The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union continues to cast a shadow over east-west relations today.
At 3am on 22 June 1941 – one year to the day after France fell to the Nazis – the largest invasion force in history entered the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa had begun.
Nazi forces attacked in three groups across an 1,800-mile front, and advanced towards Leningrad, Kiev and Moscow. Alongside their German core, the three million troops included Italian, Hungarian, Romanian, Finnish, Slovak and Croatian soldiers.
