The fighting of Soviet troops on the Vistula began at different times. The 1st Ukrainian Front went on the offensive on January 12, the 1st Belorussian Front on January 14, and the 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front on January 15, 1945.

At 5 o'clock in the morning on January 12, the forward battalions of the rifle divisions of the 1st Ukrainian Front attacked the enemy, immediately destroyed his military guards in the first trench and in some places captured the second trench. Having recovered from the blow, the enemy units put up stubborn resistance. However, the task was completed: the enemy’s defense system was opened, which allowed the front’s artillery to suppress the enemy’s most important targets during the period of artillery preparation for the attack.

Artillery preparation began at 10 o'clock. Thousands of guns, mortars and rocket launchers rained their deadly fire on the fascist defenses. Powerful artillery fire destroyed most of the enemy's manpower and military equipment defending the first position. Enemy reserves suffered losses from long-range artillery fire. Many German soldiers, distraught with fear, came to their senses only in Soviet captivity. The commander of the 575th Infantry Regiment of the 304th Infantry Division, captured on January 12, testified: “At about 10 o’clock the Russians on this section of the front opened strong artillery and mortar fire, which was so effective and accurate that in the first hour Regimental control and communication with division headquarters were lost. The fire was directed mainly at observation and command posts and headquarters. I was amazed at how accurately the Russians knew the location of our headquarters, command and observation posts. My regiment was completely paralyzed."

At 11:47 a.m., Soviet artillery shifted its fire into the depths, and the assault battalions, supported by tanks, moved into the attack, accompanied by a double barrage of fire. In a short time, the troops of the front's strike group broke through the first two positions of the enemy's main defense line and in some places began fighting for the third position.

After overcoming the first and second positions, the front commander brought both tank armies into battle, and the commander of the 5th Guards Army - the 31st and 4th Guards Tank Corps in order to complete the breakthrough of the main line of defense and, together with the combined arms armies, defeat the operational reserves enemy The actions of tank units and formations were distinguished by swiftness and maneuverability. The soldiers and officers of the 63rd Guards Tank Brigade of the 10th Guards Tank Corps of the 4th Tank Army showed determination and courage. The brigade was commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel M. G. Fomichev. In three hours, the brigade fought 20 kilometers. The enemy stubbornly tried to stop its further advance. But the tankers, boldly maneuvering, continued the offensive. The fascist German units, having suffered heavy losses, were forced to abandon counterattacks and hastily abandon their positions.

By the end of the first day of the offensive, the front forces had broken through the entire main defense line of the 4th German Tank Army to a depth of 15 - 20 kilometers, defeated several infantry divisions, reached the second line of defense and started fighting with the enemy’s operational reserves. Soviet troops liberated 160 settlements, including including the cities of Szydłów and Stopnica, and cut the Chmielnik-Busko-Zdrój highway. Difficult meteorological conditions greatly limited the combat activities of the aviation units, so during the entire day they carried out only 466 sorties

According to K. Tippelskirch, “the blow was so strong that it knocked over not only the first echelon divisions, but also quite large mobile reserves, pulled up by Hitler’s categorical order very close to the front. The latter suffered losses already from the artillery preparation of the Russians, and later, as a result of the general retreat, they could not be used at all according to plan.”

On January 13, the front’s strike group undertook an enveloping maneuver in a northern direction towards Kielce. The fascist German command, trying to stop the advance of the Soviet troops and prevent a breakthrough of the entire tactical defense zone, hastily pulled up reserves from the depths in order to launch a counterattack in the Kielce area. The 24th Tank Corps received the task of striking the northern flank of the wedged Soviet troops, defeating them and throwing them back to their original position. At the same time, part of the forces was preparing a strike from the Pinchuv region in the direction of Khmilnik. But these plans did not come true. The rapid exit of front troops to the areas where the enemy’s operational reserves were located was prevented him to complete preparations for the counterattack. The Nazis were forced to bring their reserves into the battle in parts, which made it easier for Soviet troops to crush and encircle scattered enemy groups.

On this day, the 4th Tank Army continued its offensive under the command of Colonel General D. D. Lelyushenko, interacting with the 13 Army, commanded by Colonel General N. P. Pukhov. Soviet tank crews, together with infantry, in fierce battles successfully repelled attacks by the enemy tank corps, which involved about 200 tanks and assault guns, and crossed the Charna Nida River.

3rd Guards Tank Army under the command of Colonel General P. S. Rybalko in cooperation with the 52nd Army under the command of Colonel General K. A. Koroteev and the 5th Guards Army, commanded by Colonel General A. S. Zhadov , having repelled attacks by enemy tanks and infantry in the Khmilnik area, advanced 20-25 kilometers. By the end of the day, Soviet troops captured the cities and important road junctions of Chmielnik and Busko-Zdrój and crossed the Nida River in the Chęciny area in a 25-kilometer wide area.

Using the success of the front's strike group, the left-flank 60th Army under the command of Colonel General P. A. Kurochkin went on the offensive in the direction of Krakow.

The 2nd played a major role in the defeat of the enemy reserves. air force, whose commander was Colonel General of Aviation S. A. Krasovsky. Despite the unfavorable weather, aviation, which attacked concentrations of enemy troops, especially in areas south of Kielce and Pinczow, carried out 692 sorties during the day.

On January 14, Soviet troops in the Kielce area continued to repel counterattacks by the German 24th Tank Corps. Together with units of the 3rd Guards Army, the 13th Combined Arms and 4th Tank Armies fought intense battles at the turn of the Charna Nida River. Having repelled counterattacks from tank and motorized units, front troops reached the approaches to Kielce and surrounded the enemy group south of the Charna Nida River. In the Pinczow area, four divisions and several separate regiments and battalions were defeated, which tried to counterattack and push back the advancing troops beyond Nida.

Expansion of the breakthrough area could lead to a weakening of the strike force and a slowdown in the pace of the offensive. To prevent this, Marshal I. S. Konev brought the 59th Army, which was in the second echelon of the front, into battle from the line of the Nida River, reassigning the 4th Guards Tank Corps to it. The army received the task of developing an offensive on Dzyaloszyce in the zone between the 5th Guards and 60th armies.

Due to poor meteorological conditions, front aviation carried out only 372 sorties on January 14. But the main forces of the front, even without air support, overcame the enemy line of defense on Nida, cut the Warsaw-Krakow railway and highway in the Jedrzejow region and, having covered 20-25 kilometers, occupied 350 settlements, including the cities of Pinczow and Jedrzejow.

On January 15, troops of the 3rd Guards, 13th and 4th Tank Armies defeated the main forces of the 24th German Tank Corps, completed the liquidation of units surrounded south of the Charna Nida River, and captured a large administrative and economic center of Poland, an important communications and the enemy's stronghold was the city of Kielce. Having destroyed the enemy in the Kielce area, Soviet troops secured the right flank of the front's strike group.

In the Czestochowa direction, troops of the 3rd Guards Tank, 52nd and 5th Guards Armies, successfully pursuing the enemy, covered a distance of 25-30 kilometers and, on a wide front, reached the Pilica River and crossed it. The 2nd Tank Battalion of the 54th Guards Tank Brigade of the 3rd Guards Tank Army acted especially boldly. Being in the lead detachment, the battalion under the command of Hero of the Soviet Union, Major S.V. Khokhryakov, rapidly moved forward. Soviet soldiers bypassed enemy strongholds, skillfully maneuvered on the battlefield and destroyed German soldiers and officers along the way. Operating in the offensive zone of the 5th Guards Army, the 31st Tank Corps under the command of Major General of Tank Forces G. G. Kuznetsov crossed Pilitsa and captured a bridgehead on its left bank.

The 59th Army, under the command of Lieutenant General I.T. Korovnikov, together with the 4th Guards Tank Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General of Tank Forces P.P. Poluboyarov, led an attack on Krakow. By the end of January 15, they approached the city by 25-30 kilometers. Front aviation, which supported ground troops, was still unable to fully utilize its forces due to bad weather.

On the same day, the 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front, commanded by Colonel General K. S. Moskalenko, launched an attack on Nowy Sacz Krakow.

Over the four days of the offensive, the strike force of the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced 80-100 kilometers; the flank groups remained in their previous positions. When they reached the Pilica River line, Soviet troops found themselves 140 kilometers west of the enemy’s Opatow-Ostrowiec grouping, which at that time began to be bypassed from the north by the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front, which had gone on the offensive. As a result of a deep breakthrough of the enemy’s defenses and the defeat of his forces in the Kielce region, a real threat of encirclement of units of the 42nd German Army Corps operating north of Sandomierz was created.

In this regard, the commander of the 4th German Tank Army on January 15 ordered the withdrawal of units of the 42nd Army Corps to the Skarzysko-Kamienna area. The next day, the corps received permission to further retreat to the Konskie area. During the retreat of the corps, contact with the army was lost, and on the morning of January 17, the commander and headquarters of the corps lost control of the subordinate troops. Having destroyed the corps headquarters, Soviet tank crews captured many staff officers, including the corps chief of staff, and Polish partisans, interacting with Soviet troops, captured the corps commander, Infantry General G. Recknagel. The 10th Motorized Division, brought into the battle from the reserve of Army Group A, was also completely destroyed. The division commander, Colonel A. Fial, with his staff and many other soldiers and officers of the division surrendered to the Soviet troops. Colonel A. Fial said the following about the defeat of the division: “On the second or third day of the offensive, control of the troops was lost. Communication was lost not only with division headquarters, but also with higher headquarters. It was impossible to inform the high command by radio about the situation in the front sectors. The troops retreated randomly, but were overtaken by Russian units, surrounded and destroyed. By January 15... battle group The 10th Motorized Division was basically defeated. The rest of the German divisions suffered the same fate.”

Having established that Soviet troops intended to break into the Upper Silesian industrial region, the fascist German command decided to strengthen this direction. On January 15, Hitler ordered the immediate transfer of the Grossdeutschland Panzer Corps from East Prussia to the Kielce region. But it was already too late. Assessing the situation at the front created as a result of the Soviet troops breaking through the defenses in southern Poland, Tippelskirch writes: “Deep wedges into the German front were so numerous that it turned out to be impossible to eliminate them or at least limit them. The front of the 4th Tank Army was torn apart, and there was no longer any way to hold back the advance of the Russian troops."

On January 16, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front continued to pursue the enemy, retreating in the directions of Kalisz, Czestochowa and Krakow. The front group, operating in the center, advanced westward by 20-30 kilometers and expanded the bridgehead on the Pilitsa River to 60 kilometers. The 7th Guards Tank Corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, commanded by Major General of Tank Forces S.A. Ivanov, broke into the city of Radomsko from the east on the night of January 17 and began fighting to capture it. The troops of the 59th Army, after stubborn fighting, overcame a heavily fortified enemy defense zone on the Szrenjawa River, occupied the city of Miechów and approached Krakow by 14-15 kilometers.

On the same day, the flank armies of the front began to pursue the retreating enemy. The right-flank 6th Army under the command of Lieutenant General V.A. Gluzdovsky broke through the enemy rearguard defenses on the Vistula, advanced 40-50 kilometers and occupied the cities of Ostrowiec and Opatow. The left-flank 60th Army, having launched a rapid offensive along the entire front and marched 15-20 kilometers with stubborn battles, captured the cities of Dombrowa-Tarnovska, Pilzno and Jaslo.

Taking advantage of the improved weather, front aviation carried out 1,711 sorties. She smashed the columns of Nazi troops retreating to the west in disarray. The fascist German command, which did not have strong reserves to cover the Upper Silesian industrial region, hastily withdrew the 17th Army, which was operating south of the Vistula, to the Czestochowa-Krakow line.

The advancing troops achieved great success on January 17. Developing an offensive along the entire front, they fought through the enemy’s defenses on the Warta River and stormed the large military-industrial and administrative center of Poland, the city of Czestochowa. The 3rd Guards Tank Army, 5th Guards Army and units of the 31st Tank Corps took part in the battles for Czestochowa. During the capture of the city, the 2nd Tank Battalion under the command of Hero of the Soviet Union, Major S.V. Khokhryakov, again distinguished itself. The battalion was the first to break into the city and, together with a motorized rifle battalion of machine gunners, started fighting there. For decisive and skillful actions and personal courage shown in the battles for Czestochowa, Major S. V. Khokhryakov was awarded the second Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Then an advance detachment under the command of Colonel G.S. Dudnik as part of the 42nd burst into the city rifle regiment 13th Guards Division, as well as units of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Battalion of the 23rd Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union Captain N.I. Goryushkin. Hot battles ensued. Soon, Soviet soldiers completely cleared Czestochowa of the enemy.

Units of the 6th Guards Tank Corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, commanded by Major General V.V. Novikov, in cooperation with the 7th Guards Tank Corps, occupied the military-industrial center and communications hub of the city of Radomsko, cutting off railway Warsaw - Częstochowa.

After repelling enemy counterattacks, troops of the 59th and 60th armies began fighting on the northern defensive perimeter of Krakow. Having reached the city, they secured the left flank of the front's strike force. On this day, aviation of the 2nd Air Army flew 2,424 combat sorties.

The 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front, fighting on the line of the Dunajec River, broke through the enemy defenses on a 30-kilometer front and reached the approaches to Nowy Sacz.

Thus, in six days of offensive, the 1st Ukrainian Front broke through the enemy’s defenses on a 250-kilometer front, defeated the main forces of the 4th Tank Army, drew the operational reserves of Army Group A into the battle, located opposite the Sandomierz bridgehead, and inflicted a serious defeat on 17 1st Army, crossed the rivers Vistula, Wisłoka, Czarna Nida, Nida, Pilica, Warta. Having advanced 150 kilometers in the direction of the main attack, Soviet troops reached the Radomsko - Częstochowa line - north of Krakow - Tarnów. This created favorable conditions in order to strike at Breslau, cut off the communications of the Krakow enemy group and take possession of the Upper Silesian industrial region.

The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front went on the offensive simultaneously from the Magnuszew and Pulawy bridgeheads on the morning of January 14. The advance battalions began the offensive after a powerful artillery fire attack that lasted 25 minutes. The attack was supported by a well-organized barrage of fire. The leading battalions broke through the first enemy defense position and began to successfully advance forward. Following them, the main forces of the front’s strike group were brought into the battle, whose attack was supported by a double barrage of fire to a depth of three kilometers. So the actions forward battalions without a pause or additional artillery barrage, they developed into a general offensive by the troops of the front’s shock group.

The offensive took place in unfavorable weather conditions. Due to bad weather in the first two days of the operation, front aviation was unable to provide the necessary assistance to the advancing units. Therefore, the entire burden of fire support fell on the artillery and tanks of direct infantry support. Artillery and mortar fire was unexpected for the enemy and very effective. Individual enemy companies and battalions were almost completely destroyed. Having overcome the first positions of enemy defense, the front troops began to move forward.

The German command, trying to stop the Soviet troops, brought second echelons of infantry divisions and reserves of army corps into battle. In the breakthrough areas, the enemy launched numerous counterattacks, but all of them were repulsed.

By the end of the day, the troops advancing from the Magnuszew bridgehead crossed the Pilica River and penetrated 12 kilometers into the enemy’s defenses. Units of the 26th Guards rifle corps 5th shock army, commanded by Lieutenant General P. A. Firsov, broke through the first line of defense and wedged into the second. The success of the corps was ensured by the skillful use of artillery in the main direction.

The offensive from the Puła bridgehead developed even more successfully. Here, within a few hours, Soviet soldiers broke through the Nazi defense to the entire tactical depth. On the very first day, the 11th Tank Corps was brought into battle in the 69th Army zone, which dealt a strong blow to the enemy, crossed the Zvolenka River on the move, captured the Zvolen defense center and started fighting behind Radom. In the zone of the 33rd Army, the 9th Tank Corps entered the battle. Successful actions The troops of the left wing of the 1st Belorussian Front were facilitated by the deep advance of the armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front.

