The confrontation of the Russian people with the aggression of Germany and other countries that sought to establish a “new world order.” This war became a clash between two opposing civilizations, in which western world set as its goal the complete destruction of Russia - the USSR as a state and nation, the seizure of a significant part of its territories and the formation of puppet regimes subject to Germany in the remaining parts of it. Germany was pushed to war against Russia by the Judeo-Masonic regimes of the USA and England, which saw in Hitler an instrument for carrying out their plans for world domination and the destruction of Russia.
On June 22, 1941, German armed forces consisting of 103 divisions, including 10 tank divisions, invaded Russian territory. Their total number numbered five and a half million people, of which more than 900 thousand were military personnel of Germany's Western allies - Italians, Spaniards, French, Dutch, Finns, Romanians, Hungarians, etc. 4,300 tanks and assault guns were assigned to this treacherous Western international , 4980 combat aircraft, 47200 guns and mortars.
The Russian armed forces of the five western border military districts and three fleets opposing the aggressor were twice as inferior to the enemy in manpower, and in the first echelon of our armies there were only 56 rifle and cavalry divisions, which found it difficult to compete with the German tank corps. The aggressor also had a great advantage in artillery, tanks and aircraft of the latest designs.
By nationality, more than 90% of the Soviet army opposing Germany were Russians (Great Russians, Little Russians and Belarusians), which is why, without exaggeration, it can be called the Russian army, which in no way detracts from the feasible contribution of other peoples of Russia in confronting the common enemy.
Treacherously, without declaring war, concentrating overwhelming superiority in the direction of attacks, the aggressor broke through the defenses of the Russian troops, captured strategic initiative and air supremacy. The enemy occupied a significant part of the country and advanced inland to 300 - 600 km.
On June 23, the Headquarters of the High Command was created (from August 6 - Headquarters Supreme High Command). All power was concentrated in the State Defense Committee (GKO), created on June 30. From August 8 I.V. Stalin became the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. He gathered around him outstanding Russian commanders G.K. Zhukov, S.K. Timoshenko, B.M. Shaposhnikov, A.M. Vasilevsky, K.K. Rokossovsky, N.F. Vatutin, A.I. Eremenko, K. A. Meretskov, I. S. Konev, I. D. Chernyakhovsky and many others. In their public speaking Stalin relies on the feeling of patriotism of the Russian people, calling on them to follow the example of their heroic ancestors. The main military events of the summer-autumn campaign of 1941 were the Battle of Smolensk, the defense of Leningrad and the beginning of its blockade, military disaster Soviet troops in Ukraine, the defense of Odessa, the beginning of the defense of Sevastopol, the loss of Donbass, the defensive period of the Battle of Moscow. The Russian army retreated 850-1200 km, but the enemy was stopped in the main directions near Leningrad, Moscow and Rostov and went on the defensive.
The winter campaign of 1941-42 began with a counter-offensive of Russian troops in the western strategic direction. During it, a counteroffensive near Moscow, the Lyuban, Rzhevsko-Vyazemskaya, Barvenkovsko-Lozovskaya and Kerch-Feodosia landing operations were carried out. Russian troops removed the threat to Moscow and the North Caucasus, eased the situation in Leningrad, and completely or partially liberated the territory of 10 regions, as well as over 60 cities. The blitzkrieg strategy collapsed. About 50 enemy divisions were defeated. Big role The patriotism of the Russian people, widely manifested from the first days of the war, played a role in the defeat of the enemy. Thousands of national heroes like A. Matrosov and Z. Kosmodemyanskaya, hundreds of thousands of partisans behind enemy lines in the first months greatly shook the morale of the aggressor.
In the summer-autumn campaign of 1942, the main military events unfolded in the southwestern direction: the defeat of the Crimean Front, the military disaster of Soviet troops in the Kharkov operation, the Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad, Donbass, Stalingrad defensive operations, the battle in the North Caucasus. In the northwestern direction, the Russian army carried out the Demyansk and Rzhev-Sychevsk offensive operations. The enemy advanced 500 - 650 km, reached the Volga, and captured part of the passes of the Main Caucasus Range. The territory was occupied, where before the war 42% of the population lived, a third of the gross output was produced, and more than 45% of the sown areas were located. The economy was put on a war footing. A large number of enterprises were relocated to the eastern regions of the country (2,593 in the second half of 1941 alone, including 1,523 large ones), and 2.3 million heads of livestock were exported. In the first half of 1942, 10 thousand aircraft, 11 thousand tanks, approx. 54 thousand guns. In the 2nd half of the year their output increased by more than 1.5 times.
