The largest land invasion in military history commenced on this day 85 years ago...

June 22, 1941.

Operation Barbarossa. Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union featured between 3.5-3.8 million men attacking along a front that stretched from 1,800 miles from north to south. 153 German divisions, grouped into three separate army groups, were backed by 3,600 tanks and some 600,000 motor vehicles.

Army Group North, led by Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, would drive through the Baltic states with the ultimate goal of seizing Leningrad. Army Group Center, commanded by Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, was tasked with smashing into the heart of Russia and seizing Smolensk before moving onto Moscow. Army Group South, commanded by Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, was to drive into Ukraine and seize the city of Kiev.

Despite repeated warnings from the British and other third parties, the Russians were taken totally by surprise in those first hours. In what was the most destructive single day in the history of air warfare, some 3,000 German aircraft of the vaunted Luftwaffee destroyed between 1,800-2,000 Soviet planes while they sat uselessly on the ground. While some Red Army units fought valiantly and held their positions for hours or even days, the front line of the Russian front disintegrated very quickly. By the end of the week, the entire Russian army was in full retreat under the enormous weight of the German onslaught.

A good video for the opening hours of the German invasion of Russia can be found at the embedded link below: