The neutrality pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, signed on August 23 1939 was broken on June 22 1941 when Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa. It was the code name for the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. Ultimately, the operation lasted around five months and Axis failed. Their goal was to take over the western part of the Soviet Union and eventually repopulate it with Germans. During the Nazis' time on the Eastern Front, they committed some of the worst atrocities of WWII, such as starting off their "Hunger Plan" which was, at its core, a rather simple plan to starve the Slavic population. The Germans also attempted a new version of "blitzkreig" but were not successful in sustaining the strategy, in part due to the lack of infrastructure in the Soviet Union and deep, Russian winters.