In the winter campaign of 1942-43, the main military events were the Stalingrad and North Caucasus offensive operations and the breaking of the blockade of Leningrad. The Russian army advanced 600 - 700 km westward, liberating a territory of over 480 thousand square meters. km, defeated 100 divisions (40% of enemy forces at Soviet-German front). In the summer-autumn campaign of 1943, the decisive event was the Battle of Kursk. The partisans played an important role (Operation Rail War). During the battle for the Dnieper, 38 thousand settlements were liberated, including 160 cities; With the capture of strategic bridgeheads on the Dnieper, conditions were created for an offensive in Belarus. In the Battle of the Dnieper, the partisans carried out Operation Concert to destroy enemy communications. In other directions, the Smolensk and Bryansk offensive operations were carried out. The Russian army fought up to 500 - 1300 km and defeated 218 divisions.
During the winter campaign of 1943-44, the Russian army carried out an offensive in Ukraine (10 simultaneous and sequential front-line operations, united by a common plan). Completed the defeat of Army Group South, crossed the border with Romania and transferred the fighting to its territory. Almost simultaneously, the Leningrad-Novgorod offensive operation unfolded; Leningrad was finally released. As a result of the Crimean operation, Crimea was liberated. Russian troops advanced westward 250 - 450 km, liberating approx. 300 thousand sq. km of territory, reached the state border with Czechoslovakia.
In June 1944, when the USA and England realized that Russia could win the war without their participation, they opened a 2nd front in France. This worsened the military-political situation in Germany. During the summer-autumn campaign of 1944, Russian troops carried out the Belarusian, Lvov-Sandomierz, East Carpathian, Iasi-Kishinev, Baltic, Debrecen, East Carpathian, Belgrade, partially Budapest and Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive operations. The liberation of Belarus, Little Russia and the Baltic states (except for some regions of Latvia), partially of Czechoslovakia was completed, Romania and Hungary were forced to capitulate and entered the war against Germany, the Soviet Arctic and the northern regions of Norway were liberated from the occupiers.
The 1945 campaign in Europe included the East Prussian, Vistula-Oder, completion of Budapest, East Pomeranian, Lower Silesian, Upper Silesian, Western Carpathian, Vienna and Berlin operations, which ended with the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. After the Berlin operation, Russian troops, together with the 2nd Army of the Polish Army, the 1st and 4th Romanian armies and the 1st Czechoslovak corps carried out the Prague operation.
Victory in the war greatly raised the spirit of the Russian people and contributed to the growth of their national self-awareness and self-confidence. As a result of the victory, Russia regained most of what was taken from it as a result of the revolution (except for Finland and Poland). The historical Russian lands in Galicia, Bukovina, Bessarabia, etc. returned to its composition. Most of the Russian people (including Little Russians and Belarusians) again became a single entity in one state, which created the preconditions for their unification in a single Church. Carrying out this historical task became the main positive outcome of the war. The victory of Russian weapons created favorable conditions for Slavic unity. At some stage Slavic countries united with Russia into something like a fraternal federation. For a period of time, the peoples of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia realized how important it was for the Slavic world to stick together in the fight against Western encroachment on Slavic lands.
On Russia's initiative, Poland received Silesia and a significant part of East Prussia, from which the city of Königsberg with its surrounding territory came into the possession of the Russian state, and Czechoslovakia regained the Sudetenland previously captured by Germany.
The great mission to save humanity from the “new world order” was given to Russia at a huge price: the Russian people and the brotherly peoples of our Fatherland paid for this with the lives of 47 million people (including direct and indirect losses), of which approximately 37 million people were Russians themselves (including Little Russians and Belarusians).
Most of the deaths were not of the military directly involved in the hostilities, but of civilians, the civilian population of our country. The irretrievable losses of the Russian army (killed, died from wounds, missing in action, died in captivity) amount to 8 million 668 thousand 400 people. The remaining 35 million are the lives of civilians. During the war years, about 25 million people were evacuated to the East. Approximately 80 million people, or about 40% of the population of our country, ended up in the territory occupied by Germany. All these people became “objects” of the implementation of the misanthropic Ost program, were subjected to brutal repressions, and died from famine organized by the Germans. About 6 million people were driven into German slavery, many of them died from unbearable living conditions.
As a result of the war, the genetic fund of the most active and viable part of the population was significantly undermined, because in it, first of all, the strongest and most energetic members of society, capable of producing the most valuable offspring, died. In addition, due to the falling birth rate, the country is missing tens of millions of future citizens.
The huge price of victory fell most heavily on the shoulders of the Russian people (including Little Russians and Belarusians), because the main hostilities were carried out on their ethnic territories and it was towards them that the enemy was especially cruel and merciless.
