At 4 am on June 22, 1941, the troops of Nazi Germany (5.5 million people) crossed the borders of the Soviet Union, German aircraft (5 thousand) began to bomb Soviet cities, military units and airfields. By this time, World War II had been going on in Europe for almost two years. At the first stage of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1942), the Red Army suffered one defeat after another, moving further and further into the interior of the country. About two million Soviet soldiers were captured or died. The reasons for the defeats were the unpreparedness of the army for war, serious miscalculations by the top leadership, the crimes of the Stalinist regime, and the suddenness of the attack. But even in these difficult months, Soviet soldiers fought heroically against the enemy. The defenders of the Brest Fortress held out for a whole month after the front line moved far to the east. At the end of 1941, the enemy stood a few dozen kilometers from Moscow, and Leningrad was completely surrounded. But the German plan to end the war in the fall was thwarted. As a result of the counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow in December 1941, the Germans were driven back. Leningrad, which was under blockade, courageously held out - despite the fact that the most terrible blockade winter of 1941-42. Hundreds of thousands of Leningrad civilians perished from hunger and cold. In the summer of 1942, the German offensive against Stalingrad began. For several months, selected units of the Wehrmacht stormed the city. Stalingrad was reduced to ruins, but the Soviet soldiers who fought for every house survived and went on the offensive. In the winter of 1942-1943, 22 German divisions were surrounded. There was a turning point in the war. In the summer of 1943, the largest tank battle of the Second World War took place near Kursk, in which the Nazis lost about 350 tanks and 3.5 thousand killed. Under the blows of the Red Army, the German units began to retreat to the borders of the Soviet Union. And in the German rear, a guerrilla war broke out. Enemy echelons flew downhill, detachments of punishers and traitor policemen were destroyed. The Nazis responded to the actions of the partisans with terror against the civilian population, but the outcome of the war was already a foregone conclusion. By the summer of 1944, the Red Army liberated the territory of the Soviet Union and began to liberate the European states captured by the Nazis. Simultaneously with the Soviet Union, the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition - England, the USA and France - waged a war against the Germans. In the summer of 1944, the long-awaited second front was opened, which eased the position of the Red Army. In the spring of 1945, Soviet and allied troops entered German territory. The final Berlin operation began, in which Marshal G.K. Zhukov commanded the Soviet troops. On May 9, 1945, Zhukov, together with the Allied commanders, accepted the surrender of Germany. The country paid a huge price for its victory: about 27 million people died, millions were left crippled and disabled, a third of the national heritage was destroyed. The victory in the Great Patriotic War is one of the brightest pages in the history of our country.
The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) - the war of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics against Nazi Germany and its European allies (Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia)
The history of the Great Patriotic War is divided into three stages:
1) June 22, 1941 - November 19, 1942, i.e. from the German attack on the USSR to the start of the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad - the disruption of the blitzkrieg, creating conditions for a radical change in the war;
2) November 17, 1942 - December 1943 - a radical turning point in the course of the Second World War and the Second World War, the transition of the strategic initiative to the Soviet Army ended with the crossing of the Dnieper and the liberation of Kyiv;
3) 1944 - May 9, 1945, the complete expulsion of the invaders from the territory of the USSR, the liberation of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe by the Soviet Army, the final defeat and surrender of Nazi Germany.
treacherous ATTACK OF GERMANY on the USSR
Preparation for war - from the end of the 20s.
BUT by 1941 the USSR was not ready for war.
The Nazis have the military potential of all of Europe;
Repression of command personnel in the USSR
The element of surprise is also connected with Stalin's gullibility to Hitler's promises after 08/23/1939
Germany occupied: France, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Greece, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland.
Pro-German regimes: Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania.
Allies of Germany: Italy, Japan. Turkey.
Plan "Barbarossa"
Lightning war and the defeat of the USSR army in the summer campaign of 1941
Directions: "North" - to Leningrad (commanded by General von Leeba), "Center" - to Moscow (von Brauchitsch) and "South" - to Odessa and Kyiv, in addition - the Norway Group was supposed to control the situation in the North Sea . The main direction - "Center" - to Moscow
By the summer of 1941, on the border of the USSR from the Barents to the Black Seas - 5.5 million soldiers (Germany + allies + satellites).
USSR: 4 military districts. 2.9 million people
Far East, South - 1.5 million people. (an invasion by Turkey and Japan is expected).
RETREATS OF THE SOVIET TROOPS (June-September 1941)
First days of the war
On the eve of the war, Stalin repeatedly received intelligence about the impending attack, but refused to believe it. It was only at midnight on June 21 that a number of orders were issued to put the troops on alert - and this is not enough to deploy a defense in many layers.
June 22, 1941. - powerful strikes of the air and mechanized armies of Germany. “June 22, exactly at 4 o’clock, Kyiv was bombed, they announced to us that the war had begun…”
66 airfields were bombed. 1200 aircraft destroyed -> German air supremacy until summer 1943
June 23, 1941. - Headquarters of the High Command (Stavka of the Supreme High Command). Head - Stalin.
June 30, 1941. - State Defense Committee (GKO). Chairman - Stalin. All the fullness of state, party, military power.
Retreats of the Red Army in the first month of the war
In the first month of the war left: the Baltic States, Belarus, Moldova, most of Ukraine. Losses - 1,000,000 fighters, 724 thousand prisoners.
3 main failures of the first months of the war:
1) Smolensk defeat
The Nazis: to take possession of the "gates of Moscow" - Smolensk.
-> destroyed almost all the armies of the Western Front.
USSR command: accused a large group of generals of treason, the head - the commander of the Western Front, Colonel General D.G. Pavlov. Judgment, execution.
Plan "Barbarossa" gave a crack: the capital is not captured in mid-July.
2) Southwest Russia and Kyiv
500,000 dead, along with the commander of the Southwestern Front, Lieutenant General M.D. Cypros.
Kyiv is taken -\u003e strengthening the positions of the Nazis -\u003e breaking through the defense in the Moscow direction.
August 1941- the beginning of the blockade of Leningrad.
August 16, 1941. –order number 270. All those who are in captivity are traitors and traitors. The families of captured commanders and political workers are repressed, the families of soldiers are deprived of benefits.
3) in the Moscow direction to October-November 1941. 5 armies were surrounded and thus opened the way for the Nazis to Moscow
BATTLE FOR MOSCOW
The plan for the capture of Moscow from Hitler - "Typhoon". On September 30, he spoke on the radio (“Not a single Moscow resident, be it a woman, an old man or a child, should leave the city ...”)
According to the plan:
Army Group Center sweeps away the Soviet defenses and captures the capital before the onset of winter. In the convoy there is pink granite for the monument to the victorious German soldier on the site of the destroyed Moscow (later it was used on Gorky Street - now Tverskaya - for facing buildings, including the Post Office).
Start October I am the approach of the Nazis to Moscow. Stalin urgently summoned Zhukov from Leningrad
October 16- a day of general panic in Moscow, they take out valuables, including the State Tretyakov Gallery (paintings)
November 6- Meeting of the Moscow City Council at the Mayakovskaya metro station. Stalin spoke. "Victory will be ours!" It was decided - the parade on November 7 - to be!
November 7- a parade, from Red Square, soldiers and militia (25 divisions) - went straight to the front along the street. Gorky and to Voykovskaya, there is a front line
By the end of November 1941. - Germans at a distance of 25-30 km. from Moscow.
Passage "Dubosekovo" - 28 Panfilov heroes (commanded by Panfilov), political instructor Klochkov: "Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat, Moscow is behind!"
3 fronts:
United Western - the direct defense of Moscow (G.M. Zhukov);
Kalininsky (I.S. Konev);
Southwestern (S.K. Timoshenko).
5 armies of the Western and Reserve fronts - in the "boiler".
600.000 people – surrounded (every 2nd).
Moscow, Tula, a significant part of the Kalinin region were liberated.
Losses during the counteroffensive:
USSR - 600.000 people.
Germany: 100.000-150.000 people
Near Moscow - the first major defeat since 1939.
The Blitzkrieg plan failed.
With the victory in the Battle of Moscow - a radical turn (but not yet a turning point!) In the course of the war in favor of the USSR.
The enemy - to the strategy of a protracted war.
By the winter of 1941: losses - 5,000,000 people.
2 million - killed, 3 million - in captivity.
Counteroffensive - until April 1942
Successes are fragile, soon - major losses.
Unsuccessful attempt to break the blockade of Leningrad (established in August 1941)
The 2nd shock army of the Volkhov Front was defeated, the command and head - A.A. Vlasov - were captured.
Fascists: defeat in the Battle of Moscow -> you can not launch an offensive along the entire Eastern Front -> strikes in the south.
Stalin: waiting for a second attack on Moscow, despite intelligence reports. Near Moscow - the main forces.
Decree to inflict a number of distracting blows in the south (Crimea, Kharkov). Against - the head of the General Staff BM Shaposhnikov -> a complete failure.
Dispersion of forces -> failure.
May 1942. - in the Kharkov direction, the Germans surrounded 3 armies of the Southwestern Front. 240 thousand prisoners.
May 1942. - the defeat of the Kerch operation. »150 thousand prisoners in the Crimea. After 250 days of siege, Sevastopol was surrendered.
June 1942- Nazi advance to Stalingrad
July 28, 1942–"Order No. 227"- Stalin - "Not a step back, Under no circumstances should the city be surrendered"
Retreat without an order from the command is a betrayal of the Motherland.
Penal battalions (for commanders and political workers)
Penalties (for sergeants and privates).
Barrage detachments behind the belligerents. They have the right to shoot those retreating on the spot.
end of August- occupied Abgonerovo (the last settlement near Stalingrad)
Simultaneously: August 1942- a group of fascists in the Caucasus.
Beginning of September - they occupied the embankment, the square in front of the department store ... Fights for every street, for every house
End of September - battles for 102 heights ("Mamaev Kurgan" - now there is a monument to the motherland)
Autumn 1942 - 80 million people in the occupied territory.
->country lost
human resources;
The largest industrial areas;
Giant agricultural territories.
The main burden of the siege was on the 62nd Army under the command of General Chuikov. The capture of Stalingrad = the cutting of the Volga transport artery, through which bread and oil are delivered.
period of radical change.
Radical change = transition from defense to strategic offensive.
Battle of Stalingrad
Frontier - Battle of Stalingrad.
November 19, 1942- Southwestern Front (N.F. Vatutin), Don Front (K.K. Rokossovsky), Stalingrad Front (A.I. Eremenko).
Surrounded by 22 enemy divisions, 330 thousand people.
December 1942 - an attempt to break through the encirclement from the Middle Don (Italian-German troops). Failure.
The final stage of the counteroffensive:
troops of the Don Front carried out an operation to eliminate the encircled enemy grouping.
