In the early morning of September 1, 1939, German troops invaded Poland. Goebbels propaganda presented this event as a response to the “capture by Polish soldiers” of a radio station in the German border town of Gleiwitz that had taken place the day before (later it turned out that the German security service organized the staging of the attack in Gleiwitz, using people dressed in Polish military uniform German death row inmates). Germany sent 57 divisions against Poland.

Great Britain and France, connected with Poland by allied obligations, after some hesitation, declared war on Germany on September 3. But the opponents were in no hurry to get involved in an active struggle. According to Hitler's instructions, the German troops during this period were to adhere to defensive tactics on the Western Front in order to "sparing their forces as much as possible, create the prerequisites for the successful completion of the operation against Poland." The Western powers did not launch an offensive either. 110 French and 5 British divisions stood against 23 German divisions without taking any serious action. It is no coincidence that this confrontation was called the "strange war."

Left without help, Poland, despite the desperate resistance of its soldiers and officers to the invaders in Gdansk (Danzig), on the Baltic coast in the Westerplatte region, in Silesia and other places, could not hold back the onslaught of the German armies.

On September 6, the Germans approached Warsaw. The Polish government and the diplomatic corps left the capital. But the remnants of the garrison and the population defended the city until the end of September. The defense of Warsaw became one of the heroic pages in the history of the struggle against the invaders.

In the midst of the tragic events for Poland on September 17, 1939, units of the Red Army crossed the Soviet-Polish border and occupied the border territories. In connection with this, the Soviet note said that they "took under protection the lives and property of the population of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus." On September 28, 1939, Germany and the USSR, which practically divided the territory of Poland, concluded a friendship and border treaty. In a statement on the occasion, the representatives of the two countries stressed that “thus creating a solid foundation for lasting peace in Eastern Europe". Having thus secured new frontiers in the east, Hitler turned to the west.

On April 9, 1940, German troops invaded Denmark and Norway. On May 10, they crossed the borders of Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and launched an offensive against France. The balance of power was about equal. But the German shock armies, with their strong tank formations and aircraft, managed to break through the Allied front. Part defeated troops Allies retreated to the English Channel. Their remnants were evacuated from Dunkirk in early June. By mid-June, the Germans captured the northern part of French territory.

The French government declared Paris " open city". On June 14, he was surrendered to the Germans without a fight. The hero of the First World War, 84-year-old Marshal A.F. Petain, spoke on the radio with an appeal to the French: “With pain in my heart, I tell you today that we must stop the fight. Tonight I turned to the enemy in order to ask him if he is ready to seek with me ... means to end hostilities. However, not all Frenchmen supported this position. On June 18, 1940, in a broadcast of the London BBC radio station, General Charles de Gaulle stated:

“Has the last word been said? Is there no more hope? Has the final defeat been dealt? Not! France is not alone! ... This war is not limited to the long-suffering territory of our country. The outcome of this war is not decided by the battle for France. This is World War... I, General de Gaulle, who is currently in London, appeal to the French officers and soldiers who are on British territory ... with an appeal to establish contact with me ... Whatever happens, the flame of French resistance must not go out and will not go out.

On June 22, 1940, in the Compiègne forest (in the same place and in the same carriage as in 1918), the Franco-German truce was concluded, this time meaning the defeat of France. On the remaining unoccupied territory of France, a government was created headed by A.F. Petain, who expressed readiness to cooperate with the German authorities (it was located in small town Vichy). On the same day, Charles de Gaulle announced the creation of the "Free France" committee, the purpose of which is to organize the struggle against the invaders.

After the surrender of France, Germany invited Britain to start peace negotiations. The British government, headed at that moment by a supporter of decisive anti-German actions, W. Churchill, refused. In response, Germany increased the naval blockade british isles, massive German bomber raids began on English cities. Great Britain, for its part, signed in September 1940 an agreement with the United States on the transfer of several dozen American warships to the British fleet. Germany failed to achieve its intended goals in the "Battle of Britain".

Back in the summer of 1940, the strategic direction of further actions was determined in the leading circles of Germany. The chief of the general staff, F. Halder, then wrote in his official diary: "The eyes are turned to the East." Hitler at one of the military meetings said: “Russia must be liquidated. Deadline - spring 1941.

Preparing to carry out this task, Germany was interested in expanding and strengthening the anti-Soviet coalition. In September 1940, Germany, Italy and Japan signed a military-political alliance for a period of 10 years - the Tripartite Pact. Soon Hungary, Romania and the self-proclaimed Slovak state joined it, and a few months later - Bulgaria. A German-Finnish agreement on military cooperation was also concluded. Where it was not possible to establish an alliance on a contractual basis, they acted by force. In October 1940, Italy attacked Greece. In April 1941, German troops occupied Yugoslavia and Greece. Croatia became a separate state - a satellite of Germany. By the summer of 1941, almost all of Central and Western Europe was under the rule of Germany and its allies.

1941

In December 1940, Hitler approved the Barbarossa plan, which provided for the defeat of the Soviet Union. It was a blitzkrieg (blitzkrieg) plan. Three army groups - "North", "Center" and "South" were supposed to break through the Soviet front and capture vital centers: the Baltic states and Leningrad, Moscow, Ukraine, Donbass. The breakthrough was provided by the forces of powerful tank formations and aviation. Before the onset of winter, it was supposed to reach the line Arkhangelsk - Volga - Astrakhan.

On June 22, 1941, the armies of Germany and its allies attacked the USSR. A new phase of the Second World War began. Its main front was the Soviet-German front, the most important integral part- The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the invaders. First of all, these are the battles that thwarted german plan lightning war. Many battles can be named among them - from the desperate resistance of the border guards, the battle of Smolensk to the defense of Kyiv, Odessa, Sevastopol, besieged, but never surrendered Leningrad.

The largest event not only of military but also of political significance was the Battle of Moscow. The offensives of the German Army Group Center, launched on September 30 and November 15-16, 1941, did not achieve their goal. Moscow failed to take. And on December 5-6, the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops began, as a result of which the enemy was thrown back from the capital by 100-250 km, 38 German divisions were defeated. The victory of the Red Army near Moscow became possible thanks to the steadfastness and heroism of its defenders and the skill of its generals (the fronts were commanded by I. S. Konev, G. K. Zhukov, and S. K. Timoshenko). It was the first major German defeat in World War II. W. Churchill stated in this regard: "The resistance of the Russians broke the back of the German armies."

The balance of forces at the beginning of the counteroffensive of Soviet troops in Moscow

Important events took place at this time in the Pacific Ocean. Back in the summer and autumn of 1940, Japan, taking advantage of the defeat of France, seized its possessions in Indochina. Now she decided to strike at the strongholds of other Western powers, primarily her main rival in the struggle for influence in South-East Asia- USA. On December 7, 1941, more than 350 Japanese naval aviation aircraft attacked naval base US Pearl Harbor (Hawaii).

In two hours, most of the warships and aircraft of the American Pacific Fleet were destroyed or disabled, the death toll of Americans amounted to more than 2,400 people, and more than 1,100 people were wounded. The Japanese lost several dozen people. The next day, the US Congress decided to start a war against Japan. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

rout German troops near Moscow and the entry into the war of the United States of America accelerated the formation of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Dates and events

• July 12, 1941- signing of the Anglo-Soviet agreement on joint actions against Germany.
• August 14- F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill issued a joint declaration on the aims of the war, support for democratic principles in international relations- the Atlantic Charter; in September the USSR joined it.
• September 29 - October 1- British-American-Soviet conference in Moscow, adopted a program of mutual deliveries of weapons, military materials and raw materials.
• November 7- the law on lend-lease (the transfer by the United States of America of weapons and other materials to the enemies of Germany) was extended to the USSR.
• January 1, 1942- in Washington, the Declaration of 26 states - "united nations", leading the fight against fascist bloc.

On the fronts of the world war

War in Africa. Back in 1940, the war went beyond Europe. This summer, Italy, seeking to make the Mediterranean its "inland sea", tried to seize the British colonies in North Africa. Italian troops occupied British Somalia, parts of Kenya and Sudan, and then invaded Egypt. However, by the spring of 1941, the British armed forces not only drove the Italians out of the territories they had occupied, but also entered Ethiopia, occupied by Italy in 1935. Italian possessions in Libya were also under threat.

At the request of Italy, Germany intervened in the hostilities in North Africa. In the spring of 1941, the German corps under the command of General E. Rommel, together with the Italians, began to oust the British from Libya and blockaded the fortress of Tobruk. Then Egypt became the target of the offensive of the German-Italian troops. In the summer of 1942, General Rommel, nicknamed the "desert fox", captured Tobruk and broke through with his troops to El Alamein.

The Western powers were faced with a choice. They promised the leadership of the Soviet Union to open a second front in Europe in 1942. In April 1942, F. Roosevelt wrote to W. Churchill: “Your and my peoples demand the creation of a second front in order to remove the burden from the Russians. Our peoples cannot fail to see that the Russians are killing more Germans and destroying more enemy equipment than the United States and Britain combined." But these promises were at odds with the political interests of Western countries. Churchill telegraphed Roosevelt: "Keep North Africa out of sight." The Allies announced that the opening of a second front in Europe had to be postponed until 1943.

In October 1942 British troops under the command of General B. Montgomery launched an offensive in Egypt. They defeated the enemy near El Alamein (about 10 thousand Germans and 20 thousand Italians were captured). Most of Rommel's army retreated to Tunisia. In November, American and British troops (numbering 110 thousand people) under the command of General D. Eisenhower landed in Morocco and Algeria. The German-Italian army group, squeezed in Tunisia by British and American troops advancing from the east and west, capitulated in the spring of 1943. According to various estimates, from 130 thousand to 252 thousand people were taken prisoner (in total, 12-14 fought in North Africa Italian and German divisions, while on the Soviet German front fought over 200 divisions of Germany and its allies).

Fighting in the Pacific. In the summer of 1942, American naval forces defeated the Japanese in the battle near Midway Island (4 large aircraft carriers, 1 cruiser were sunk, 332 aircraft were destroyed). Later, American units occupied and defended the island of Guadalcanal. The balance of power in this area of ​​hostilities changed in favor of the Western powers. By the end of 1942, Germany and its allies were forced to suspend the advance of their troops on all fronts.

