On Defender of the Fatherland Day, it is worth recalling who the Russian soldier fought with and where the defenders of other fatherlands were at that time

This year we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Victory Soviet Union in World War II. Therefore, on Defender of the Fatherland Day, it is worth recalling once again who the Russian soldier fought with and where the defenders of other fatherlands were at that time.

So it turns out that it would be more logical for many European countries to celebrate May 9 not as Victory Day in World War II, but to remember their shameful capitulation. After all, almost all continental Europe by 1941 somehow entered the Third Reich. Of the more than two dozen that existed by June 1941 European countries nine - Spain, Italy, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Croatia - Together with Germany and Austria entered the war against the USSR.

The rest also resisted the enemy for a short time:
Monaco - 1 day, Luxembourg - 1 day, Netherlands - 6 days, Belgium - 8 days, Yugoslavia - 12 days, Greece - 24 days, Poland - 36 days, France - 43 days, and then actually joined the aggressor and worked for his industry.
Even supposedly neutral countries- Switzerland and Sweden did not stand aside. They provided Nazi Germany the right of free transit through their territory of military cargo, and also received huge incomes from trade. The trade turnover of "neutral" Portugal with the Nazis was so successful that in May 1945 she declared three days of mourning in connection with the death of Hitler.
But that's not all.
- The national identity of all those who died in battles on the Russian front is difficult or even impossible to establish. But the composition of the military personnel taken prisoner by our army during the war is known. Germans and Austrians - 2,546,242 people; 766,901 people belonged to other nations that declared war on us: Hungarians, Romanians, Italians, Finns and others, but another 464,147 prisoners of war are French, Belgians, Czechs and representatives of others who did not seem to have fought with us European states, - leads scary numbers betrayal historian Vadim Kozhinov. - And while this multinational army won victories on the Russian front, Europe was, by and large, on the side of the Third Reich.

That is why, according to the recollections of the participants, during the signing of the act of surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945, the head of the German delegation, Field Marshal Keitel, seeing among those present at the ceremony persons in French military uniform, could not contain his surprise: "How?! And they also defeated us, or what ?!
It is interesting what the field marshal would say today to the Europeans calling for celebrating Victory Day without Russia's participation. I would probably remind you that the Wehrmacht conquered their countries faster than a couple of houses in Stalingrad.

The internationally recognized term "collaborationism" refers to collaboration local population occupied territories with the Nazis during the Second World War. In Ukraine, almost a quarter of a century of "independent" existence, attempts are being made to justify the traitors. In this row - decrees on liquidation Soviet monuments and their destruction without any decrees, about honoring Hauptmann Shukhevych and Bandera, about recognizing UPA warriors as veterans, about removing “communist-chauvinist literature” from libraries for destruction, etc. All this is accompanied by incessant attempts to whitewash “on scientific level» Ukrainian nationalists, up to the complete denial of such a phenomenon as Ukrainian collaborationism, in the works of V. Kosik, O. Romaniv, M. Koval, V. Sergiychuk and others.
It is necessary to remind about well-known facts. All the leaders of the OUN Wire - E. Konovalets, A. Melnik, S. Bandera, Ya. Stetsko - were agents German secret services since the 1930s. This is confirmed by the same testimony of Abwehr Colonel E. Stolze: “In order to attract the broad masses for subversive activities against the Poles, we recruited the head of the Ukrainian nationalist movement, colonel of the Petliura army, a white émigré KONOVALETS ... Soon Konovalets was killed. The OUN was headed by Andrei MELNYK, whom, like Konovalets, we attracted to cooperate with German intelligence... at the end of 1938 or at the beginning of 1939, a meeting was organized for Lahousen with Melnik, during which the latter was recruited and received the nickname “Consul” ... Germany was intensively preparing for a war against the USSR and therefore measures were taken to intensify subversive activities through the Abwehr, because those measures that were carried out through Melnik and other agents seemed insufficient. For this purpose, a prominent Ukrainian nationalist Bandera Stepan, who during the war was released by the Germans from prison, where he was imprisoned Polish authorities for participating in a terrorist attack against the leaders of the Polish government"
Almost all the commanders of the Bandera UPA (not to be confused with the Bulba-Borovets UPA destroyed by Bandera with the help of the Nazis at the end of 1942-1943) - former officers German parts. 1939: "Ukrainian Legion", also known as the Bergbauerhalfe special unit (R. Sushko, I. Korachevsky, E. Lotovich), who fought as part of the Wehrmacht against Poland. 1939 - 1941: Abwehr battalions "Roland" and "Nachtigal" (Hauptmann R. Shukhevych, Sturmbannführer E. Pobigushchy, Hauptmanns I. Grinokh and V. Sidor, Oberst Lieutenants Y. Lopatinsky and A. Lutsky, Lieutenants of the Abwehr L. Ortynsky, M.Andrusyak, P.Melnyk) - all of them subsequently moved to the police "Schutzmannschaftbattalion-201", and from it to the UPA. The commander of the "Bukovina kuren" and the military assistant of the OUN (M) P. Voinovsky - Sturmbannführer and commander of a separate SS punitive battalion in Kyiv. P. Dyachenko, V. Gerasimenko, M. Soltys - commanders of the "Ukrainian Legion of Self-Defense" of the OUN (M) in Volhynia, he is also "Schutzmanshaft Battalion-31", suppressing Warsaw Uprising in 1944. And also B. Konik (shb-45), I. Kedyumich (shb-303) - executioners Babi Yar; K. Smovsky (shb-118) - Khatyn is on his conscience; shb number 3 - Kortelis. And also numerous "Ukrainian auxiliary police" (K. Zvarych, G. Zakhvalinsky, D. Kupyak), in 1943 in in full force joined the SS division "Galicia". This is not counting the various Abverstelle teams (M. Kostyuk, I. Onufrik, P. Glyn). One cannot but agree with the thesis of the famous Canadian scientist V.V. Polischuk that “OUN was deprived of the Great Mechanic until 9 January 1945. Only in the OUN Banderi was a small one - up to 3 months - a break in the spivdії with occupiers - as long as the “power forces” were established ... (the end of 1942 - the beginning of 1943)”

