Operation Pluto (Heute Europa)

Operation Pluto was the codename for a massive summer offensive by the forces of

Background
On March 17, 1942, the massive German armies invaded the Soviet Union. In just a few days panzer units advanced more than 200 miles, wiping out most of the Red Army and taking millions prisoner. By July 1 German forces were approaching Moscow, Leningrad, and Kiev. on July 22nd, the germans took moscow. Once those three cities were taken, and defensive lines were established, German soldiers set up defensive lines around the cities and waited for winter. In the south, at Ukraine, troops continued to advance to the edge of the Ukraine before digging in, as the winter there would be less harsh and come later. Rather than continue to conquer and overextend German forces, the German army sent groups of scout troops to round up all citizens within 100 miles of the front lines, and along with the already-captured soldiers and captive citizens of the areas already conquered, these people proved to be potent hostages. Germany threatened to kill every last one of them unless Stalin surrendered himself, and Russia withdrew its border to the Ural Mountains. Stalin refused, Saying "i will not yield to the facists and their threats. millions might be dead, but we have millions more. we shall overcome" Stalin ordered Zhukov to plan a mighty summer offensive to Push the Facists Back. It would take advantage of the many newly raised divisions, and the tanks being constructed in the factories that were evacuated to the Urals.