The Role of Political Environmentalism in Modern World

Operation Barbarossa In WWII Essays - Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa In WWII Essays - Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa in WWII "When Operation Barbarossa is launched, the world will hold its breath!" - Adolf Hitler On the night of June 22, 1941, more than 3 million German soldiers, 600 000 vehicles and 3350 tanks were amassed along a 2000km front stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Their sites were all trained on Russia. This force was part of 'Operation Barbarossa', the eastern front of the greatest military machine ever assembled. This machine was Adolf Hitler's German army. For Hitler, the inevitable assault on Russia was to be the culmination of a long ezding obsession. He had always wanted Russia's industries and agricultural lands as part of his Lebensraum or 'living space' for Germany and their Thousand Year Reich. Russia had been on Hitler's agenda since he wrote Mein Kampf some 17 years earlier where he stated: 'We terminate the endless German drive to the south and the west of Europe, and direct our gaze towards the lands in the east...If we talk about new soil and territory in Europe today, we can think primarily only of Russia and its vassal border states'i Hitler wanted to exterminate and enslave the 'degenerate' Slavs and he wanted to obliterate their 'Jewish Bolshevist' government before it could turn on him. His 1939 pact with Stalin was only meant to give Germany time to prepare for war. As soon as Hitler controlled France, he looked east. Insisting that Britain was as good as defeated, he wanted to finish off the Soviet Union as soon as possible, before it could significantly fortify and arm itself. 'We only have to kick in the front door and the whole rotten edifice will come tumbling down'ii he told his officers. His generals warned him of the danger of fighting a war on two fronts and of the difficulty of invading an area as vast as Russia but, Hitler simply overruled them. He then placed troops in Finland and Romania and created his eastern front. In December 1940, Hitler made his final battle plan. He gave this huge operation a suitable name. He termed it 'Operation Barbarossa' or 'Redbeard' which was the nickname of the crusading 12th century Holy Roman emperor, Frederick I. The campaign consisted of three groups: Army Group North which would secure the Baltic; Army Group South which would take the coal and oil rich lands of the Ukraine and Caucasus; and Army Group Centre which would drive towards Moscow. Prior to deploying this massive force, military events in the Balkans delayed 'Barbarossa' by five weeks. It is now widely agreed that this delay proved fatal to Hitler's conquest plans of Russia but, at the time it did not seem important. In mid-June the build-up was complete and the German Army stood poised for battle. Hitler's drive for Russia failed however, and the defeat of his army would prove to be a major downward turning point for Germany and the Axis counterparts. There are many factors and events which contributed to the failure of Operation Barbarossa right from the preparatory stages of the attack to the final cold wintry days when the Germans had no choice but to concede. Several scholars and historians are in basic agreement with the factors which led to Germany's failure however, many of them stress different aspects of the operation as the crucial turning point. One such scholar is the historian, Kenneth Macksey. His view on Operation Barbarossa is plainly evident just by the title of his book termed, 'Military errors Of World War Two.'iii Macksey details the fact that the invasion of Russia was doomed to fail from the beginning due to the fact that the Germans were unprepared and extremely overconfident for a reasonable advancement towards Moscow. Macksey's first reason for the failure was the simply that Germany should not have broken its agreement with Russia and invaded its lands due to the fact that the British were not defeated on the western front, and this in turn plunged Hitler into a war on two fronts. The Germans, and Hitler in particular were stretching their forces too thin and were overconfident that the Russians would be defeated in a very short time. Adolf Hitler's overconfidence justifiably stemmed

Innovation at cirque du soleil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Innovation at cirque du soleil - Essay Example This Circus has differentiated itself from its fellow circuses in that it added a touch of innovation in its entertainment services. Through this it managed to shift the traditional circus attendants from children to adults. This paper seeks to evaluate the external environment of Circus du Soleil by conducting a PEST and Porter’s 5 forces analysis of its circus industry. Potter’s five forces Analysis of External Environment This analysis tool is the most powerful tool of understanding where power really lies within the organization. A clear understanding of where power really lies in the organization enables an understanding of the current competitive position the company is in and the strength of the position it wants to move to. This approach assumes that five major forces that determine a businesses competitive power exist. In relation to the circus industry where Cirque du Soleil operates in, the following can be realized; the threat of new entry, power of supplier s, power of buyers, competitive rivalry, and the threat of substitutes. 1. Threat of entry There is a threat of new entry into the circus industry given the fact that Circus du Soleil has been performing well in the industry. Circus du Soleil reinvented the circus industry and through this it was able to create a new market space through challenging the conventional assumption that existed. This assumption was that circuses were meant for children. This company taught the industry how to compete by adding innovation by drawing strengths from the theatre industry, the opera industry and so forth. The new companies have seen how Circus du Soleil has made huge profits and amassed large customer bases and have been attracted to this industry. The greatest threat is that profitability and sales level for Circus du Soleil will decrease but on the other hand the industry’s competitiveness will increase. 2. Power of suppliers The suppliers to the circus industry have changed from the traditional wild animals, acrobats, and funs tuff for youngsters. The circus industry is seeing the use of more mature forms of entertainment to suit the older and high spending customers. The change in customer has called for a change in suppliers, for purposes of profitability of the industry. In addition the customers have fragmented to reduce their bargaining power. 3. Threat of substitutes This threat comes from alternative entertainment forms offered theaters, cinemas, and operas among others. Competition becomes intense when these services are offered at generally lower prices. 4. Competitive rivalry Competitive rivalry to this industry comes from the alternative entertainment services offered by theaters, cinemas, amusement parks, kid’s fun centers, and opera’s among others. 5. Power of buyers The revolution of the circus industry by Cirque du Soleil has seen the entrance of new buyers who are the mature and high spending adults. The traditional buyers were ch ildren and youngsters. This brood of new buyers has increased the profitability of this industry. PEST Analysis PEST refers to the analysis of the environment in terms of political, economical, sociological and technological manner. In relation to the Cirques du Soleil circus industry, the following can be realized; 1. Political aspect The current regulations do not