmacht's invasion of the Soviet Union in the early morning of June 22, 1941, in his diary.