"New order"

In the Nazi plans for the conquest of the world, the fate of many peoples and states was predetermined.

Hitler in his secret notes, which became known after the war, provided for the following: the Soviet Union "will disappear from the face of the earth", in 30 years its territory will become part of the "Great German Reich"; after the "final victory of Germany" there will be reconciliation with England, a treaty of friendship will be concluded with her; the Reich will include the countries of Scandinavia, the Iberian Peninsula and other European states; The United States of America will be “excluded from world politics for a long time”, they will undergo a “complete re-education of the racially inferior population”, and the population “with German blood” will be given military training and "re-education in the national spirit", after which America "becomes a German state."

Already in 1940, directives and instructions "on Eastern question”, and the detailed program for the conquest of the peoples of Eastern Europe was outlined in the general plan “Ost” (December 1941). The general settings were as follows: higher goal of all activities carried out in the East, there should be a strengthening of the military potential of the Reich. The task is to withdraw from the new eastern regions the largest amount of agricultural products, raw materials, labor power", "the occupied regions will provide everything necessary ... even if the consequence of this will be the starvation of millions of people." Part of the population of the occupied territories was to be destroyed on the spot, a significant part was to be resettled in Siberia (it was planned to destroy 5-6 million Jews in the "eastern regions", evict 46-51 million people, and reduce the remaining 14 million people to the level of a semi-literate workforce, education limit to a four-grade school).

In the conquered countries of Europe, the Nazis methodically put their plans into practice. In the occupied territories, a "cleansing" of the population was carried out - Jews and communists were exterminated. Prisoners of war and part of the civilian population were sent to concentration camps. A network of more than 30 death camps has entangled Europe. The terrible memory of millions of tortured people is associated among the war and post-war generations with the names Buchenwald, Dachau, Ravensbrück, Auschwitz, Treblinka and others. Only in two of them - Auschwitz and Majdanek - more than 5.5 million people were killed. Those who arrived at the camp underwent a “selection” (selection), the weak, primarily the elderly and children, were sent to the gas chambers, and then burned in the ovens of crematoria.

From the testimony of a French prisoner in Auschwitz, Vaillant-Couturier, presented at the Nuremberg trials:

“There were eight cremators in Auschwitz. But since 1944 this amount has become insufficient. The SS men forced the prisoners to dig colossal ditches in which they set fire to firewood doused with gasoline. The bodies were dumped into these ditches. We saw from our block how, after about 45 minutes or an hour after the arrival of a batch of prisoners from the crematorium ovens, big tongues flames, and a glow arose in the sky, rising over the ditches. One night we were awakened by a terrible scream, and the next morning we learned from people who worked in the Sonderkommando (the team that serviced the gas chambers) that the day before there was not enough gas and therefore children still alive were thrown into the furnaces of cremation ovens.

At the beginning of 1942, the Nazi leaders adopted a directive on the "final solution of the Jewish question", that is, on the planned destruction of an entire people. During the war years, 6 million Jews were killed - one in three. This tragedy was called the Holocaust, which means "burnt offering" in Greek. The orders of the German command to identify and transport the Jewish population to concentration camps were perceived differently in the occupied countries of Europe. In France, the Vichy police helped the Germans. Even the Pope did not dare to condemn the Germans in 1943, the removal of Jews from Italy for subsequent extermination. And in Denmark, the population hid the Jews from the Nazis and helped 8 thousand people to move to neutral Sweden. Already after the war, an alley was laid in Jerusalem in honor of the Righteous Among the Nations - people who risked their lives and the lives of their loved ones in order to save at least one innocent person sentenced to imprisonment and death.

For residents of the occupied countries who were not immediately destroyed or deported, the “new order” meant strict regulation in all spheres of life. The occupation authorities and the German industrialists seized the dominant positions in the economy with the help of laws on "Aryanization". Small enterprises were closed, and large ones switched to military production. Part of the agricultural areas were subject to Germanization, their population was forcibly evicted to other areas. So, about 450 thousand inhabitants were evicted from the territories of the Czech Republic bordering on Germany, about 280 thousand people were evicted from Slovenia. Compulsory deliveries of agricultural products were introduced for peasants. Along with control over economic activity, the new authorities pursued a policy of restrictions in the field of education and culture. In many countries, representatives of the intelligentsia - scientists, engineers, teachers, doctors, etc. - were persecuted. In Poland, for example, the Nazis carried out a targeted curtailment of the education system. Classes in universities and high schools were banned. (What do you think, why, for what purpose was this done?) Some teachers, risking their lives, continued to conduct classes with students illegally. During the war years, the invaders destroyed about 12.5 thousand teachers and teachers in Poland.

A tough policy towards the population was also pursued by the authorities of the states - allies of Germany - Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, as well as the newly proclaimed states - Croatia and Slovakia. In Croatia, the government of the Ustashe (members of the nationalist movement that came to power in 1941), under the slogan of creating a "purely national state", encouraged the mass expulsion and extermination of Serbs.

The forced export of the able-bodied population, primarily young people, from the occupied countries of Eastern Europe to work in Germany took on a wide scale. Commissioner General "for the use of labor force" Sauckel set the task of "completely exhausting all available Soviet regions human reserves. Echelons with thousands of young men and women forcibly driven from their homes were drawn to the Reich. By the end of 1942, the labor of about 7 million "Eastern workers" and prisoners of war was used in German industry and agriculture. In 1943, another 2 million people were added to them.

Any disobedience, and even more so resistance to the occupying authorities, was mercilessly punished. One of the terrible examples of the massacre of the Nazis over the civilian population was the destruction in the summer of 1942 of the Czech village of Lidice. It was carried out as an "act of retaliation" for the murder of a major Nazi official, the "protector of Bohemia and Moravia" G. Heydrich, committed by members of a sabotage group the day before.

The village was surrounded German soldiers. The entire male population over 16 years old (172 people) was shot (the residents who were absent that day - 19 people - were seized later and also shot). 195 women were sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp (four pregnant women were taken to maternity hospitals in Prague, after giving birth they were also sent to the camp, and newborn children were killed). 90 children from Lidice were taken from their mothers and sent to Poland, and then to Germany, where their traces were lost. All the houses and buildings of the village were burned to the ground. Lidice disappeared from the face of the earth. German cameramen carefully filmed the entire "operation" on film - "as a warning" to contemporaries and descendants.

Break in the war

By mid-1942, it became clear that Germany and its allies had failed to carry out their original military plans on any of the fronts. In subsequent hostilities, it was to be decided on whose side the advantage would be. The outcome of the entire war depended mainly on events in Europe, on the Soviet-German front. In the summer of 1942, the German armies launched a major offensive in the southern direction, approached Stalingrad and reached the foothills of the Caucasus.

Battles for Stalingrad lasted over 3 months. The city was defended by the 62nd and 64th armies under the command of V.I. Chuikov and M.S. Shumilov. Hitler, who did not doubt victory, declared: "Stalingrad is already in our hands." But the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops that began on November 19, 1942 (front commanders - N.F. Vatutin, K.K. Rokossovsky, A.I. Eremenko) ended with the encirclement of the German armies (numbering over 300 thousand people), their subsequent defeat and capture , including Commander Field Marshal F. Paulus.

During the Soviet offensive, the losses of the armies of Germany and its allies amounted to 800 thousand people. In total, in the Battle of Stalingrad, they lost up to 1.5 million soldiers and officers - about a quarter of the forces that were then operating on the Soviet-German front.

Battle of Kursk. In the summer of 1943, an attempt by the German offensive on Kursk from the Orel and Belgorod regions ended in a crushing defeat. With German side more than 50 divisions (including 16 tank and motorized) took part in the operation. Special Role was assigned to powerful artillery and tank strikes. On July 12, the largest tank battle of the Second World War took place on the field near the village of Prokhorovka, in which about 1,200 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts collided. In early August, Soviet troops liberated Orel and Belgorod. 30 enemy divisions were defeated. The losses of the German army in this battle amounted to 500 thousand soldiers and officers, 1.5 thousand tanks. After the Battle of Kursk, the offensive of the Soviet troops began along the entire front. In the summer and autumn of 1943, Smolensk, Gomel, Left-bank Ukraine and Kyiv. The strategic initiative on the Soviet-German front passed to the Red Army.

In the summer of 1943, the Western powers began hostilities in Europe as well. But they did not open, as expected, a second front against Germany, but struck in the south, against Italy. In July, British-American troops landed on the island of Sicily. Soon there was a coup d'état in Italy. Representatives of the army elite removed from power and arrested Mussolini. A new government was created, headed by Marshal P. Badoglio. On September 3, it concluded an armistice agreement with the British-American command. On September 8, the surrender of Italy was announced, the troops of the Western powers landed in the south of the country. In response, 10 German divisions entered Italy from the north and captured Rome. On the formed Italian front, the British-American troops with difficulty, slowly, but still pressed the enemy (in the summer of 1944 they occupied Rome).

The turning point in the course of the war immediately affected the positions of other countries - Germany's allies. After Stalingrad battle Representatives of Romania and Hungary began to explore the possibility of concluding a separate (separate) peace with the Western powers. The Francoist government of Spain issued statements of neutrality.

On November 28 - December 1, 1943, a meeting of the leaders of the three countries took place in Tehran- members of the anti-Hitler coalition: the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill discussed mainly the question of the second front, as well as some questions of the organization of the post-war world. The leaders of the United States and Great Britain promised to open a second front in Europe in May 1944, starting the landing of allied troops in France.

Resistance movement

Since the establishment Nazi regime in Germany, and then the occupation regimes in Europe, a movement of resistance to the "new order" began. It was attended by people of different beliefs and political affiliations: communists, social democrats, supporters of bourgeois parties and non-party people. Among the first, even in the pre-war years, the German anti-fascists entered the struggle. Thus, in the late 1930s, an underground anti-Nazi group arose in Germany, headed by X. Schulze-Boysen and A. Harnack. In the early 1940s, it was already strong organization with an extensive network of conspiratorial groups (in total, up to 600 people participated in its work). Underground workers carried out propaganda and intelligence work, keeping in touch with Soviet intelligence. In the summer of 1942, the Gestapo uncovered the organization. The scale of its activities amazed the investigators themselves, who called this group the "Red Chapel". After interrogation and torture, the leaders and many members of the group were sentenced to death. In his last speech at the trial, X. Schulze-Boysen said: "Today you judge us, but tomorrow we will be the judges."