On the very first day of the offensive, troops of the 1st Belorussian Front broke through the main enemy defense line in two sectors separated by 30 kilometers, inflicted a heavy defeat on four infantry divisions and created favorable conditions for the further development of the operation. The Lodz newspaper, published by the occupiers, wrote on January 17, 1945: “The deceptive, abnormal silence on the Eastern Front has finally passed. The hurricane of fire raged again. The Soviets threw their months of accumulated masses of men and materials into battle. The battle that has flared up since last Sunday may surpass all previous great battles in the East.”

The fighting of many units and formations of the front did not stop at night. The next day, after 30-40 minutes of artillery preparation, Soviet troops continued their offensive. The 5th Shock Army under the command of Lieutenant General N. E. Berzarin, having broken the stubborn resistance of the enemy, crossed Pilitsa and pushed the enemy back in a northwestern direction. In the zone of action of the 8th Guards Army, commanded by Colonel-General V.I. Chuikov, the 1st Guards Tank Army under the command of Colonel-General of Tank Forces M.E. Katukov was introduced into the breakthrough, receiving the task of advancing in the direction of Nova -Myasto. Tank troops, having crossed Pilica, began to pursue the retreating enemy. Taking advantage of the success of tanks, rifle troops expanded the breakthrough to the north.

The command of the 9th German Army, trying to eliminate the success of the Soviet troops, brought into battle two tank divisions of the 40th Tank Corps, which was in reserve. But they were introduced into battle piecemeal on a wide front against both front groupings and were unable to stop the rapid advance of the Red Army.

In two-day battles, troops of the 1st Belorussian Front, operating from bridgeheads, defeated the troops of the 8th Army, 56th and 40th German Tank Corps, crossed the Radomka River and began fighting for the city of Radom. In the area of ​​the Magnuszew bridgehead, Soviet units and formations penetrated 25 kilometers into the enemy’s defenses, and in the area of ​​the Pulawy bridgehead - up to 40 kilometers. “By the evening of January 15,” Tippelskirch points out, “in the area from the Nida River to the Pilitz River there was no longer a continuous, organically connected German front. A terrible danger loomed over the units of the 9th Army still defending on the Vistula near Warsaw and to the south. There were no more reserves."

In the following days, the offensive of front troops from both bridgeheads reached great proportions.

On January 16, formations of the 1st Guards Tank Army, repelling numerous counterattacks of the 40th German Tank Corps, occupied the city of Nowe Miasto and quickly advanced in the Lodz direction. Following the tank units, rifle troops advanced. The 69th Army, commanded by Colonel General V. Ya. Kolpakchi, with the 11th Tank Corps stormed large knot enemy resistance by the city of Radom, after which the tankers crossed Radomka in their offensive zone and captured a bridgehead on its left bank. The assault on Radom was carried out with effective air support. At the request of the ground command, pilots of attack and bomber aircraft carried out precise strikes on the most important centers of defense, destroyed fortifications, destroying enemy manpower and military equipment. Using the results of aviation actions, advancing troops from three directions burst into the city and cleared it of enemy remnants.

The 33rd Army under the command of Colonel General V.D. Tsvetaev with the 9th Tank Corps approached the city of Szydlowiec and, together with the right-flank armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front, eliminated the Opatow-Ostrowiec ledge.

The fascist German command tried in vain to organize defense at a pre-prepared line along the Bzura, Ravka, Pilica rivers, to delay the advance of Soviet troops and ensure the withdrawal of their broken parts. Soviet troops immediately broke through this line and developed a rapid offensive to the west.

16th Air Army under the command of Colonel General SI Aviation. Rudenko, having complete air supremacy, launched massive attacks on enemy strongholds, counterattacking groups and reserves, and on the railway and highway junctions of Lodz, Sochaczew, Skierniewice, and Tomaszow Mazowiecki. Aviation operated with the greatest intensity against the enemy columns, which began retreating from Warsaw. In just one day, January 16, front aviation carried out 34/3 sorties, losing 54 aircraft. During the day, only 42 sorties of enemy aircraft were recorded.

Over the course of three days of fighting, the armies of the 1st Belorussian Front, advancing from the Magnuszewski and Pulawy bridgeheads, united and advanced 60 kilometers, expanding the breakthrough to 120 kilometers along the front. In addition, together with the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, they eliminated the enemy’s Opatow-Ostrowiec bulge.

By the end of January 17, the 5th Shock and 8th Guards armies were fighting in the areas of Skierniewice, Rawa Mazowiecka, and Gluchow. East of Nowe Miasto, Soviet troops encircled and destroyed the main forces of the enemy's 25th Tank Division, which did not have time to cross Pilica.

The 1st Guards Tank Army, pursuing the retreating enemy, reached the Olshovets area, the 69th and 33rd armies - to the Spala-Opochno area. On this day, cavalry formations were introduced into the battle in the direction of the main attack -

2nd Guards Cavalry Corps in the direction of Skierniewice Łowicz and 7th Guards Cavalry Corps in the direction of Tomaszów Mazowiecki. At the Skierniewice-Olszowiec line, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front found themselves on the same line with the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, advancing from the Sandomierz bridgehead.

Events in the Warsaw region developed successfully. On the morning of January 15, after a 55-minute artillery preparation, the 47th Army, operating on the right wing of the front north of Warsaw, went on the offensive. The army was commanded by Major General F.I. Perkhorovich. Soviet troops broke through the enemy's defenses, cleared the fascists between the Vistula and Western Bug rivers, liquidated the enemy bridgehead on the right bank of the Vistula and began crossing the river.

Having crossed the Vistula, the 47th Army occupied a bridgehead on its left bank on January 16 and, covering Warsaw from the north-west, approached the outskirts of the city. The first to cross the Vistula on the ice were a group of soldiers of the 3rd battalion of the 498th Infantry Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Zakir Sultanov and a company of machine gunners of the 1319th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Senior Lieutenant N.S. Sumchenko. For the heroic feat, all personnel who participated in crossing the river were awarded orders and medals, and the lieutenant. Sultanov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The 61st Army, operating south of Warsaw under the command of Colonel General P. A. Belov, approached the city and began to encircle the Warsaw group from the southwest.

On the morning of January 16, in the offensive zone of the 5th Shock Army from the bridgehead on Pilitz, the 2nd Guards Tank Army under the command of Colonel General of Tank Forces S.I. Bogdanov was introduced into the breakthrough. Tank troops, striking in a northwestern direction, captured the cities of Grojec and Zyrardow and by the end of the day approached Sochaczew. The next day they took this city by storm, reached the Bzura River and cut off the retreat routes of the Warsaw enemy group. Taking advantage of the success of the tankers, the rifle units of the 5th Shock Army began pursuing the retreating enemy. Having reached the Sochaczew area and enveloping the enemy’s Warsaw group from the north-west and south-west, Soviet troops put it in danger of encirclement. In this regard, on the night of January 17, German

The troops defending in the Warsaw area, contrary to Hitler's orders, began to retreat. Taking advantage of this, the 1st Army of the Polish Army went on the offensive, which was given the honor of being the first to enter the capital of Poland. The 2nd Infantry Division crossed the Vistula in the Jablonn area and launched an attack on Warsaw from the north. The main forces of the Polish army crossed the Vistula south of Warsaw and moved in a northwestern direction. Units of the 6th Infantry Division crossed the Vistula near Prague. The division's offensive was supported by the Soviet 31st special armored train division with its fire. Conducting continuous battles, the 1st Army of the Polish Army broke into Warsaw on the morning of January 17. At the same time, units of the 61st Army from the southwest and units of the 47th Army from the northwest entered Warsaw.

Active hostilities took place in the city. Heavy fighting took place on the streets of Podhorunzhikh, Marshalkovskaya, Jerusalem Alleys, on Dobroya Street, on Tamka, in the areas of city filters, the main station and Novy Svyat. At 12 o'clock on January 17, Polish and Soviet soldiers, having completed the liquidation of the enemy's rearguard units, completely liberated the capital of the Polish state. The commander of the 2nd Polish Infantry Division, Major General Jan Rotkiewicz, was appointed head of the garrison of liberated Warsaw, and Colonel Stanislaw Janowski was appointed commandant of the city. To the east of Sochaczew, Soviet tank crews and infantrymen fought to destroy the main forces of the enemy group, which was hastily retreating from Warsaw.

On this day, the Military Council of the 1st Belorussian Front reported to Headquarters that the front troops, “continuing the offensive, carried out a roundabout maneuver of the enemy’s Warsaw group with mobile troops and deep coverage by combined arms armies from the north and south and captured the capital of the Polish Republic, the city of Warsaw...”.

To commemorate the victory, Moscow saluted the formations of the 1st Belorussian Front and units of the 1st Army of the Polish Army, which liberated the capital of Poland, with 24 artillery salvoes from 324 guns. The formations and units that most distinguished themselves in the battles for the city received the name “Warsaw”. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 9, 1945, the medal “For the Liberation of Warsaw” was established, which was awarded to participants in the battles for this city.

The defeat of Nazi troops on the Vistula line and the liberation of Warsaw came as a surprise to the fascist leadership. For leaving Warsaw, Hitler demanded that the General Staff be severely punished ground forces and commander of Army Group A. To investigate the activities of the boss General Staff General G. Guderian appointed a commission headed by the deputy chief of the Gestapo, SS man E. Kaltenbrunner. The commander of Army Group A, Colonel General I. Harpe, accused of the Vistula disaster, was replaced by Colonel General F. Schörner, and the commander of the 9th German Army, General S. Lüttwitz, was replaced by Infantry General T. Busse.

The liberated city was a terrible sight. The former flourishing Warsaw, one of the most beautiful European capitals, no longer existed. The Nazi occupiers destroyed and plundered the Polish capital with unprecedented cruelty. During their hasty retreat, the Nazis set fire to everything that could burn. Houses have survived only on Shukha Alley and in the quarter where the Gestapo was located. The Citadel area was heavily mined. Fascist vandals destroyed all medical and educational institutions, the richest scientific and cultural values, destroyed St. John's Cathedral in the Old Town - the largest cathedral in Warsaw, the Royal Palace on Castle Square, the building of the Ministry of the Interior, the main post office on Napoleon Square, the city hall, severely damaged the Staszyc Palace, which housed many scientific institutions in Warsaw, the National Museum, the Belvedere , post office building, Krasiński Palace, Bolshoi Theater The Nazis destroyed many churches

Almost all historical and cultural monuments of the Polish people were blown up in the city, including monuments to Copernicus, Chopin, Mickiewicz, To the unknown soldier, column of King Sigismund III The enemy caused enormous damage to city parks and public gardens. The Nazis destroyed the main public utilities of the capital, blew up a power plant, bridges, took out all the most valuable equipment of factories and factories. By destroying Warsaw, the Nazis sought to cross out this city from the number of European capitals and insult national Polish feelings

For more than five years, the occupiers exterminated hundreds of thousands of Warsaw residents in concentration camps and Gestapo dungeons. At the time of the liberation of the Polish capital, there were only a few hundred people hiding in basements and sewer pipes. The rest of the population of Warsaw was evicted by the occupiers from the city in the fall of 1944 after the suppression of the Warsaw uprising About 600 thousand Warsaw residents experienced the horrors of the Pruszkow concentration camp. The commander of the 1st Army of the Polish Army, Lieutenant General S Poplawski, writes: “Warsaw, barbarously destroyed by the Nazi troops, was a depressing sight. In some places, residents of the city flashed on the streets, having suffered so much from the hated enemy

Driving through Unia Lubelska Square, we met a large group of people. I don’t know where the women took the flowers (after all, Warsaw was destroyed and engulfed in flames) and presented them to me and Lieutenant Colonel Yaroshevich. We were hugged by these people who had suffered so much from the occupation and cried, but they were already tears of joy, not grief"

The report of the Military Council of the 1st Belorussian Front to the Supreme High Command and the State Defense Committee stated “Fascist barbarians destroyed the capital of Poland - Warsaw. With the cruelty of sophisticated sadists, the Nazis destroyed block after block. The largest industrial enterprises were razed to the ground. Residential buildings were blown up or burned. The city economy was destroyed. Tens of thousands of residents. destroyed, the rest were driven out. The city is dead."

The news of the liberation of Warsaw spread with lightning speed. As the front moved to the west, the population of Warsaw began to increase rapidly. By noon on January 18, residents of the capital returned from the surrounding villages and hamlets to their hometown. The hearts of Warsaw residents were filled with great sorrow and anger when they saw the ruins of their capital

The population of Poland greeted their liberators with jubilation. Soviet and Polish flags were hung everywhere, spontaneous demonstrations, rallies, and demonstrations arose. The Poles felt a sense of great joy and patriotic uplift Everyone sought to express gratitude to the soldiers of the Red Army and the Polish Army for returning their beloved capital to the Polish people. A resident of Warsaw, composer Tadeusz Szigedinski said, “How we waited for you, dear comrades. With what hope we looked to the East in difficult, dark years of this terrible occupation Even in the most tragic moments, we were not left with the belief that you would come and with you the opportunity would come to work for the good of your people, to create, to live in peace, democracy, progress. Personally, my wife Mira and I associate the arrival of the Red Army with a return to active, vigorous activity in the field closest to us - the field of art, which was locked up for almost six years of German occupation"

On January 18, the capital of Poland was visited by the President of the Home Rada B. Bierut, the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government E. Osubka-Morawski, the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army Colonel General M. Rolya-Zhimierski and representatives of the Red Army command. They congratulated the people of Warsaw on their liberation from the Nazi occupiers.

On the evening of the same day, a meeting was held in the building of the city's People's Rada, which was attended by delegations from all districts of liberated Warsaw. Speaking at this rally, B. Bierut said: “The grateful Polish people will never forget who they owe their liberation to. With heartfelt fraternal friendship, which is sealed by jointly shed blood, the Poles will thank the freedom-loving Soviet people for the liberation of Poland from a terrible yoke, which has no equal in the history of mankind.”

The message of the Home Rada to the Soviet government on January 20 expressed the deepest and sincere gratitude to the entire Soviet people and their valiant Red Army. “The Polish people,” the message said, “will never forget that they received freedom and the opportunity to restore their independent state life thanks to brilliant victories Soviet weapons and thanks to the abundantly shed blood of heroic Soviet soldiers.

The joyful days of liberation from the German yoke that our people are now experiencing will further strengthen the unbreakable friendship between our peoples.”

In its response to this telegram, the Soviet government expressed confidence that the joint actions of the Red Army and the Polish Army would lead to a quick and complete liberation fraternal Polish people from the yoke of the Nazi invaders. This statement once again confirmed that the Soviet Union sincerely strives to help the people of Poland liberate the country from fascism and create a strong, independent, democratic Polish state.

Later, in honor of the soldiers of the Red Army and the Polish Army who died in the battles for the liberation of Warsaw and other cities of Poland from the Nazi invaders, grateful Warsaw residents erected a monumental monument to the Brotherhood in Arms on one of the central squares of the capital.

In an effort to alleviate the plight of the residents of destroyed Warsaw, the Soviet people provided them with food and medical assistance. 60 thousand tons of bread were sent to the population of Warsaw free of charge. The Executive Committee of the Union of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the Soviet Union sent two shipments of medicines, dressings and medical instruments to Poland. News of help Soviet people the population of Warsaw was greeted by the working people of Poland with great joy. Polska Zbroina, noting the generosity of the Soviet people of Belarus and Ukraine, wrote in those days: “Just a few months ago these peoples themselves were under German occupation, were devastated and robbed, and now they are helping the Polish people. We will never forget the fraternal help of the Soviet people."