The battle for Moscow (1941-1942) is one of the most major battles World War II, both in terms of the number of participants in the parties, and in the territory in which it took place. The significance of the battle is enormous, it was on the verge of actual defeat, but thanks to the valor of the soldiers and the talents of the generals, the battle for Moscow was won, and the myth of invincibility was destroyed German troops. Where did the Germans stop near Moscow? The course of the battle, the strength of the parties, as well as its results and consequences will be discussed further in the article.

History of the battle

According to master plan German command under code name"Barbarossa", Moscow was supposed to be captured three to four months after the start of the war. However Soviet troops offered heroic resistance. The battle for Smolensk alone delayed the German troops for two months.

Hitler's soldiers approached Moscow only at the end of September, that is, in the fourth month of the war. The operation to capture the capital of the USSR received the code name "Typhoon", according to it. German troops were supposed to cover Moscow from the north and south, then surround and capture. The battle of Moscow took place on vast territory that stretched for a thousand kilometers.

Side forces. Germany

The German command to capture Moscow were deployed huge forces. 77 divisions took part in the battles total strength over 2 million people. In addition, the Wehrmacht had at its disposal more than 1,700 tanks and self-propelled guns, 14,000 guns and mortars, and about 800 aircraft. The commander of this huge army was Field Marshal F. von Bock.

the USSR

For the Headquarters of the VKG, there were forces of five fronts with a total number of more than 1.25 million people. Also, the Soviet troops had more than 1000 tanks, 10 thousand guns and mortars and more than 500 aircraft. The defense of Moscow was in turn led by several outstanding strategists: A. M. Vasilevsky, I. S. Konev, G. K. Zhukov.

Course of events

Before finding out where the Germans were stopped near Moscow, it is worth talking a little about the course of hostilities in this battle. It is customary to divide it into two stages: defensive (which lasted from September 30 to December 4, 1941) and offensive (from December 5, 1941 to April 20, 1942).

defensive stage

September 30, 1941 is considered the start date of the battle for Moscow. On this day, the Nazis attacked the troops of the Bryansk Front.

On October 2, the Germans went on the offensive in the Vyazma direction. Despite stubborn resistance, the German units managed to cut through the Soviet troops between the cities of Rzhev and Vyazma, as a result of which the troops of actually two fronts ended up in a cauldron. In total, more than 600 thousand people were surrounded. Soviet soldiers.

After the defeat near Bryansk, the Soviet command organized a line of defense in the Mozhaisk direction. The inhabitants of the city hastily prepared fortifications: trenches and trenches were dug, anti-tank hedgehogs were placed.