The command of the 6th German Army surrendered. F. Paulus (came over to our side and later began to live in the GDR, was Chairman of the German Peace Committee).
During the Battle of Stalingrad:
The losses of the Nazis - 1.5 million people, ¼ of all forces.
Losses of the Red Army - 2 million people.
The final stage of the Battle of Stalingrad ® general offensive of the Soviet troops.
January 1943- a successful breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad south of Lake Ladoga. Corridor 8-11 km. "Road of Life" on the ice of Lake Ladoga. Communication with the whole country.
The Battle of Kursk (Orel-Belgorod) is the final stage of the turning point.
Germany: planned to conduct a major offensive operation ("Citadel") in the summer of 1943 in the Kursk region. In our Headquarters, the operation was called “Suvorov \ Kutuzov”, since its goal was the liberation of 2 cities (Orel and Kursk) “The war brought us to Kursk and Orel, to the very enemy gates, such, brother, things ...”
They wanted to destroy the entire southern wing.
50 divisions, 16 armored and motorized. "Tiger", "Panther".
USSR: 40% of combined arms formations. Slight superiority in troops.
Central Front (K.K. Rokossovsky);
Voronezh Front (N.F. Vatutin);
Steppe Front (I.S. Konev) and other fronts.
First stage
The Germans are on the offensive. Up to 35 km inland.
The largest oncoming tank battle of the 2nd World War.
1200 tanks on both sides. Russian victory
Second phase
The main groupings of the enemy were broken.
August 5, 1943- Belgorod and Oryol were liberated -> the first artillery salute in Moscow.
Liberation of Kharkov = completion of the Battle of Kursk.
Defeated 30 enemy divisions, the loss of 500,000 people.
->Hitler could not transfer a single division from the Eastern Front to Italy, where a political coup took place;
-> activation of the resistance movement in Europe.
-> the collapse of the theory of "General Frost" - that is, the weather conditions (winter, terrible frosts that were characteristic for 1941-1942), which allegedly contributed to the hardy Russians. Battle of Kursk - the first summer battle
Counteroffensive near Kursk ® strategic offensive of the spacecraft along the entire front.
Soviet troops - to the West, 300-600 km.
Left-bank Ukraine, Donbass were liberated, bridgeheads in the Crimea were captured.
Forcing the Dnieper.
->end of the battle for the Dnieper.
Hitler's Germany - to strategic defense.
The period of the liberation of the USSR and the defeat of Nazi Germany
The successful actions of the Soviet army in 1944 in the "Stalinist" historiography were associated with the "commander's genius" of this "father of nations". Hence the term - "10 Stalinist strikes in 1944." Indeed, the SA offensive in 1944 is characterized by 10 major operations, and the overall strategy is a constant change in the direction of the main attack (which did not allow the Germans to concentrate forces in any one direction)
Leningrad (L.A. Govorov) and Volkhov (K.A. Meretskov) fronts. Liberation of the Leningrad and Novgorod regions.
The 1st Ukrainian (N.F. Vatutin) and 2nd Ukrainian (I.S. Konev) Fronts surrounded the Korsun-Shevchenko group. The central event of this "strike" was the restoration of the Soviet border: March 26, 1944- troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front - on the border with Romania.
3. Early May 1944– liberation of Crimea = completion of the autumn-winter offensive.
4. June-August 1944- liberation of Karelia. Finland withdrew from the war and broke off relations with Germany
5. Operation "Bagration" = liberation of Belarus., general direction - Minsk-Warsaw-Berlin. June 23 - August 17, 1944 Three Ukrainian Fronts (Rokossovsky, G.F. Zakharov, I.D. Chernyakhovsky), 1st Baltic Front (I.Kh. Bagramyan).
6. July-August 1944- liberation of Western Ukraine. Lvov-Sandomierz operation End of August 1944- offensive Stopped in the foothills of the Carpathians by the reinforced and fierce resistance of the Nazis.
7. August 1944- Iasi-Chisinau operation. 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts. Moldova and Romania were liberated, 22 divisions of the Southern Ukraine Army Group were destroyed. Romania, Bulgaria - the overthrow of the pro-fascist governments. These countries declared war on Germany.
8. September 1944- from Moldova and Romania - to help the Yugoslav partisans. Josip Broz Tito
10. October 1944- Northern Fleet + Northern Front: liberation of the Soviet Arctic, expulsion of the enemy from the Murmansk region. The northeastern regions of Norway have been cleared of the enemy.
LIBERATION CAMPAIGN OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE USSR
Romania ® Bulgaria ® part of Poland ® part of Norway
® Part of Hungary ® Yugoslavia ® Rest of Poland ® Rest of Hungary ® Austria ® Czech Republic
The end of September 1944 - at the request of I. Broz Tito (commander-in-chief), the Soviet troops carried out the Belgrade operation to liberate the capital of Yugoslavia
October 1944 Belgrade has been liberated.
BERLIN LIBERATION
February 1945- Vistula-Oder operation. = continuation of the operation "Bagration"
600,000 soldiers died in Poland during its liberation.
The Vistula-Oder operation = saving the Allied operation in the Ardennes (there were American losses - 40,000 people).
Early April 1945 - complete liberation of Hungary and Austria.
250.000 people died.
1st, 2nd Belorussian fronts (Zhukov, Rokossovsky), 1st Ukrainian (Konev).
Hitler committed suicide
8 May 1945, in Karlshorst (near Berlin)- Representatives of the USSR, USA, England, France and Germany signed an act on the complete and unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.
From the USSR - G.K. Zhukov. From Germany - Keitel (this general studied in the USSR in the late 30s on an exchange (!) After the non-aggression pact)
9 May 1945- Soviet troops entered Prague, the Prague garrison resisted until May 12, not recognizing the act of surrender
Result of the Second World War: the unconditional victory of the Soviet people. June 24, 1945 there was a parade on Red Square (they threw Nazi banners to the Mausoleum, but - this is not shown in the chronicle - ordinary Muscovites felt sorry for the captured Germans, who were led along Moscow streets as a sign of victory, they brought them bread)
17. WWII
Great Patriotic War 1941
Reasons for the failures of the USSR at the beginning of the war and the reasons for the failure of the blitzkrieg.
Mein Kampf: Hitler declared that the destruction of the USSR as a socialist The state is the meaning of his whole life. The purpose for which the National Socialist movement exists. Based on this, one of the directives of the Wehrmacht read: "many millions of people will become redundant in this territory, they will either have to die or move to Siberia"
In December 1940, Hitler approved the barbarossa plan: 2-3 months after the start of the war, German troops should reach the line Arkhangelsk - Astrakhan. The war began on June 22, 1941 at 4 am. It lasted 1418 days and nights.
There are 4 periods.
Until December 1, 1941, the USSR lost 7 million people. Several tens of thousands of tanks and aircraft. Reason: objective:
A) superiority in material means of warfare
B) in human resources 400 million German. 197 million ussr.
C) more experience in modern warfare.
D) the suddenness of the attack.
Subjective:
A) Stalin's underestimation of the diplomatic means of waging war. On June 14, 1941, a TASS statement is published in the newspapers, stating that Germany's preparations for war with the Soviet Union have no basis.
B) the transfer of troops to a pre-war position was not carried out.
C) repression in the army: 85% of the command staff held their posts for less than one year. Of the 733 former commanders of the Comprites, 579 were repressed before marshals. It takes 20 years to train an army commander.
D) distortions in ideological work.
First period of the war.
June 30, 1941 the creation of the state. Defense Committee: Stalin, Molotov, Voroshilov, Malinkov, Bulganin, Beria, Voznesensky, Kaganovich, Mikoyan.
It was done: introduced, on the model of the civil war, the institution of military commissars. In the shortest possible time, the military economy was transferred to a military footing. By the winter of 1941, 10 million people and 1.5 thousand large industrial enterprises were sent to the east. The formation of new formations in the rear was accelerated. 36 divisions of the people's militia were formed. As a result - the defeat of the Germans near Moscow. On November 6, a meeting was held at Mayakovskaya station in honor of the great October Revolution. November 7 parade.
The defeat of the Germans near Moscow. The first serious defeat of Germany. July August 1941, the governments of England and the United States announced their support for the USSR. Contacts were established with France, Slovakia, etc. An anti-Hitler coalition was formed. Formed on January 1, 1942. After the Japanese attack on the Hawaiian Islands. In autumn, the coalition already had 34 states with a population of 1.5 billion people. Activation of the resistance movement in all 12 countries occupied by Germany.
2 period of the war. Events and facts. Battle for Stalingrad. Changes in the totalitarian democratic system: the cessation of repression, the elimination of the institution of military commissars. The growth of the Comintern. Revival of the traditions of the Russian army. The introduction of military ranks. Guards, the shift in the ideology of emphasis on the defense of the fatherland. Strengthening the role of the church. Spring 1943. The general offensive of the Soviet troops. Breaking the blockade of Leningrad.
July 5, 1943 - the battle on the Kursk Bulge began. For the first time in the war, the balance of power changed in favor of the Red Army, the isolation of Germany in the international arena, the landing of Anglo-American troops in Italy, the overthrow of the Mussolini regime in Italy began. The USSR for the first time outstripped Germany in the production of various types of military products. There is a development of positive personnel changes in the country. Voroshilov and Budyonny are on the sidelines.
Gross violations of national policy continue. Mass resettlement of Germans in the Volga region, the destruction of their autonomies. 1943 - the eviction of the Kalmyks. 1944 - the eviction of the Balkars, Chechens and Ingush, more than 1 million Tatars were evicted from the Crimea and the Caucasus.
Third period of the war. The liberation mission of the Soviet troops. The year 1944 began with major offensive operations of the Soviet troops in the northern and southern directions: the lifting of the blockade of Leningrad, the liberation of the Novgorod region, Estonia, right-bank Ukraine and Crimea. On June 6, 1944, a second front was opened in Europe. July 1944 - the liberation of Belarus, operation "Bagration". By the end of 1944, the entire Soviet territory was liberated. By the beginning of 1945, 11 European countries were liberated. During the liberation of the countries of Eastern Europe, more than 1 million Soviet soldiers and officers died. April 16, 1945 - the beginning of the Berlin operation. On May 8, an act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed.
Fourth period of the war. The question of the participation of the USSR in the war against Japan was resolved in February 1945 at the Yalta Conference. Hostilities began on 9 August and ended on 2 September. August 6 and 8 - Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Kwantung Army was defeated in August 1945; on September 2, Japan's surrender was signed on the American battleship Missouri.
Results of the Second World War.
