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Dictionary definition: Eastern Front Campaigns
- Article from:
- A Dictionary of World History
Copyright© A Dictionary of World History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information)
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Eastern Front Campaigns
(World War II, 1939–45) A series of military campaigns fought in eastern Europe. The first campaign (September 1939) followed the
NAZI-SOVIET PACT
(1939), when Germany invaded Poland. Soviet forces entered from the east, and Poland collapsed. Finland was defeated in the
FINNISH-RUSSIAN WAR
. In June 1941 Hitler launched a surprise offensive against his one-time ally, the Soviet Union. Italy, Romania, Hungary, Finland, and Slovakia joined in the invasion. By the end of 1941 Germany had overrun Belorussia and most of the Ukraine, had besieged Leningrad, and was converging on Moscow. The Russian winter halted the German offensive, and the attack on Moscow was ...