Operation Barbarossa - Essay Example

History of Intelligence al Affiliation) Impact of Stalin’s leadership in the success of Operation Barbarossa Undoubtedly, Stalin has a renowned history of receiving subsequent warning on looming attacks. The reactions by Stalin prompted many sources to ask the question why the Soviet Forces exhibited poor preparations in the wake of Operation Barbarossa amidst the large numbers that the army had. Ordinarily, Soviet border guard units often sent warnings about impending invasions from intelligence sources.

This was similar to the treatment accorded to intelligence relating to Operation Barbarossa (Bacon, 2011). However, Stalin’s poor leadership maintained illegitimate concerns about the deliberate plans by the German forces to launch attacks using falsely intelligence. Hitler’s application of deception in the WWII against USSR In the early years of the World War II, the Allied Forces led by USSR had their tide stronger than those of the German led forces. Hitler understood the character that Stalin displayed in handling intelligence reports.

Hitler used this to his advantage and ensured that the Germans attained detailed security precautions on the operations of the USSR forces. Through deception, Hitler left the USSR forces unaware of the intentions of the German troops. Role of HUMNIT in the Plan Bodyguard Through Plan Bodyguard, the Allied Forces had acquired a deception plan that could support their invasion of Normandy. The human intelligence was applied in execution of this plan in inducing the Germans to make planned and strategic faulty dispositions before the onset of Operation Anvil and Overload.

The human intelligent was important in making the Germans confused, hence causing them to misallocate their resources into territories that encountered little threat of attacks form allied forces. Under the bodyguard, the operations were divided into three distinctive sub-groups, the Zeppelin, Fortitude North and South respectively. Application of Signal Intelligence in execution of Plan Bodyguard Signal intelligence in Plan Bodyguard was vital in masking the Operation Overload. Through signal intelligence, the Allies located strategic bombing sites that helped champion their strategic bombing campaign.

The Allied used signal intelligence to acquire stories that they could sell through their acquired diplomatic leaks. In an instance of that magnitude, they announced about the planned Soviet attack backed by the Allied Forces. This intelligence confused the German forces, as this coincided with their dates of attack against the Allied Forces. Balancing secrecy and openness in a democracy In the United States, many challenges have been encountered in balancing secrecy and openness in line with democracy.

According to the general US perception, deceit is detestable in all activities (Bacon, 2011). However, handling intelligence in the conduct of war is viewed opposite to the general societal perception of deceit. In war, secrecy and deceit are not only laudable but also honorable, hence posing the challenge of openness in the democratic state. The Joint Doctrine for Military Deception, however, is s comprehensive provision that sets to protect the doctrines of planning and operations at the operational levels of war.

References Bacon, D. (2011). Second World War Deception Lessons Learned for Today’s Joint Planner. AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY, 5, 1-30. Reference Armistead, Leigh, D., & Cowan, E. (2009). Proceeding Of The 5Th International Conference Information Warfare And Security. The Air Force Institute Of Technology, 250-270.