Churchill: "It was the Russian army that let the guts out of the German war machine." In total, about 60 million people died in World War II. Of these, the USSR lost 27 million, Germany - 13, Poland - 6, China - 5 million. Japan - 2.5 million, Yugoslavia - 1.7 million, France, England and the USA - 1 million 300 thousand people. Of the 18 million imprisoned in concentration camps, 11 million died.
The international prestige of the USSR increased sharply. The USSR received the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin. East Prussia with the city of Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad) went to us. Changes in the totalitarian system. GULAG, repressions, the formation of Stalin-style regimes in the countries of Eastern Europe and the resettlement of repressed peoples.
On the radio July 2, 1941. In this speech, I.V. Stalin also used the terms "Patriotic Liberation War", "People's Patriotic War", "Patriotic War against German fascism".
Another official approval of this name was the introduction on May 2, 1942 of the Order of the Patriotic War.
1941
On September 8, 1941, the blockade of Leningrad began. For 872 days the city heroically resisted the German invaders. Not only resisted, but also worked. It should be noted that during the blockade, Leningrad provided the troops of the Leningrad Front with weapons and ammunition, and also supplied military products to neighboring fronts.
On September 30, 1941, the Battle for Moscow began. The first major battle of the Great Patriotic War in which the German troops suffered a serious defeat. The battle began as the German offensive Operation Typhoon.
On December 5, the counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow began. The troops of the Western and Kalinin fronts pushed the enemy back in places more than 100 kilometers from Moscow.
Despite the victorious offensive of the Red Army near Moscow, this was only the beginning. The beginning of the great battle with fascism, which will last for another 3 long years.
1942
The most difficult year of the Great Patriotic War. This year the Red Army suffered very heavy defeats.
The offensive near Rzhev turned into huge losses. Over 250,000 were lost in the Kharkov Pocket. The attempts to break the blockade of Leningrad ended in failure. The 2nd Shock Army died in the Novgorod swamps.
The main dates of the second year of the Great Patriotic War
From January 8 to March 3, the Rzhev-Vyazemskaya operation took place. The final stage of the Battle for Moscow.
From January 9 to February 6, 1942 - Toropetsko-Kholmskaya offensive operation. The troops of the Red Army advanced almost 300 kilometers, freeing many settlements.
On January 7, the Demyansk offensive operation began, as a result of which the so-called Demyansk cauldron was formed. Wehrmacht troops with a total number of more than 100,000 people were surrounded. Including the elite division of the SS "Dead Head".
After some time, the encirclement was broken, however, all the miscalculations of the Demyansk operation were taken into account during the liquidation of the encircled group near Stalingrad. In particular, this concerned the interruption of air supplies and the strengthening of the defense of the outer ring of encirclement.
On March 17, as a result of an unsuccessful Luban offensive operation near Novgorod, the 2nd shock army was surrounded.
On November 18, after heavy defensive battles, the Red Army troops went on the offensive and surrounded the German group in the Stalingrad region.
1943 - the year of a turning point in the course of the hostilities of the Great Patriotic War
In 1943, the Red Army managed to wrest the initiative from the hands of the Wehrmacht and begin a victorious march to the borders of the USSR. In some places, our units have advanced more than 1000-1200 kilometers in a year. The experience gained by the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War made itself felt.
On January 12, Operation Iskra began, as a result of which the blockade of Leningrad was broken. A narrow corridor up to 11 kilometers wide connected the city with the mainland.
On July 5, 1943, the Battle of Kursk began. A turning point battle during the Great Patriotic War, after which the strategic initiative completely passed to the side of the Soviet Union and the Red Army.
Already during the Great Patriotic War, contemporaries appreciated the significance of this battle. Wehrmacht General Guderian said after the Battle of Kursk: "... there were no more quiet days on the Eastern Front ...".
August - December 1943. The battle for the Dnieper - the left-bank Ukraine was completely liberated, Kyiv was taken.
1944 - the year of the liberation of our country from the fascist invaders
In 1944, the Red Army almost completely cleared the territory of the USSR from Nazi invaders. As a result of a number of strategic operations, Soviet troops came close to the borders of Germany. More than 70 German divisions were destroyed.
This year, the Red Army troops entered the territory of Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Norway, Romania, Yugoslavia and Hungary. Finland left the war with the USSR.
January - April 1944. Liberation of right-bank Ukraine. Access to the state border of the Soviet Union.
On June 23, one of the largest operations of the Great Patriotic War began - the offensive operation "Bagration". Completely liberated Belarus, part of Poland and almost the entire Baltic. Army Group Center was defeated.
On July 17, 1944, for the first time in the years of the war, a column of almost 60,000 captured Germans captured in Belarus was led through Moscow streets.
1945 - the year of victory in the Great Patriotic War
The years of the Great Patriotic War, spent by the Soviet troops in the trenches, made themselves felt. The year 1945 began with the Vistula-Oder offensive operation, which would later be called the most rapid offensive in the history of mankind.
In just 2 weeks, the Red Army troops traveled 400 kilometers, liberating Poland and defeating more than 50 German divisions.
On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Reich Chancellor, Fuhrer and Supreme Commander of Germany, committed suicide.
On May 9, 1945, at 0:43 Moscow time, the unconditional surrender of Germany was signed.
On the Soviet side, the surrender was accepted by Marshal of the Soviet Union, Commander of the 1st Belorussian Front Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov.
4 years, 1418 days of the most difficult and bloody war in the history of Russia have ended.
At 10 pm on May 9, in commemoration of the complete victory over Germany, Moscow saluted with 30 artillery volleys from a thousand guns.
On June 24, 1945, the Victory Parade took place in Moscow. This solemn event marked the end of the Great Patriotic War.
It should be noted that on May 9 the Great Patriotic War ended, but the 2nd World War did not end. In accordance with the allied agreements, on August 8, the USSR entered the war with Japan. In just two weeks, the troops of the Red Army defeated in Manchuria the largest and most powerful army of Japan - the Kwantung Army.
Having almost completely lost its ground forces and the ability to wage war on the Asian continent, on September 2, Japan capitulated. September 2, 1945 is the official date for the end of World War II.
Interesting fact. Formally, the Soviet Union was at war with Germany until January 25, 1955. The fact is that after Germany capitulated, the peace treaty was not signed. Legally, the Great Patriotic War ended when the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a decree. This happened on January 25, 1955.
By the way, the United States ended the state of war with Germany on October 19, 1951, and France and Great Britain on July 9, 1951.
Photographers: Georgy Zelma, Yakov Ryumkin, Evgeny Khaldei, Anatoly Morozov.The Great Patriotic War- the war of the USSR with Germany and its allies in - years and with Japan in 1945; an integral part of World War II.
From the point of view of the leadership of Nazi Germany, the war with the USSR was inevitable. The communist regime was regarded by him as alien, and at the same time capable of striking at any moment. Only the rapid defeat of the USSR gave the Germans the opportunity to ensure dominance on the European continent. In addition, he gave them access to the rich industrial and agricultural regions of Eastern Europe.
At the same time, according to some historians, Stalin himself, at the end of 1939, decided on a preemptive attack on Germany in the summer of 1941. On June 15, Soviet troops began strategic deployment and advance to the western border. According to one version, this was done in order to strike at Romania and German-occupied Poland, according to another, to frighten Hitler and force him to abandon plans to attack the USSR.
The first period of the war (June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942)
The first stage of the German offensive (June 22 - July 10, 1941)
On June 22, the mobilization of those liable for military service born in 1905-1918 was carried out in the USSR, and from the first days of the war, a mass registration of volunteers began. On June 23, in the USSR, an emergency body of the highest military administration, the Headquarters of the High Command, was created to direct military operations, and there was also a maximum centralization of military and political power in the hands of Stalin.
On June 22, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a radio statement supporting the USSR in its struggle against Hitlerism. On June 23, the US State Department welcomed the efforts of the Soviet people to repel the German invasion, and on June 24, US President Franklin Roosevelt promised to provide the USSR with all possible assistance.
On July 18, the Soviet leadership decided to organize a partisan movement in the occupied and frontline regions, which gained momentum in the second half of the year.
In the summer-autumn of 1941, about 10 million people were evacuated to the east. and more than 1350 large enterprises. The militarization of the economy began to be carried out with harsh and energetic measures; all the material resources of the country were mobilized for military needs.
The main reason for the defeats of the Red Army, despite its quantitative and often qualitative (T-34 and KV tanks) technical superiority, was the poor training of privates and officers, the low level of operation of military equipment and the lack of experience among the troops in conducting major military operations in modern warfare. . The repressions against the high command in 1937-1940 also played a significant role.
The second stage of the German offensive (July 10 - September 30, 1941)
On July 10, Finnish troops launched an offensive and on September 1, the 23rd Soviet Army on the Karelian Isthmus withdrew to the line of the old state border, occupied before the Finnish war of 1939–1940. By October 10, the front had stabilized along the line Kestenga - Ukhta - Rugozero - Medvezhyegorsk - Lake Onega. - river Svir. The enemy was unable to cut the communication lines of European Russia with the northern ports.
On July 10, the Army Group "North" launched an offensive in the Leningrad and Tallinn directions. August 15 fell Novgorod, August 21 - Gatchina. On August 30, the Germans reached the Neva, cutting off the railway communication with the city, and on September 8 they took Shlisselburg and closed the blockade ring around Leningrad. Only the tough measures of the new commander of the Leningrad Front, G.K. Zhukov, made it possible to stop the enemy by September 26.
On July 16, the Romanian 4th Army took Kishinev; the defense of Odessa lasted about two months. Soviet troops left the city only in the first half of October. In early September, Guderian crossed the Desna and on September 7 captured Konotop ("Konotop breakthrough"). Five Soviet armies were surrounded; the number of prisoners was 665 thousand. Left-bank Ukraine was in the hands of the Germans; the way to the Donbass was open; Soviet troops in the Crimea were cut off from the main forces.
The defeats on the fronts prompted the Headquarters to issue order No. 270 on August 16, qualifying all soldiers and officers who surrendered as traitors and deserters; their families were deprived of state support and were subject to exile.
The third stage of the German offensive (September 30 - December 5, 1941)
On September 30, Army Group Center launched an operation to capture Moscow (Typhoon). On October 3, Guderian's tanks broke into Orel and took to the road to Moscow. On October 6-8, all three armies of the Bryansk Front were surrounded south of Bryansk, and the main forces of the Reserve (19th, 20th, 24th and 32nd armies) - west of Vyazma; the Germans captured 664,000 prisoners and more than 1,200 tanks. But the advance of the 2nd tank group of the Wehrmacht to Tula was thwarted by the stubborn resistance of the brigade of M.E. Katukov near Mtsensk; The 4th Panzer Group occupied Yukhnov and rushed towards Maloyaroslavets, but was held up near Medyn by Podolsk cadets (October 6–10); the autumn thaw also slowed down the pace of the German offensive.