Besides the huge human losses Our country suffered colossal material damage. Not a single country in its entire history and in the Second World War had such losses and barbaric destruction from aggressors as befell Great Russia. Russia's total material losses in world prices amounted to more than a trillion dollars (US national income for several years).
At dawn on June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union. On the side of Germany were Romania, Hungary, Italy and Finland. The aggressor's force group numbered 5.5 million people, 190 divisions, 5 thousand aircraft, about 4 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units (SPG), 47 thousand guns and mortars.
In accordance with the Barbarossa plan developed in 1940, Germany planned to enter the Arkhangelsk-Volga-Astrakhan line as soon as possible (in 6-10 weeks). It was a setup for blitzkrieg - lightning war. This is how the Great Patriotic War began.
Main periods of the Great Patriotic War
The first period (June 22, 1941–November 18, 1942) from the beginning of the war to the beginning of the Soviet offensive at Stalingrad. This was the most difficult period for the USSR.
Having created multiple superiority in men and military equipment in the main directions of attack, the German army achieved significant success.
By the end of November 1941, Soviet troops, having retreated under the blows of superior enemy forces to Leningrad, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, left a huge territory to the enemy, lost about 5 million people killed, missing and captured, most of the tanks and aircraft .
The main efforts of the Nazi troops in the fall of 1941 were aimed at capturing Moscow.
Victory near Moscow
Battle for Moscow lasted from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942. December 5-6, 1941. The Red Army went on the offensive, the enemy’s defense front was broken through. Fascist troops were driven back 100-250 km from Moscow. The plan to capture Moscow failed, and the lightning war in the east did not take place.
The victory near Moscow was of great international significance. Japan and Türkiye refrained from entering the war against the USSR. The increased authority of the USSR on the world stage contributed to the creation of an anti-Hitler coalition.
However, in the summer of 1942, due to the mistakes of the Soviet leadership (primarily Stalin), the Red Army suffered a number of major defeats in the North-West, near Kharkov and in the Crimea.
Nazi troops reached the Volga - Stalingrad and the Caucasus.
The persistent defense of Soviet troops in these directions, as well as the transfer of the country's economy to a military footing, the creation of a coherent military economy, and the deployment of the partisan movement behind enemy lines prepared the necessary conditions for the Soviet troops to go on the offensive.
Stalingrad. Kursk Bulge
The second period (November 19, 1942 - end of 1943) is a radical turning point in the war. Having exhausted and bled the enemy in defensive battles, on November 19, 1942, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive, encircling 22 fascist divisions numbering more than 300 thousand people near Stalingrad. On February 2, 1943, this group was liquidated. At the same time, enemy troops were expelled from the North Caucasus. By the summer of 1943, the Soviet-German front had stabilized.
Using a front configuration that was advantageous to them, fascist troops launched an offensive near Kursk on July 5, 1943, with the goal of regaining the strategic initiative and encircling the Soviet group of troops on the Kursk Bulge. During fierce fighting, the enemy's advance was stopped. On August 23, 1943, Soviet troops liberated Orel, Belgorod, Kharkov, reached the Dnieper, and on November 6, 1943, Kyiv was liberated.
During the summer-autumn offensive, half of the enemy divisions were defeated, and significant territories of the Soviet Union were liberated. The collapse of the fascist bloc began, and in 1943 Italy withdrew from the war.
1943 was the year of a radical turning point not only in the course of military operations on the fronts, but also in the work of the Soviet rear. Thanks to the selfless work of the home front, by the end of 1943 an economic victory over Germany was won. The military industry in 1943 provided the front with 29.9 thousand aircraft, 24.1 thousand tanks, 130.3 thousand guns of all types. This was more than Germany produced in 1943. The Soviet Union in 1943 surpassed Germany in the production of the main types of military equipment and weapons.
The third period (end of 1943 - May 8, 1945) is the final period of the Great Patriotic War. In 1944, the Soviet economy achieved its greatest expansion ever war time. Industry, transport, and agriculture developed successfully. Military production grew especially rapidly. The production of tanks and self-propelled guns in 1944, compared to 1943, increased from 24 to 29 thousand, and combat aircraft - from 30 to 33 thousand units. From the beginning of the war to 1945, about 6 thousand enterprises were put into operation.
1944 was marked by victories of the Soviet Armed Forces. The entire territory of the USSR was completely liberated from the fascist occupiers. The Soviet Union came to the aid of the peoples of Europe - the Soviet Army liberated Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and fought its way to Norway. Romania and Bulgaria declared war on Germany. Finland left the war.