During the rapid offensive, the German troops managed to capture such cities as Kaluga, Maloyaroslavets, Kalinin, Mozhaisk from October 13 to 18 and come close to the Soviet capital. On October 20, a state of siege was introduced in Moscow.

Moscow surrounded

Even before the actual introduction of a state of siege in Moscow, on October 15, the Defense Command was evacuated from the capital to Kuibyshev (modern Samara), the evacuation of all government agencies began the next day, general staff etc.

JV Stalin decided to stay in the city. On the same day, the residents of the capital panicked, rumors spread about leaving Moscow, several dozen residents of the city tried to urgently leave the capital. Only by October 20 was it possible to establish order. On this day, the city went into a state of siege.

By the end of October 1941, fighting was already underway near Moscow in Naro-Fominsk, Kubinka, and Volokolamsk. Moscow was regularly raided German aviation, which did not cause much damage, since the most valuable buildings of the capital were carefully camouflaged, and the Soviet anti-aircraft gunners also worked well. at the price huge losses The October offensive of the German troops was stopped. But they almost reached Moscow.

Where did the Germans get to? This sad list includes the suburbs of Tula, Serpukhov, Naro-Fominsk, Kaluga, Kalinin, Mozhaisk.

Parade on Red Square

Taking advantage of the relative silence at the front, the Soviet command decided to hold a military parade on Red Square. The purpose of the parade was to raise morale Soviet soldiers. The date was set for November 7, 1941, S. M. Budyonny hosted the parade, General P. A. Artemyev commanded the parade. Rifle and motorized rifle units, Red Navy, cavalrymen, as well as artillery and tank regiments took part in the parade. The soldiers left the parade almost immediately to the front line, leaving unconquered Moscow behind...

Where did the Germans go? What cities did they reach? How did the Red Army men manage to stop the slender battle formations enemy? It's time to find out about it.

November offensive of the Nazis on the capital

November 15, after a powerful artillery preparation, began new round German offensive near Moscow. Stubborn battles unfolded in the Volokolamsk and Klinsk directions. So, in 20 days of the offensive, the Nazis managed to advance 100 km and capture cities such as Klin, Solnechnogorsk, Yakhroma. The closest settlement to Moscow, where the Germans reached during the offensive, was Yasnaya Polyana- the estate of the writer Leo Tolstoy.

The Germans were about 17 km from the borders of Moscow itself, and 29 km from the walls of the Kremlin. By the beginning of December, as a result of a counterattack, the Soviet units managed to drive the Germans out of the previously occupied territories in the vicinity of the capital, including from Yasnaya Polyana.

Today we know where the Germans reached near Moscow - to the very walls of the capital! But they failed to take the city.

The onset of cold weather

As mentioned above, the Barbarossa plan provided for the capture of Moscow by German troops no later than October 1941. Concerning German command did not provide for winter uniforms for soldiers. The first night frosts began at the end of October, and for the first time the temperature dropped below zero on November 4th. That day the thermometer showed -8 degrees. Subsequently, the temperature very rarely dropped below 0 °C.

Not only German soldiers dressed in light form, but also equipment that was not designed to work at low temperatures.

The cold caught the soldiers when they were actually a few tens of kilometers from Belokamennaya, but their equipment did not start in the cold, and the frozen Germans near Moscow did not want to fight. "General Frost" once again rushed to the rescue of the Russians ...

Where did the Germans stop near Moscow? The last German attempt to capture Moscow was made during the attack on Naro-Fominsk on December 1. In the course of several massive attacks, the German units managed to penetrate for a short time into the areas of Zvenigorod for 5 km, Naro-Fominsk up to 10 km.

After the transfer of the reserve, the Soviet troops managed to push the enemy back to their original positions. The Naro-Fominsk operation is considered the last one carried out by the Soviet command at the defensive stage of the battle for Moscow.

The results of the defensive stage of the battle for Moscow

The Soviet Union defended its capital at a huge cost. Dead Losses personnel Red Army during defensive phase amounted to more than 500 thousand people. german army at this stage, lost about 145 thousand people. But in the course of its attack on Moscow, the German command used virtually all the free reserves, which by December 1941 were actually depleted, which allowed the Red Army to go on the offensive.

At the end of November, after it became known from undercover sources that Japan was not Far East about 10 divisions and hundreds of tanks were transferred to Moscow. The new divisions were equipped with the troops of the Western, Kalinin and Southwestern fronts, as a result of which, by the beginning of the offensive soviet group in the Moscow direction, there were more than 1.1 million soldiers, 7,700 guns and mortars, 750 tanks, and about 1,000 aircraft.