Having liberated Warsaw, Soviet and Polish units, with the help of the population, began clearing the city of mines, rubble, barricades, broken bricks and garbage, as well as restoring public utilities. Sappers cleared mines from about a hundred government, scientific and cultural institutions, more than 2,300 different buildings, 70 public gardens and squares. In total, 84,998 different mines, 280 explosive traps, and about 50 landmines containing 43,500 kilograms of explosives were discovered and neutralized in the city. The length of the streets and avenues cleared by sappers was almost 350 kilometers. By the morning of January 19, sappers of the 1st Belorussian Front and the 1st Army of the Polish Army built a pontoon bridge across the Vistula, connecting Prague with Warsaw. By January 20, a one-way wooden bridge had been built; At the same time, a pontoon crossing across the Vistula north of Jablonna was established.

Despite the difficult situation of the city, the Polish Provisional Government soon moved from Lublin to the capital. It decided to completely restore the destroyed Warsaw and make it more beautiful than before.

The liberation of Warsaw ended important stage Vistula-Oder operation. Troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts, with the assistance of the 2nd Belorussian and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, within 4-6 days, broke through enemy defenses in a zone of 500 kilometers to a depth of 100-160 kilometers and reached the Sochaczew-Tomaszow line -Mazowiecki-Czestochowa. During this time, they defeated the main forces of the Nazi Army Group A, liberated a number of cities, including Warsaw, Radom, Kielce, Czestochowa and over 2,400 other settlements. Exceptionally favorable conditions were created for the further development of the operation to great depths at a high pace.

On January 17, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command clarified the tasks of the troops operating in Poland. The 1st Ukrainian Front was supposed to continue the attack on Breslau with its main forces with the goal of reaching the Oder south of Leszno no later than January 30 and seizing bridgeheads on the left bank of the river. The left-flank armies had to liberate Krakow no later than January 20-22, and then advance on the Dombrovsky coal region, bypassing it from the north and part of the forces from the south. It was proposed to use the army of the second echelon of the front to bypass the Dombrovsky region from the north in the general direction of Kozel. The 1st Belorussian Front was ordered to continue the attack on Poznan and, no later than February 2-4, to capture the Bydgoszcz-Poznan line.

Following these instructions, troops on both fronts launched a rapid offensive in all directions. It was distinguished by great courage and determination. The pursuit of the enemy did not stop day or night. The main forces of the tank and combined arms armies moved in forced marches in columns, with mobile detachments in front. If necessary, to repel flank counterattacks and fight large enemy groups remaining in the rear of the advancing troops, separate units and formations were allocated, which after completing the task joined the main forces. The average rate of advance of Soviet tank armies was 40-45, and that of combined arms - up to 30 kilometers per day. On some days, tank troops advanced at a speed of up to 70, and combined arms - 40-45 kilometers per day.

During the operation political bodies and party organizations tirelessly supported the high offensive impulse of the troops. This was favored by the situation on the entire Soviet-German front. The final victory over Nazi Germany was close. Newspapers wrote about enormous successes at the front and in the rear, announced the capture of cities by Soviet troops, and explained the liberation mission of the Red Army. At rest stops, during breaks between battles, in every free minute, political workers held conversations, introduced the soldiers to messages from the Soviet Information Bureau, orders of the Supreme High Command, read patriotic articles and combat correspondence of remarkable Soviet writers - Alexei Tolstoy, Mikhail Sholokhov, Ilya Ehrenburg, Boris Gorbatov, Konstantin Simonov, Alexander Tvardovsky, Boris Polevoy.

Calling on the soldiers to quickly move forward, the command and political authorities periodically informed the troops how many kilometers remained to the German border, to the Oder, to Berlin. On the pages of newspapers, in leaflets, in oral and printed propaganda, effective fighting slogans were put forward: “Forward to Germany!”, “Towards Berlin!”, “To the lair of the fascist beast!”, “Let us rescue our brothers and sisters, driven away by the Nazi invaders into the fascist captivity! All this increased the morale of soldiers and commanders and mobilized them for new feats of arms. The offensive impulse of the Soviet soldiers was exceptionally high. They sought to fulfill the tasks facing them as best as possible, complete the liberation of Poland, quickly cross the German border and transfer military operations to enemy soil.

On January 18, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front launched a fight for the Upper Silesian industrial region and approached the old Polish-German border. The next day, the 3rd Guards Tank, 5th Guards and 52nd armies crossed the border east of Breslau (Wroclaw). From January 20 to 23 to the territory of Germany, that is, to the old Polish lands, captured by the Germans, other units and formations of the front also entered. The 21st Army under the command of Colonel General D.N. Gusev, entering the battle from the second echelon of the front, broke through the enemy’s defenses on the Warta River northeast of Katowice and struck the enemy’s Silesian group from the north.

Thus, the Silesian enemy group, operating to the west and southwest of Częstochowa, was deeply outflanked on both flanks. Having established the threat of encirclement, the fascist German command ordered the withdrawal of this group.

To thwart the enemy's plan and speed up the liberation of the Upper Silesian industrial region, Marshal of the Soviet Union I. S. Konev turned the 3rd Guards Tank Army and the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps from the Namslau area along the right bank of the Oder to Oppeln, from where these troops were supposed to attack Rybnik, deliver a flank attack on the Silesian enemy group operating in the offensive zone of the 5th Guards Army, and together with the latter complete the defeat of the retreating enemy troops.

On January 21, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front began to reach the Oder. At the Oder line, Soviet troops encountered powerful structures. The fascist command concentrated large forces here, introduced Volkssturm battalions, reserve and rear units.

In preparation for crossing the Oder, a lot of political work was carried out in parts of both fronts. The troops were announced that all units, formations, and soldiers who were the first to cross the Oder would be presented with government awards, and the most distinguished soldiers and officers would be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Active work was carried out at all levels of the party-political apparatus - from the political department of the army to the party organizers of the units. Political workers quickly mobilized personnel to complete the task of overcoming this water obstacle.

The fighting for the Oder, especially on the bridgeheads, became fierce. However, Soviet soldiers skillfully broke into the enemy's long-term defenses. In many areas, Soviet soldiers immediately crossed to the left bank of the river, taking advantage of the disorganization of the enemy. The troops of the 4th Tank Army broke through to the Oder before others. On the night of January 22, the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps of this army reached the river in the Keben area (north of Steinau) and crossed the river on the move, capturing 18 powerful three-story pillboxes of the Breslavl fortified area on its left bank. On January 22, the remaining forces of the army were transported across the river. The first in the corps to cross the river was the 16th Guards Mechanized Brigade under the command of Colonel V. E. Ryvzh. For his skillful actions and demonstrated courage, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On January 23, units of the 21st Army reached the Oder in the Oppeln area and approached Tarnowske Góry and Beyten. On the same day, the rifle troops of the 13th, 52nd and 5th Guards Armies reached the Oder and began crossing. In the 5th Guards Army, units of the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General N.F. Lebedenko, broke through to the Oder before others. Without waiting for the completion of the construction of pontoon crossings, the troops used improvised means, boats, dinghies. When crossing the river, communists and Komsomol members showed examples of heroism. Party organizer of the 1st rifle company of the 44th regiment of the 15th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Guards Army, assistant platoon commander Sergeant Major AbdullaShaimov, having received the task of crossing the Oder, gathered the communists, and they decided to set an example in the upcoming battles. When the company began to carry out the order, the party organizer was the first in the unit to walk on thin ice. The company soldiers followed him one after another. Despite the enemy's machine-gun fire, Soviet soldiers crossed to the left bank of the Oder, broke into the Nazi trenches and quickly attacked them. Having captured a bridgehead, the company held it until the main forces of the regiment arrived. When the enemy launched a counterattack, trying to throw the brave men into the water, the Soviet soldiers showed exceptional tenacity, heroism and courage.

At the end of January, front formations reached the Oder in the entire offensive zone, and in the area of ​​​​Breslavl and Ratibor they crossed it, capturing important bridgeheads on the left bank of the river.

While the troops were approaching the Oder, the 59th and 60th armies, operating on the left flank of the front, overcame the defensive contours of Krakow in fierce battles and on January 19 stormed this important military-industrial, political and administrative center, the old capital of Poland . After the liberation of Krakow, the 59th and 60th armies, advancing in cooperation with the 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front, bypassed the Silesian group from the south and on January 27 reached the city of Rybnik, almost closing the ring around the enemy troops.

On the same day, troops from these armies broke into the city of Auschwitz and occupied the territory of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The rapid advance of the Red Army prevented the Nazis from destroying the structures of this gigantic “death factory” and covering up the traces of their bloody crimes. Several thousand camp prisoners, whom Hitler’s monsters did not manage to destroy or evacuate to the west, saw the sun of freedom.

In Auschwitz, a terrible picture of the monstrous crimes of the German fascist government was revealed before the eyes of the people. Soviet soldiers discovered crematoria, gas chambers, various instruments of torture. In the huge warehouses of the camp, 7 thousand kilograms of hair were stored, taken by Hitler’s executioners from the heads of 140 thousand women and prepared for shipment to Germany, boxes with powder from human bones, bales with clothes and shoes of prisoners, a huge number of dentures, glasses and other items selected those sentenced to death.

The revelation of the dark secret of Auschwitz, which the Nazis carefully guarded, made a huge impression on the world community. The true face of German fascism appeared before all humanity, which, with devilish cruelty and methodicality, used science and technology to exterminate millions of people. The liberation of Auschwitz served to further expose the bloody ideology of fascism.

The offensive of the armies of the left wing of the front from the north and east and the entry of the 3rd Guards Tank Army and the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps into enemy communications put him in an extremely difficult situation. Finding themselves semi-encircled, the fascist German units began to hastily abandon the cities of the industrial region and retreat in a southwestern direction beyond the Oder. Pursuing the enemy, front troops occupied the Katowice center of Upper Silesia on January 28, and then cleared almost all of Silesia from the enemy. The Nazis, who escaped encirclement in the Upper Silesian industrial region, were defeated in the forests to the west of it.

As a result of the swift attack by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, the enemy failed to destroy the industrial facilities of Upper Silesia, which were of enormous economic and strategic importance. The Polish government was able to immediately put Silesian enterprises and mines into operation.

From February 1 to 3, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front With Through stubborn battles they crossed the Oder and captured bridgeheads on the left bank in the areas of Olau and north-west of Oppeln. Developing the offensive from both bridgeheads, they broke through the enemy’s heavily fortified long-term positions southwest of Brig and on the Neisse River and by February 4 advanced forward up to 30 kilometers, captured Olau, Brig, connecting both bridgeheads into a single bridgehead up to 85 kilometers wide and 30 kilometers deep. .

The 2nd Air Army, which destroyed enemy personnel and military equipment, provided great support to the advancing troops in the Upper Silesian industrial region. A squadron of Il-2 attack aircraft under the command of Hero of the Soviet Union, Captain V. I. Andrianov, delivered a sharp blow to the enemy’s echelons at the Tarnowiske Góry station. Nine aircraft of this squadron approached the target from the direction of the sun. When enemy anti-aircraft gunners opened fire, specially designated aircraft suppressed the enemy's air defense system. Soviet falcons attacked trains with Nazi troops and equipment and burned 50 wagons. For successful combat missions brave pilot Captain V.I. Andrianov was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for the second time.

During the further offensive, the position of the Soviet troops became more complicated. Aviation combat operations were limited by the lack of airfields and the difficulties of preparing them in conditions of spring thaw, so Soviet pilots were forced to use highways for takeoff and landing. Thus, the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division, under the command of three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel A.I. Pokryshkin, used the Breslau-Berlin highway as a runway. In cases where it was impossible to take off, the planes had to be dismantled and transported by car to airfields with a hard surface.

The offensive of the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front developed successfully. The fascist German command tried to use the remaining forces to hold certain lines and areas in order to slow down the advance of Soviet troops, gain time, tighten up strategic reserves and restore the defensive front. It placed great hopes on the Grossdeutschland tank corps, which, on Hitler’s personal orders, was transferred from East Prussia to Poland. However, according to Tippelskirch, this corps “spent precious days on the road, already during unloading in the Lodz area it encountered Russian troops and, involved in the general retreat, was never used.”

In addition to the Greater Germany tank corps, other formations and units arrived in Poland. By January 20, the Nazi command transferred five more divisions here, including two from the Western Front and three divisions from the Carpathian region. But nothing could stop the advance of the Red Army. Soviet troops continued to advance with active support from aviation, which intensified attacks on enemy railway targets.

On January 18, front troops completed the liquidation of the encircled troops west of Warsaw. The remnants of the defeated Warsaw fortress division, who fled north across the Vistula, became part of Army Group Center. Troops of the 1st Polish Army cleared the area southeast of Warsaw of the enemy and liberated a number of settlements, including the city of Pruszkow, where there was a transit concentration camp in which there were about 700 Polish prisoners, mostly residents of Warsaw. Before leaving the city, the Germans took the prisoners to Germany, and sent the sick and disabled to the so-called “hospitals” for extermination. After the liberation of the Warsaw and Pruszkow regions, the Polish army received the task of reaching the left bank of the Vistula west of Modlin and following the 47th Army in the second echelon of the front, protecting the right flank of the front from possible enemy attacks from the north.

On January 19, troops of the 1st Belorussian Front captured the large industrial city of Lodz. The Nazis did not have time to cause any destruction in the city and did not even evacuate valuable machines and equipment prepared for shipment to Germany. Most factories and factories had a supply of raw materials for two to three months. The main cadre of workers also remained in place.

The population of Lodz joyfully greeted the Soviet soldiers. Residents of the city took to the streets with red armbands and flags. Red flags were hung on houses. Shouts of “Long live the Red Army!” were heard from all sides. Rallies took place in different parts of the city.

During January 20-23, front troops advanced 130-140 kilometers. On the right wing of the front, as a result of a flanking maneuver carried out by part of the forces of the 2nd Guards Tank Army and the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps, a large enemy stronghold, the fortress city of Bydgoszcz, which was part of the Poznan defense line system, was occupied.

Due to the fact that the main forces of the 2nd Belorussian Front turned north to encircle the East Prussian group, the right wing of the 1st Belorussian Front, stretching for 160 kilometers, remained open. The fascist German command decided to take advantage of this to strike at the northern flank of the front advancing in the Berlin direction. To this end, it hastily created a strong group of troops in Eastern Pomerania.

On January 26, the army groups on the Eastern Front were reorganized. The troops operating in East Prussia became part of Army Group North; The group defending in Pomerania received the name Army Group Vistula, Army Group A was renamed Army Group Center.

Taking into account the situation, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on January 27 ordered the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front to reliably secure his right flank from possible enemy attacks from the north and northeast. Marshal G.K. Zhukov decided to bring the second echelon armies into the battle here (3rd Shock Army and 1st Army of the Polish Army) and allocate part of the forces of the shock group (47th and 61st Armies). Later, the 1st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies, the cavalry corps and many reinforcement units were redeployed to the north. The remaining troops were able to continue advancing in the Berlin direction. Leading a rapid offensive, they freed prisoners from various concentration camps. For example, prisoners of concentration camps located in the Helin Forest of Kołowo County, in Lodz, in the Schneidemühl area and in many other places were released.

On the left wing, despite fierce enemy resistance, front troops broke through the Poznan defense line and on January 23 surrounded the Poznan group, numbering 62 thousand people.

On January 29, troops of the 1st Belorussian Front crossed the German border. In this regard, the Military Council of the front reported to the Supreme High Command and the State Defense Committee: “Your order - to defeat the enemy group opposing the front forces with a powerful blow and quickly reach the Polish-German border line - has been carried out.

During 17 days of offensive battles, front troops covered up to 400 kilometers. The entire western part of Poland in the zone of the 1st Belorussian Front has been cleared of the enemy, and the Polish population, oppressed by the Germans for five and a half years, has been liberated.

The rapid advance of troops prevented the Nazis from destroying cities and industrial enterprises, railways and highways, did not give them the opportunity to hijack and exterminate the Polish population, take out livestock and food...

Having carried out, together with the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 2nd Belorussian Fronts, your order to rescue our Polish brothers from fascist captivity, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front are determined to achieve complete and final victory in the shortest possible time, together with the entire Red Army over Hitler's Germany."

