Germany WW 2 EDIT Operation Barbarossa Goth slowed (June 22, 1941)

Operation Barbarossa (German: Unternehmen Barbarossa) was the codename for Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that commenced on June 22, 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along an 1,800 mile front. The operation was named after the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire, a leader of the Third Crusade in the 12th century.