On October 10, the Germans attacked the right wing of the Reserve Front (renamed the Western Front); On October 12, the 9th Army captured Staritsa, and on October 14 - Rzhev. On October 19, a state of siege was declared in Moscow. On October 29, Guderian tried to take Tula, but was repulsed with heavy losses for himself. In early November, the new commander of the Western Front, Zhukov, with an incredible effort of all forces and constant counterattacks, managed, despite huge losses in manpower and equipment, to stop the Germans in other directions.
On September 27, the Germans broke through the defense line of the Southern Front. Most of the Donbass was in the hands of the Germans. During the successful counter-offensive of the troops of the Southern Front, Rostov was liberated on November 29, and the Germans were driven back to the Mius River.
In the second half of October, the 11th German Army broke into the Crimea and by mid-November captured almost the entire peninsula. Soviet troops managed to hold only Sevastopol.
Counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow (December 5, 1941 - January 7, 1942)
On December 5-6, the Kalinin, Western and Southwestern fronts switched to offensive operations in the northwestern and southwestern directions. The successful advance of the Soviet troops forced Hitler on December 8 to issue a directive on the transition to defense along the entire front line. On December 18, the troops of the Western Front launched an offensive in the central direction. As a result, by the beginning of the year, the Germans were pushed back 100–250 km to the west. There was a threat of coverage of the army group "Center" from the north and south. The strategic initiative passed to the Red Army.
The success of the operation near Moscow prompted the Headquarters to decide on the transition to a general offensive along the entire front from Lake Ladoga to the Crimea. The offensive operations of the Soviet troops in December 1941 - April 1942 led to a significant change in the military-strategic situation on the Soviet-German front: the Germans were driven back from Moscow, Moscow, part of the Kalinin, Oryol and Smolensk regions were liberated. There was also a psychological turning point among the soldiers and the civilian population: faith in victory was strengthened, the myth of the invincibility of the Wehrmacht was destroyed. The collapse of the lightning war plan gave rise to doubts about the successful outcome of the war, both among the German military-political leadership and among ordinary Germans.
Luban operation (January 13 - June 25)
The Lyuban operation was aimed at breaking through the blockade of Leningrad. On January 13, the forces of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts launched an offensive in several directions, planning to link up at Lyuban and encircle the enemy's Chudov grouping. On March 19, the Germans launched a counterattack, cutting off the 2nd shock army from the rest of the forces of the Volkhov Front. Soviet troops repeatedly tried to release it and resume the offensive. On May 21, the Stavka decided to withdraw it, but on June 6 the Germans completely closed the encirclement. On June 20, soldiers and officers were ordered to leave the encirclement on their own, but only a few managed to do this (according to various estimates, from 6 to 16 thousand people); commander A.A. Vlasov surrendered.
Military operations in May-November 1942
Having defeated the Crimean Front (almost 200 thousand people were taken prisoner), the Germans occupied Kerch on May 16, and Sevastopol in early July. On May 12, the troops of the Southwestern Front and the Southern Front launched an offensive against Kharkov. For several days it developed successfully, but on May 19 the Germans defeated the 9th Army, throwing it behind the Seversky Donets, went to the rear of the advancing Soviet troops and on May 23 took them into pincers; the number of prisoners reached 240 thousand. On June 28-30, the German offensive began against the left wing of the Bryansk and the right wing of the Southwestern Front. On July 8, the Germans captured Voronezh and reached the Middle Don. By July 22, the 1st and 4th tank armies had reached the Southern Don. On July 24, Rostov-on-Don was taken.
In the conditions of a military catastrophe in the south, on July 28, Stalin issued order No. 227 “Not a step back”, which provided for severe punishments for retreating without instructions from above, detachments to deal with unauthorized leaving positions, penal units for operations on the most dangerous sectors of the front. On the basis of this order, during the war years, about 1 million military personnel were convicted, of which 160 thousand were shot, and 400 thousand were sent to penal companies.
On July 25, the Germans crossed the Don and rushed south. In mid-August, the Germans established control over almost all the passes in the central part of the Main Caucasian Range. In the Grozny direction, the Germans occupied Nalchik on October 29, they failed to take Ordzhonikidze and Grozny, and in mid-November their further advance was stopped.
On August 16, German troops launched an offensive against Stalingrad. On September 13, fighting began in Stalingrad itself. In the second half of October - the first half of November, the Germans captured a significant part of the city, but could not break the resistance of the defenders.
By mid-November, the Germans established control over the Right Bank of the Don and most of the North Caucasus, but did not achieve their strategic goals - to break into the Volga region and Transcaucasia. This was prevented by the counterattacks of the Red Army in other directions (the Rzhev meat grinder, the tank battle between Zubtsov and Karmanovo, etc.), which, although unsuccessful, nevertheless did not allow the Wehrmacht command to transfer reserves to the south.
The second period of the war (November 19, 1942 - December 31, 1943): a radical change
Victory at Stalingrad (November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943)
On November 19, units of the Southwestern Front broke through the defenses of the 3rd Romanian Army and on November 21 took five Romanian divisions in pincers (Operation Saturn). On November 23, units of the two fronts joined at the Soviet and surrounded the Stalingrad enemy grouping.
On December 16, the troops of the Voronezh and South-Western Fronts launched Operation Little Saturn on the Middle Don, defeated the 8th Italian Army, and on January 26, the 6th Army was cut into two parts. On January 31, the southern grouping led by F. Paulus capitulated, on February 2 - the northern one; 91 thousand people were captured. The Battle of Stalingrad, despite the heavy losses of the Soviet troops, was the beginning of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War. The Wehrmacht suffered a major defeat and lost the strategic initiative. Japan and Turkey abandoned their intention to enter the war on the side of Germany.
Economic recovery and transition to the offensive in the central direction
By this time, a turning point had also occurred in the sphere of the Soviet military economy. Already in the winter of 1941/1942 it was possible to stop the decline in engineering. In March, ferrous metallurgy began to rise, and in the second half of 1942, energy and the fuel industry began to rise. By the beginning there was a clear economic superiority of the USSR over Germany.
In November 1942 - January 1943, the Red Army launched an offensive in the central direction.
Operation "Mars" (Rzhev-Sychevskaya) was carried out in order to eliminate the Rzhev-Vyazma bridgehead. The formations of the Western Front made their way through the Rzhev-Sychevka railway and raided the enemy rear, however, significant losses and a lack of tanks, guns and ammunition forced them to stop, but this operation did not allow the Germans to transfer part of their forces from the central direction to Stalingrad.
Liberation of the North Caucasus (January 1 - February 12, 1943)
On January 1–3, an operation began to liberate the North Caucasus and the Don bend. On January 3, Mozdok was liberated, on January 10-11 - Kislovodsk, Mineralnye Vody, Essentuki and Pyatigorsk, on January 21 - Stavropol. On January 24, the Germans surrendered Armavir, on January 30 - Tikhoretsk. On February 4, the Black Sea Fleet landed troops in the Myskhako area south of Novorossiysk. On February 12, Krasnodar was taken. However, the lack of forces prevented the Soviet troops from encircling the enemy's North Caucasian grouping.
Breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad (January 12–30, 1943)
Fearing the encirclement of the main forces of Army Group Center on the Rzhev-Vyazma bridgehead, the German command began on March 1 their systematic withdrawal. On March 2, units of the Kalinin and Western fronts began pursuing the enemy. On March 3, Rzhev was liberated, on March 6 - Gzhatsk, on March 12 - Vyazma.
The January-March 1943 campaign, despite a series of setbacks, led to the liberation of a huge territory (the North Caucasus, the lower reaches of the Don, the Voroshilovgrad, Voronezh, Kursk regions, and part of the Belgorod, Smolensk, and Kalinin regions). The blockade of Leningrad was broken, the Demyansky and Rzhev-Vyazemsky ledges were liquidated. Control over the Volga and Don was restored. The Wehrmacht suffered huge losses (about 1.2 million people). The depletion of human resources forced the Nazi leadership to conduct a total mobilization of older (over 46 years old) and younger ages (16-17 years old).
Since the winter of 1942/1943, the partisan movement in the German rear has become an important military factor. The partisans caused serious damage to the German army, destroying manpower, blowing up warehouses and trains, disrupting the communications system. The largest operations were the raids of the detachment of M.I. Naumov in Kursk, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovograd, Odessa, Vinnitsa, Kyiv and Zhytomyr (February-March 1943) and S.A. Kovpak in Rivne, Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions (February-May 1943).
Defensive battle on the Kursk Bulge (July 5–23, 1943)
The Wehrmacht command developed Operation Citadel to encircle a strong group of the Red Army on the Kursk ledge through counter tank strikes from the north and south; if successful, it was planned to carry out Operation Panther to defeat the Southwestern Front. However, Soviet intelligence unraveled the plans of the Germans, and in April-June a powerful defensive system of eight lines was created on the Kursk ledge.
On July 5, the German 9th Army launched an attack on Kursk from the north, and the 4th Panzer Army from the south. On the northern flank, already on July 10, the Germans went on the defensive. On the southern wing, Wehrmacht tank columns reached Prokhorovka on July 12, but were stopped, and by July 23, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts pushed them back to their original lines. Operation Citadel failed.
The general offensive of the Red Army in the second half of 1943 (July 12 - December 24, 1943). Liberation of Left-Bank Ukraine
On July 12, units of the Western and Bryansk fronts broke through the German defenses at Zhilkovo and Novosil, by August 18, Soviet troops cleared the Orlovsky ledge from the enemy.
By September 22, units of the Southwestern Front pushed the Germans back beyond the Dnieper and reached the approaches to Dnepropetrovsk (now the Dnieper) and Zaporozhye; formations of the Southern Front occupied Taganrog, on September 8, Stalino (now Donetsk), on September 10 - Mariupol; the result of the operation was the liberation of Donbass.
On August 3, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts broke through the defenses of Army Group South in several places and captured Belgorod on August 5. On August 23 Kharkov was taken.
On September 25, by means of flank attacks from the south and north, the troops of the Western Front captured Smolensk and by the beginning of October entered the territory of Belarus.
On August 26, the Central, Voronezh and Steppe Fronts launched the Chernigov-Poltava operation. The troops of the Central Front broke through the enemy defenses south of Sevsk and occupied the city on August 27; On September 13, they reached the Dnieper at the Loev–Kyiv section. Parts of the Voronezh Front reached the Dnieper in the Kyiv-Cherkassy sector. The formations of the Steppe Front approached the Dnieper in the Cherkasy-Verkhnedneprovsk section. As a result, the Germans lost almost all of Left-Bank Ukraine. At the end of September, Soviet troops crossed the Dnieper in several places and captured 23 bridgeheads on its right bank.