The crossing of the German border was big holiday for Soviet soldiers and officers. At rallies in the units, they said: “Finally, we have achieved what we strived for, what we dreamed about for more than three years, for which we shed blood.” The walls of houses, roadside billboards and cars were full of slogans: “Here it is, Nazi Germany!”, “We’ve waited!”, “The holiday has come on our street!” The troops were in high spirits. The fighters rushed forward. Soldiers and officers who were being treated in hospitals asked to be returned to their units as soon as possible. “We covered more than 400 kilometers in two weeks,” said F.P. Bondarev, a non-partisan soldier of the 83rd regiment of the 27th Guards Rifle Division, who was being treated in the hospital, “there is not much left to Berlin. And the only thing I want now is to recover as quickly as possible, get back into service and storm Berlin.” Party member private 246th regiment of the 82nd Guards Rifle Division A.L. Romanov said: “I am an old guardsman... I ask the doctors to quickly cure me and return me to my unit. I am sure that our guards will be the first to enter Berlin, and I should be in their ranks."

The victorious entry of the Red Army into German territory greatly reduced the political and moral state of the German population. Goebbels's propaganda about the “atrocities of the Bolsheviks” no longer gave the desired result. Defeatist sentiments undermined the combat effectiveness of the enemy army. Now the fascist German leadership increasingly had to resort to repression at the front and in the rear. The Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces, General G. Guderian, gave a special order to the soldiers of the German Eastern Front, in which he urged the troops not to lose heart and not lose the will to resist. He claimed that large reinforcements were approaching the front and German command has a new plan for preparing for a counteroffensive.

The population of Germany initially feared the Red Army. Many Germans, frightened by false propaganda, expected mass repressions and executions of everyone, even the elderly, women and children. But they soon realized that the Red Army did not come to Germany for revenge. to the German people, but as his liberator from fascist oppression. Of course, there were individual instances of revenge by Soviet soldiers against the resisting Germans, which was a natural expression of the hatred that every Soviet person could not help but feel for the country and people who allowed the barbaric rampant of fascism. However, it was not these cases, fanned by propaganda hostile to the Soviet Union, that determined the behavior of the Red Army soldiers.

The population of Germany followed all the orders of the Soviet command, the Soviet military commandant's offices, carefully went to work to clear the streets of debris, repair bridges, roads and improve cities. The bulk of workers and engineering personnel willingly returned to production. Many Germans helped the Soviet authorities catch saboteurs, betrayed hiding leading figures of the Nazi Party, Gestapo executioners of concentration camps.

Upon entering German territory, political workers called on Soviet soldiers and officers to be vigilant, to treat the German population who were loyal to the Red Army humanely, to respect the honor and dignity of the Soviet people and not to allow the destruction of material assets, including industrial enterprises, raw materials, communications and transport, agricultural equipment, housing stock, household property.

Much explanatory work was carried out among German troops and the population. For this purpose, leaflets were scattered, broadcasts were organized in German through loudspeaker installations, and German anti-fascists were sent behind the front line - to the rear of Hitler's army. In the 1st Ukrainian Front alone, during the operation, 29 leaflets were published under different names with a total circulation of 3 million 327 thousand copies. All these leaflets were distributed in the army and among the population of Germany. Such work contributed to weakening the resistance of the Nazi troops.

At the end of January and beginning of February, the most intense battles took place on the right wing and in the center of the 1st Belorussian Front. The Germans showed particularly stubborn resistance in the positions of the Pomeranian Wall west of Bydgoszcz. Relying on engineering fortifications, German tanks and infantry continuously counterattacked the troops of the 47th Army and in some places drove them back south of the Notets River. On January 29, the 1st Army of the Polish Army was brought into battle here, and on January 31, the 3rd Shock Army under the command of Lieutenant General N.P. Simonyak.

On February 1, troops of the 47th and 61st armies, in cooperation with the 12th Tank Corps of the 2nd Guards Tank Army, surrounded an enemy group in the Schneidemühl area. The 1st Army of the Polish Army and the 47th Army and the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps, which interacted with it, completed the breakthrough of the positions of the Pomeranian Wall and started fighting to the west of it. By February 3, the troops of the right-flank armies reached the line north of Bydgoszcz-Arnswalde-Zeden, turning their front to the north.

The 2nd Guards Tank and 5th Shock Armies, advancing in the center of the front, reached the Oder north of Küstrin and crossed the river, and by the end of February 3, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front had completely cleared the right bank of the Oder from the enemy in the entire front offensive zone to south of Tseden. Only at Küstrin and Frankfurt did Nazi units hold small bridgehead fortifications. South of Küstrin, front troops captured a second bridgehead on the left bank of the Oder. At the same time, there were continuous fierce battles to eliminate the encircled Poznań and Przeidemühl enemy groups.

From February 2, enemy aviation sharply increased its activity, especially in the zone of action of the 5th Shock Army, which was fighting for the Kyustrin bridgehead. Nazi bombers in groups of 50-60 aircraft bombed infantry battle formations on the bridgehead and attacked mobile troops.

In just one day, Nazi aviation carried out about 2,000 sorties, and on February 3 - 3,080.

Hitler's command, trying at all costs to stop the advance of Soviet troops on the Oder, sent large forces here. In the last ten days of January, two armies of the newly formed Army Group Vistula began operating in the offensive zone of the 1st Belorussian Front. In addition, in Army Group Center (formerly Army Group A), two new corps departments, an infantry division and a tank brigade were completing their formation. The headquarters of the tank and army corps, two tank and one ski divisions arrived from the Carpathian region to the Oder line. In early February, other fascist German formations also approached the Oder. Enemy resistance intensified. The advance of the Soviet troops at the Oder River line gradually slowed down, and by February 3 it stopped for some time.

As the Soviet troops moved forward, difficulties in their material, technical and medical support increased. The retreating enemy destroyed railways, roads, bridges and other important objects between the Vistula and Oder. Therefore, from the very beginning of the offensive, supply bases began to be separated from the front troops. To ensure the uninterrupted supply of material resources, it was necessary to restore railways and dirt roads and build bridges across the Vistula as soon as possible. These works were entrusted to the railway and road troops.

Thanks to good organization of work, heroism personnel railway and road troops, the high patriotic impulse of the restorers, railway bridges across the Vistula were built in an exceptionally short time. On January 22, rail traffic began west of Sandomierz. On January 23, 12 days earlier than scheduled, train traffic across the bridge near Dęblin opened, and on January 29, the bridge near Warsaw was ready for trains to pass through. The soldiers of the 5th Railway Brigade especially distinguished themselves during the restoration of roads and bridges. Assessing the heroism of the personnel of the railway units, the Military Council of the 1st Belorussian Front in a telegram addressed to the commander of the 5th railway brigade, Colonel T. K. Yatsyno, noted: “Your soldiers, sergeants and officers, with their heroic work, provided an invaluable service to the front troops in providing them further rapid pursuit of the enemy."

Following the advancing troops, the railway units carried out great job for re-lining and laying railway tracks, restoring turnouts, repairing and restoring bridges. However, the pace of restoration of railway traffic west of the Vistula sharply lagged behind the pace of troop advance. By the time railway traffic across the Vistula opened, the troops had advanced 300-400 kilometers. Therefore, the main supplies located on the right bank of the Vistula were delivered to the troops by road.

For the uninterrupted operation of road transport, road units cleared roads of rubble and broken equipment, cleared traffic areas, and built a large number of bridges. For example, the road troops of the 1st Belorussian Front served over 11 thousand kilometers of dirt roads during the operation. During the operation, the road units of the 1st Ukrainian Front built about 2.5 thousand and repaired more than 1.7 thousand linear meters of bridges.

By the end of the operation, road transport had to deliver cargo to troops over a distance of 500-600 kilometers. On the 1st Belorussian Front, over 900 thousand tons of cargo and 180 thousand people were transported, on the 1st Ukrainian Front - more than 490 thousand tons of cargo and about 20 thousand people.

The intensive work of vehicles caused increased fuel consumption. To ensure timely delivery of fuel, additional tanks were installed on railway platforms, a large number of trucks were used, and gasoline consumption was strictly limited. Thanks to the measures taken, interruptions in the supply of fuel were gradually eliminated.

The high pace of the offensive and the significant depth of the operation in the absence of railway communication to the west of the Vistula made it difficult to evacuate the wounded and required enormous stress in the work of evacuation road transport. The lack of tents made it difficult to set up hospitals outside populated areas in winter. Hospitals did not have time to move after the rapidly advancing troops. In a number of cases, the provision of qualified and specialized medical care was delayed. But where hospitals were moved to the front line, assistance to the wounded was provided in a timely manner. Despite the difficult conditions of the offensive in Poland, the medical service coped with its tasks.

By reaching the Oder and capturing bridgeheads on its left bank, the Red Army completed one of the largest strategic operations of the Great Patriotic War. In the Vistula-Oder operation, the most important tasks of the final campaign of the third period of the Great Patriotic War were solved. Soviet troops defeated the main forces of the Nazi Army Group A, liberated a significant part of Poland with its capital Warsaw and transferred the fighting to German territory. Thanks to this, the Polish people, who suffered for five and a half years under the yoke of the Nazi occupiers, gained independence.

Units of the Polish Army took an active part in the liberation of Poland, making a valuable contribution to the victory over fascism. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with Soviet soldiers against a common enemy, Polish patriots showed high combat skill, courage and bravery. Poland was a loyal ally of the USSR in the selfless fight against Nazi Germany.

Having invaded the borders of Nazi Germany to the Oder River and launched military operations on enemy territory, the Red Army troops approached Berlin 60-70 kilometers and thus created favorable preconditions for a successful offensive in the Berlin and Dresden directions.

During the operation, Soviet troops destroyed 35 enemy divisions and inflicted losses of over 60-75 percent on the other 25 divisions. They forced the Nazi command to transfer to the central direction of the Soviet-German front an additional 40 divisions and a large amount of military equipment from the Western and Italian fronts, from their reserve and from other sections of the Soviet-German front.

According to the headquarters of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, Soviet troops during the Vistula-Oder operation captured more than 147,400 soldiers and officers, captured 1,377 tanks and self-propelled guns, 8,280 guns of various calibers, 5,707 mortars, 19,490 machine guns, 1,360 aircraft and many other military equipment. An even larger amount of enemy manpower and military equipment was destroyed.

During the offensive, Soviet troops liberated tens of thousands of citizens of various nationalities from fascist captivity. By February 15, 49,500 liberated people were registered at the collection points of the 1st Ukrainian Front alone. In addition, many Soviet people, alone and in groups, made their way to their homeland.

In accordance with the current situation, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command in the offensive between the Vistula and Oder used one of the most effective forms of conducting strategic operations, which consisted in fragmenting the enemy front in various sectors with several powerful blows, merging in their development into one deep frontal blow aimed at the heart Germany - Berlin. The attacks of the Soviet troops, carried out simultaneously in five directions, made it possible to quickly break through the enemy’s defenses and rapidly advance in depth on a wide front.

The Vistula-Oder operation reached enormous proportions. It unfolded on a front 500 kilometers long and 450-500 kilometers deep and lasted 23 days. The average rate of advance was 20-22 kilometers per day. By concentrating large forces in the offensive zones of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, the Soviet command achieved significant superiority over the enemy. Thanks to the skillful use of forces and means in the directions of the main attacks, high densities of troops and military equipment were created, necessary to successfully break through the enemy’s defenses and pursue them to great depths.

The deep echeloning of forces and assets, the allocation of second-echelon armies, mobile groups and the presence of reserves ensured a continuous increase in the power of attacks and a rapid offensive to overcome numerous fortified defense lines. The operation is also characterized by the high art of operational maneuver by large formations with the aim of bypassing, enveloping and defeating enemy groups in the areas of Warsaw, the Ostrowiec-Patow ledge, the Upper Silesian industrial region, in the fortresses of Schneidemühle, Poznan, Leszno, etc.

Tank armies, separate tank and mechanized corps, which had high mobility, played a major role in the operation. impact force and firepower. They participated in completing the breakthrough of enemy defenses in tactical depth, developed tactical success into operational success, contributed to the deep dissection of the defense, surrounded Nazi troops, fought against the enemy’s operational reserves, pursued his retreating groups, captured and held important objects and lines until the main forces of the fronts arrived. Tank troops advanced ahead of the combined arms armies, paving their way to the west.

The operation was also characterized by the massing of huge artillery weapons in the most important directions, especially when breaking through enemy defenses and introducing mobile formations into the breakthrough. In order to deliver a sudden and simultaneous fire strike throughout the entire breakthrough sector, artillery preparation planning was centralized on the scale of the fronts. During the period of artillery preparation, enemy defenses were suppressed to the depth of its main zone (5-6 or more kilometers). All armies skillfully organized artillery support for the penetration of tank armies, tank and mechanized corps. To provide artillery support for the offensive, several artillery corps and breakthrough divisions participated in the operation, which skillfully maneuvered on the battlefield.

Soviet aviation, continuously maintaining air superiority, provided direct support to ground forces throughout the entire operation and protected them from the impact of enemy aircraft. The main efforts of aviation were concentrated on the directions of the main attacks of the fronts. When developing a breakthrough and pursuing enemy troops, attack, bomber and fighter aircraft destroyed the enemy's retreating columns and disrupted the movement of his troops along important communications.

The activities of the military logistics took place in difficult conditions. As the troops moved westward, the distance between the troops and the unloading stations increased. Supply bases were cut off from the advancing troops, communications were stretched. The need arose for the simultaneous use of Soviet and Western European gauge railway transport. The armies did not have their own railway sections, and the entire supply of material supplies over vast distances occurred only by road transport. But, despite the non-stop offensive, the necessary supplies of ammunition, fuel, and food were delivered to the troops in a timely manner. The presence in the fronts and armies of a large number of reserve mobile medical institutions, free hospital beds, sanitary equipment, as well as the dedicated work of the medical service made it possible to successfully cope with challenging task medical support for troops on the offensive.

During the operation, active party political work was continuously carried out. Along with the ideological education of Soviet soldiers, mass political work among the population of Poland and Germany acquired great importance during this period. The morale of the Soviet troops was exceptionally high. The soldiers and commanders overcame any difficulties and showed massive heroism.

The powerful blow inflicted by Soviet troops on the enemy in January 1945 in Poland testified to the further growth of the power of the Red Army, the high level of military art of Soviet commanders and the combat skills of soldiers and officers.

The Vistula-Oder operation, grandiose in concept, scope and skill in execution, aroused the admiration of the entire Soviet people and was highly appreciated by both our allies and the enemy. W. Churchill’s message to I.V. Stalin dated January 27, 1945 said: “We are fascinated by your glorious victories over the common enemy and the powerful forces that you have brought against him. Please accept our warmest gratitude and congratulations on the occasion of historical feats."

The foreign press, radio commentators and military observers devoted great attention the victorious offensive of the Red Army in January 1945, unanimously recognizing that it was superior to all offensive operations of the Second World War. The New York Times newspaper wrote on January 18, 1945: “... the Russian offensive is developing with such lightning speed that the campaigns of German troops in Poland in 1939 and France in 1940 pale in comparison... After breaking through the German lines, the Russians split the enemy troops retreating to the Oder..."

The famous American military observer Hanson Baldwin published an article “Russian offensive changes the strategic character of the war,” in which he stated that “the colossal winter offensive of the Russians in an instant changed the entire strategic face of the war. The Red Army is now advancing in battle to the borders of German Silesia... The war has reached a new critical moment, critical for Germany. A breakthrough of the German line on the Vistula could soon turn the siege of Germany into a campaign on German territory."

The English official The Times wrote on January 20, 1945: “The Germans are fleeing southern Poland... The enemy is faced with the question not of where he will gain a foothold on the open plains between the Vistula and Berlin, but whether he will be able to stop at all. The fact that this is highly doubtful is evidenced by the appeals with which the Nazi government addresses the army and the people. It admits that never before in the entire war has the German front experienced such pressure as it is now in the east, and declares that the continued existence of the Reich is at stake...”