In a number of European countries, immediately after their occupation, an armed struggle began against the invaders. In Yugoslavia, the communists became the initiators of the popular resistance to the enemy. Already in the summer of 1941, they created the Main Headquarters of the People's Liberation Partisan Detachments (it was headed by I. Broz Tito) and decided on an armed uprising. By the autumn of 1941, partisan detachments numbering up to 70 thousand people were operating in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1942, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOLA) was created, by the end of the year it practically controlled a fifth of the country's territory. In the same year, representatives of organizations participating in the Resistance formed the Anti-Fascist Council. people's liberation Yugoslavia (AVNOYU). In November 1943, the veche proclaimed itself the temporary supreme body of legislative and executive power. By this time, half of the country's territory was under his control. A declaration was adopted that determined the foundations of the new Yugoslav state. On the liberated territory were created national committees, began the confiscation of enterprises and lands of the Nazis and collaborators (people who collaborated with the invaders).

The resistance movement in Poland consisted of many different groups in their political orientations. In February 1942, part of the underground armed formations merged into the Home Army (AK), led by representatives of the Polish government in exile, which was in London. "Peasant battalions" were created in the villages. The detachments of the People's Army (AL), organized by the communists, began to operate.

Partisan groups organized sabotage on transport (over 1,200 military trains were blown up and about the same number set on fire), at military enterprises, and attacked police and gendarmerie stations. Underground workers issued leaflets telling about the situation on the fronts, warning the population about the actions of the occupation authorities. In 1943-1944. partisan groups began to unite into large detachments that successfully fought against significant enemy forces, and as the Soviet-German front approached Poland, they interacted with Soviet partisan detachments and army units, and carried out joint military operations.

The defeat of the armies of Germany and its allies at Stalingrad had a special impact on the mood of people in the warring and occupied countries. The German security service reported on the "state of mind" in the Reich: "The general belief has become that Stalingrad marks the turning point in the war... Unstable citizens see Stalingrad as the beginning of the end."

In Germany, in January 1943, total (universal) mobilization into the army was announced. The working day has increased to 12 hours. But at the same time as striving Hitler's regime muster the forces of the nation in " iron fist» growing opposition to his policies in different groups population. So, one of the youth circles issued a leaflet with an appeal: “Students! Students! Looks at us german people! We are expected to be freed from the Nazi terror... Those who died near Stalingrad call on us: get up, people, the flames are kindling!”

After the turning point in the course of hostilities on the fronts, the number of underground groups and armed detachments that fought against the invaders and their accomplices in the occupied countries increased significantly. In France, poppies became more active - partisans who staged sabotage on railways who attacked German posts, warehouses, etc.

One of the leaders of the French Resistance movement, Charles de Gaulle, wrote in his memoirs:

“Until the end of 1942, there were few maquis units and their actions were not particularly effective. But then hope increased, and with it the number of those willing to fight increased. In addition, the mandatory “labor service”, which in a few months mobilized half a million young men, mostly workers, for use in Germany, as well as the dissolution of the “truce army”, prompted many dissenters to go underground. The number of more or less significant resistance groups increased, and they led guerrilla war, which played a paramount role in exhausting the enemy, and later in the unfolding battle for France.

Figures and facts

The number of participants in the resistance movement (1944):

• France - over 400 thousand people;
• Italy - 500 thousand people;
• Yugoslavia - 600 thousand people;
• Greece - 75 thousand people.

By the middle of 1944, the leading bodies of the resistance movement had formed in many countries, uniting various currents and groups - from communists to Catholics. For example, in France, the National Council of the Resistance included representatives of 16 organizations. The most resolute and active participants in the Resistance were the communists. For the sacrifices made in the struggle against the invaders, they were called the “party of the executed”. In Italy, communists, socialists, Christian Democrats, liberals, members of the Party of Action and the Labor Democracy party participated in the work of the committees of national liberation.

All participants in the Resistance sought, first of all, to liberate their countries from occupation and fascism. But on the question of what kind of power should be established after this, the views of representatives of individual movements diverged. Some advocated the restoration of pre-war regimes. Others, above all the Communists, sought to establish a new, "people's democratic government."

Liberation of Europe

The beginning of 1944 was marked by major offensive operations by the Soviet troops in the southern and northern sections of the Soviet-German front. Ukraine and Crimea were liberated, and the blockade of Leningrad that lasted 900 days was lifted. In the spring of this year, Soviet troops reached the state border of the USSR for more than 400 km, approached the borders of Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Continuing the defeat of the enemy, they began to liberate the countries of Eastern Europe. Units of the 1st Czechoslovak Brigade under the command of L. Svoboda and the 1st Polish Division named after Svoboda, formed during the war years on the territory of the USSR, fought for the freedom of their peoples alongside Soviet soldiers. T. Kosciuszko under the command of 3. Berling.

At this time, the Allies finally opened a second front in Western Europe. On June 6, 1944, American and British troops landed in Normandy, on the northern coast of France.

The bridgehead between the cities of Cherbourg and Caen was occupied by 40 divisions with a total strength of up to 1.5 million people. Commanded allied forces American general D. Eisenhower. Two and a half months after the landing, the Allies began to advance deep into French territory. They were opposed by about 60 understaffed German divisions. At the same time, in the occupied territory, an open struggle against german army deployed resistance units. On August 19, an uprising began in Paris against the troops of the German garrison. General de Gaulle, who arrived in France with the Allied troops (by that time he had been proclaimed head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic), fearing the "anarchy" of the mass liberation struggle, insisted that the French tank division of Leclerc be sent to Paris. On August 25, 1944, this division entered Paris, which was practically liberated by that time by the rebels.

Having liberated France and Belgium, where in a number of provinces the Resistance forces also undertook armed actions against the invaders, by September 11, 1944, the Allied troops reached the German border.

At that time, a frontal offensive of the Red Army was taking place on the Soviet-German front, as a result of which the countries of Eastern and Central Europe.

Dates and events

Fighting in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe in 1944-1945.

1944

• July 17 - Soviet troops crossed the border with Poland; released Chelm, Lublin; in the liberated territory, the power of the new government, the Polish Committee of National Liberation, began to assert itself.
• August 1 - the beginning of the uprising against the invaders in Warsaw; this performance, prepared and directed by the government in exile in London, was defeated by the beginning of October, despite the heroism of its participants; by order of the German command, the population was expelled from Warsaw, and the city itself was destroyed.
• August 23 - the overthrow of the Antonescu regime in Romania, a week later, Soviet troops entered Bucharest.
• August 29 - the beginning of the uprising against the invaders and the reactionary regime in Slovakia.
• September 8 - Soviet troops entered the territory of Bulgaria.
• September 9 - anti-fascist uprising in Bulgaria, coming to power of the government of the Fatherland Front.
• October 6 - Soviet troops and units Czechoslovak Corps entered the territory of Czechoslovakia.
• October 20 - The troops of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and the Red Army liberated Belgrade.
• October 22 - units of the Red Army crossed the border of Norway and October 25 occupied the port of Kirkenes.

1945

• January 17 - the troops of the Red Army and the Polish Army liberated Warsaw.
• January 29 - Soviet troops crossed the German border in the Poznan region. February 13 - Red Army troops take Budapest.
• April 13 - Soviet troops entered Vienna.
• April 16 - The Berlin operation of the Red Army began.
• April 18 - American units entered the territory of Czechoslovakia.
• April 25 - Soviet and American troops met on the Elbe River near the city of Torgau.

Many thousands of Soviet soldiers gave their lives for the liberation of European countries. In Romania, 69 thousand soldiers and officers died, in Poland - about 600 thousand, in Czechoslovakia - more than 140 thousand, and about the same in Hungary. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died in other, including opposing, armies. They fought over different sides front, but were similar in one thing: no one wanted to die, especially in recent months and days of war.

In the course of liberation in the countries of Eastern Europe, the question of power acquired paramount importance. The pre-war governments of a number of countries were in exile and now sought to return to leadership. But new governments and local authorities appeared in the liberated territories. They were created on the basis of the organizations of the National (People's) Front, which arose during the war years as an association of anti-fascist forces. The organizers and most active participants in the national fronts were communists and social democrats. The programs of the new governments envisaged not only the elimination of occupational and reactionary, pro-fascist regimes, but also broad democratic transformations in political life and socio-economic relations.

Defeat of Germany

In the fall of 1944, the troops of the Western powers - members of the anti-Hitler coalition approached the borders of Germany. In December of this year, the German command launched a counteroffensive in the Ardennes (Belgium). American and British troops were in a difficult position. D. Eisenhower and W. Churchill turned to I. V. Stalin with a request to speed up the offensive of the Red Army in order to divert German forces from west to east. By decision of Stalin, the offensive along the entire front was launched on January 12, 1945 (8 days earlier than planned). W. Churchill later wrote: “It was wonderful feat on the part of the Russians - to accelerate a broad offensive, undoubtedly at the cost of human lives". On January 29, Soviet troops entered the territory of the German Reich.

On February 4-11, 1945, a conference of the heads of government of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain took place in Yalta. I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill agreed on plans for military operations against Germany and the post-war policy in relation to it: zones and conditions of occupation, actions to destroy the fascist regime, the procedure for collecting reparations, etc. An agreement was also signed at the conference on the entry USSR in the war against Japan 2-3 months after the surrender of Germany.

From the documents of the conference of the leaders of the USSR, Great Britain and the USA in the Crimea (Yalta, February 4-11, 1945):

“...Our inexorable goal is the destruction of German militarism and Nazism and the creation of guarantees that Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace of the whole world. We are determined to disarm and disband all German armed forces, to destroy once and for all the German General Staff, which has repeatedly contributed to the revival of German militarism, to withdraw or destroy all German military equipment, to liquidate or take control of all German industry that could be used for military purposes. production; subject all war criminals to just and speedy punishment and exact compensation in kind for the destruction caused by the Germans; wipe out Nazi party, Nazi laws, organizations and institutions; eliminate all Nazi and militaristic influence from public institutions, from cultural and economic life the German people and to take jointly such other measures in Germany as may be necessary for the future peace and security of the whole world. Our goals do not include the destruction of the German people. Only when Nazism and militarism are eradicated will there be hope for a worthy existence for the German people and a place for them in the community of nations.”