On September 1, the troops of the Bryansk Front overcame the Wehrmacht's defense line "Hagen" and occupied Bryansk, by October 3, the Red Army reached the line of the Sozh River in Eastern Belarus.
On September 9, the North Caucasian Front, in cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla, launched an offensive on the Taman Peninsula. Having broken through the Blue Line, Soviet troops took Novorossiysk on September 16, and by October 9 they completely cleared the peninsula of the Germans.
On October 10, the Southwestern Front launched an operation to eliminate the Zaporozhye bridgehead and on October 14 captured Zaporozhye.
On October 11, the Voronezh (since October 20 - 1st Ukrainian) Front began the Kyiv operation. After two unsuccessful attempts to take the capital of Ukraine with an attack from the south (from the Bukrinsky bridgehead), it was decided to launch the main attack from the north (from the Lyutezhsky bridgehead). On November 1, in order to divert the attention of the enemy, the 27th and 40th armies moved to Kyiv from the Bukrinsky bridgehead, and on November 3rd, the shock group of the 1st Ukrainian Front suddenly attacked him from the Lyutezhsky bridgehead and broke through the German defenses. On November 6, Kyiv was liberated.
On November 13, the Germans, having pulled up their reserves, launched a counteroffensive against the 1st Ukrainian Front in the Zhytomyr direction in order to recapture Kyiv and restore the defense along the Dnieper. But the Red Army held the vast strategic Kyiv bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper.
During the period of hostilities from June 1 to December 31, the Wehrmacht suffered huge losses (1 million 413 thousand people), which it was no longer able to fully compensate for. A significant part of the territory of the USSR occupied in 1941–1942 was liberated. The plans of the German command to gain a foothold on the Dnieper lines failed. Conditions were created for the expulsion of the Germans from the Right-Bank Ukraine.
Third period of the war (December 24, 1943 - May 11, 1945): defeat of Germany
After a series of failures throughout 1943, the German command abandoned attempts to seize the strategic initiative and switched to a tough defense. The main task of the Wehrmacht in the north was to prevent the breakthrough of the Red Army into the Baltic states and East Prussia, in the center to the border with Poland, and in the south to the Dniester and the Carpathians. The Soviet military leadership set the goal of the winter-spring campaign to defeat the German troops on the extreme flanks - in the Right-Bank Ukraine and near Leningrad.
Liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine and Crimea
On December 24, 1943, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front launched an offensive in the western and southwestern directions (Zhytomyr-Berdichev operation). Only at the cost of great effort and significant losses did the Germans manage to stop the Soviet troops on the Sarny-Polonnaya-Kazatin-Zhashkov line. On January 5–6, units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front struck in the Kirovograd direction and captured Kirovograd on January 8, but on January 10 they were forced to stop the offensive. The Germans did not allow the connection of the troops of both fronts and were able to keep the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky ledge, which posed a threat to Kyiv from the south.
On January 24, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts launched a joint operation to defeat the enemy's Korsun-Shevchensk grouping. On January 28, the 6th and 5th Guards Tank Armies joined at Zvenigorodka and closed the encirclement. Kanev was taken on January 30, Korsun-Shevchenkovsky on February 14. On February 17, the liquidation of the "cauldron" was completed; more than 18 thousand Wehrmacht soldiers were taken prisoner.
On January 27, units of the 1st Ukrainian Front struck from the Sarn region in the Lutsk-Rivne direction. On January 30, the offensive of the troops of the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts began on the Nikopol bridgehead. Having overcome the fierce resistance of the enemy, on February 8 they captured Nikopol, on February 22 - Krivoy Rog, and by February 29 they reached the river. Ingulets.
As a result of the winter campaign of 1943/1944, the Germans were finally driven back from the Dnieper. In an effort to make a strategic breakthrough to the borders of Romania and prevent the Wehrmacht from gaining a foothold on the Southern Bug, Dniester and Prut rivers, the Headquarters developed a plan to encircle and defeat Army Group South in Right-Bank Ukraine through a coordinated strike of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts .
The final chord of the spring operation in the south was the expulsion of the Germans from the Crimea. On May 7–9, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, with the support of the Black Sea Fleet, stormed Sevastopol, and by May 12 they defeated the remnants of the 17th Army that had fled to Chersonese.
Leningrad-Novgorod operation of the Red Army (January 14 - March 1, 1944)
On January 14, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts launched an offensive south of Leningrad and near Novgorod. Having inflicted a defeat on the German 18th Army and pushed it back to Luga, they liberated Novgorod on January 20. In early February, units of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts reached the approaches to Narva, Gdov and Luga; On February 4 they took Gdov, on February 12 - Luga. The threat of encirclement forced the 18th Army to hastily retreat to the southwest. On February 17, the 2nd Baltic Front carried out a series of attacks against the 16th German Army on the Lovat River. In early March, the Red Army reached the defensive line "Panther" (Narva - Lake Peipsi - Pskov - Ostrov); most of the Leningrad and Kalinin regions were liberated.
Military operations in the central direction in December 1943 - April 1944
As the tasks of the winter offensive of the 1st Baltic, Western and Belorussian fronts, the Headquarters set the troops to reach the Polotsk-Lepel-Mogilev-Ptich line and liberate Eastern Belarus.
In December 1943 - February 1944, the 1st PribF made three attempts to capture Vitebsk, which did not lead to the capture of the city, but exhausted the enemy's forces to the limit. The offensive actions of the Polar Front in the Orsha direction on February 22-25 and March 5-9, 1944 were not successful either.
On the Mozyr direction, the Belorussian Front (BelF) on January 8 dealt a strong blow to the flanks of the 2nd German Army, but thanks to a hasty retreat, it managed to avoid encirclement. The lack of forces prevented the Soviet troops from encircling and destroying the Bobruisk enemy grouping, and on February 26 the offensive was stopped. Formed on February 17 at the junction of the 1st Ukrainian and Belorussian (since February 24, 1st Belorussian) fronts, the 2nd Belorussian Front began the Polessky operation on March 15 with the aim of capturing Kovel and breaking through to Brest. Soviet troops surrounded Kovel, but on March 23 the Germans launched a counterattack and on April 4 released the Kovel group.
Thus, in the central direction during the winter-spring campaign of 1944, the Red Army was unable to achieve its goals; On April 15, she went on the defensive.
Offensive in Karelia (June 10 - August 9, 1944). Finland's exit from the war
After the loss of most of the occupied territory of the USSR, the main task of the Wehrmacht was to prevent the Red Army from entering Europe and not to lose its allies. That is why the Soviet military-political leadership, having failed in their attempts to reach a peace agreement with Finland in February-April 1944, decided to start the summer campaign of the year with a strike in the north.
On June 10, 1944, LenF troops, with the support of the Baltic Fleet, launched an offensive on the Karelian Isthmus, as a result, control was restored over the White Sea-Baltic Canal and the strategically important Kirov Railway connecting Murmansk with European Russia. By early August, Soviet troops had liberated all of the occupied territory east of Ladoga; in the Kuolisma area, they reached the Finnish border. Having suffered a defeat, Finland on August 25 entered into negotiations with the USSR. On September 4, she broke off relations with Berlin and ceased hostilities, on September 15 she declared war on Germany, and on September 19 she concluded a truce with the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. The length of the Soviet-German front was reduced by a third. This allowed the Red Army to free up significant forces for operations in other directions.
Liberation of Belarus (June 23 - early August 1944)
Successes in Karelia prompted the Headquarters to conduct a large-scale operation to defeat the enemy in the central direction with the forces of three Belorussian and 1st Baltic fronts (Operation Bagration), which became the main event of the summer-autumn campaign of 1944.
The general offensive of the Soviet troops began on June 23–24. The coordinated strike of the 1st PribF and the right wing of the 3rd BF ended on June 26–27 with the liberation of Vitebsk and the encirclement of five German divisions. On June 26, units of the 1st BF took Zhlobin, on June 27–29 they surrounded and destroyed the Bobruisk grouping of the enemy, and on June 29 they liberated Bobruisk. As a result of the rapid offensive of the three Belorussian fronts, an attempt by the German command to organize a line of defense along the Berezina was thwarted; On July 3, the troops of the 1st and 3rd BF broke into Minsk and took the 4th German army in pincers south of Borisov (liquidated by July 11).
The German front began to crumble. Formations of the 1st PribF occupied Polotsk on July 4 and, moving downstream of the Western Dvina, entered the territory of Latvia and Lithuania, reached the coast of the Gulf of Riga, cutting off Army Group North stationed in the Baltic states from the rest of the Wehrmacht forces. Parts of the right wing of the 3rd BF, having taken Lepel on June 28, broke through into the valley of the river in early July. Viliya (Nyaris), on August 17 they reached the border of East Prussia.
The troops of the left wing of the 3rd BF, having made a swift throw from Minsk, took Lida on July 3, on July 16, together with the 2nd BF - Grodno, and at the end of July approached the northeastern ledge of the Polish border. The 2nd BF, advancing to the southwest, captured Bialystok on July 27 and drove the Germans across the Narew River. Parts of the right wing of the 1st BF, having liberated Baranovichi on July 8, and Pinsk on July 14, at the end of July they reached the Western Bug and reached the central section of the Soviet-Polish border; On July 28 Brest was taken.
As a result of Operation Bagration, Belarus, most of Lithuania and part of Latvia were liberated. The possibility of an offensive in East Prussia and Poland opened up.
Liberation of Western Ukraine and offensive in Eastern Poland (July 13 - August 29, 1944)
Trying to stop the advance of Soviet troops in Belarus, the Wehrmacht command was forced to transfer formations there from other sectors of the Soviet-German front. This facilitated the operations of the Red Army in other areas. On July 13–14, the offensive of the 1st Ukrainian Front began in Western Ukraine. Already on July 17, they crossed the state border of the USSR and entered South-Eastern Poland.
On July 18, the left wing of the 1st BF launched an offensive near Kovel. At the end of July, they approached Prague (the right-bank suburb of Warsaw), which they managed to take only on September 14th. In early August, the resistance of the Germans intensified sharply, and the advance of the Red Army was stopped. Because of this, the Soviet command was unable to provide the necessary assistance to the uprising that broke out on August 1 in the Polish capital under the leadership of the Home Army, and by the beginning of October it was brutally suppressed by the Wehrmacht.
Offensive in the Eastern Carpathians (September 8 - October 28, 1944)
After the occupation of Estonia in the summer of 1941, the Tallinn Metropolitan. Alexander (Paulus) announced the separation of the Estonian parishes from the Russian Orthodox Church (the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church was established on the initiative of Alexander (Paulus) in 1923, in 1941 the bishop repented of the sin of schism). In October 1941, at the insistence of the German General Commissar of Belarus, the Belarusian Church was established. However, Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky), who headed it in the rank of Metropolitan of Minsk and Belarus, retained canonical communion with the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Met. Sergius (Stragorodsky). After Metropolitan Panteleimon was forcibly retired in June 1942, Archbishop Filofei (Narko), who also refused to arbitrarily proclaim a national autocephalous Church, became his successor.