The January offensive of the Red Army in 1945 is no less highly valued by West German military historians today. Former general of the fascist German army F. Mellenthin writes: “... the Russian offensive developed with unprecedented force and swiftness. It was clear that their High Command had completely mastered the technique of organizing the offensive of huge mechanized armies... It is impossible to describe everything that happened between the Vistula and Oder in the first months of 1945. Europe has not seen anything like this since the fall of the Roman Empire.”

World War II. 1939–1945. History of the Great War Nikolai Alexandrovich Shefov

The tragedy of Poland

The tragedy of Poland

On September 1, 1939, at 4:40 a.m., German troops invaded Poland. Thus began the Second World War. The bone of contention between the two countries was the so-called “Danzig Corridor”. Created Treaty of Versailles In order to provide Poland with access to the sea, the Danzig region cut off German territory from East Prussia.

The reason for the German attack on Poland was the refusal of the Polish government to transfer the free city of Danzig to Germany and grant it the right to build extraterritorial highways to East Prussia. In a broader sense, the aggression against Poland was only a new stage in the implementation of Hitler’s program to seize “living space.” If in the case of Austria and Czechoslovakia Nazi leader managed to achieve his goals with the help of diplomatic games, threats and blackmail, now a new stage in the implementation of his program began - force.

“I have completed the political preparations, the road is now open for the soldier,” Hitler said before the invasion. Having secured the support of the Soviet Union, Germany no longer needed to flirt with the West. Hitler no longer needed Chamberlain's Berchtesgaden visit. “Let this “man with an umbrella” dare to come to me in Berchtesgaden,” the Fuhrer said about Chamberlain in the circle of his like-minded people. - I'll kick him down the stairs with a kick in the ass. And I will make sure that as many journalists as possible are present at this scene.”

Composition of the armed forces of Germany and Poland in the German-Polish War of 1939

Hitler concentrated two-thirds of all his divisions against Poland, as well as all tanks and aircraft available to Germany. He left thirty-three divisions on the western border to repel a possible French attack. The French had 70 divisions and 3 thousand tanks against them. However, despite France and England declaring war on Germany on September 3, these forces were never actively involved. Hitler's risk in this case was completely justified. The passivity of France and England allowed Germany not to worry about its western borders, which largely determined the final success of the Wehrmacht in the east.

Early on the morning of September 1, German troops moved forward, advancing on both flanks of the wide arc that the Polish border represented. Up to 40 divisions operated in the first echelon, including all available mechanized and motorized formations, followed by another 13 reserve divisions.

The attack on Poland gave the German command the opportunity to test in practice their theories on the use of large tank and air formations. The massive use of tank and motorized forces with the active support of large aviation forces allowed the Germans to carry out a blitzkrieg operation in Poland. While the bombers disorganized the rear, German tanks made a breakthrough in a clearly defined location. For the first time, tanks operated en masse to accomplish a strategic mission.

The Poles had nothing to oppose to six German tank divisions. Especially their country the best way suitable for demonstrating blitzkrieg. The length of its borders was very significant and amounted to a total of about 3,500 miles, of which 1,250 miles were on the German-Polish border (after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the length of this section of the border increased to 1,750 miles). The million-strong Polish army was fairly evenly dispersed along the borders, which did not have strong defensive lines. This gave the Germans a convenient opportunity to create significant superiority in certain areas of the breakthrough.

The flat terrain ensured high rates of advancement for the aggressor's mobile forces. Using the border line covering Polish territory from the west and north, as well as superiority in aviation and tanks, the German command carried out a major operation to encircle and destroy Polish troops.

German troops operated as part of two army groups: Northern under the command of General von Bock (3rd and 4th armies - a total of 25 divisions) and Southern under the command of General von Rundstedt (8th, 10th and 14th armies - only 35 divisions). They were opposed by 6 Polish armies and the Narew group under the overall command of Marshal E. Rydz-Smigly.

The success of the German troops in Poland was also facilitated by the miscalculations of its military leadership. It believed that the Allies would attack Germany from the west, and the Polish armed forces would launch an offensive in the Berlin direction. The offensive doctrine of the Polish army led to the fact that the troops did not have a serious line of defense. Here is what, for example, the American researcher Henson Baldwin, who worked as the military editor of the New York Times during the war, writes about these misconceptions: “The Poles were proud and too self-confident, living in the past. Many Polish soldiers, imbued with the military spirit of their people and their traditional hatred of the Germans, spoke and dreamed of a “march on Berlin.” Their hopes are well reflected in the words of one of the songs: “... dressed in steel and armor, led by Rydz-Smigly, we will march to the Rhine...”.”

Polish Main Headquarters underestimated the strength of the Wehrmacht, and especially the capabilities of tank forces and aviation. The Polish command made a serious mistake in the deployment of its armed forces. In an effort to protect the country's territory from invasion and by stationing troops along the borders, the Polish headquarters abandoned the idea of ​​​​creating defenses on such strong natural borders as the Narev Vistula and San rivers. The organization of defense on these lines would significantly reduce the front of the struggle and ensure the creation of large operational reserves.

Military operations in Poland can be divided into two main stages: the first (September 1–6) - a breakthrough of the Polish front; second (September 7–18) - destruction of Polish troops west of the Vistula and outflanking defensive line Narew - Vistula - Dunajec. Subsequently, until the beginning of October, the liquidation of individual pockets of resistance continued.

At dawn on September 1, German troops went on the offensive. They were supported by powerful aviation, which quickly secured air supremacy. From September 1 to 6, the Germans achieved the following results. The 3rd Army, after breaking through the Polish defenses on the border with East Prussia, reached the Narew River and crossed it at Ruzhan. The 4th Army was advancing to the right, which, with a blow from Pomerania, passed the “Danzig corridor” and began to move south along both banks of the Vistula. The 8th and 10th armies were advancing in the center. The first one is to Lodz, the second one is to Warsaw. Finding themselves in the Lodz-Kutno-Modlin triangle, three Polish armies (Torun, Poznan, Lodz) unsuccessfully tried to break through to the southeast or to the capital. This was the first stage of the encirclement operation.

Already the first days of the campaign in Poland showed the world that the era of a new war was coming. Many expected a repetition of the First World War with its trenches, positional sitting and painfully long breakthroughs. Everything turned out exactly the opposite. The attack, thanks to the engine, turned out to be stronger than the defense. According to the French command, Poland was supposed to hold out until the spring of 1940. It took literally five days for the Germans to crush the main backbone of the Polish army, which was not ready to wage a modern war with the massive use of tanks and aircraft.

Weaknesses and holes in the Polish defense were immediately broken through by mobile tank formations, which did not particularly care about protecting their flanks. Following the tanks, mechanized infantry formations filled the rush. The pace of advance was measured in tens of kilometers per day. The whole world now understands what blitzkrieg is. To a certain extent, the success of the Germans was also ensured by the fact that the Polish troops did not have a defense in depth. Their main forces were located along the borders and took upon themselves all the unspent power of the initial Wehrmacht strike.

Hitler personally controlled the actions of German troops. The commander of the tank corps, General Guderian, recalled these days: “On September 5, Adolf Hitler unexpectedly visited the corps. I met him near Plevno on the highway going from Tuchel (Tukhol) to Shwetz (Swiecie), got into his car and along the highway along which the enemy was being pursued, drove him past the destroyed Polish artillery to Shwetz (Swiecie), and from there along our the front edge of the encirclement in Graudenz (Grudziendz), where he stopped for some time at the blown-up bridge over the Vistula. Looking at the destroyed artillery, Hitler asked: “Probably our dive bombers did this?” My answer, “No, our tanks!” Apparently surprised Hitler.”

The Fuhrer was also interested in losses on this section of the front. Guderian continues: “During the trip, we first talked about the combat situation in my corps’ sector. Hitler inquired about the losses. I told him the figures known to me: 150 killed and 700 wounded in the four divisions subordinate to me during the battle in the “corridor”. He was very surprised by such insignificant losses and told me, for comparison, the losses of his Liszt regiment during the First World War after the first day of hostilities; they reached 2000 killed and wounded in one regiment. I could point out that the minor losses in these battles against a brave and stubborn enemy should be attributed mainly to the effectiveness of the tanks."

Nevertheless, a significant part of the Polish troops managed to avoid encirclement at the first stage and retreat to the east. The Polish command on the northern sector of the front now faced the task of creating a new defensive line behind the Narew, Bug, and Vistula and trying to delay the Germans. To create a new front, withdrawing units, newly arriving troops, as well as garrisons located near cities were used. The defensive line on the southern banks of the Narev and Bug turned out to be weak. Many units that arrived after the battles were so exhausted that there was no question of using them in further battles, and the new formations had not yet had time to fully concentrate.

To eliminate the Polish troops beyond the Vistula, the German command increased the enveloping flank attacks of its armies. Army Group North received orders to break through the defenses on the Narew River and bypass Warsaw from the east. The German 3rd Army, reinforced by Guderian's 19th Panzer Corps deployed to its offensive zone, broke through the defenses on the Narew River in the Lomza area on September 9 and rushed to the southeast with its mobile units. On September 10, its units crossed the Bug and reached the Warsaw-Brest railway. Meanwhile, the German 4th Army advanced towards Modlin, Warsaw.

Army Group South, continuing the operation to destroy Polish troops between San and Vistula, received the task of its right-flank 14th Army to strike in the Lublin-Kholm direction and advance to join forces with Army Group North. At the same time, the right wing of the 14th Army crossed the San and began an attack on Lvov. The German 10th Army continued to advance on Warsaw from the south. The 8th Army attacked Warsaw at central direction, via Lodz.

Thus, in the second stage, Polish troops in almost all sectors of the front were forced to retreat. However, despite the withdrawal of a significant part of the Polish troops to the east, beyond the Vistula, stubborn fighting still continued in the west. On September 9, a specially created group consisting of three Polish divisions launched a sudden counterattack from the Kutno area on the open flank of the German 8th Army. For the first time since the beginning of the war, the Poles were successful. By crossing the Bzura River, the attackers created a threat to German rear communications and reserves. According to General Manstein, “the situation for German troops in this area took on the character of a crisis.” But the counterattack of the Polish group on Bzura did not have a decisive influence on the outcome of the battle. Without experiencing difficulties in other sectors of the front, the German command was able to quickly regroup troops and launch concentric attacks on the advancing Polish group, which was surrounded and ultimately defeated.

Meanwhile, stubborn fighting broke out in the northern suburbs of the Polish capital, where formations of the 3rd German Army arrived on September 10. Guderian's tank corps led an offensive east of Warsaw in a southern direction and reached Brest on September 15. South of Warsaw, units of the 10th Army on September 13 completed the defeat of the encircled Polish group in the Radom area. On September 15, German troops operating across the Vistula captured Lublin. On September 16, formations of the 3rd Army, advancing from the north, linked up in the Wlodawa area with units of the 10th Army. Thus, Army Groups “North” and “South” united across the Vistula, and the encirclement ring of Polish forces east of Warsaw was finally closed. German troops reached the line Lvov - Vladimir-Volynsky - Brest - Bialystok. Thus ended the second stage of hostilities in Poland. At this stage, the organized resistance of the Polish army was virtually over.

On September 16, the Polish government fled to Romania, not sharing with its people the severity of the struggle and the bitterness of defeat. At the third stage, only isolated pockets of resistance fought. The desperate defense of Warsaw, which lasted until September 28, became the agony of Poland, abandoned by its own government to the mercy of fate in a difficult hour of testing. From September 22 to 27, the Germans shelled and bombed the city. 1,150 Luftwaffe aircraft took part in them. This was the first example of mass bombing of a residential city. As a result, the number of civilians killed in the city was 5 times higher than the number killed during its defense.

The last large formation of Polish troops laid down arms near Kock on October 5. The speed of action of the German army, its modern weapons, the factor of surprise and the absence of a front in the west contributed to the defeat of Poland within a month.

After the invasion of Poland, the Germans repeatedly invited the Soviet Union to intervene in the conflict in order to occupy their sphere of influence, stipulated by the secret protocol to the Pact of August 23. However, the Soviet leadership took a wait-and-see attitude. And only when it became quite obvious that the Germans had crushed the Polish army, and no real help was expected from Poland’s allies - England and France - did the powerful Soviet group concentrated on the western borders of the USSR receive the order to take decisive action. Thus began the Polish campaign of the Red Army.

After the Polish government abandoned their country and fled to Romania, the Red Army crossed the Soviet-Polish border on September 17. This act was motivated by the Soviet side by the need to protect the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples in the conditions of the collapse of the Polish state, anarchy and the outbreak of war.

Having sent troops to the eastern regions of Poland, the Soviet leadership set the goal of eliminating the consequences Riga Treaty 1921, the return of territories captured by the Polish army during the war against Soviet Russia in 1920, and the reunification of divided peoples (Ukrainians and Belarusians). The Belarusian (2nd rank commander M.P. Kovalev) and Ukrainian (1st rank commander S.K. Timoshenko) fronts took part in the campaign. Their number at the beginning of the operation was over 617 thousand people.

The intervention of the USSR deprived the Poles of their last hope of organizing defense in the east. It came as a complete surprise to the Polish authorities. The Poles put up stubborn resistance only in certain places (Sarnensky fortified area, Tarnopol and Pinsk regions, Grodno). This targeted resistance (mainly by gendarmerie units and military settlers) was quickly suppressed. The main forces of the Polish troops, demoralized by the rapid defeat by the Germans, did not participate in the clashes in the east, but surrendered. Total number more than 450 thousand people were captured. (for comparison: 420 thousand people surrendered to the German army).

To a certain extent, Soviet intervention, which limited the German occupation zone in Poland, provided a chance for those who, for one reason or another, did not want to get to the Germans. This partly explains the greater number of prisoners who surrendered to the Red Army, as well as the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army, Rydz-Śmigły, to refrain from fighting the Soviets.

On September 19–20, 1939, advanced Soviet units came into contact with German troops on the line Lvov - Vladimir-Volynsky - Brest - Bialystok. On September 20, negotiations began between Germany and the USSR on drawing a demarcation line. They ended in Moscow on September 28, 1939 with the signing of the Soviet-German Treaty of Friendship and the Border between the USSR and Germany. New soviet border passed mainly along the so-called “Curzon Line” (the eastern border of Poland recommended by the Supreme Council of the Entente in 1919). According to the agreements reached, German troops retreated to the west from previously occupied lines (in the area of ​​Lvov, Brest, etc.). At negotiations in Moscow, Stalin abandoned his initial claims to ethnically Polish lands between the Vistula and Bug. In exchange, he demanded that the Germans renounce their claims to Lithuania. The German side agreed with this proposal. Lithuania was classified as a sphere of interest of the Soviet Union. In exchange, the USSR agreed to the transfer of the Lublin and part of the Warsaw voivodeships to the zone of German interests.

After the conclusion of the friendship treaty, the Soviet Union entered into intensive economic exchanges with Germany, supplying it with food and strategic materials - oil, cotton, chrome, other non-ferrous metals, platinum and other raw materials, receiving in return anthracite, rolled steel, machinery, equipment and finished products . Supplies of raw materials from the USSR largely negated the effectiveness of the economic blockade imposed by Western countries at the start of the war against Germany. The activity of foreign economic relations was evidenced by the growth of Germany's share in the foreign trade of the USSR. This share increased from 7.4 to 40.4 percent from 1939 to 1940.

During Polish campaign In 1939, the losses of the Red Army amounted to 715 people. killed and 1876 people. wounded. The Poles lost 35 thousand people in battles with her. killed, 20 thousand wounded and over 450 thousand people. prisoners (the bulk of them, primarily the rank and file of Ukrainians and Belarusians, were sent home).