By mid-April 1945, Soviet troops approached the capital of the Reich, on April 16 the Berlin operation began (front commanders G.K. Zhukov, I.S. Konev, K.K. Rokossovsky). It was distinguished both by the power of the offensive of the Soviet units, and by the fierce resistance of the defenders. On April 21, Soviet units entered the city. On April 30, A. Hitler committed suicide in his bunker. The next day, the Red Banner fluttered over the Reichstag building. On May 2, the remnants of the Berlin garrison capitulated.

During the battle for Berlin, the German command issued an order: “Defend the capital until last person to the last bullet." Teenagers - members of the Hitler Youth - were mobilized into the army. In the photo - one of these soldiers, last defenders Reich captured.

On May 7, 1945, General A. Jodl signed an act on unconditional surrender German troops. Stalin considered such a unilateral surrender to the Western powers insufficient. In his opinion, capitulation should have taken place in Berlin and before the high command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. On the night of May 8-9, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, Field Marshal W. Keitel, in the presence of representatives of the high command of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France, signed the act of unconditional surrender of Germany.

Prague was the last European capital to be liberated. On May 5, an uprising against the invaders began in the city. A large grouping of German troops under the command of Field Marshal F. Scherner, who refused to lay down their arms and broke through to the west, threatened to capture and destroy the capital of Czechoslovakia. In response to the request of the rebels for help, parts of three Soviet fronts were hastily transferred to Prague. On May 9 they entered Prague. As a result of the Prague operation, about 860 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were captured.

July 17 - August 2, 1945 in Potsdam (near Berlin) a conference of the heads of government of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain was held. I. Stalin, G. Truman (US President after F. Roosevelt, who died in April 1945), K. Attlee (who replaced W. Churchill as British Prime Minister) who participated in it discussed “the principles of a coordinated Allied policy towards the defeated Germany". A program of democratization, denazification, and demilitarization of Germany was adopted. The total amount of reparations that she had to pay was confirmed - $ 20 billion. Half was intended for the Soviet Union (later it was estimated that the damage caused by the Nazis to the Soviet country amounted to about 128 billion dollars). Germany was divided into four occupation zones - Soviet, American, British and French. Berlin, liberated by the Soviet troops, and Vienna, the capital of Austria, were placed under the control of the four allied powers.

On the Potsdam Conference. In the first row from left to right: K. Attlee, G. Truman, I. Stalin

The establishment of an International Military Tribunal to try Nazi war criminals was envisaged. The border between Germany and Poland was established along the Oder and Neisse rivers. East Prussia retreated to Poland and partially (Königsberg area, now Kaliningrad) - to the USSR.

End of the war

In 1944, at a time when the armies of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition were conducting a broad offensive against Germany and its allies in Europe, Japan intensified its operations in Southeast Asia. Its troops launched a massive offensive in China, capturing a territory with a population of over 100 million people by the end of the year.

The number of the Japanese army reached at that time 5 million people. Its units fought with particular stubbornness and fanaticism, defended their positions until the last soldier. In the army and aviation, there were kamikazes - suicide bombers who sacrificed their lives by directing specially equipped aircraft or torpedoes at enemy military facilities, undermining themselves along with enemy soldiers. The American military believed that it would be possible to defeat Japan no earlier than 1947, with losses of at least 1 million people. The participation of the Soviet Union in the war against Japan could, in their opinion, greatly facilitate the achievement of the tasks set.

In accordance with the commitment given at the Crimean (Yalta) Conference, the USSR declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945. But the Americans did not want to cede the leading role in the future victory to the Soviet troops, especially since by the summer of 1945, atomic weapons had been created in the USA. On August 6 and 9, 1945, American planes dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Historians testimonial:

“On August 6, a B-29 bomber appeared over Hiroshima. The alarm was not announced, since the appearance of one aircraft did not seem to pose a serious threat. At 8:15 a.m., an atomic bomb was dropped by parachute. A few moments later, a blinding fireball flashed over the city, the temperature at the epicenter of the explosion reached several million degrees. Fires in the city, built up with light wooden houses, covered an area within a radius of more than 4 km. Japanese authors write: “Hundreds of thousands of people who have become victims of atomic explosions, died an unusual death - they died after terrible torment. Radiation penetrated even into the bone marrow. People without the slightest scratch, seemingly completely healthy, after a few days or weeks, or even months, their hair suddenly fell out, the gums began to bleed, diarrhea appeared, the skin became covered with dark spots, hemoptysis began, and in full consciousness they died.

(From the book: Rozanov G. L., Yakovlev N. N. Recent history. 1917-1945)

Hiroshima. 1945

As a result of nuclear explosions in Hiroshima, 247 thousand people died, in Nagasaki there were up to 200 thousand killed and wounded. Later, many thousands of people died from wounds, burns, radiation sickness, the number of which has not yet been accurately calculated. But politicians didn't think about it. And the cities that were bombed were not important military installations. Those who used the bombs mainly wanted to demonstrate their strength. US President G. Truman, having learned that a bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, exclaimed: “This greatest event in history!"

On August 9, the troops of three Soviet fronts (over 1 million 700 thousand people) personnel) and parts of the Mongolian army launched an offensive in Manchuria and on the coast of North Korea. A few days later they penetrated in separate sections into enemy territory for 150-200 km. The Japanese Kwantung Army (numbering about 1 million people) was in danger of defeat. On August 14, the Japanese government announced its acceptance of the proposed terms of surrender. But the Japanese troops did not stop resistance. Only after August 17 did units of the Kwantung Army begin to lay down their arms.

On September 2, 1945, representatives of the Japanese government signed an act of unconditional surrender of Japan on board the American battleship Missouri.

World War II is over. It was attended by 72 states with a total population of over 1.7 billion people. The fighting took place on the territory of 40 countries. 110 million people were mobilized into the armed forces. According to updated estimates, up to 62 million people died in the war, including about 27 million Soviet citizens. Thousands of cities and villages were destroyed, innumerable material and cultural values. Mankind paid a huge price for the victory over the invaders who aspired to world domination.

The war, in which atomic weapons were first used, showed that armed conflicts in the modern world threaten to destroy not only an increasing number of people, but also humanity as a whole, all life on earth. The hardships and losses of the war years, as well as examples of human self-sacrifice and heroism, left a memory of themselves in several generations of people. The international and socio-political consequences of the war turned out to be significant.

References:
Aleksashkina L. N. / General history. XX - the beginning of the XXI century.

September 2 is celebrated in the Russian Federation as "The Day of the End of World War II (1945)". This memorable date was established in accordance with the Federal Law "On Amendments to Article 1 (1) of the Federal Law "On the Days of Military Glory and anniversaries Russia" signed by the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev on July 23, 2010. The Day of Military Glory was established as a sign of memory of compatriots who showed selflessness, heroism, devotion to their homeland and allied duty to the countries - members of the anti-Hitler coalition in the implementation of the decision of the Crimean (Yalta) conference in 1945 on Japan. September 2 is a kind of second Victory Day for Russia, victory in the East.

This holiday cannot be called new - on September 3, 1945, the day after the surrender of the Japanese Empire, the Day of Victory over Japan was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. However long time in the official calendar of significant dates, this holiday was practically ignored.

The international legal basis for establishing the Day of Military Glory is the Act of Surrender of the Empire of Japan, which was signed on September 2, 1945 at 9:02 am Tokyo time on board the US battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. On behalf of Japan, the document was signed by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Chief of the General Staff Yoshijiro Umezu. Allied representatives were supreme commander Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur, American Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the British Pacific Fleet Bruce Fraser, Soviet general Kuzma Nikolaevich Derevyanko, Kuomintang General Su Yong-chang, French General J. Leclerc, Australian General T. Blamey, Dutch Admiral K. Halfrich, New Zealand Air Vice-Marshal L. Isit and Canadian Colonel N. Moore-Cosgrave. This document put an end to World War II, which, according to Western and Soviet historiography, began on September 1, 1939 with the attack of the Third Reich on Poland (Chinese researchers believe that World War II began with the attack of the Japanese army on China on July 7, 1937).

Do not use prisoners of war for forced labor;

To provide units that were located in remote areas with additional time to stop hostilities.

On the night of August 15, the "young tigers" (a group of fanatical commanders from the department of the military ministry and the capital's military institutions, headed by Major K. Hatanaka) decided to disrupt the adoption of the declaration and continue the war. They planned to eliminate the "peace advocates", remove the text of Hirohito's speech accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and ending the war by the Empire of Japan before it was broadcast on the radio, and then persuade the armed forces to continue the fight. The commander of the 1st Guards Division, which was guarding the imperial palace, refused to take part in the rebellion and was killed. Giving orders on his behalf, the “young tigers” entered the palace, attacked the residences of the head of the government of Suzuki, the lord custodian of the seal K. Kido, the chairman of the Privy Council K. Hiranuma and the Tokyo radio station. However, they could not find the tapes with the recording and find the leaders of the "Party of Peace". The troops of the capital's garrison did not support their actions, and even many members of the "young tigers" organization, not wanting to go against the emperor's decision and not believing in the success of the case, did not join the putschists. As a result, the rebellion failed in the first hours. The instigators of the conspiracy were not tried, they were allowed to commit ritual suicide by ripping open the abdomen.

On August 15, the address of the Japanese emperor was broadcast on the radio. Considering high level self-discipline among Japanese statesmen and military figures, a wave of suicides took place in the empire. On August 11, the former Prime Minister and Minister of the Army, a staunch supporter of an alliance with Germany and Italy, Hideki Tojo, tried to commit suicide with a shot from a revolver (he was executed on December 23, 1948 as a war criminal). On the morning of August 15, the minister of the army, Koretika Anami, committed hara-kiri "the most magnificent example of the samurai ideal", in a suicide note he asked the emperor for forgiveness for his mistakes. The 1st Deputy Chief of the Naval General Staff (before that, the commander of the 1st Air Fleet), the “father of the kamikaze” Takijiro Onishi, Field Marshal, committed suicide Imperial Army Japan Hajime Sugiyama, as well as other ministers, generals and officers.