Given the patriotic position of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Met. Sergius (Stragorodsky), the German authorities initially interfered with the activities of those priests and parishes who claimed to belong to the Moscow Patriarchate. Over time, the German authorities became more tolerant of the communities of the Moscow Patriarchate. According to the invaders, these communities only verbally declared their loyalty to the Moscow center, but in reality they were ready to assist the German army in the destruction of the atheistic Soviet state.
Thousands of churches, churches, prayer houses of various Protestant denominations (primarily Lutherans and Pentecostals) have resumed their activities in the occupied territory. This process was especially active on the territory of the Baltic States, in the Vitebsk, Gomel, Mogilev regions of Belarus, in the Dnepropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporozhye, Kyiv, Voroshilovgrad, Poltava regions of Ukraine, in the Rostov, Smolensk regions of the RSFSR.
The religious factor was taken into account when planning domestic policy in areas where Islam was traditionally spread, primarily in the Crimea and the Caucasus. German propaganda declared respect for the values of Islam, presented the occupation as the liberation of peoples from the "Bolshevik godless yoke", guaranteed the creation of conditions for the revival of Islam. The invaders willingly went to the opening of mosques in almost every settlement of the "Muslim regions", provided the Muslim clergy with the opportunity to contact the believers through the radio and the press. Throughout the occupied territory where Muslims lived, the positions of mullahs and senior mullahs were restored, whose rights and privileges were equated with the heads of administrations of cities and settlements.
When forming special units from among the prisoners of war of the Red Army, much attention was paid to confessional affiliation: if representatives of the peoples who traditionally professed Christianity were mainly sent to the "army of General Vlasov", then to such formations as the "Turkestan Legion", "Idel-Ural", they sent representatives of the "Islamic" peoples.
The "liberalism" of the German authorities did not extend to all religions. Many communities were on the verge of destruction, for example, in Dvinsk alone, almost all of the 35 synagogues that operated before the war were destroyed, up to 14 thousand Jews were shot. Most of the Evangelical Christian Baptist communities that found themselves in the occupied territory were also destroyed or dispersed by the authorities.
Forced to leave the occupied territories under the onslaught of Soviet troops, the Nazi invaders took out liturgical objects, icons, paintings, books, items made of precious metals from prayer buildings.
According to the far from complete data of the Extraordinary State Commission for Establishing and Investigating the Atrocities of the Nazi Invaders, 1670 Orthodox churches, 69 chapels, 237 churches, 532 synagogues, 4 mosques and 254 other prayer buildings were completely destroyed, looted or desecrated in the occupied territory. Among those destroyed or desecrated by the Nazis were priceless monuments of history, culture and architecture, incl. relating to the XI-XVII centuries, in Novgorod, Chernigov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Kyiv, Pskov. Many prayer buildings were converted by the invaders into prisons, barracks, stables, and garages.
The position and patriotic activities of the Russian Orthodox Church during the war
On June 22, 1941, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Met. Sergius (Stragorodsky) compiled a "Message to the Shepherds and Flocks of the Orthodox Church of Christ", in which he revealed the anti-Christian essence of fascism and called on the faithful to defend themselves. In their letters to the Patriarchate, believers reported that voluntary collections of donations for the needs of the front and the defense of the country had begun everywhere.
After the death of Patriarch Sergius, according to his will, Met. Alexy (Simansky), unanimously elected at the last meeting of the Local Council on January 31-February 2, 1945, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The Council was attended by Patriarchs Christopher II of Alexandria, Alexander III of Antioch and Kallistratus (Tsintsadze) of Georgia, representatives of the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Serbia and Romania.
In 1945, the so-called Estonian schism was overcome, and Orthodox parishes and the clergy of Estonia were accepted into communion with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Patriotic activities of communities of other faiths and religions
Immediately after the outbreak of the war, the leaders of almost all religious associations of the USSR supported the liberation struggle of the peoples of the country against the Nazi aggressor. Addressing the faithful with patriotic messages, they called for worthy fulfillment of their religious and civic duty to defend the Fatherland, to provide all possible material assistance to the needs of the front and rear. The leaders of most religious associations in the USSR condemned those representatives of the clergy who consciously went over to the side of the enemy and helped to impose a "new order" on the occupied territory.
The head of the Russian Old Believers of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy, Archbishop. Irinarkh (Parfyonov), in his Christmas message of 1942, called on the Old Believers, a considerable number of whom fought on the fronts, to serve valiantly in the Red Army and to resist the enemy in the occupied territory in the ranks of the partisans. In May 1942, the leaders of the Unions of Baptists and Evangelical Christians addressed the believers with a letter of appeal; the appeal spoke of the danger of fascism "for the cause of the Gospel" and called for "brothers and sisters in Christ" to fulfill "their duty to God and to the Motherland", being "the best soldiers at the front and the best workers in the rear." Baptist communities were engaged in sewing linen, collecting clothes and other things for the soldiers and families of the dead, helped in the care of the wounded and sick in hospitals, and took care of orphans in orphanages. Funds raised in the Baptist congregations were used to build a Merciful Samaritan air ambulance to transport seriously wounded soldiers to the rear. The leader of Renovationism, A. I. Vvedensky, repeatedly made patriotic appeals.
With regard to a number of other religious associations, the policy of the state during the war years remained invariably tough. First of all, this concerned “anti-state, anti-Soviet and savage sects”, which included the Dukhobors.
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The Great Patriotic War, the stages of which we will consider in this article, is one of the most difficult historical trials that befell the Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians and other peoples who lived on the territory of the USSR. These 1418 days and nights will forever remain in history as the most bloody and cruel time.
The main stages of the Great Patriotic War
The periodization of the events of the Second World War can be done based on the nature of the events that took place at the front. In different periods of the war, the initiative belonged to different armies.
Most historians detail the stages of the Great Patriotic War as follows:
- from June 22 to November 18, 1941 (stage 1 of the Great Patriotic War);
- from November 19, 1941 to the end of 1943 (stage 2 of the Great Patriotic War);
- from January 1944 to May 1945 (3rd stage of the Great Patriotic War).
Great Patriotic War: periods
Each of the periods of the Great Patriotic War has its own characteristics, which relate to the areas of hostilities, the use of new types of weapons and the advantages of one of the armies. I would like to first talk about the stages of the Great Patriotic War briefly.
- The initial stage of hostilities was characterized by the full initiative of the Nazi troops. During this time, Hitler's army completely occupied Belarus, Ukraine and almost reached Moscow. The Soviet army, of course, fought to the best of its ability, but constantly retreated. The great success of the Red Army during this period was the victory near Moscow. But in general, the offensive of the German troops continued. They were able to occupy many territories of the Caucasus, they reached almost the modern borders of Chechnya, but the Nazis failed to take Grozny. Important battles in the middle of 1942 took place on the Crimean front. Finished stage 1
- The second stage of the Great Patriotic War brought the advantage of the Red Army. After the victory at Stalingrad over the army of Paulus, the Soviet troops received good conditions for the liberation offensive. Leningrad, the battle of Kursk and the general offensive on all fronts at that time made it clear that the Nazi army would sooner or later lose the war.
- In the final period of the war, the offensive of the Red Army continued. The fighting took place already mainly on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus. This period was characterized by the progressive advance of the Red Army to the west and the fierce resistance of the enemy. This is the last stage in the Second World War, which ended in victory over the enemy.
Reasons for the existing periodization of the Second World War
The stages of the Great Patriotic War, or rather their beginning and end, are marked by some key events, battles that have gone down in world history. The first period of the war was the longest. The reasons for this are:
- surprise attack of the enemy;
- attacks by a massive front of troops on significantly stretched territories;
- the lack of extensive experience in combat operations in the Soviet army;
- superiority of the German army in technical equipment.
It was only by the end of 1942 that the enemy's advance was completely stopped. The main reasons for the success of the Red Army in the second period of the war can be considered:
- heroism of Soviet soldiers;
- the superiority of the Red Army over the enemy;
- significant progress of the USSR army in technical terms (the appearance of new tanks and anti-aircraft installations, much more).
The third stage of the war was also quite long. The main distinction between the 2nd and 3rd stages of hostilities against the Nazi troops seems to be that in 1944 the epicenter of hostilities spread from Russia to Ukraine and Belarus, that is, there was a progressive movement to the west. The final stage of the Great Patriotic War lasted more than a year, because the spacecraft had to liberate all of Ukraine and Belarus, as well as the countries of Eastern Europe.
Battles of 1941
In 1941, the position of the USSR, as already emphasized, was extremely difficult. Belarus and Lithuania were the first to be attacked by infantry and motorized units of the fascist army. On June 22, the defense of the Brest Fortress began. The Nazis hoped to pass this outpost much faster than they succeeded. Fierce battles went on for several days, and the final surrender of Brest took place only on July 20, 1941. Also these days the Nazis were advancing in the direction of Siauliai and Grodno. That is why on June 23-25 the USSR army launched a counteroffensive in these areas.
The first stages of the Great Patriotic War in 1941 showed that the Red Army would not be able to cope with the enemy without a retreat. So great was the onslaught of the Nazis! How was the retreat in the first months of the war? It took place with battles. Also, the army and the communists, in order to make life as difficult as possible for the enemy, undermined infrastructure facilities that could not be evacuated to safe places. The strong resistance of the army was due to the need to evacuate important production facilities for the country in the rear.
Of the largest battles of 1941, it is worth noting the Kyiv defensive operation, which lasted from July 7 to September 26, and the battle for Moscow (September 30, 1941 - April 1942). Also, an important role in the history of the Second World War is assigned to the exploits of Soviet sailors.
1942 in the history of the Second World War
The initial stage of the Great Patriotic War showed Hitler that he would simply not succeed in defeating the Soviet army. His strategic task to take Moscow before the winter of 1941 did not materialize. Until May 1942, the general offensive of the Soviet troops continued, which began in December 1941 near Moscow. But this offensive was stopped by the Nazis at the Kharkov bridgehead, where a large group of troops was surrounded and lost the battle.
After that, the German army went on the offensive, so again the Soviet soldiers had to remember about defensive actions. Hitler understood that it would be difficult to capture Moscow, so he directed the main blow to the city with the symbolic name of Stalingrad.
