Was the invasion of the Soviet Union successful?

Answer 1

No. Hitler's invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa as it was known) failed. This was mostly due to the fact that the Germans invaded Russia in autumn without any winter gear. The Russians compounded this by deploying 'scorched earth' tactics (poisoning wells, destroying food and other supplies) forcing the Germans to have very long supply lines. As a result, the Russian army were able to attack the supply lines and cause the Germans major difficulties. Despite this the Germans were able to advance a fair way, and were vicious in their reprisals against the under equipped Russian troops and their civilians (read about the siege of Stalingrad for example). The Russians took huge casualties (over 11 Million Russians died in WW2), but Hitler's armies never defeated Russia. The results may have been different however, had the Germans attacked in say, springtime.

Answer 2

One important reason for the failure of the German invasion of the USSR was the delay caused by the forward German Panzer units to stop their rapid advance towards Moscow. Hitler had ordered the advance to halt in order for the forward units to move southwest to ensure the rapid capture of Soviet troops in the southwest near Kiev. The Germans were successful and captured over 100,000 Soviet troops. With that said, this was a distraction that slowed down the panzers that were very close to Moscow. This slowdaown allowed for the Russians to regroup, and the Winter weather and rains slowed down German motorized divisions as the roads were full of mud.