Kantaro Suzuki's cabinet has resigned. Many military and political leaders began to lean towards the idea of ​​a unilateral occupation of Japan by US troops in order to save the country from the threat of the communist threat and preserve the imperial system. On August 15, hostilities between the Japanese armed forces and Anglo-American troops. However, Japanese troops continued to put up fierce resistance. Soviet army. The units of the Kwantung Army were not given the ceasefire order, and therefore the Soviet troops were also not instructed to stop the offensive. Only on August 19 did the meeting of the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet troops take place at Far East Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky with the Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army, Hyposaburo Hata, where an agreement was reached on the procedure for the surrender of Japanese troops. The Japanese units began to hand over their weapons, this process dragged on until the end of the month. South Sakhalin and Kuril landing operation continued until August 25 and September 1, respectively.

On August 14, 1945, the Americans drafted "General Order No. 1 (for the army and navy)" to accept the surrender of Japanese troops. This project was approved by American President Harry Truman and on August 15 it was reported to the allied countries. The project indicated the zones in which each of the allied powers had to accept the surrender of the Japanese units. On August 16, Moscow announced that it generally agreed with the project, but proposed an amendment - to include all the Kuril Islands and the northern half of the island of Hokkaido in the Soviet zone. Washington has not raised any objections to the Kuriles. But about Hokkaido american president noted that the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Pacific, General Douglas MacArthur, was surrendering the Japanese armed forces on all the islands of the Japanese archipelago. It was specified that MacArthur would use symbolic armed forces, including Soviet units.

From the very beginning, the American government did not intend to let the USSR into Japan and rejected allied control in post-war Japan, which was provided for by the Potsdam Declaration. On August 18, the United States put forward a demand to allocate one of the Kuril Islands for an American air force base. Moscow rejected this impudent harassment, saying that the Kuriles, according to the Crimean agreement, are the possession of the USSR. The Soviet government announced that it was ready to allocate an airfield for the landing of American commercial aircraft, subject to the allocation of a similar airfield for Soviet aircraft in the Aleutian Islands.

On August 19, a Japanese delegation headed by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General T. Kawabe, arrived in Manila (Philippines). The Americans notified the Japanese that their forces were to liberate the Atsugi airfield on August 24, the areas of Tokyo Bay and Sagami Bay by August 25, and the Kanon base and the southern part of Kyushu by the middle of the day on August 30. Representatives of the Imperial armed forces Japan was asked to delay the landing of the occupying forces by 10 days in order to increase precautions and avoid unnecessary incidents. The request of the Japanese side was granted, but for a shorter period. The landing of advanced occupation units was scheduled for August 26, and the main forces for August 28.

On August 20, the Japanese in Manila were handed the Act of Surrender. The document provided for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces, regardless of their location. The Japanese troops were to immediately cease hostilities, release prisoners of war and interned civilians, ensure their maintenance, protection and delivery to the indicated places. On September 2, the Japanese delegation signed the Instrument of Surrender. The ceremony itself was structured to show the United States' primary role in defeating Japan. The procedure for the surrender of Japanese troops in various parts of the Asia-Pacific region dragged on for several months.

THE SECOND WORLD WAR of 1939-45, the largest war in the history of mankind between Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and militaristic Japan and the countries of the anti-fascist coalition that unleashed it. 61 states were involved in the war, over 80% of the world's population, military operations were conducted on the territory of 40 states, as well as in sea and ocean theaters.

Causes, preparation and outbreak of war. The Second World War arose as a result of a sharp aggravation of economic and ideological contradictions between the leading world powers. main reason its emergence was the course of Germany, supported by its allies, for revenge for the defeat in the First World War of 1914-18 and the forcible redivision of the world. In the 1930s, 2 centers of war were formed - in the Far East and in Europe. The exorbitant reparations and restrictions imposed by the victors on Germany contributed to the development of a strong nationalist movement in it, in which extremely radical currents took over. With the advent of A. Hitler to power in 1933, Germany turned into a militaristic force dangerous for the whole world. This was evidenced by the scale and growth rate of its military economy and armed forces (AF). If in 1934 Germany produced 840 aircraft, then in 1936 - 4733. The volume of military production from 1934 to 1940 increased 22 times. In 1935, there were 29 divisions in Germany, and by the autumn of 1939 there were already 102. The German leadership placed special emphasis on training attack offensive forces - armored and motorized troops, and bomber aircraft. The Nazi program for world domination included plans for the restoration and expansion of the German colonial empire, the defeat of Great Britain, France and posed a threat to the United States, the most important goal Nazis was to destroy the USSR. The ruling circles of the Western countries, hoping to evade war, sought to direct German aggression to the East. They contributed to the revival of the military-industrial base of German militarism ( financial help United States of Germany under the Dawes Plan, British-German maritime agreement 1935 and others) and, in essence, encouraged the Nazi aggressors. The desire to redistribute the world was also characteristic of the fascist regime in Italy and militaristic Japan.

Having created a solid military-economic base and continuing to develop it, Germany, Japan, and also, despite certain economic difficulties, Italy (in 1929-38, gross industrial output increased by 0.6%) began to implement their aggressive plans. Japan occupied the territory of Northeast China in the early 1930s, creating a springboard for attacking the USSR, Mongolia, and others. The Italian fascists invaded Ethiopia in 1935 (see Italo-Ethiopian Wars). In the spring of 1935, Germany, in violation of the military articles of the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919, introduced a universal military service. As a result of the plebiscite, the Saarland was added to it. In March 1936, Germany unilaterally terminated the Locarno Treaty (see the Locarno Treaties of 1925) and sent its troops into the Rhine demilitarized zone, in March 1938 - into Austria (see Anschluss), liquidating an independent European state (of the great powers, only the USSR protested) . In September 1938, Great Britain and France betrayed their ally, Czechoslovakia, by agreeing to Germany's takeover of the Sudetenland (see the Munich Agreement of 1938). Having an agreement on mutual assistance with Czechoslovakia and France, the USSR repeatedly offered Czechoslovakia military aid, but the government of E. Benes refused it. In the autumn of 1938, Germany occupied part of Czechoslovakia, and in the spring of 1939 - the entire Czech Republic (Slovakia was declared an "independent state"), seized the Klaipeda region from Lithuania. Italy annexed Albania in April 1939. Having caused the so-called Danzig crisis at the end of 1938 and secured itself from the east after the conclusion of a non-aggression pact with the USSR in August 1939 (see Soviet-German treaties 1939), Germany prepared to invade Poland, which received guarantees of military support from Great Britain and France on 25/8/1939.

The first period of the war (1.9.1939 - 21.6.1941). World War II began on September 1, 1939 with the German attack on Poland. By September 1, 1939, the strength of the German Armed Forces reached over 4 million people, there were about 3.2 thousand tanks, over 26 thousand artillery pieces and mortars, about 4 thousand aircraft, 100 warships of the main classes. Poland had an armed forces of about 1 million people, armed with 220 light tanks and 650 tankettes, 4.3 thousand artillery pieces, 824 aircraft. Great Britain in the metropolis had an armed force of 1.3 million people, a strong navy (328 warships of the main classes and over 1.2 thousand aircraft, of which 490 were in reserve) and an air force (3.9 thousand aircraft, of which 2 thousand were in reserve) . By the end of August 1939, the French Armed Forces numbered about 2.7 million people, about 3.1 thousand tanks, over 26 thousand artillery pieces and mortars, about 3.3 thousand aircraft, 174 warships of the main classes. On September 3, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany, but they did not provide practical assistance to Poland. The German troops, possessing an overwhelming superiority in forces and equipment, despite the courageous resistance of the Polish army, defeated it in 32 days and occupied most of Poland (see German-Polish War of 1939). Having lost the ability to govern the country, on September 17, the Polish government fled to Romania. On September 17, the Soviet government sent its troops into the territory of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine (see the Campaign of the Red Army 1939), which were part of Russia until 1917, in order to protect the Belarusian and Ukrainian population in connection with the collapse of the Polish state and prevent the further advance of the German armies to the east (these lands were assigned to the Soviet "sphere of interest" according to the Soviet-German secret protocols of 1939). Important political consequences in the initial period of the Second World War were the reunification of Bessarabia with the USSR and the entry of Northern Bukovina into it, the conclusion of agreements in September - October 1939 on mutual assistance with the Baltic states and the subsequent entry of the Baltic states into the Soviet Union in August 1940. As a result of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-40, although at the cost of great sacrifices, the main strategic goal pursued by the Soviet leadership was achieved - to secure the northwestern border. However, there was no full guarantee that the territory of Finland would not be used for aggression against the USSR, because. delivered political goal- the creation of a pro-Soviet regime in Finland - was not achieved, and the hostile attitude towards the USSR intensified in it. This war led to sharp deterioration relations between the USA, Great Britain and France with the USSR (12/14/1939 the USSR was expelled from the League of Nations for the attack on Finland). Great Britain and France even planned a military invasion of the territory of the USSR from Finland, as well as the bombing of oil fields in Baku. The course of the Soviet-Finnish war strengthened doubts about the combat capability of the Red Army, which arose in the Western ruling circles in connection with the repressions of 1937-38 against its command staff, and gave A. Hitler confidence in his calculations for a quick defeat of the Soviet Union.

In Western Europe, until May 1940, there was a “strange war”. The British-French troops were inactive, and the German armed forces, using the strategic pause after the defeat of Poland, were active training to attack the Western European states. On April 9, 1940, German troops occupied Denmark without declaring war and on the same day launched an invasion of Norway (see Norwegian operation 1940). The British and French troops that landed in Norway captured Narvik, but were unable to resist the aggressor and were evacuated from the country in June. On May 10, units of the Wehrmacht invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and delivered a blow to France through their territories (see the French campaign of 1940) bypassing the French Maginot Line. Having broken through the defenses in the Sedan area, the tank formations of the German troops reached the English Channel on May 20. On May 14, the Dutch army capitulated, on May 28 - the Belgian. The British Expeditionary Force and part of the French troops, blockaded in the Dunkirk area (see the Dunkirk operation of 1940), managed to evacuate to Great Britain, abandoning almost all military equipment. On June 14, German troops occupied Paris without a fight, and on June 22, France capitulated. Under the terms of the Compiegne armistice, most of France was occupied by German troops, the southern part remained under the rule of the pro-fascist government of Marshal A. Pétain (Vichy government). At the end of June 1940, a French patriotic organization headed by General Charles de Gaulle, the Free France (since July 1942, Fighting France), was formed in London.