Also, active offensive actions of the Nazis took place on the Crimean bridgehead. The defense of Sevastopol continued until July 4, 1942. From July to November, the Red Army conducted active defensive operations near Stalingrad and in the Caucasus. The defense of Stalingrad entered the annals of history as an example of the heroism and invincibility of Soviet soldiers. The city itself was completely destroyed, several houses survived, but the Nazis could not take it. The 1st stage of the Great Patriotic War ended with the victory of the spacecraft near Stalingrad and the beginning of the offensive of the Soviet troops. Although the defense was still going on in some sectors of the front, the turning point in the war had already arrived.
The second stage of the Great Patriotic War
This period lasted for almost a year. Of course, in 1943 there were also many difficulties, but in general, no one could stop the offensive of our troops. Periodically, the Nazis went on the offensive in separate directions, but already the Great Patriotic War, the stages, the battles of which we are now considering, went into a state where it was clear that Germany would lose the war sooner or later.
Operation Ring was completed on February 2, 1943. The army of General Paulus was surrounded. On January 18 of the same year, they finally managed to break the blockade of Leningrad. These days the Red Army launched an offensive towards Voronezh and Kaluga. The city of Voronezh was recaptured from the enemy on January 25. The attack continued on. In February 1943, the Voroshilovgrad offensive operation took place. Gradually, the Red Army moves on to the liberation of Ukraine, although not all cities have yet been recaptured from the Nazis. March 1943 was remembered for the liberation of Vyazma and the counteroffensive of Hitler's army in the Donbass. Our troops eventually coped with this attack, but the Nazis managed to somewhat restrain the advance of Soviet troops deep into Ukraine. The fight on this bridgehead lasted more than a month. After that, the main focus of the fighting shifted to the Kuban, because in order to successfully advance further to the West, it was necessary to liberate the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories from enemies. Active fighting in this direction went on for about three months. The offensive was complicated by the proximity of the mountains and the active operations of enemy aircraft.
Second half of 1943
In the history of the Second World War, July 1943 stands apart. During this period, two very important events took place. German intelligence constantly reported information about the impending major offensive of the Soviet troops. But it was not known exactly where the attack would take place. Of course, the Soviet top military officials knew that German intelligence officers were working in many spacecraft structures (like the Soviet ones in Germany), so they used disinformation as much as possible. On July 5, the Battle of Kursk took place. The Nazis hoped that by winning this battle, they would be able to go on the offensive again. Yes, they were able to advance a little, but in general they did not win the battle, therefore, on the 20th of July 1943, the second stage of the Great Patriotic War reached its qualitative apogee. And what was the second significant event? Have not forgotten yet On the field near this village, the largest tank battle in history at that time took place, which also remained with the USSR.
From August 1943 until the winter of 1943/1944. The Red Army mainly liberates Ukrainian cities. It was very difficult to defeat the enemy in the Kharkov region, but on the morning of August 23, 1943, the USSR army managed to enter this city. And then a whole series of liberations of Ukrainian cities followed. In September 1943, the spacecraft entered Donetsk, Poltava, Kremenchug, and Sumy. In October, our troops liberated Dnepropetrovsk, Dneprodzerzhinsk, Melitopol and other surrounding settlements.
Battle for Kyiv
Kyiv was one of several strategically important cities in the USSR. The population of the city before the war reached 1 million people. During the Second World War, it decreased by five times. But now about the main thing. The Red Army was preparing for the capture of Kyiv for a very long time, because this city was also extremely important for the Nazis. To capture Kyiv, it was necessary to force the Dnieper. The battle for this river, which was a symbol of Ukraine, began on September 22. The forcing was very difficult, many of our soldiers died. In October, the command planned to try to take Kyiv. The most convenient for this was the Bukrinsky bridgehead. But these plans became known to the Germans, so they transferred significant forces here. It became impossible to take Kyiv from the Bukrinsky bridgehead. Our reconnaissance was tasked to find another place to attack the enemy. The Lyutezhsky bridgehead turned out to be the most optimal, but it was technically very difficult to transfer troops there. Since Kyiv had to be taken before the next anniversary of November 7, the command of the Kyiv offensive operation decided to transfer troops from Bukrinsky to the Lyutezhsky bridgehead. Certainly, not everyone believed in the reality of this plan, because it was necessary, unnoticed by the enemy, to cross the Dnieper twice under the cover of night and travel an even longer distance by land. Of course, the spacecraft suffered a lot of losses, but it was impossible to take Kyiv in a different way. This move by the Soviet military leaders was crowned with success. The Red Army managed to enter Kyiv on the morning of November 6, 1943. And the battle for the Dnieper in other sectors of the front continued almost until the end of the year. With the victory of the spacecraft in this battle, the first stages of the Great Patriotic War ended.
War in 1944-1945
The final stage of the Great Patriotic War became possible only thanks to the heroism of our soldiers. In the first half of 1944, almost the entire Right-Bank Ukraine and Crimea were liberated. The final stage of the Great Patriotic War was marked by one of the largest offensives of the Red Army in all the years of hostilities. We are talking about the Proskurovo-Bukovina and Uman-Botoshansk operations, which ended by the end of April 1944. With the completion of these operations, almost the entire territory of Ukraine was liberated, the restoration of the republic began after exhausting hostilities.
The Red Army in the battles abroad of the USSR
The Great Patriotic War, the stages of which we are considering today, was coming to its logical conclusion. Beginning in April 1944, Soviet troops slowly begin to push out the Nazis on the territory of states that were their allies at the start of the war (for example, Romania). Also, active hostilities took place on Polish lands. In 1944, there were many events on the second front. When the defeat of Germany became inevitable, the allies of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition became more actively involved in the war. The battles in Greece, Sicily, near Asia - all of them were aimed at the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition troops in the fight against fascism.
3 stages of the Great Patriotic War ended on May 9, 1945. It is on this day that all the peoples of the former USSR celebrate a great holiday - Victory Day.
Consequences of the Great Patriotic War
The Great Patriotic War, the stages of the hostilities of which were absolutely logical, ended almost 4 years after the start. It was much more brutal and bloody than the First World War, which ended in 1918.
Its consequences can be divided into 3 groups: economic, political and ethnographic. In the territories that were under occupation, a lot of enterprises were destroyed. Part of the plants and factories were evacuated and not all returned. In terms of politics, the entire system of life in the world actually changed, new ones were formed. Gradually, a new security system was built in Europe and the world. The United Nations has become the new guarantor of security. During the war, a lot of people died, so it was necessary to restore the population.
The main stages of the Great Patriotic War, and there were three of them, showed that it was impossible to conquer such a large country as the USSR. The state gradually emerged from the crisis, rebuilt. In many ways, the rapid recovery is due to the heroic efforts of the people.
Chronology
- 1941, June 22 - 1945, May 9 The Great Patriotic War
- 1941 October - December Battle of Moscow
- November 1942 - February 1943 Battle of Stalingrad
- 1943, July - August Battle of Kursk
- January 1944 Liquidation of the blockade of Leningrad
- 1944 Liberation of the territory of the USSR from fascist invaders
- 1945 April - May Battle of Berlin
- May 9, 1945 Victory Day of the Soviet Union over Germany
- 1945, August - September Defeat of Japan
Great Patriotic War (1941 - 1945)
The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945 as an integral and decisive part of the Second World War of 1939-1945. has three periods:
June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942. It is characterized by measures to turn the country into a single military camp, the collapse of Hitler's strategy of "blitzkrieg" and the creation of conditions for a radical change in the war.
Early 1944 - May 9, 1945. Complete expulsion of the fascist invaders from Soviet soil; the liberation by the Soviet Army of the peoples of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe; final defeat of Nazi Germany.
By 1941, Nazi Germany and its allies captured virtually all of Europe: Poland was defeated, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg were occupied. The French army resisted for only 40 days. The English expeditionary army suffered a major defeat, and its formations were evacuated to the British Isles. Fascist troops entered the territory of the Balkan countries. In Europe, in essence, there was no force that could stop the aggressor. The Soviet Union became such a force. The great feat was accomplished by the Soviet people, who saved world civilization from fascism.
In 1940, the fascist leadership developed a plan “ Barbarossa”, the purpose of which was the lightning defeat of the Soviet Armed Forces and the occupation of the European part of the Soviet Union. Further plans included the complete destruction of the USSR. The ultimate goal of the Nazi troops was to reach the Volga-Arkhangelsk line, and it was planned to paralyze the Urals with the help of aircraft. For this, 153 German divisions and 37 divisions of its allies (Finland, Romania and Hungary) were concentrated in the eastern direction. They had to strike in three directions: central(Minsk - Smolensk - Moscow), northwestern(Baltic - Leningrad) and southern(Ukraine with access to the Black Sea coast). A lightning campaign was planned to capture the European part of the USSR until the autumn of 1941.
The first period of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1942)
The beginning of the war
Implementation of the plan Barbarossa”began at dawn June 22, 1941. extensive air bombardments of the largest industrial and strategic centers, as well as the offensive of the ground forces of Germany and its allies along the entire European border of the USSR (over 4.5 thousand km).
Nazi planes are dropping bombs on peaceful Soviet cities. June 22, 1941
In the first few days, German troops advanced tens and hundreds of kilometers. On the central direction in early July 1941, all of Belarus was captured, and German troops reached the approaches to Smolensk. On the northwestern- the Baltic states are occupied, Leningrad is blocked on September 9. On the south Nazi troops occupied Moldova and the Right-Bank Ukraine. Thus, by the autumn of 1941, Hitler's plan to capture the vast territory of the European part of the USSR was carried out.
153 Nazi divisions (3,300,000 men) and 37 divisions (300,000 men) of Nazi Germany's satellite states were thrown against the Soviet state. They were armed with 3,700 tanks, 4,950 aircraft, and 48,000 guns and mortars.
By the beginning of the war against the USSR, as a result of the occupation of Western European countries, weapons, ammunition and equipment of 180 Czechoslovak, French, British, Belgian, Dutch and Norwegian divisions were at the disposal of fascist Germany. This not only made it possible to equip the fascist troops in sufficient quantities with military equipment and equipment, but also ensured an advantage in military potential over the Soviet troops.
In our western districts, there were 2.9 million people, armed with 1,540 new types of aircraft, 1,475 modern T-34 and KV tanks, and 34,695 guns and mortars. The fascist German army had a great superiority in forces.
Describing the reasons for the failures of the Soviet Armed Forces in the first months of the war, many historians today see them in serious mistakes made by the Soviet leadership in the prewar years. In 1939, large mechanized corps, so necessary in modern warfare, were disbanded, production of 45 and 76 mm anti-tank guns was stopped, fortifications on the old Western border were dismantled, and much more.