Having carried out the Polish campaign, the Soviet Union actually entered the Second World War as a third force that stood above the coalitions and pursued its own narrowly specific goals. Independence from alliances gave the USSR (unlike Tsarist Russia before the First World War) the opportunity for foreign policy maneuver, primarily in playing on German-British contradictions.

Each of the parties that entered the Second World War was interested in winning over the USSR, which had sufficient military power and provided the eastern rear of the pan-European conflict. And the Soviet Union, keeping its distance from the leading powers, skillfully capitalized on its “privileged” position. The USSR authorities used a rare historical chance and without much difficulty realized their territorial interests in the West within a year.

However, the ease with which the Polish campaign was carried out had a chilling effect on the military-political leadership of the USSR. In particular, Soviet propaganda presented this success, achieved primarily through the defeat of Poland by the Wehrmacht forces, as confirmation of the thesis “about the invincibility of the Red Army.” Such inflated self-esteem strengthened self-deprecating sentiments, which played a negative role in the Soviet-Finnish War (1939–1940) and in preparation for repelling German aggression.

German losses during the German-Polish War of 1939 amounted to 44 thousand people. (of which 10.5 thousand people were killed). The Poles lost 66.3 thousand people in battles with the Germans. killed and missing, 133.7 thousand people. wounded, as well as 420 thousand prisoners. After the defeat of Poland, its western regions were annexed to the Third Reich, and a General Government was created in the triangle Warsaw - Lublin - Krakow, occupied by German troops.

Thus another creation of Versailles collapsed. Poland, to which the organizers of the Versailles system assigned the role of a “cordon sanitaire” against Soviet Russia, ceased to exist, destroyed by another “bastion against communism” cherished by the West - fascist Germany.

As a result of the Polish campaign of 1939, the reunification of divided peoples - Ukrainians and Belarusians - took place. It was not ethnic Polish lands that were annexed to the USSR, but territories populated mainly by Eastern Slavs (Ukrainians and Belarusians). In November 1939, they became part of the Ukrainian SSR and the Belarusian SSR. The territory of the USSR increased by 196 thousand square meters. km, and the population - by 13 million people. Soviet lines moved 300–400 km to the west.

The entry of Soviet troops beyond the western regions of the Polish Republic was accompanied by intensive attempts by the USSR to obtain from the three Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - consent to the deployment of Soviet military garrisons on their territory.

At the same time, the USSR began to ensure its interests in the Baltic states. In September - early October 1939, the USSR government presented a series of demands to the Baltic countries, the meaning of which was to create a legal basis for the stationing of Soviet troops on their territory. First of all, it was important for Moscow to establish its influence in Estonia. The USSR sought from the Estonian government to provide a naval base in the Baltic and an air force base on the Estonian islands. All this was to be accompanied by the conclusion of a Soviet-Estonian military alliance. Attempts by the Estonian side to oppose the signing of the treaty and to achieve diplomatic support from Germany did not yield results.

The Mutual Assistance Pact between the USSR and Estonia was signed on the same day as the Soviet-German Treaty of Friendship and Borders - September 28, 1939. On October 5, the same treaty was signed by the Soviet Union with Latvia, and on October 10 with Lithuania. According to these agreements, a limited contingent of Soviet troops (from 20 to 25 thousand people) was introduced into each of the three republics. In addition, the USSR transferred the Vilnius district, previously occupied by Poland, to Lithuania.

The second stage of the annexation of the Baltic states began in the summer of 1940. Taking advantage of the defeat of France and the isolation of England, the Soviet leadership intensified its policy in the Baltic states. In mid-June 1940, the USSR began propaganda campaign in connection with cases of attacks by the Lithuanian population on Soviet military personnel in Lithuania. As the Soviet side argued, this indicated the inability of the Lithuanian government to cope with its responsibilities.

On June 15 and 16, 1940, the USSR presented demands to the governments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia regarding the deployment of additional contingents of Soviet troops on their territory. These demands were accepted. After the entry of Soviet troops in the Baltic states, new elections were held and regimes loyal to Moscow were installed. Local military formations were included in the Red Army. In July 1940, the highest legislative bodies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania asked Supreme Council USSR on their inclusion in the Soviet Union. They were accepted there in August 1940 as union republics. The actions of the Soviet Union in the Baltic states were met with understanding in Berlin. However, the USA and Great Britain did not recognize their legality.

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A very interesting article about Poland and the beginning of the 2nd World War in the middle of the last century. Thanks to the authors

Poland at that time was a rather strange state formation, rather roughly stitched together after the First World War from fragments of the Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian empires with the addition of what it managed to grab in the Civil War and immediately after it (Vilna region - 1922) , and even - the Cieszyn region, seized by chance in 1938 during the division of Czechoslovakia.

The population of Poland within the 1939 borders was 35.1 million people before the war. Of these, there were 23.4 million Poles, 7.1 million Belarusians and Ukrainians, 3.5 million Jews, 0.7 million Germans, 0.1 million Lithuanians, 0.12 million Czechs, well and approximately 80 thousand others.

Ethnic map of Poland

National minorities in pre-war Poland were treated, to put it mildly, not very well, considering Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Germans, Czechs as a fifth column of neighboring states, and I’m not even talking about the Poles’ love for Jews.
From an economic point of view, pre-war Poland was also by no means among the leaders.

But the leaders of the fifth largest and sixth most populous country in Europe sincerely considered their state to be one of the great powers, and they, of course, tried to pursue a policy accordingly - a great power one.

Polish poster from 1938

Polish Army at the pre-war parade

It seemed that geography itself suggested only two policy options - either to improve relations with at least one of its two strong neighbors, or to try to create a coalition of small countries in order to scary monsters resist.
This is not to say that Polish rulers did not try this. But the trouble was that, upon its appearance, the newborn state pushed with its elbows so painfully that it managed to rob all, I repeat, all of its neighbors. The Soviet Union has “Eastern Kresy”, Lithuania has the Vilna region, Germany has Pomerania, Czechoslovakia has Zaolzie.

Polish Vickers E enters the Czechoslovakian Zaolzie, October 1938

There were also territorial disputes with Hungary. Even with Slovakia, which was formed only in March 1939, they managed to quarrel, trying to chop off a piece from it, which is why Slovakia turned out to be the only power other than Germany that declared war on Poland on September 1 and sent 2 divisions to the front. Maybe Romania didn’t get it, but the Polish-Romanian border was somewhere on the outskirts. Giving something away to improve relations is somehow not at all the Polish way.
And if your own strength is not enough, naturally, you need to turn for support to those who, after the First World War, helped create this “political news” - the Polish Republic.
But the pre-war policy of both France and Great Britain showed that these countries did not want to get involved in a new war, and wanted the East of Europe to sort it out themselves, without interfering in any way. The attitude of Western politicians towards the Soviet state was, to put it more precisely, very nervous, and many of them saw in sweet dreams how someone would attack it. And here is a chance that the Germans will climb further to the east, or ours, without agreeing with the Fuhrer in advance, will rush to defend Western Belarus and Ukraine, which were then really dreaming of liberation from the Polish occupation. Well, as often happens in such cases, two armies moving towards each other will not be able to stop and will fight.
Which means - Western Europe will be able to remain in peace for some time, watching how their restless eastern neighbors fight.
Although our future allies gave guarantees to Poland, and even confirmed that 15 days after the aggression of any power they would valiantly stand up to defend Poland. And what’s interesting is that they completely fulfilled their promise, actually standing on the German-French border, and standing there until May 10, 1940, until the Germans got tired of it and went on the offensive.
Rattling with solid armor of medals
The French went on a furious campaign.
Comrade Stalin waited for them for 17 days,
But the evil Frenchman does not go to Berlin.
But that's in the future. In the meantime, the task of the Polish leadership was to figure out how to protect the territory themselves from possible aggression from the west. It must be said that pre-war Polish intelligence was at a fairly high level; for example, it was she who revealed the secret of the famous German Enigma encryption machine. This secret, together with Polish codebreakers and mathematicians, then went to the British. Intelligence was able to timely reveal the German grouping and even determine their strategic plan with fairly high accuracy. Therefore, already on March 23, 1939, hidden mobilization began in Poland.
But that didn't help either. The length of the Polish-German border was then almost 1900 km, and the desire of Polish politicians to protect everything smeared the Polish Army, which was already almost twice as inferior to the German troops (as of September 1 against 53 German divisions The Poles managed to deploy 26 infantry divisions and 15 brigades - 3 mountain infantry, 11 cavalry and one armored motorized, or a total of 34 conditional divisions) along the entire future front.
The Germans, having concentrated 37 infantry, 4 light infantry, 1 mountain rifle, 6 tank and 5 motorized divisions and a cavalry brigade near the Polish border by September 1, on the contrary, created compact strike groups, achieving overwhelming superiority in the directions of the main attacks.
Yes and Combat vehicles that, as it was called then in our press, “landlord-bourgeois gentry” Poland, fully reflected the degree of development of the state. Some truly advanced developments for that time were in single copies, and the rest were fairly worn weapons left over from the First World War.
Of the 887 light tanks and wedges listed as of August (Poland had no others), approximately 200 pieces were of some combat value - 34 “six-ton ​​Vickers”, 118 (or 134, here in different sources) their Polish twin 7TR and 54 French Renault with Hotchkiss 1935. Everything else was very old and suitable only for police operations or display in museums.

Light tank 7TR produced in 1937

It is worth saying here that in the second half of the thirties a qualitative revolution took place in tank building. Due to the anti-tank guns that appeared in the infantry, which were inconspicuous, small and could be moved by crews across the battlefield on their wheels, all tanks built according to previous designs and having armor protection only from machine guns and infantry bullets suddenly turned out to be obsolete.
Designers and engineers from all leading countries got to work. As a result, slow, extremely inconvenient for their crews and clumsy, but well-armored French monsters appeared, although more convenient, but poorly armed and equally slow British Matildas and much more advanced Germans - Pz.Kpfw. III and Pz.Kpfw. IV. Well, our T-34 and KV.
The situation with aviation was no better for the Poles. 32 really new and very successful “Moose” (twin-engine bomber PZL P-37 “Los”, 1938) were lost against the background of outdated ones and about 120 “Karas” (light bomber PZL P-23 “Karas” 1934) that took the brunt of the attack with a maximum speed of 320 km/h, 112 aircraft were killed in battles) and 117 PZL P-11 - fighters developed in 1931-34 with a maximum speed of 375 km/h and two 7.7 mm machine guns - of which 100 aircraft were killed.

twin-engine bomber Panstwowe Zaklady Lotnicze PZL P-37 "Los"

Fighter Panstwowe Zaklady Lotnicze PZL P-11C

The speed of the then German "Dor" and "Emil" fighters - Messerschmitt Bf109D and Bf109E fighters - was 570 km/h, and each of them was armed with a pair of cannons and machine guns.
True, it is worth saying that the Wehrmacht in 1939 the latest developments I couldn't boast much. There were only 300 new tanks (T-3 and T-4), and T-1 and T-2, which formed the main strength of the German tank divisions, were pretty outdated by 1939. They were saved by the Czech “Pragues” (“Skoda” LT vz.35 and LT vz.38 “Praha”), of which the Germans got a lot.
But 54 not very successful “French” (in “Renault-35” and “Hotchkiss-35” there are only 2 crew members and the turret must simultaneously load and aim the cannon, shoot from it and the machine gun, observe the battlefield and command the tank) with anti-shell reservations against 300 German ones will still not be enough.

Light infantry escort tank Renault R 35

But the most important thing for any army is how it is led, and the troops were controlled in a typical Polish way, communication with the armies, corps and formations was constantly lost almost immediately after the start of the war, and the military and political elite were primarily concerned with their own salvation, and not with leadership troops. How the Poles managed to resist for a month under such conditions is a national mystery.

It is also a mystery how, in preparing for war, the Polish leadership did not worry about how it was actually going to lead. No, command posts Of course, they were equipped, and the furniture there was beautiful, but at the beginning of the war, the Polish General Staff had at its disposal only two radio stations and a few telephones for communication with the troops. Moreover, one radio station, which could hardly fit on ten trucks, was very large and very unreliable, and its transmitter was broken during an air raid on the second day of the war, while the second receiver was in the office of the Polish commander in chief, Marshal Rydz-Smigly, where it was not accepted to enter without a report

Marshal of Poland, Supreme Commander of the Polish Army Edward Rydz-Śmigły (1886 - 1941)

But something had to be done, and the dashing plan “Zachud” (“West”, in Polish, was invented for the USSR; the plan “Wschud” (East) was being prepared for the USSR, the military in all countries was not very inventive) according to which the Polish Army had to, stubbornly defending the entire western and southern borders, carry out an offensive against East Prussia, for which deploy 39 infantry divisions and 26 border, cavalry, mountain infantry and armored mechanized brigades.

Polish infantry on the defensive. September 1939

It was possible to deploy, as mentioned above, 26 divisions and 15 brigades. To strike East Prussia, the operational groups “Narev”, “Wyszkow” and the “Modlin” army were assembled, a total of 4 divisions and 4 cavalry brigades, 2 more divisions were in the deployment stage. The “Pomože” army was concentrated in the “Polish corridor” - 5 divisions and 1 cavalry brigade. Part of the forces of this army was intended to capture Danzig, 95% of whose population was German. In the Berlin direction - the Poznan army - 4 divisions and 2 cavalry brigades, the borders with Silesia and Slovakia were covered by the Lodz army (5 divisions, 2 cavalry brigades), Krakow (5 divisions, cavalry, motorized armored and mountain infantry brigades and border guards) and "Karpaty" (2 mountain infantry brigades). In the rear, south of Warsaw, the Prussian army was deployed (before the start of the war, they managed to assemble 3 divisions and a cavalry brigade there).
The German plan, which they called “Weiss” (white), was simple and effective - preempting organized mobilization with a sudden invasion, concentric attacks from the north - from Pomerania and the south - from Silesia in the general direction of Warsaw in two strike groups, named without much fanfare as Army Groups “North” and “South”, encircle and destroy the Polish troops located west of the Vistula-Narev line.
The advance of mobilization did not work out very well, but in the directions of the main attacks the Germans managed to achieve an overwhelming superiority in forces and means, which, of course, affected the overall result.

Dislocation of troops on 09/01/1939

With such a balance of forces, only mobility and coordination, which, for example, the Israelis showed in 1967, could save the Poles. But mobility, given the famous Polish impassability, the absence of vehicles and the dominance of German aviation in the skies, could only be achieved if the troops were not scattered along an endless 1,900-kilometer front, but were concentrated in advance in a compact group. There is no point in talking about any kind of coordination under the then Polish leadership, which valiantly rode closer to the neutral borders at the first shots.
The President, in his person saving the most important asset of Poland - its elite, left Warsaw on September 1. The government held out longer; it only left on the 5th.
The last order of the Commander-in-Chief came on September 10. After this, the heroic marshal did not make contact and soon showed up in Romania. On the night of September 7, he set off from Warsaw to Brest, where in the event of war with the USSR, according to the Vshud plan, the headquarters was supposed to be located. The headquarters turned out to be unequipped, it was not possible to properly establish contact with the troops, and the dashing Commander-in-Chief moved on. On the 10th, the headquarters was moved to Vladimir-Volynsky, on the 13th - to Mlynov, and on September 15th - closer to the Romanian border, to Kolomyia, where the government and the president were already located. In some ways, this jumping dragonfly reminds me of Winnie the Pooh saving his honey pots seven times during a flood.
At the front, things were going badly.

The first success was achieved by the German 19th Mechanized Corps, which struck from Pomerania to the east. 2 mechanized, tank and two infantry divisions attached to it, having overcome the resistance of the Polish 9th division and the Pomeranian cavalry brigade, by the evening of the first day they had covered 90 kilometers, cutting through the Pomože army. It was in this place, near Kroyanty, that the most famous incident of a clash between Polish cavalrymen on horseback and German armored vehicles took place.