On June 10, 1940, Italy entered the war on the side of Germany (in 1939, its armed forces numbered over 1.7 million people, about 400 tanks, about 13 thousand artillery pieces and mortars, about 3 thousand aircraft, 154 warships of the main classes and 105 submarines) . Italian troops captured British Somalia, part of Kenya and Sudan in August, invaded Egypt from Libya in September, where they were stopped and defeated by British troops in December. An attempt by Italian troops in October to develop an offensive from Albania occupied by them in 1939 to Greece was repulsed by the Greek army. In the Far East, Japan (by 1939, its armed forces included over 1.5 million people, over 2 thousand tanks, about 4.2 thousand artillery pieces, about 1 thousand aircraft, 172 warships of the main classes, including 6 aircraft carriers with 396 aircraft, and 56 submarines) occupied the southern regions of China and occupied the northern part of French Indochina. Germany, Italy and Japan signed the Berlin (Triple) Pact on September 27 (see Three Power Pact 1940).

In August 1940, aerial bombardments of Great Britain by German aircraft began (see the Battle of England 1940-41), the intensity of which sharply decreased in May 1941 due to the transfer of the main forces of the German Air Force to the east to attack the USSR. In the spring of 1941, the United States, which had not yet participated in the war, landed troops in Greenland, and then in Iceland, setting up military bases there. German U-boat operations intensified (see Battle of the Atlantic 1939-45). In January - May 1941, British troops, with the support of the insurgent population, expelled the Italians from East Africa. In February, German troops arrived in North Africa, forming the so-called African Corps, headed by Lieutenant General E. Rommel. Going on the offensive on March 31, the Italo-German troops reached the Libyan-Egyptian border in the second half of April (see North African campaign of 1940-43). Preparing an attack on the Soviet Union, the countries of the fascist (Nazi) bloc carried out aggression in the Balkans in the spring of 1941 (see the Balkan Campaign of 1941). On March 1-2, German troops entered Bulgaria, which had joined the Tripartite Pact, and on April 6, German troops (later Italian, Hungarian and Bulgarian troops) invaded Yugoslavia (surrendered on April 18) and Greece (occupied on April 30). In May

the island of Crete was captured (see Cretan airborne operation 1941).

The military successes of Germany in the 1st period of the war were largely due to the fact that its opponents were unable to combine their efforts, create a unified system of military leadership, develop effective plans joint warfare. The economy and resources of the occupied countries of Europe were used to prepare the war against the USSR.

The second period of the war (22.6.1941 - November 1942). 22/6/1941 Germany, violating the non-aggression pact, suddenly attacked the USSR. Together with Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, and Italy came out against the USSR. The Great Patriotic War of 1941-45 began. Since the mid-1930s, the Soviet Union has been taking measures to increase the country's defense capability and repel possible aggression. The development of industry proceeded at an accelerated pace, the scale of military production increased, new types of tanks, aircraft, artillery systems, and the like were introduced into production and adopted for service. In 1939, a new law on universal military service, aimed at creating a mass cadre army (by mid-1941, the number of Soviet Armed Forces had increased by more than 2.8 times compared to 1939 and amounted to about 5.7 million people). The experience of military operations in the West, as well as the Soviet-Finnish war, was actively studied. However, unleashed in the late 1930s by the Stalinist leadership mass repression, which hit the Armed Forces especially hard, reduced the effectiveness of preparations for war and affected the development of the military-political situation at the beginning of Hitler's aggression.

The entry of the USSR into the war determined the content of its new stage and had a tremendous impact on the policy of the leading world powers. The governments of Great Britain and the USA 22-24.6.1941 declared their support for the USSR; in July-October, agreements were signed on joint actions and military-economic cooperation between the USSR, Great Britain and the USA. In August - September, the USSR and Great Britain sent their troops into Iran to prevent the possibility of creating fascist strongholds in the Middle East. These joint military-political actions laid the foundation for the creation of an anti-Hitler coalition. September 24 at Londonskaya international conference 1941, the USSR joined the Atlantic Charter of 1941.

The Soviet-German front became the main front of the Second World War, where the armed struggle acquired an exceptionally fierce character. 70% of the personnel of the German Ground Forces and SS units, 86% of tank units, 100% of motorized formations, and up to 75% of artillery acted against the USSR. In spite of major successes at the start of the war, Germany failed to reach strategic goal provided for by the Barbarossa plan. The Red Army, suffering heavy losses, in fierce battles in the summer of 1941, thwarted the plan for a "blitzkrieg". Soviet troops in heavy battles exhausted and bled the advancing enemy groups. The German troops failed to capture Leningrad, they were for a long time pinned down by the defense of Odessa in 1941 and the Sevastopol defense of 1941-42, stopped near Moscow. As a result of the defeat of the German troops in the Battle of Moscow in 1941-1942, the myth of the invincibility of the Wehrmacht was dispelled. This victory forced Germany into a protracted war, inspired the peoples of the occupied countries to fight for liberation against fascist oppression, and gave impetus to the Resistance Movement.

By attacking the US military base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japan launched a war against the United States. On December 8, the United States, Great Britain and a number of other states declared war on Japan; on December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The entry of the United States and Japan into the war affected the balance of power and increased the scale of the armed struggle. An important role in the development of allied relations was played by the Moscow meetings of 1941-43 of representatives of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain on the issue of military supplies to the Soviet Union (see Lend-Lease). In Washington on January 1, 1942, the Declaration of 26 States of 1942 was signed, to which other states later joined.

In North Africa, in November 1941, British troops, taking advantage of the fact that the main forces of the Wehrmacht were pinned down near Moscow, launched an offensive, occupied Cyrenaica and lifted the blockade from Tobruk, besieged by the Italo-German troops, but in January - June, the Italo-German troops, having launched a counteroffensive , advanced 1.2 thousand km, captured Tobruk and part of the territory of Egypt. After that, there was a lull on the African front until the autumn of 1942. AT Atlantic Ocean German submarines continued to inflict great damage on the Allied fleets (by the autumn of 1942, the tonnage of ships sunk, mainly in the Atlantic Ocean, amounted to over 14 million tons). Japan in early 1942 occupied Malaya, the most important islands of Indonesia, the Philippines, Burma, inflicted a major defeat on the British fleet in the Gulf of Thailand, the British-American-Dutch fleet in the Java operation and seized dominance at sea. The American Navy and Air Force, significantly reinforced by the summer of 1942, in naval battles in the Coral Sea (May 7-8) and off Midway Island (June) they defeated the Japanese fleet. In northern China, the Japanese invaders launched punitive operations in the areas liberated by the partisans.

On May 26, 1942, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Great Britain on an alliance in the war against Germany and its satellites; On June 11, the USSR and the USA concluded an agreement on the principles of mutual assistance in the conduct of war. These acts completed the creation of the anti-Hitler coalition. On June 12, the United States and Great Britain made a promise to open a second front in Western Europe in 1942, but did not keep it. Taking advantage of the absence of a second front and the defeats of the Red Army in the Crimea, and especially in the Kharkov operation of 1942, the German command launched a new strategic offensive on the Soviet-German front in the summer of 1942. In July-November, Soviet troops pinned down enemy strike groups and prepared the conditions for a counteroffensive. The failure of the German offensive on the Soviet-German front in 1942 and the failure of the Japanese Armed Forces in the Pacific Ocean forced Japan to refrain from the planned attack on the USSR and switch to defense in the Pacific Ocean at the end of 1942. At the same time, the USSR, while remaining neutral, refused to allow the United States to use air bases in the Soviet Far East, from where they could strike at Japan.

The entry into the war of the two largest countries in the world - the USSR, and then the USA - led to a gigantic expansion of the scale of hostilities in the 2nd period of World War II, an increase in the number of armed forces participating in the struggle. In opposition to the fascist bloc, an anti-fascist coalition of states was formed, which had enormous economic and military potentials. By the end of 1941, on the Soviet-German front, the fascist bloc was faced with the need to wage a long, protracted war. The armed struggle in the Pacific Ocean, in Southeast Asia and in other theaters of war also assumed a similar character. By the autumn of 1942, the adventurism of the aggressive plans of the leadership of Germany and its allies, calculated to win world domination, became completely obvious. Attempts to crush the USSR were unsuccessful. On all theaters of operations, the offensive of the aggressors' armed forces was stopped. However, the fascist coalition continued to be a powerful military-political organization capable of active action.

The third period of the war (November 1942 - December 1943). The main events of the Second World War in 1942-1943 developed on the Soviet-German front. By November 1942, 192 divisions and 3 brigades of the Wehrmacht (71% of all Ground Forces) and 66 divisions and 13 brigades of Germany's allies were operating here. On November 19, the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad began (see Battle of Stalingrad 1942-43), culminating in the encirclement and defeat of the 330,000-strong group of German troops. An attempt by the German Army Group "Don" (commander - Field Marshal E. von Manstein) to release the encircled grouping of Field Marshal F. von Paulus was thwarted. Having fettered the main forces of the Wehrmacht in the Moscow direction (40% of the German divisions), the Soviet command did not allow the transfer of the reserves needed by Manstein to the south. The victory of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad was the beginning of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War and had a great influence on the further course of the entire Second World War. It undermined the prestige of Germany in the eyes of its allies, gave rise to doubt among the Germans themselves about the possibility of winning the war. The Red Army, having captured strategic initiative, launched a general offensive on the Soviet-German front. The mass expulsion of the enemy from the territory of the Soviet Union began. The Battle of Kursk in 1943 and the access to the Dnieper ended a radical turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War. The battle for the Dnieper in 1943 overturned the enemy's calculations for a transition to a protracted positional defensive war.

In the autumn of 1942, when fierce battles on the Soviet-German front fettered the main forces of the Wehrmacht, British-American troops intensified military operations in North Africa. They won in October - November in the El Alamein operation of 1942 and carried out the North African landing operation of 1942. As a result of the Tunisian operation in 1943, the Italo-German troops in North Africa capitulated. British-American troops, taking advantage of the favorable situation (the main enemy forces participated in the Battle of Kursk), landed on the island of Sicily on 10/7/1943 and captured it by mid-August (see Sicilian landing operation of 1943). On July 25, the fascist regime in Italy fell; on September 3, the new government of P. Badoglio concluded a truce with the Allies. The withdrawal of Italy from the war marked the beginning of the disintegration of the fascist bloc.