The weakening of the command staff caused by pre-war repressions also played a negative role. All this led to an almost complete change in the command and political composition of the Red Army. By the beginning of the war, about 75% of commanders and 70% of political workers had been in their positions for less than one year. Even the chief of the general staff of the ground forces of fascist Germany, General F. Halder, noted in his diary in May 1941: “The Russian officer corps is exceptionally bad. It makes a worse impression than in 1933. It will take Russia 20 years to reach its former height.” It was necessary to recreate the officer corps of our country already in the conditions of the outbreak of war.
Among the serious mistakes of the Soviet leadership, one should also include a miscalculation in determining the time of a possible attack by fascist Germany on the USSR.
Stalin and his entourage believed that the Nazi leadership would not dare to violate the non-aggression pact concluded with the USSR in the near future. All information received through various channels, including military and political intelligence, about the upcoming German attack was considered by Stalin as provocative, aimed at exacerbating relations with Germany. This may also explain the government's assessment, transmitted in a TASS statement on June 14, 1941, in which rumors of an impending German attack were declared provocative. This also explained the fact that the directive on bringing the troops of the western military districts to combat readiness and occupying combat lines by them was given too late. In essence, the directive was received by the troops when the war had already begun. Therefore, the consequences of this were extremely severe.
At the end of June - the first half of July 1941, large defensive border battles unfolded (the defense of the Brest Fortress, etc.).
Defenders of the Brest Fortress. Hood. P. Krivonogov. 1951
From July 16 to August 15, the defense of Smolensk continued in the central direction. In the northwestern direction, the German plan to capture Leningrad failed. In the south, until September 1941, the defense of Kyiv was carried out, until October - Odessa. The stubborn resistance of the Red Army in the summer and autumn of 1941 frustrated Hitler's plan for a blitzkrieg. At the same time, by the fall of 1941, the capture by the fascist command of the vast territory of the USSR with its most important industrial centers and grain regions was a serious loss for the Soviet government. (Reader T11 No. 3)
Restructuring the life of the country on a war footing
Immediately after the German attack, the Soviet government carried out major military-political and economic measures to repel the aggression. On June 23, the Headquarters of the High Command was formed. July 10 it was converted to Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. It included I.V. Stalin (appointed commander-in-chief and soon became People's Commissar of Defense), V.M. Molotov, S.K. Timoshenko, S.M. Budyonny, K.E. Voroshilov, B.M. Shaposhnikov and G.K. Zhukov. By a directive of June 29, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks set the task for the entire country to mobilize all forces and means to fight the enemy. On June 30, the State Defense Committee was created(GKO), concentrating all power in the country. The military doctrine was radically revised, the task was put forward to organize a strategic defense, wear down and stop the offensive of the fascist troops. Large-scale measures were taken to transfer industry to a military footing, mobilize the population into the army and build defensive lines.
Page of the newspaper "Moskovsky Bolshevik" dated July 3, 1941 with the text of I.V. Stalin's speech. Fragment
One of the main tasks, which had to be solved from the first days of the war, was the fastest restructuring of the national economy, the entire economy of the country on military rails. The main line of this restructuring was defined in the Directive of June 29, 1941. Specific measures for the restructuring of the national economy began to be carried out from the very beginning of the war. On the second day of the war, a mobilization plan for the production of ammunition and cartridges was introduced. And on June 30, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR approved a mobilization national economic plan for the third quarter of 1941. However, events at the front developed so unfavorably for us that this plan was not fulfilled. Given the current situation, on July 4, 1941, a decision was made to urgently develop a new plan for the development of military production. The GKO decree on July 4, 1941 noted: develop a military-economic plan for ensuring the defense of the country, referring to the use of resources and enterprises located on the Volga, in Western Siberia and the Urals”. Within two weeks this commission developed a new plan for the fourth quarter of 1941 and for 1942 for the regions of the Volga region, the Urals, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
For the speedy deployment of a production base in the regions of the Volga region, the Urals, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, it was decided to bring industrial enterprises of the People's Commissariat of Ammunition, the People's Commissariat for Armaments, the People's Commissariat of Aviation Industry, etc.
Members of the Politburo, who were at the same time members of the State Defense Committee, carried out general management of the main branches of the military economy. The issues of the production of weapons and ammunition were handled by N.A. Voznesensky, aircraft and aircraft engines - G.M. Malenkov, tanks - V.M. Molotov, food, fuel and clothing - A.I. Mikoyan and others. Industrial People's Commissariats were headed by: A.L. Shakhurin - aviation industry, V.L. Vannikov - ammunition, I.F. Tevosyan - ferrous metallurgy, A.I. Efremov - machine tool industry, V.V. Vakhrushev - coal, I.I. Sedin - oil.
The main link in the restructuring of the national economy on a war footing has become industrial restructuring. Almost all mechanical engineering was transferred to military production.
In November 1941, the People's Commissariat for General Engineering was transformed into the People's Commissariat for the Mortar Industry. In addition to the People's Commissariats of the aviation industry, shipbuilding, armaments and ammunition, created before the war, two People's Commissariats were formed at the beginning of the war - for the tank and mortar industries. Thanks to this, all the main branches of the military industry received specialized centralized management. The production of jet mortars, which existed before the war only in prototypes, was started. Their production is organized at the Moscow plant "Compressor". The front-line soldiers gave the name "Katyusha" to the first missile combat installation.
At the same time, the process workforce training through the labor reserve system. In just two years, about 1,100,000 people were trained through this sphere for work in industry.
For the same purposes, in February 1942, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the mobilization of the able-bodied urban population for work in production and construction” was adopted in February 1942.
In the course of the restructuring of the national economy, the main center of the war economy of the USSR became eastern industrial base, which was significantly expanded and strengthened with the outbreak of war. As early as 1942, the proportion of the eastern regions in all-Union production increased.
As a result, the main burden of supplying the army with weapons and equipment fell on the eastern industrial base. In 1942, the production of military products in the Urals increased by more than 6 times in comparison with 1940, in Western Siberia - 27 times, and in the Volga region - 9 times. On the whole, industrial production in these regions more than tripled during the war. It was a great military and economic victory achieved by the Soviet people during these years. It laid a solid foundation for the final victory over fascist Germany.
The course of hostilities in 1942
The Nazi leadership in the summer of 1942 staked on the capture of the oil regions of the Caucasus, the fertile regions of southern Russia and the industrial Donbass. Kerch and Sevastopol were lost.
At the end of June 1942, a general German offensive was launched in two directions: on Caucasus and east to Volga.
Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union (July 22, 1941 - May 9, 1945)
On the Caucasian direction at the end of July 1942, a strong Nazi group crossed the Don. As a result, Rostov, Stavropol and Novorossiysk were captured. Stubborn battles were fought in the central part of the Main Caucasian Range, where specially trained enemy Alpine riflemen operated in the mountains. Despite the successes achieved in the Caucasian direction, the fascist command failed to solve its main task - to break through into the Transcaucasus to master the oil reserves of Baku. By the end of September, the offensive of the fascist troops in the Caucasus was stopped.
An equally difficult situation for the Soviet command developed on eastbound. Created to cover it Stalingrad Front under the command of Marshal S.K. Timoshenko. In connection with the current critical situation, an order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief No. 227 was issued, which stated: “To retreat further means to ruin ourselves and at the same time our Motherland.” In the end July 1942. enemy in command General von Paulus dealt a powerful blow to Stalingrad front. However, despite the significant superiority in forces, during the month the fascist troops managed to advance only 60-80 km.
From the first days of September began heroic defense of Stalingrad, which actually lasted until the end of 1942. Its significance during the Great Patriotic War is enormous. Thousands of Soviet patriots heroically proved themselves in the battles for the city.
Street fighting in Stalingrad. 1942
As a result, in the battles for Stalingrad, the enemy troops suffered colossal losses. Every month of the battle, about 250 thousand new soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht, the bulk of military equipment, were sent here. By mid-November 1942, the Nazi troops, having lost more than 180 thousand people killed, 500 thousand wounded, were forced to stop the offensive.
During the summer-autumn campaign of 1942, the Nazis managed to occupy a huge part of the European part of the USSR, but the enemy was stopped.
Second period of the Great Patriotic War (1942-1943)
The final stage of the war (1944 - 1945)
Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union (July 22, 1941 - May 9, 1945)
In the winter of 1944, the offensive of the Soviet troops near Leningrad and Novgorod began.
900 day blockade heroic Leningrad, broken through in 1943, was completely removed.
Connected! Breaking the blockade of Leningrad. January 1943
Summer 1944. The Red Army carried out one of the largest operations of the Great Patriotic War (“ Bagration”). Belarus was completely released. This victory opened the way for advances into Poland, the Baltic states and East Prussia. In the middle of August 1944. Soviet troops in the western direction reached border with Germany.
At the end of August, Moldova was liberated.
These largest operations of 1944 were accompanied by the liberation of other territories of the Soviet Union - Transcarpathian Ukraine, the Baltic states, the Karelian Isthmus and the Arctic.
The victories of the Russian troops in 1944 helped the peoples of Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia in their struggle against fascism. In these countries, pro-German regimes were overthrown, and patriotic forces came to power. Created back in 1943 on the territory of the USSR, the Polish Army took the side of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Main results offensive operations carried out in 1944, consisted in the fact that the liberation of the Soviet land was completely completed, the state border of the USSR was completely restored, military operations were transferred outside our Motherland.
Front commanders at the final stage of the war
A further offensive of the Red Army against the Nazi troops was launched on the territory of Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. The Soviet command, developing the offensive, conducted a number of operations outside the USSR (Budapest, Belgrade, etc.). They were caused by the need to destroy large enemy groupings in these territories in order to prevent the possibility of their transfer to the defense of Germany. At the same time, the introduction of Soviet troops into the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe strengthened the leftist and communist parties in them and, in general, the influence of the Soviet Union in this region.
T-34-85 in the mountains of Transylvania
AT January 1945. Soviet troops began broad offensive operations in order to complete the defeat of fascist Germany. The offensive was on a huge 1,200 km front from the Baltic to the Carpathians. Polish, Czechoslovak, Romanian and Bulgarian troops acted together with the Red Army. The French aviation regiment "Normandy - Neman" also fought as part of the 3rd Belorussian Front.
By the end of the winter of 1945, the Soviet Army had completely liberated Poland and Hungary, a significant part of Czechoslovakia and Austria. In the spring of 1945, the Red Army reached the approaches to Berlin.
Berlin offensive operation (16.IV - 8.V 1945)
It was a difficult battle in a burning, dilapidated city. On May 8, representatives of the Wehrmacht signed an act of unconditional surrender.
The signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany
On May 9, Soviet troops completed their last operation - they defeated the grouping of the Nazi army that surrounded the capital of Czechoslovakia - Prague, and entered the city.
The long-awaited Victory Day has come, which has become a great holiday. The decisive role in achieving this victory, in carrying out the defeat of fascist Germany and ending the Second World War, belongs to the Soviet Union.
Defeated fascist standards