Operation Barbarossa, the German attack on Russia began at 3:30 am on June 22, 1941. This was the day after Napoleon’s attack on Russia in 1812. Barbarossa precipitated the greatest land battle in history. The German armed forces struck Russia on a thousand mile front and initially enjoyed staggering success. But the Germans were stopped before Moscow in December in the midst of the brutal Russian winter. The Russians turned the tide at the Battle of Stalingrad and then arrived triumphantly in Berlin in 1945.