It has been known as the Great Patriotic War ( , '' Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voyna '' ) in the former Soviet Union and modern Russia , while in Germany it was called Name_conferral the Eastern Front ( ) , or the German-Soviet War by outside parties .

By January 1943 , Soviet forces were planning Arranging or conducting offensive operations across the entire German-Soviet front , especially in southern Russia ; Iskra formed Coming_to_be the northern part of the wider Soviet 1942–1943 winter counter-offensive .