Aufbau Ost(1940)
Aufbau Ost(lit. 'Buildup in the East') was theGermanoperational code name for the mobilisation of forces before the start ofOperation Barbarossa[1]and thesubsequent invasionof theSoviet Union.
On 7 August 1940HitlerorderedWalter Warlimont,deputy toAlfred Jodl,Chief of Staff of theWehrmacht,to determine the positions of Soviet troops in the east. The appropriate directive was signed the next day byWilhelm Keitel.It stated that due to the threat of British air attack on Western Germany it was necessary to use the eastern territories for drawing and preparing the new units.[2]In compliance with the directive, the building organization ofFritz Todtstarted equipping the battleground while the rear organs managed the logistical support in the East.[2]Meanwhile, preparations for adjusting the Sovietrail gaugeto match the Western European were taking place. On 5 August 1940, the order was given to start equipment production for the Ostheer (German"East army" ), but the actual production wasn't started till November 1940 because of Economic reasons. The production was led byHermann Göring's4 year plan bureau.[3]
Notes
[edit]- ^"WWII Glossary".Archived fromthe originalon 12 October 2007.Retrieved16 October2007.
- ^abAnfilov, Viktor(1974).Proval blitskriga.Moscow: Nauka.
- ^Schustereit, Hartmut (1983)."Planung und Aufbau der Wirtschaftsorganisation Ost vor dem Rußlandfeldzug-Unternehmen" Barbarossa "1940/41".VSWG: Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte.70(1): 50–70.JSTOR20731624.