On October 13, Italy declared war on Germany, in response, German troops occupied Northern Italy. In September allied forces landed in southern Italy, but could not break the resistance of the German troops on the defensive line created north of Naples, and in December they suspended active operations. During this period, secret negotiations between representatives of the United States and Great Britain with German emissaries became more active (see Anglo-American-German contacts 1943-45). In the Pacific Ocean and in Asia, Japan, turning to strategic defense, sought to hold the territories captured in 1941-42. The Allies, having launched an offensive in the Pacific Ocean in August 1942, captured the island of Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands; February 1943), landed on the island of New Guinea, ousted the Japanese from the Aleutian Islands, and inflicted a number of defeats on the Japanese fleet.

The 3rd period of the Second World War went down in history as a period of a radical turning point. Of decisive importance for changing the strategic situation were the historical victories of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk and the Battle of the Dnieper, as well as the victories of the Allies in North Africa and the landing of their troops in Sicily and in the south of the Apennine Peninsula. However, the Soviet Union still bore the brunt of the fight against Germany and its European allies. On the Tehran conference 1943, at the request of the Soviet delegation, a decision was made to open a second front no later than May 1944. The armies of the Nazi bloc in the 3rd period of the Second World War could not win a single major victory and were forced to take a course to prolong hostilities and switch to strategic defense. Having passed the turning point, the Second World War in Europe entered the final stage.

It began with a new offensive of the Red Army. Soviet troops in 1944 on the entire Soviet-German front brought crushing blows to the enemy and expelled the invaders from the borders of the Soviet Union. During the subsequent offensive, the USSR Armed Forces played a decisive role in the liberation of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, northern regions Norway, in withdrawing Finland from the war, created the conditions for the liberation of Albania and Greece. Together with the Red Army in the fight against Nazi Germany the troops of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia took part, and after the conclusion of a truce with Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary - and the military units of these countries. The allied troops, having carried out the "Overlord" operation, opened a second front and launched an offensive in Germany. Having landed on 15/8/1944 in the south of France, the British-American troops, with the active support of the French Resistance Movement, by mid-September joined the troops advancing from Normandy, but the German troops managed to leave France. After the opening of the second front, the main front of the Second World War continued to be the Soviet-German front, where there were 1.8-2.8 times more troops of the countries of the fascist bloc than on other fronts.

In February 1945, the Crimean (Yalta) Conference of 1945 was held by the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, during which plans for the final defeat of the German Armed Forces were agreed, the basic principles were outlined general policy regarding the post-war structure of the world, decisions were made to create zones of occupation and an all-German control body in Germany, to collect reparations from Germany, to create the UN, etc. The USSR agreed to enter the war against Japan 3 months after the surrender of Germany and the end of the war in Europe .

During the Ardennes operation of 1944-1945, German troops defeated the Allied forces. To alleviate the position of the allies in the Ardennes, at their request, the Red Army launched its winter offensive ahead of schedule (see the Vistula-Oder operation of 1945 and the East Prussian operation of 1945). Having restored the situation by the end of January 1945, British-American troops crossed the Rhine at the end of March and carried out the Ruhr operation in April, which ended with the encirclement and capture of a large enemy grouping. During the North Italian operation of 1945, the allied forces, with the help of Italian partisans, completely captured Italy in April - early May. In the Pacific Theater of Operations, the Allies carried out operations to defeat Japanese fleet, liberated a number of islands, approached directly Japan (on April 1, American troops landed on the Japanese island of Okinawa) and cut off its communications with the countries of Southeast Asia.

In April - May, Red Army units defeated the last groupings of German troops in the Berlin operation of 1945 and the Prague operation of 1945 and met with the Allied troops. The war in Europe is over. The unconditional surrender of Germany was accepted late in the evening on May 8 (at 00:43 on May 9, Moscow time) by representatives of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France.

In the 4th period of the Second World War, the struggle reached its highest scope and tension. It was attended by the largest number of states, military personnel, military equipment and weapons. The military-economic potential of Germany fell sharply, while in the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition it reached the highest level during the war years. The hostilities took place in conditions when Germany faced the armies of the allied powers advancing from the east and west. From the end of 1944, Japan remained the only ally of Germany, which testified to the collapse of the fascist bloc and the bankruptcy of Germany's foreign policy. The USSR victoriously ended the Great Patriotic War, unprecedented in its fierceness.

At the Berlin (Potsdam) Conference of 1945, the USSR confirmed its readiness to enter the war with Japan, and at the San Francisco Conference of 1945, together with representatives of 50 states, they developed the UN Charter. In order to demoralize the enemy and demonstrate their military power to the allies (primarily to the USSR), the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, respectively). Fulfilling its allied duty, the USSR declared war on Japan and on August 9 began hostilities. During the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945, Soviet troops, having defeated the Japanese Kwantung Army (see the Manchurian operation of 1945), liquidated the center of aggression in the Far East, liberated Northeast China, North Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, thereby hastening the end of the war. On September 2, Japan capitulated, World War II ended.

Main results of the Second World War. The Second World War was the largest military clash in the history of mankind. It lasted 6 years, the population of the participating states amounted to 1.7 billion people, 110 million people were in the ranks of the Armed Forces. Military operations were conducted in Europe, Asia, Africa, in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans. It was the most destructive and bloody of wars. More than 55 million people died in it. The damage from the destruction and destruction of material assets on the territory of the USSR amounted to about 41% of the losses of all countries participating in the war. The Soviet Union bore the brunt of the war, suffered the greatest human casualties (about 27 million people died). Poland (about 6 million people), China (over 5 million people), Yugoslavia (about 1.7 million people) and other states suffered great losses. The Soviet-German front was the main front of World War II. It was here that she was crushed military power fascist bloc. In different periods, from 190 to 270 divisions of Germany and its allies operated on the Soviet-German front. British-American troops in North Africa in 1941-43 were opposed by 9 to 20 divisions, in Italy in 1943-1945 - from 7 to 26 divisions, in Western Europe after the opening of the second front - from 56 to 75 divisions. The Soviet Armed Forces defeated and captured 607 enemy divisions, the Allies - 176 divisions. Germany and its allies lost about 9 million people on the Soviet-German front ( total losses- about 14 million people) and about 75% of military equipment and weapons. The length of the Soviet-German front during the war years ranged from 2 thousand km to 6.2 thousand km, the North African - up to 350 km, the Italian - up to 300 km, the Western European 800-1000 km. Active operations on the Soviet-German front were carried out for 1320 days out of 1418 (93%), on the Allied fronts out of 2069 days - 1094 (53%). Dead Losses allies (killed, dead from wounds, missing) amounted to about 1.5 million soldiers and officers, including the United States - 405 thousand, Great Britain - 375 thousand, France - 600 thousand, Canada - 37 thousand, Australia - 35 thousand, New Zealand - 12 thousand, the Union of South Africa - 7 thousand people. The most important result of the war was the defeat of the most aggressive reactionary forces, which radically changed the balance political forces in the world, determined its entire post-war development. Many peoples of “non-Aryan” origin were saved from physical destruction, who were destined to perish in Nazi concentration camps or become slaves. The defeat of Nazi Germany and imperialist Japan contributed to the rise of the national liberation movement and the collapse of the colonial system of imperialism. For the first time, a legal assessment was given to the ideologues and executors of misanthropic plans for the conquest of world domination (see the Nuremberg Trials of 1945-49 and the Tokyo Trial of 1946-48). The Second World War had a comprehensive influence on the further development of military art, the construction of the Armed Forces. It was distinguished by the massive use of tanks, a high degree of motorization, the widespread introduction of new combat and technical means. During the Second World War, radars and other means of radio electronics, rocket artillery, jet aircraft, projectiles and ballistic missiles were used for the first time, and at the final stage, nuclear weapons. The Second World War clearly showed the dependence of war on the economy and scientific and technological progress, close relationship economic, scientific, military and other potentials on the way to victory.

Lit.: History of the Second World War. 1939-1945. M., 1973-1982. T. 1-12; Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg. Munch., 1979-2005. Bd 1-9; World War II: Results and Lessons. M., 1985; Nuremberg Trials: Sat. materials. M., 1987-1999. T. 1-8; 1939: The Lessons of History. M., 1990; Resistance Movement in Western Europe. 1939-1945. M., 1990-1991. T. 1-2; The Second World War: Actual problems. M., 1995; Allies at War, 1941-1945. M., 1995; Resistance movement in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, 1939-1945. M., 1995; Another war, 1939-1945. M., 1996; The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945: Military Historical Essays. M., 1998-1999. T. 1-4; Churchill W. World War II. M., 1998. T. 1-6; Zhukov G.K. Memories and reflections. 13th ed. M., 2002. T. 1-2; World Wars of the XX century. M., 2002. Book. 3: World War II: Historical outline. Book. 4: World War II: Documents and Materials.

World War II (September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945) is a military conflict between two world military-political coalitions.

It has become the largest armed conflict in mankind. 62 states took part in this war. About 80% of the entire population of the Earth participated in hostilities on one side or another.

We bring to your attention a brief history of World War II. From this article you will learn the main events related to this terrible tragedy on a global scale.

First period of World War 2

September 1, 1939 The armed forces entered the territory of Poland. In this regard, after 2 days, France and Germany declared war.

The Wehrmacht troops did not meet decent resistance from the Poles, as a result of which they managed to occupy Poland in just 2 weeks.

At the end of April 1940, the Germans occupied Norway and Denmark. After that, the army annexed. It is worth noting that none of the listed states could adequately resist the enemy.

Soon the Germans attacked France, which was also forced to capitulate in less than 2 months. This was a real triumph for the Nazis, since at that time the French had good infantry, aviation and navy.

After the conquest of France, the Germans turned out to be head and shoulders stronger than all their opponents. In the process of conducting the French campaign, Italy became an ally of Germany, headed by.

After that, Yugoslavia was also captured by the Germans. Thus, Hitler's lightning offensive allowed him to occupy all the countries of Western and Central Europe. Thus began the history of World War II.

Then the Nazis began to seize African states. The Fuhrer planned to conquer countries on this continent within a few months, and then launch an offensive on Middle East and India.

At the end of this, according to Hitler's plans, the reunification of the German and Japanese troops was to take place.

