The First Day on the Eastern Front : Germany invades the Soviet Union, June 22, 1941 / Craig W.H. Luther.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ch. 1 Planning for Armageddon -- Adolf Hitler and His General Staff Prepare to Unleash War on Soviet Russia -- 1.1. Prologue -- France 1940 and the Nimbus of Invincibility -- 1.2. Hider and Russia I -- The Fuhrers Strategic (Political-Military) Case for War -- 1.3. Hitler and Russia II -- The Fuhrers Programmatic (Ideological) Case for War -- 1.4. German General Staff Planning -- July to December 1940 (A Concise Overview) -- 1.5. Aufmarsch Ost: The German Strategic Force Buildup in the East (January -- June 1941) -- 1.6. Status of the Red Army (Spring 1941) -- ch. 2 On the Cusp of War -- Berlin, Moscow, and the Eastern Front -- 2.1. Berlin -- A City and Its Fuhrer on Edge -- 2.2. "Soldaten der Ostfront!" -- Three Million Men Are Poised to Strike! -- 2.3. Moscow -- Stalin Still in Denial about the Impending German Attack -- 2.4. Red Army Courts Disaster at the Western Frontier -- Photo Essay: Commanders and Weapons -- Intermezzo: Operation Barbarossa Begins -- From the Baltic to the Black Sea -- ch. 3 Armageddon Unleashed (I) -- Army Group North Goes to War -- 3.1. Opposing Forces and Battle Plans (Northern Axis) -- 3.2. Sixteenth Army Operations -- 3.3. 4 Panzer Group Operations -- 3.4. Eighteenth Army Operations -- 3.5. Abendlage: Precis of the Combat Actions of Army Group North -- ch. 4 Armageddon Unleashed (II) -- Army Group Center Goes to War -- 4.1. Opposing Forces and Battle Plans (Central Axis) -- 4.2. Opening Acts along the Army Group Front -- 4.3. 2 Panzer Group Operations -- 4.4. Fourth Army Operations -- 4.5. Ninth Army Operations -- 4.6. 3 Panzer Group Operations -- 4.7. Abendlage: Precis of the Combat Actions of Army Group Center -- Photo Essay: The Front -- Operation Barbarossa Begins, June 22, 1941 -- ch. 5 Armageddon Unleashed (III) -- Army Group South Goes to War -- 5.1. Opposing Forces and Battle Plans (Southern Axis) -- 5.2. Eleventh Army Operations -- 5.3. Seventeenth Army Operations -- 5.4. Sixth Army Operations -- 5.5. 1 Panzer Group Operations -- 5.6. Abendlage: Precis of the Combat Actions of Army Group South -- ch. 6 Death from the Sky -- The Luftwaffe Wreaks Havoc and Smashes the Soviet Air Force -- 6.1. A Brief Primer on Luftwaffe Organization and Combat Aircraft -- 6.2. Luftwaffe Operations in Support of Army Group North -- 6.3. Luftwaffe Operations in Support of Army Group Center -- 6.4. Luftwaffe Operations in Support of Army Group South -- 6.5. Abendlage: Precis of Luftwaffe Operations in Support of Ostheer -- ch. 7 Berlin, Moscow, and the First Twenty-One Hours of War on the Eastern Front -- 7.1. Berlin: The Reaction to the First Successes -- 7.2. Moscow: The Response to the Initial Defeats -- Postscript: Reflections on Day One of the Most Destructive War in History and the Ultimate Failure of Operation Barbarossa -- Maps -- Appendices -- 1. Equivalent Military Ranks (German/American) -- 2. Directive No. 21 -- Case Barbarossa (December 18, 1940) -- 3. German 6 Infantry Division: Personnel and Weapons (June 20, 1941) -- 4. Order of Battle of a German Panzer Division (June 1941) -- 5. 56 Infantry Division's Order No. 1 for the Attack across the Bug River (June 19, 1941) -- 6. Peoples Commissariat of Defense (NKO) Directives 1,2,3 (June 22, 1941).