War Diary; Armed Forces Operations Staff (L/K.T.B.
WFSt, Volume 6A, 1 Aug. 1940-26 Mar. 1941)
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ANNEX 1
Report to the Fuehrer on 5 December 1940
The Chief of the General Staff of the Army then reports about the planned operation in the East. He expanded at first on the geographic fundamentals. The main war industrial centers are in the Ukraine, in Moscow and in Leningrad.
The Fuehrer declares that he is agreed with the discussed operational plans and adds following: The most important goal is to prevent that the Russians should withdraw on a closed front. The eastward advance should be combined until the Russian air force will be unable to attack the territory of the German Reich and, on the other hand, the German air force will be enabled to conduct raids to destroy Russian war industrial territories. In this way we should be able to achieve the annihilation of the Russian army and to prevent its regeneration.
374
The first commitment of the forces should take place in such
a way to make the annihilation of strong enemy units possible.
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It is essential that the Russians should not take up positions in the rear again. The number of 130-140 Divisions as planned for the entire operation is sufficient.
1 August 1940-March 26, 1941
Memorandum on meeting with Hitler on "the planned operation in the East," including the goal to destroy the Russian army and prevent its recovery
Authors
Franz Halder (Chief of General Staff of the Army (1935-42))
Franz Halder
general and chief of staff in Nazi Germany
- Born: 1884-06-30 (Würzburg)
- Died: 1972-04-02 (Aschau im Chiemgau)
- Country of citizenship: Germany
- Occupation: diarist; military personnel; soldier; writer
- Participant in: Hostages Trial (date: 1947-07-08; role: affiant); Nuremberg Medical Trial (date: 1947-02-01; role: affiant)
- Significant person: Ernst Dehner (role: colleague, friend); Hermann Foertsch (role: acquaintance); Siegfried Handloser (role: acquaintance, colleague); Walther von Brauchitsch (date: 1941-01-01; role: superior)
- Military rank: Generaloberst
- Military branch: Imperial German Army
Date: 05 December 1940
Literal Title: Annex I[.] Report to the Fuehrer on 5 December 1940
Total Pages: 1
Language of Text: English
Source of Text: Nazi conspiracy and aggression (Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1946.)
Evidence Code: PS-1799
Citation: IMT (page 1166)
HLSL Item No.: 450926
Notes:Halder is identified as the author in the Blue Set, vol. 28, p. 383.
Document Summary
PS-1799: Plans about the attack on Russian from the 5th December 1940 on (Enclosure 1-5); the following enclosures deal with the Russian Campaign up to the 22 August 1941
PS-1799: From the war diary of the "wehrmachtfÜhrungsstab’’: report by Halder, chief of staff of the army, to Hitler, 5 December 1940, on the planned operation in the east