Second period of World War 2

The battalion commander leads his soldiers on the attack. Ukraine, 1942

This came as a complete surprise to Soviet citizens and the country's leadership. As a result, the USSR united against Germany.

Soon the United States joined this alliance, agreeing to provide military, food and economic aid. As a result, countries have been able to rationally use their own resources and support each other.

Stylized photo "Hitler vs Stalin"

At the end of the summer of 1941, British and Soviet troops entered Iran, as a result of which Hitler had certain difficulties. Because of this, he was unable to place military bases there, necessary for the full conduct of the war.

Anti-Hitler coalition

January 1, 1942 in Washington, representatives of the Big Four (USSR, USA, Great Britain and China) signed the Declaration of the United Nations, thus initiating Anti-Hitler coalition. Later, 22 more countries joined it.

The first serious defeats of Germany in World War II began with the Battle of Moscow (1941-1942). Interestingly, Hitler's troops approached the capital of the USSR so close that they could already see it through binoculars.

Both the German leadership and the entire army were confident that they would soon defeat the Russians. Napoleon once dreamed of the same thing, entering during the year in.

The Germans were so arrogant that they didn't even bother with appropriate winter gear for their soldiers, because they thought the war was almost over. However, everything turned out quite the opposite.

The Soviet army made heroic deed, starting an active offensive against the Wehrmacht. He commanded the main military operations. It was thanks to the Russian troops that the blitzkrieg was thwarted.

A column of captured Germans on the Garden Ring, Moscow, 1944

Fifth period of World War 2

So, in 1945, at the Potsdam Conference, the Soviet Union announced its intention to go to war with Japan, which was not surprising to anyone, because the Japanese army fought on the side of Hitler.

The USSR was able to defeat the Japanese army without much difficulty, freeing Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and some territories.

military operation, which lasted less than 1 month, ended with the surrender of Japan, which was signed on September 2. The biggest war in human history is over.

Results of World War II

As mentioned earlier, World War II is the largest military conflict in history. It lasted for 6 years. During this time, more than 50 million people died in total, although some historians give even higher numbers.

The USSR suffered the most damage from the Second World War. The country lost about 27 million citizens, and also suffered severe economic losses.

On April 30, at 22:00, the Banner of Victory was hoisted over the Reichstag

In conclusion, I would like to say that the Second World War is a terrible lesson for all mankind. Until now, a lot of documentary photo and video material has been preserved, helping to see the horrors of that war.

What is worth - the angel of death of the Nazi camps. But she was not alone!

People should do everything possible so that such tragedies of a universal scale never happen again. Never again!

If you liked a brief history of the Second World War - share it on social networks. If you like interesting facts about everything- subscribe to the site. It's always interesting with us!

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World War II in facts and figures

Ernest Hemingway from the preface to A Farewell to Arms!

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Having left the city, still halfway to the headquarters of the front, we immediately heard and saw desperate firing all over the horizon with tracer bullets and shells. And they realized that the war was over. It couldn't mean anything else. I suddenly felt bad. I was ashamed in front of my comrades, but in the end I had to stop the Jeep and get out. I started having some spasms in my throat and esophagus, I began to vomit with saliva, bitterness, bile. I don't know why. Probably from a nervous discharge, which was expressed in such an absurd way. All these four years of war in different circumstances I tried very hard to be a discreet person, and it seems that I really was. And here, at the moment when I suddenly realized that the war was over, something happened - my nerves gave out. The comrades did not laugh or joke, they were silent.

Konstantin Simonov. " different days war. Writer's diary"

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Japanese surrender

The terms of Japan's surrender were put forward in the Potsdam Declaration, signed on July 26, 1945 by the governments of Great Britain, the United States and China. However, the Japanese government refused to accept them.

The situation changed after atomic bombings Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the entry into the war against Japan of the USSR (August 9, 1945).

But, even so, the members of the Supreme Military Council of Japan were not inclined to accept the terms of surrender. Some of them believed that the continuation of hostilities would lead to significant losses of Soviet and American troops, which would make it possible to conclude a truce on favorable terms for Japan.

On August 9, 1945, Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki and a number of members of the Japanese government asked the emperor to intervene in the situation in order to quickly accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. On the night of August 10, Emperor Hirohito, who shared the Japanese government's fear of complete annihilation Japanese nation, ordered the Supreme War Council to go to unconditional surrender. On August 14, the emperor's speech was recorded, in which he announced the unconditional surrender of Japan and the end of the war.

On the night of August 15, a number of officers of the Ministry of the Army and employees of the Imperial Guard made an attempt to seize the imperial palace, take the emperor under House arrest and destroy the recording of his speech in order to prevent the surrender of Japan. The rebellion was put down.

At noon on August 15, Hirohito's speech was broadcast over the radio. This was the first appeal of the emperor of Japan to ordinary people.

Japan's surrender was signed on September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri. This put an end to the bloodiest war of the 20th century.

LOSSES OF THE PARTIES

Allies

the USSR

From June 22, 1941 to September 2, 1945, about 26.6 million people died. General material losses- $2 trillion 569 billion (about 30% of all national wealth); military spending - $ 192 billion in 1945 prices. 1,710 cities and towns, 70 thousand villages and villages, 32 thousand industrial enterprises were destroyed.

China

From September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945, from 3 million to 3.75 million military personnel and about 10 million civilians died in the war against Japan. In total, during the years of the war with Japan (from 1931 to 1945), China's losses amounted, according to official Chinese statistics, to more than 35 million military and civilians.

Poland

From September 1, 1939 to May 8, 1945, about 240 thousand military personnel and about 6 million civilians were killed. The territory of the country was occupied by Germany, resistance forces acted.

Yugoslavia

From April 6, 1941 to May 8, 1945, according to various sources, from 300 thousand to 446 thousand military personnel and from 581 thousand to 1.4 million civilians died. The country was occupied by Germany, resistance units were operating.

France

From September 3, 1939 to May 8, 1945, 201,568 servicemen and about 400,000 civilians were killed. The country was occupied by Germany, there was a resistance movement. Material losses - 21 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

United Kingdom

From September 3, 1939 to September 2, 1945, 382,600 military personnel and 67,100 civilians died. Material losses - about 120 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

USA

From December 7, 1941 to September 2, 1945, 407,316 servicemen and about 6,000 civilians were killed. The cost of military operations is about 341 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

Greece

From October 28, 1940 to May 8, 1945, about 35 thousand military personnel and from 300 to 600 thousand civilians were killed.

Czechoslovakia

From September 1, 1939 to May 11, 1945, according to various estimates, from 35 thousand to 46 thousand military personnel and from 294 thousand to 320 thousand civilians died. The country was occupied by Germany. Volunteer units fought as part of the Allied armed forces.

India

From September 3, 1939 to September 2, 1945, about 87 thousand military personnel were killed. The civilian population did not suffer direct losses, but a number of researchers consider the death of 1.5 to 2.5 million Indians during the famine of 1943 (it was caused by an increase in food supplies to the British army) as a direct consequence of the war.

Canada

From September 10, 1939 to September 2, 1945, 42 thousand military personnel and about 1 thousand 600 sailors of the merchant fleet were killed. Material losses amounted to about 45 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

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I saw women crying for the dead. They cried because we lied too much. You know how the survivors return from the war, how much space they occupy, how loudly they boast of their exploits, how terrible death is portrayed. Still would! They might not come back either.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery. "Citadel"

Hitler's coalition (Axis countries)

Germany

From September 1, 1939 to May 8, 1945, according to various sources, from 3.2 to 4.7 million military personnel were killed, the losses of the civilian population amounted to from 1.4 million to 3.6 million people. The cost of military operations is about 272 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

Japan

From December 7, 1941 to September 2, 1945, 1.27 million military personnel were killed, non-combat losses- 620 thousand, 140 thousand injured, 85 thousand people missing; losses of the civilian population - 380 thousand people. Military spending - US$56 billion in 1945 prices

Italy

From June 10, 1940 to May 8, 1945, according to various sources, from 150 thousand to 400 thousand military personnel were killed, 131 thousand went missing. Losses of the civilian population - from 60 thousand to 152 thousand people. Military spending - about 94 billion US dollars in 1945 prices.

Hungary

From June 27, 1941 to May 8, 1945, according to various sources, from 120 thousand to 200 thousand military personnel died. Losses of the civilian population - about 450 thousand people.

Romania

From June 22, 1941 to May 7, 1945, according to various sources, from 300 thousand to 520 thousand military personnel and from 200 thousand to 460 thousand civilians died. Romania was originally on the side of the Axis countries, on August 25, 1944 it declared war on Germany.

Finland

From June 26, 1941 to May 7, 1945, about 83 thousand military personnel and about 2 thousand civilians were killed. On March 4, 1945, the country declared war on Germany.

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Until now, it is not possible to reliably assess the material losses suffered by the countries on whose territory the war was fought.

For six years, many large cities were subjected to total destruction, including some capitals of states. The scale of destruction was such that after the end of the war, these cities were built almost anew. Many cultural values ​​were irretrievably lost.

RESULTS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin Roosevelt and soviet leader Joseph Stalin (from left to right) at the Yalta (Crimean) conference (TASS photo chronicle)

The allies in the anti-Hitler coalition began to discuss the post-war structure of the world even in the midst of hostilities.

August 14, 1941 on board a warship in the Atlantic Ocean near about. Newfoundland (Canada), US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the so-called. "Atlantic Charter"- a document declaring the goals of the two countries in the war against Nazi Germany and its allies, as well as their vision of the post-war world order.

On January 1, 1942, Roosevelt, Churchill, as well as Soviet Ambassador to the United States Maxim Litvinov and Chinese representative Sun Tzu-wen signed a document that later became known as "Declaration of the United Nations". The next day, the declaration was signed by representatives of 22 other states. Commitments were made to make every effort to achieve victory and not to conclude a separate peace. It is from this date that the United Nations has its chronicle, although the final agreement on the creation of this organization was reached only in 1945 in Yalta during a meeting of the leaders of the three countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. It was agreed that the UN would be based on the principle of unanimity among the great powers - permanent members of the Security Council with the right of veto.

In total, three summit meetings took place during the war.

The first one took place in Tehran November 28 - December 1, 1943. The main issue was the opening of a second front in Western Europe. It was also decided to involve Turkey in the anti-Hitler coalition. Stalin agreed to declare war on Japan after the end of hostilities in Europe.