At 19.00, two squadrons (approximately 200 horsemen), led by the commander of the 18th regiment of Pomeranian lancers, attacked the German motorized infantry, who were resting with sabers. The German battalion, which did not take proper precautions, was taken by surprise and scattered across the field in panic. The cavalrymen, overtaking the fleeing ones, cut them down with sabers. But armored cars appeared, and these squadrons were almost completely destroyed by machine-gun fire (26 killed, more than 50 seriously wounded). Colonel Mastalezh also died.

Polish lancers attack

The well-known legends about dashing cavalry attacks with sabers drawn on tanks are the invention of the high-speed Heinz (Guderian), propagandists of the Goebbels department and post-war Polish romantics.

Polish lancers in a dashing attack on September 19 at Vulka Weglova chop noodles from inopportunely turned up but very scary German tanks

In 1939, the Polish cavalry actually carried out at least six mounted attacks, but only two of them were marked by the presence of German armored cars on the battlefield (September 1 at Krojanty) and tanks (September 19 at Wolka Weglova), and in both episodes the direct the target of the attacking lancers was not enemy armored vehicles.

Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade near Bzura

On September 19, near Wólka Weglowa, Colonel E. Godlewski, commander of the 14th regiment of the Yazłowiec Uhlans, who was joined by a small unit of the 9th regiment of the Lesser Poland Uhlans of the same Podolsk brigade from the Poznan Army encircled to the west of the Vistula, hoping for the effect of surprise, made a decision use a cavalry attack to break through the positions of resting German infantry to Warsaw. But it turned out to be motorized infantry from a tank division, and artillery and tanks were nearby. The Poles managed to break through heavy enemy fire, losing 105 people killed and 100 wounded (20% of the regiment's personnel at that time). A large number of Ulan was captured. The entire attack lasted 18 minutes. The Germans lost 52 killed and 70 wounded.
By the way, many laugh at the Polish passion for cavalry, but during this campaign the cavalry brigades, due to their mobility in the swampy-wooded Polish plain and better training and weapons than the infantry, turned out to be the most effective formations of the Polish Army. And they fought with the Germans mostly on foot, using a horse as a vehicle.

Polish cavalry

In general, the Poles fought bravely where they managed to get a hold, but they were poorly armed, and they were commanded in such a way that there are simply no words. There is no need to talk about any centralized supply given the German air supremacy and the chaos at the headquarters. And the lack of clear leadership of the troops quite quickly led to the fact that proactive commanders subjugated everything they could get their hands on and acted according to their own understanding, without knowing what their neighbor was doing, or the general situation, and without receiving orders. And if the order did arrive, then there was neither sense nor opportunity to carry it out due to the fact that the leadership, not receiving timely reports from the troops, had difficulty imagining the situation on the battlefield. This may be very Polish, but it does not contribute to success.
Already on September 2, the Pomože army, guarding the “corridor” that became the reason for the conflict, was cut into two parts by counter attacks from Pomerania and East Prussia, and the larger of them, the coastal one, found itself in a double ring of encirclement.
But the real disaster was brewing in the center, where on the second day of the war German tankers managed to find the junction of the Lodz and Krakow armies and the 1st Panzer Division rushed forward through the “Czestochowa gap” uncovered by troops, reaching the rear defensive line before those Polish units who were supposed to occupy it...
Not many people understand what a tank breakthrough is. Here is the best, from my point of view, description of what happens to the defending army:
“The enemy has realized one obvious truth and is using it. People take up little space on vast expanses land. To build a solid wall of soldiers would require a hundred million of them. This means that gaps between military units are inevitable. As a rule, they can be eliminated by the mobility of troops, but for enemy tanks, a weakly motorized army is as if motionless. This means that the gap becomes a real gap for them. Hence the simple tactical rule: “A tank division acts like water. It puts light pressure on the enemy’s defenses and advances only where it does not meet resistance.” And the tanks are pressing on the defense line. There are always gaps in it. Tanks always pass.
These tank raids, which we are powerless to prevent due to the lack of our own tanks, cause irreparable damage, although at first glance they cause only minor destruction (seizing local headquarters, cutting telephone lines, setting fire to villages). Tanks play the role of chemicals that destroy not the body itself, but its nerves and lymph nodes. Where tanks flashed like lightning, sweeping away everything in their path, any army, even if it appeared to have suffered almost no losses, had already ceased to be an army. It turned into separate clots. Instead of a single organism, only organs that were not connected to each other remained. And between these clots - no matter how brave the soldiers are - the enemy advances unhindered. An army loses its fighting efficiency when it becomes a mass of soldiers.”
This was written in 1940 by the pilot of air group No. 2/33 long-range reconnaissance, French army captain Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

German T-1 tanks (Light tank Pz.Kpfw. I) in Poland. 1939

And this is precisely what the Poles were to experience first in the 20th century. Having received a message that German tanks were already 40 km from Częstochowa, deep in the rear of his troops, on September 2, Commander-in-Chief Rydz-Śmigła ordered the troops of the Lodz Army defending in the central direction to be withdrawn to the main line of defense.
It was decided to withdraw the Krakow army to the east and southeast beyond the line of the Nida and Dunajec rivers (100 - 170 km). Its open northern flank was bypassed by the 16th Motorized Corps, the 22nd Motorized Corps, which broke through the covering troops on September 2, was moving from the south to Tarnow, and the 5th Panzer Division of the 14th Army captured Auschwitz (about 50 km from Krakow) and the army warehouses located there .
This made the defense of the central positions on the Wart pointless, but it was no longer possible to correct anything. It’s easy to give an order, but it’s easy to carry it out when the troops are slowly moving on foot under the blows of the German air force dominating the air on the famous Polish roads, very difficult. The troops defending in the center simply could not retreat faster. The desire to protect everything played a bad joke - there were simply no reserves to plug all the holes, and those that were did not keep up with the rapidly changing situation and most of them were defeated on the march or during unloading, without having time to enter the battle.
It can be stated that by the evening of the second day of the war, the border battle was won by the Germans. In the north, the Pomože army located in the “Polish corridor” was cut and partially surrounded, and communication between Germany and East Prussia was established. In the south, the Krakow army, outflanked on two flanks, leaves Silesia, effectively eliminating the southern section of the Polish front and exposing the southern flank of the main defensive position, which the central group had yet to reach.
The 3rd Army advancing from East Prussia, having broken on the third day the resistance of the Modlin Army (two divisions and a cavalry brigade), which was literally crushed by the Germans in these battles and had lost its combat capability, created a thirty-kilometer gap in the Polish defense. The army commander, General Przedzimirski, decided to withdraw the defeated troops beyond the Vistula and try to put them in order there.
The pre-war Polish operational plan was thwarted.
The command and political leadership of Poland could not offer anything else, and one could only hope that the allies would feel ashamed and still help.
But they’re allies—they won’t shed their blood for some Polish guy just like that, they need to prove that you’re not a freeloader, but a partner. And this doesn’t really reach the modern leaders of the “newly formed” states, let alone the politicians of the “Second Poland”. By that time, they were preparing to “go into exile” in order to heroically “lead” the Polish resistance from comfortable Parisian and then London mansions.
The Polish army and the Poles themselves were not yet going to surrender, and although the retreat that had begun almost along the entire front influenced the mood, the troops continued to fight.
The central group, tired of the marches, managed to retreat to Warta by September 4, without having time to gain a foothold, and was subjected to flank attacks. The Kresovaya Cavalry Brigade, which was covering the right flank, was knocked out of its position and retreated from the line. The 10th Division held out longer, but was also defeated. On the southern flank, the German 1st Panzer Division disorganized the improvised defenses and moved towards Piotkow, to the rear of the main position. Both flanks were open.
On September 5 at 18.15, the chief of staff of the Lodz army said: “The 10th Infantry Division has scattered, we are gathering it in Lutomirsk. Therefore, we leave the Warta - Vindavka line, which cannot be maintained... The situation is difficult. This is the end".
The army began to withdraw what was left to Lodz. The battle at the main position, practically without having begun, ended.
The main Polish reserve - the Prussian army (three divisions and a cavalry brigade), having discovered the Germans in Piotkow, in its rear, due to contradictory orders that sent its divisions piecemeal in different directions, and the panic that gripped the troops, simply disappeared into the thicket events without having almost any influence on their course.
With her disappearance, she disappeared last hope Polish command seize the initiative.
All Polish troops entered the battle. They were crushed by German tanks, aircraft and infantry. There were no more reserves. Hopes of gaining a permanent foothold on some lines were fading; the enemy's losses were not so great as to cause a crisis. The Allies, not intending to move anywhere, valiantly stood on the Maginot Line.
In the evening, the Polish Commander-in-Chief sent directives to the troops on a general retreat along the entire front in the general direction to the southeast, to the borders of allied Romania and Hungary, which was favorable to the Poles. The Polish president, government and deputies rushed there.
I have always been touched by the position of such politicians, who brought the country to defeat and rush to emigrate to “lead” the underground struggle, in the hope that they will be allowed to rule once more. And there are those who want to transfer power to them again.

Polish propaganda beat with fanfare: “Polish air raid on Berlin”, the Siegfried Line was broken in 7 places”...

But practically on September 5 the war was lost by the Poles. However, the Germans still had to complete it.
First, the surrounded part of the “Pomože” army was defeated. On September 5, Grudzenzh was taken, on the 6th - Bygdoszcz and Torun. 16 thousand Polish soldiers were captured and 100 guns were captured.

When the Germans entered Bygdoszcz (Bromberg) and Schulitz, it turned out that the Polish authorities carried out a massacre of Polish citizens of German nationality living in these cities. With this, the Poles opened another sad page of the Second World War, being the first to organize atrocities against civilians. Even on the eve of defeat, the Polish Nazis turned out to be incorrigible.

German residents of Bygdoszcza (Bromberg) - victims of the Polish genocide

There was no longer an organized Polish front before the 10th Army struck through the Czentkhov Gap. After reaching Tomausz Mazowiecki on September 6, she received orders to break through to the Vistula line. Having discovered a concentration of significant Polish forces south of Radom (these were retreating units of the Prussian and Lublin armies), the army, regrouping its forces, struck from its flanks two motorized corps that met east of Radom on September 9, encircled this group and destroyed it by September 12. 65 thousand people were captured, 145 guns were captured, the 16th motorized corps, advancing to the north, reached the southern outskirts of Warsaw without encountering resistance by September 8.
In the south, having passed Krakow, which was surrendered to the Poles without a fight on September 5, the 14th Army reached Tarnow at the Dunajewiec River.
At the headquarters of Army Group South, the impression was that the Polish troops west of the Vistula were giving up the fight, and on September 7, all corps of the group received orders to pursue the Poles with maximum speed. On the 11th, the 14th Army of this group crossed the San River at Yaroslav and reached the upper reaches of the Dniester with its right flank.
Covering the northern flank of the 10th Army, the 8th Army occupied Lodz and reached the Bzura River.

German infantry crossing the Bzura River

The 3rd Army, advancing from East Prussia to the south, overcame the resistance of the Polish troops opposing it and crossed the Narew River. Guderian rushed to Brest, and the Kempf group covered Warsaw from the east, capturing Siedlice on September 11.
The 4th Army, based in Pomerania, reached Modlin, encircling Warsaw from the northeast.
It was a disaster...

Poland. September 1939

Hitler's accomplices were people who led Poland between the two world wars

Five years ago, on September 23, 2009, the Polish Sejm adopted a resolution in which it qualified the Red Army's 1939 Liberation Campaign as aggression against Poland and officially accused the Soviet Union of jointly unleashing World War II with Nazi Germany.

The fact that by September 17, the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was defeated by Germany and ceased its inglorious existence, and our country, for the most part, only regained the territories that belonged to it before the start of the First World War, was ignored by the initiators of the idea.

You don’t have to be a prophet to predict that in connection with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus from Polish occupation, official Warsaw will again fight in anti-Soviet and anti-Russian hysteria.

But in reality, Adolf Hitler’s accomplices in starting World War II were the people who led Poland in the period between the two world wars. This article is devoted to an analysis of their activities.

The beginning of the struggle for Poland "from sea to sea"

As soon as in November 1918, Józef Pilsudski was proclaimed Head of the Polish State, the newly created government of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth announced elections to the Sejm “everywhere there were Poles.” At that time, the question of the borders of Poland, which had been absent from the political map of the world for more than a century, remained open.

Taking advantage of the chaos that reigned in Europe, which had barely finished fighting, the Poles began to push the borders of their recreated state in all directions.
This selfish impulse led to foreign policy conflicts and armed clashes with neighbors: with the Ukrainian People's Republic because of Lviv, Eastern Galicia, the Kholm region and Western Volyn, with Lithuania because of Vilnius and the Vilna region, with Czechoslovakia because of the Teshen region.

The Polish-Czechoslovak military-political conflict of 1919-1920 over Teschen Silesia was resolved by Great Britain and France not in favor of Warsaw, but this did not cool the ardor of the fighters for Poland “from sea to sea” (from the Baltic to the Black). In the north and west they continued to conflict with Germany, and in the east they continued to fight with the RSFSR.

On December 30, 1918, Warsaw told Moscow that the Red Army’s offensive in Lithuania and Belarus was an aggressive act against Poland, obliging “the Polish government to respond in the most energetic manner” and protect the territories inhabited by the “Polish nation.” The relatively small number of Poles among the local population did not bother Warsaw at all, and the opinions of other peoples did not interest her.

The Poles began the defense of these territories with the execution on January 2, 1919 of the mission of the Russian Red Cross. On February 16, the first clash between units of the Polish and Red armies took place in the battle for the Belarusian town of Bereza Kartuzskaya. At the same time, the first 80 Red Army soldiers were taken into Polish captivity. In total, until the beginning of 1922, more than 200 thousand natives of the former Russian Empire - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, Bashkirs, Jews - were in Polish captivity. More than 80 thousand of them died in Polish death camps, which appeared long before Hitler came to power in Germany.

Since the tragedy of Polish captivity must be written separately, we will only note that neither about these 80 thousand who perished in Polish camps, nor about the 600 thousand Soviet soldiers who died liberating Poland from Nazi occupation in 1944-1945, in the “civilized” European they prefer not to remember the country. The Poles are busy demolishing monuments to Soviet soldiers who saved their grandparents from Nazi genocide. Therefore, Russia had no reason to organize a nationwide cry for a group of Polish Russophobes who crashed near Smolensk.

In 1920, the Soviet-Polish war broke out. It ended with the Peace of Riga in 1921, according to which Western Ukraine and Western Belarus found themselves under the heel of the occupiers. The policy that the Polish “civilizers” pursued there should also be written separately. Let us only note that long before the Nazis began to practically implement the postulates of “racial theory,” Ukrainians and Belarusians in Poland were already “second-class” people.

Polish friends of Hitler

Less than a year after the Nazis came to power in Germany, on January 26, 1934, the “Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes and the Non-Use of Force between Poland and Germany” was signed in Berlin. By agreeing to this agreement, Berlin avoided providing guarantees of the inviolability of the Polish-German border established after the end of the First World War.

“The parties declared peace and friendship, the customs war and mutual criticism in the press were curtailed. In Warsaw, this document was perceived as the basis for the country’s security and a means of intensifying the great power aspirations of Poland. Germany managed to ensure that the border issue was passed over in silence, and the USSR’s attempts explain to Poland that it was carried out, naturally, and was not successful,” writes historian Mikhail Meltyukhov.

In turn, Polish historian Marek Kornat argues that Pilsudski and Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck “considered the agreement with Germany the greatest achievement of Polish diplomacy.” It is noteworthy that after Germany left the League of Nations, its interests in this international organization represented by Poland.

