Hello, and thank you for listening to The History of World War II podcast Episode 135.

Russia is never as strong as she looks, nor as weak as she looks.

Previously, we covered Armour Group North as it captured Lithuania, Latvia, parts of Estonia,

and had penetrated the Stolars line around Peskov and Ostrov.

By early July, it was on an approach to Leningrad.

Meanwhile, Armour Group Center, which had captured or killed the most Soviet troops thus far,

was massing its armor just west of Minsk.

And Armour Group South had left southern Poland and Eastern Romania to take Odessa along the coast,

shatter whole Soviet armies in its way, and make good progress towards Kiev.

True, there was some stronger than expected resistance just above the coast in southern Russian hell territory,

but it would be of little moment to turn south some of the tanks from Armour Group Center

to hit those who resisted there from behind.

Overall, things were looking good from Berlin's perspective, and while Hitler enjoyed the ever-changing

map in front of him, he was always, as the leader of his country, looking over the political implications

and ramifications of this latest attack. To make sure the world understood this undertaking

in its correct context, Hitler gave a speech that morning of June 22nd in the Reichstag.

German people, national socialists, after long months when I was forced to keep silent,

despite heavy concerns, the time has come when I can finally speak openly.

When the German Reich revealed England's, read Britain's, Declaration of War on September 3rd, 1939,

the British attempted once again to frustrate any attempt to begin a consolidation and thus a

strengthening of Europe by fighting the then strongest power on the continent. A side note here,

Hitler's speech then jumps back in time, which I think got lost in this translation.

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