However, she was opposed by a grouping of German troops, not inferior, but even superior in number. The number of personnel reached 1.7 million people, tanks and aircraft were 1200 and 650, respectively.

On the fifth and sixth of December, the troops of three fronts went on a large-scale offensive, and already on December 8, Hitler gives the order for the German troops to go on the defensive. On December 12, 1941, Istra and Solnechnogorsk were liberated by Soviet troops. On December 15 and 16, the cities of Klin and Kalinin were liberated.

During the ten days of the offensive, the Red Army managed to push the enemy back in different sectors of the front for 80-100 km, and also create a threat of collapse to the German front Army Group Center.

Hitler, not wanting to back down, dismissed Generals Brauchitsch and Bock and appointed General G. von Kluge as the new commander of the army. However Soviet offensive developed rapidly, and the German command was unable to stop it. In total, in December 1941, German troops in different sectors of the front were pushed back by 100-250 km, which meant the elimination of the threat to the capital, the complete defeat of the Germans near Moscow.

In 1942, the Soviet troops slowed down the pace of their offensive and failed to actually destroy the front of Army Group Center, although they inflicted an extremely heavy defeat on the German troops.

The result of the battle for Moscow

The historical significance of the defeat of the Germans near Moscow is invaluable for the entire Second World War. More than 3 million people, more than 2,000 aircraft and 3,000 tanks took part in this battle on both sides, and the front stretched for more than 1,000 km. During the 7 months of the battle, Soviet troops lost more than 900 thousand people killed and missing, German troops lost more than 400 thousand people over the same period. Important results of the battle for Moscow (1941-1942) can be indicated:

• destroyed german plan"Blitzkrieg" - a quick lightning victory, Germany had to prepare for a long exhausting war.
• The threat of the capture of Moscow ceased to exist.
• The myth of indestructibility was dispelled German army.
• suffered serious losses in its advanced and most combat-ready units, which had to be replenished with inexperienced recruits.
• The Soviet command gained tremendous experience for the successful conduct of the war with the German army.
• After the victory in the Moscow battle, an anti-Hitler coalition began to take shape.

This is how the defense of Moscow took place, and its positive outcome brought such significant results.

The troops of Nazi Germany cross the border river. Filming location unknown, June 22, 1941.

The beginning of the hostilities of Nazi Germany against the USSR. Lithuanian SSR, 1941

Parts of the German army entered the territory of the USSR (from trophy photos seized from captured and killed soldiers of the Wehrmacht). Filming location unknown, June 1941.

Parts of the German army on the territory of the USSR (from captured photographs taken from captured and killed soldiers of the Wehrmacht). Filming location unknown, June 1941.

German soldiers during the battle near Brest. Brest, 1941

German fascist troops fighting against the walls Brest Fortress. Brest, 1941

german general Kruger near Leningrad. Leningrad region, 1941

German units enter Vyazma. Smolensk region, 1941

Propaganda Ministry staff III Reich examining the captured Soviet light tank T-26 (photography of the Propaganda Ministry of the III Reich). Filming location unknown, September 1941.

Camel captured as a trophy and used by German mountain rangers. Krasnodar region, 1941

Group German soldiers at a pile of Soviet canned food captured as a trophy. Location unknown, 1941

Part of the SS guards cars with the population being stolen to Germany. Mogilev, June 1943

German soldiers among the ruins of Voronezh. Filming location unknown, July 1942.

A group of Nazi soldiers on one of the streets of Krasnodar. Krasnodar, 1942

German soldiers in Taganrog. Taganrog, 1942

Raising the Nazi flag by the Nazis in one of the occupied areas of the city. Stalingrad, 1942

A detachment of German soldiers on one of the streets of occupied Rostov. Rostov, 1942

German soldiers in captivity locality. Location unknown, year unknown.

A column of advancing German troops near Novgorod. Novgorod the Great, August 19, 1941

A group of German soldiers in one of the occupied villages. Location unknown, year unknown.

Cavalry division in Gomel. Gomel, November 1941

Before retreating, the Germans destroy railway near Grodno; the soldier puts the fuse for the explosion. Grodno, July 1944

German units retreat between Lake Ilmen and Gulf of Finland. Leningrad Front, February 1944

The retreat of the Germans from the region of Novgorod. Filming location unknown, January 27, 1944.