Going towards rapprochement with Berlin, the Poles were counting on Germany's help in the conflict with Czechoslovakia over Teschen Silesia. Historian Stanislav Morozov drew attention to the fact that “two weeks before the signing of the Polish-German non-aggression pact, an anti-Czech campaign began, inspired by the Warsaw Foreign Ministry. In Poland, it manifested itself in numerous press publications accusing the Czech authorities of oppressing the Polish minority in the territory of Teschen Silesia . In Czechoslovakia, this line was carried out by the consul in Moravian Ostrava, Leon Malhomme...”

After Pilsudski's death in May 1935, power fell into the hands of his followers, who are commonly called Pilsudskis. The key figures in the Polish leadership were Foreign Minister Józef Beck and the future Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army, Marshal Edward Rydz-Smigly.

After this, the pro-German bias in Warsaw’s politics only intensified. In February 1937, Nazi No. 2, Hermann Goering, arrived in Poland. In a conversation with Rydz-Smigly, he stated that the threat to Poland and Germany is posed not only by Bolshevism, but also by Russia as such - regardless of whether it has a monarchical, liberal or any other system. Six months later, on August 31, 1937, the Polish General Staff repeated this idea in Directive No. 2304/2/37, emphasizing that the ultimate goal of Polish policy is “the destruction of all Russia.”

As we can see, the goal was formulated two years before the start of World War II, for which the Poles are trying to make the USSR the main culprit. And they are also indignant at the words of the USSR People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov, who in 1940 called Poland “the ugly child of the Versailles Treaty.”

However, here too we see double standards. After all, Molotov only paraphrased Pilsudski, who called the Czechoslovak Republic “an artificially and ugly created state.”

The role of the “Polish hyena” in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia

From the beginning of 1938, Berlin and Warsaw began preparing the action to dismember Czechoslovakia, coordinating their actions with each other. The Sudeten-German Party, controlled by Berlin, began to increase its activity in the Sudetenland, and Poland created the Union of Poles in Teschen. The cynicism and deceit of the Pilsudians can be judged by the fact that while engaged in subversive work on the territory of a neighboring state, they demanded that Prague stop the activities that it allegedly carried out against Poland!

The USSR was ready to come to the aid of Czechoslovakia, but in the absence of a common border, the consent of Poland or Romania was required to allow Soviet units to enter Czechoslovakia. Pilsudczyki, realizing that the fate of Czechoslovakia largely depended on them, on August 11 notified Berlin that they would not allow the Red Army through their territory and would advise Romania to do the same. Moreover, from September 8 to 11, the Poles conducted major maneuvers at the country’s eastern border, demonstrating their readiness to repel the Soviet invasion - as real as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which the false Western propaganda has been shouting about for the last six months.

In September 1938, when preparations for the so-called “Munich Conference” were underway full swing, Beck did everything possible to ensure that the representative of Poland was in Munich at the same table with the leaders of Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy. However, neither Hitler nor British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain saw any point in inviting the Poles to Munich. As Stanislav Morozov correctly noted, “the attitude of the Western powers towards the Poles did not change: they did not want to see Bek as a representative of a great power.”

So, contrary to their own wishes, the Poles were not among the participants in the Munich Agreement - one of the most shameful events of the twentieth century.

Offended and angry, Beck increased the pressure on Prague. As a result, the demoralized leaders of Czechoslovakia surrendered, agreeing to transfer the Teshen region to Poland.
Historian Valentina Maryina stated that “On October 2, Polish troops began to occupy the ultimatum demanded Czechoslovak territories, which were of enormous economic importance for Poland: having expanded its territory by only 0.2%, it increased the capacity of its heavy industry by almost 50%. After this, Warsaw issued an ultimatum to demand new territorial concessions from the Prague government, now in Slovakia, and achieved its goal. In accordance with the intergovernmental agreement of December 1, 1938, Poland received a small territory (226 sq. km) in the north of Slovakia (Javorina on Orava)."

For these “exploits,” Poland received the nickname “Polish hyena” from Winston Churchill. It is said both aptly and fairly...

Failed allies of the Third Reich

Literally from the first days of the existence of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, its leaders dreamed of Greater Poland “from sea to sea.” The capture of the Teschen region was perceived by the Pilsudians as the first step on this path. However, they had more ambitious plans. In the December 1938 report of the 2nd (intelligence) department of the main headquarters of the Polish Army we read: “The dismemberment of Russia is the basis of Polish policy in the East... The task is to prepare well in advance physically and spiritually... The main goal is the weakening and defeat of Russia.” .

Knowing about Hitler’s desire to attack the USSR, Warsaw hoped to align itself with the aggressor. On January 26, 1939, in a conversation with German Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop, Beck noted that “Poland lays claim to Soviet Ukraine and access to the Black Sea.”

But even here it turned out that Hitler did not consider Poland great power. He assigned the Poles the role of satellites, not allies. The Fuhrer began to seek Warsaw's consent to the entry of the free city of Danzig into the Third Reich and permission to build a “corridor within a corridor” - extraterritorial railways and highways through Polish lands between Germany and East Prussia.

Poland, imagining itself a great power, refused. At the beginning of April 1939, Germany began preparing an invasion of Poland. The military-strategic position of the latter deteriorated after the destruction of Czechoslovakia. Indeed, in addition to the Teshen region, Poland received German troops that were now stationed on the former Polish-Czechoslovak border.

What Poland's position has become main reason the breakdown of negotiations between the military missions of the USSR, Great Britain and France, held in August 1939 in Moscow, is well known. Warsaw flatly refused to allow the Red Army into Polish territory, without which the USSR could not help the Poles repel the German attack. The reason for the refusal was revealed by the Polish Ambassador to France Jozef Lukasiewicz in a conversation with French Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet. He said Beck "will never allow Russian troops to occupy the territories that we took from them in 1921."

Thus, the Polish Ambassador actually admitted that Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were occupied by the Poles in 1920...

To summarize the above, we state that the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth played a major role in unleashing the second “worldwide massacre.” And the fact that during it Poland itself was attacked by Germany and lost six million people cannot change this conclusion.

(Total 45 photos)

1. View of an undamaged Polish city from the cockpit of a German aircraft, most likely a Heinkel He 111 P in 1939. (Library of Congress)

2. In 1939, Poland still had many reconnaissance battalions that took part in the Polish-Soviet War of 1921. There were legends about the desperate Polish cavalry attacking Nazi tank forces. Although the cavalry sometimes encountered tank divisions along the way, their targets were infantry, and their attacks were quite often successful. Nazi and Soviet propaganda managed to fuel this myth about the famous but slow Polish cavalry. This photo shows a Polish cavalry squadron during maneuvers somewhere in Poland on April 29, 1939. (AP Photo)

3. Associated Press correspondent Alvin Steinkopf reports from the Free City of Danzig, then a semi-autonomous city-state part of a customs union with Poland. Steinkopf relayed the tense situation in Danzig to America on July 11, 1939. Germany demanded that Danzig join the countries of the Third Reich and, apparently, was preparing for military action. (AP Photo)

4. Joseph Stalin (second from right) at the signing of the non-aggression pact by Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (seated) with German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop (third from right) in Moscow on August 23, 1939. On the left stands Deputy Minister of Defense and Chief of Staff of the Army, Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov. The non-aggression pact included a secret protocol dividing eastern Europe into spheres of influence in the event of conflict. The pact guaranteed that Hitler's troops would face no resistance from the USSR if they invaded Poland, meaning war was one step closer to reality. (AP Photo/File)

5. Two days after Germany signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR, Great Britain entered into a military alliance with Poland on August 25, 1939. This photo was taken a week later, on September 1, 1939, during one of the first military operations of Germany's invasion of Poland, and the beginning of World War II. In this photo, the German ship Schleswig-Holstein fires at a Polish military transit warehouse in the Free City of Danzig. At the same time, the German air force (Luftwaffe) and infantry (Heer) attacked several Polish targets. (AP Photo)

6. German soldiers on the Westerplatte Peninsula after he surrendered to German forces from the Schleswig-Holstein on September 7, 1939. Fewer than 200 Polish soldiers defended the small peninsula, holding out against German forces for seven days. (AP Photo)

7. Aerial view of bomb explosions during a bombing raid over Poland in September 1939. (LOC)

8. Two tanks of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" cross the Bzura River during the invasion of Poland in September 1939. The Battle of Bzura - the largest of the entire military campaign - lasted more than a week and ended with Germany capturing most of western Poland. (LOC/Klaus Weill)

9. Soldiers of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" on the side of the road on the way to Pabianice during the invasion of Poland in 1939. (LOC/Klaus Weill)

10. 10-year-old Polish girl Kazimira Mika cries over the body of her sister, who died under machine-gun fire while harvesting potatoes in a field near Warsaw in September 1939. (AP Photo/Julien Bryan)

11. German vanguard troops and reconnaissance in a Polish city under fire during the Nazi invasion of Poland in September 1939. (AP Photo)

12. German infantry advances cautiously on the outskirts of Warsaw on September 16, 1939. (AP Photo)

13. Prisoners of war with their hands raised on the road during the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. (LOC)

14. British King George VI addresses his nation on the first evening of the war on September 3, 1939 in London. (AP Photo)

15. The conflict, which would end with the explosion of two nuclear bombs, began with an announcement by a herald in the city center. In photo 6, crier W.T. Boston reads out a declaration of war from the steps of the London Exchange on September 4, 1939. (AP Photo/Putnam)

16. A crowd reads newspaper headlines “Bombing of Poland” outside the US Department building where a conference on martial law in Europe was held, September 1, 1939. (AP Photo)

17. On September 17, 1939, the British battlecruiser HMS Courageous was hit by torpedoes from the German submarine U-29 and sank within 20 minutes. The submarine pursued the Courageous, which was on an anti-war patrol along the Irish coast, for several hours and then fired three torpedoes. Two torpedoes hit the ship, sinking it along with 518 crew members out of a total of 1,259. (AP Photo)

18. Devastation on the street in Warsaw on March 6, 1940. The body of a dead horse lies among the ruins and debris. While Warsaw was shelled almost non-stop, on one day alone - September 25, 1939 - about 1,150 warplanes flew over the Polish capital, dropping 550 tons of explosives on the city. (AP Photo)

19. German troops entered the city of Bromberg (the German name for the Polish city of Bydgoszcz) and lost several hundred of their own there from sniper fire. The snipers were supplied with weapons by the retreating Polish troops. In the photo: bodies lie on the side of the road on September 8, 1939. (AP Photo)

20. A damaged Polish armored train with tanks, captured by the 1st SS Panzer Division “Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler” near Blonya in September 39th. (LOC/Klaus Weill)

22. A young Pole returned to what once was his home, now in ruins, during a break in the air bombardment of Warsaw in September '39. The Germans continued to attack the city until it surrendered on September 28. A week later, the last Polish troops capitulated at Lublin, handing full control of Poland to Germany and the Soviet Union. (AP Photo/Julien Bryan)

23. Adolf Hitler greets Wehrmacht troops in Warsaw on October 5, 1939 after the German invasion of Poland. Standing behind Hitler are (from left to right): Colonel General Walter von Brauchitsch, Lieutenant General Friedrich von Kochenhausen, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt and Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel. (AP Photo)

24. Earlier in 1939, the Japanese army and military units continued to attack and advance into China and Mongolia. On this photo Japanese soldiers move further along the beach, landing at Swatow, one of the remaining ports in what was then still Chinese South China, on July 10, 1939. After a brief conflict with Chinese forces, Japan entered the city without encountering much resistance. (AP Photo)

25. On the border with Mongolia, Japanese tanks cross the vast plains of the steppe on July 21, 1939. Manchucuo's troops were reinforced by the Japanese when hostilities suddenly broke out on the border with Soviet troops. (AP Photo)

26. A machine gun unit moves cautiously forward, past two Soviet armored personnel carriers abandoned in the battle near the Mongolian border in July 1939. (AP Photo)

27. After the USSR’s demands on Finland remained unanswered, and it asked for some Finnish lands and the destruction of fortifications on the border, the USSR invaded Finland on November 30, 1939. 450,000 Soviet soldiers crossed the border, beginning a brutal battle dubbed the Winter War. In this photo, a member of a Finnish anti-aircraft unit wearing a white camouflage uniform works with a rangefinder on December 28, 1939. (AP Photo)

28. Burning house after the bombing of the Finnish port city Turku by Soviet troops in southwestern Finland on December 27, 1939. (AP Photo)

29. Finnish soldiers run for cover during an air attack “somewhere in the forests of Finland” on January 19, 1940. (AP Photo)

30. Representatives of one of the Finnish ski battalions that fought with Russian soldiers and deer on March 28, 1940. (Editor's note - the photo was retouched by hand, apparently for clarity). (AP Photo)

31. War booty - captured Soviet tanks in the snow on January 17, 1940. Finnish troops have just defeated the Soviet division. (LOC)

32. A Swedish volunteer “somewhere in Northern Finland” wearing a protective mask on duty on February 20, 1940 in sub-zero temperatures. (AP Photo)

33. The winter of 1939-1940 was especially cold in Finland. In January, temperatures dropped below 40 degrees Celsius in some places. Frost was a constant threat, and the corpses of soldiers frozen dead were often found on the battlefield in eerie poses. This photo taken on January 31, 1940 shows a frozen Russian soldier. After 105 days of fighting, the USSR and Finland signed a peace treaty, according to which Finland retained sovereignty, giving 11% of its territory to the Soviet Union. (LOC)

34. German heavy cruiser The Admiral Graf Spee burns off Montevideo, Uruguay, December 19, 1939. The cruiser's crew had just been at the Battle of La Plata after three British cruisers found and attacked her. The ship did not sink and had to be sent to Montevideo harbor for repairs. Not wanting to stay for long for repairs and not being able to go to battle, the crew took the ship out to the open sea and sank it. The photo shows the cruiser a few minutes before the sinking. (AP Photo)

35. Restaurant manager Fred Horak from Somerville, Massachusetts, USA, points to a sign in the window of his establishment on March 18, 1939. The inscription on the sign: “We do not serve Germans.” Horak was a native of Czechoslovakia. (AP Photo)

36. Curtiss P-40 fighter production, probably in Buffalo, New York, circa 1939. (AP Photo)

37. While German troops concentrated in Poland, excitement grew on the Western Front - France welcomed British soldiers landing on the German border. In this photo, French soldiers pose in France on December 18, 1939. (AP Photo)

38. A crowd of Parisians gathered at the Sacré-Coeur basilica on the Mormatre hill for a religious service and prayer for peace. Part of the crowd gathered at a church in France on August 27, 1939. (AP Photo)

39. French soldiers with a coordinate manipulator on January 4, 1940. This device was one of many experiments designed to record the sound of aircraft engines and determine their location. The introduction of radar technology made these devices obsolete quite quickly. (AP Photo)

40. A meeting of newspapermen on the Western Front somewhere on the Maginot Line in France on October 19, 1939. A French soldier points them to the "no man's land" separating France from Germany. (AP Photo)

41. British soldiers on the train on the first leg of the trip western front in England on September 20, 1939. (AP Photo/Putnam)

42. London's Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, shrouded in darkness, after the first mass shutdown electricity on August 11, 1939. This was the first test blackout for the UK Home Office in preparation for possible air attacks by German forces. (AP Photo)

43. Scene at London City Hall, where children were reacting to respirators designed to protect against poisonous gases, March 3, 1939. Several children under two years of age were given “baby helmets.” (AP Photo)

44. German Chancellor and dictator Adolf Hitler examines geographical map with generals including Heinrich Himmler (left) and Martin Bormann (right) at an undisclosed location in 1939. (AFP/Getty Images)

45. A man looks at a photograph of Johann Georg Elser on a monument in Freiburg, Germany, October 30, 2008. German citizen Elser attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a homemade bomb in the Buergerbraukeller beer hall in Munich on November 8, 1939. Hitler finished his speech early, avoiding an explosion by 13 minutes. As a result of the assassination attempt, eight people were killed, 63 were wounded, and Elser was caught and imprisoned. Shortly before the end of World War II, he was executed in the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau. (AP Photo/Winfried Rothermel)