Successful offensive actions The Soviet Army pushed the allies on June 6, 1944 to open a second front in Europe - Anglo-American troops under the command of General D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) landed in northern France, in Normandy. But the Soviet-German front still remained the main and most active front of the Second World War.
During the winter offensive of 1945, the Soviet Army pushed the enemy back more than 500 km. Poland, Hungary and Austria, and the eastern part of Czechoslovakia were almost completely liberated. The Soviet Army reached the Oder (60 km from Berlin). On April 25, 1945, a historic meeting between Soviet troops and American and British troops took place on the Elbe, in the Torgau region.
The fighting in Berlin was exceptionally fierce and stubborn. On April 30, the Victory Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag. On May 8, the signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany took place. May 9 became Victory Day. From July 17 to August 2, 1945, the Third Conference of the Heads of Government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain took place in the suburb of Berlin - Potsdam, which made important decisions on the post-war world order in Europe, the German problem and other issues. On June 24, 1945, the Victory Parade took place in Moscow on Red Square.
Victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany
The victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany was not only political and military, but also economic.
This is evidenced by the fact that in the period from July 1941 to August 1945, significantly more military equipment and weapons were produced in our country than in Germany.
Here are the specific data (thousand pieces):
|
USSR |
Germany |
Ratio |
|
|
Tanks and self-propelled guns |
102,8 |
46,3 |
2,22:1 |
|
Combat aircraft |
112,1 |
89,5 |
1,25:1 |
|
Guns of all types and calibers |
482,2 |
319,9 |
1,5:1 |
|
Machine guns of all types |
1515,9 |
1175,5 |
1,3:1 |
This economic victory in the war was made possible because the Soviet Union was able to create a more advanced economic organization and achieve more effective use all its resources.
War with Japan. End of World War II
However, the end of military operations in Europe did not mean the end of World War II. In accordance with the agreement in principle at Yalta (February 1945), the Soviet government declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945.
Soviet troops launched offensive operations on a front stretching over 5 thousand km. The geographical and climatic conditions in which the fighting took place were extremely difficult.
The advancing Soviet troops had to overcome the ridges of the Greater and Lesser Khingan and the East Manchurian Mountains, deep and stormy rivers, waterless deserts, and impassable forests.
But despite these difficulties, the Japanese troops were defeated.
During stubborn fighting in 23 days, Soviet troops liberated Northeast China, North Korea, the southern part of Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands. 600 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were captured, and a large amount of weapons and military equipment was captured.
Under the blows of the armed forces of the USSR and its allies in the war (primarily the USA, England, China), Japan capitulated on September 2, 1945. went to the Soviet Union South part Sakhalin and the islands of the Kuril ridge.
The United States, having dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, marked the beginning of a new nuclear era.
The main lesson of World War II
The economic and socio-political situation that developed in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century gave rise to the revolution of 1905-1907, then the February and October revolutions of 1917.
Russian participation in the First World War, Civil War and military intervention 1918-1920. led to the loss of millions of lives of Russians and the enormous devastation of the country's national economy.
New economic policy(NEP) of the Bolshevik Party allowed, within seven years (1921-1927), to overcome the devastation, restore industry, agriculture, transport, establish commodity-money relations, and carry out financial reform.
However, the NEP turned out to be not free from internal contradictions and crisis phenomena. Therefore, in 1928 it was finished.
Stalin's leadership in the late 20s - early 30s. set a course for the accelerated construction of state socialism through the accelerated implementation of industrialization of the country and complete collectivization of agriculture.
In the process of carrying out this course, a command-administrative management system and a cult Stalin's personality, which brought a lot of trouble to our people. However, it should be noted that the industrialization of the country and the collectivization of agriculture. were an important factor in ensuring economic victory over the enemy during the Great Patriotic War.
The Great Patriotic War was an important part of the Second World War . The Soviet people and their Armed Forces bore the main burden of this war on their shoulders and achieved a historic victory over Nazi Germany and its allies.
Participants in the anti-Hitler coalition made their significant contribution to the victory over the forces of fascism and militarism.
The main lesson of World War II is that preventing war requires unity of action among peace-loving forces.
During the preparation for World War II, it could have been prevented.
Many countries and public organizations tried to do this, but unity of action was never achieved.
The Great Patriotic War began on June 22, 1941, on the day of All Saints who shone in the Russian land. Plan Barbarossa, a plan for a lightning war with the USSR, was signed by Hitler on December 18, 1940. Now it was put into action. German troops - strongest army peace - attacked in three groups ("North", "Center", "South"), aimed at quickly capturing the Baltic states and then Leningrad, Moscow, and in the south - Kyiv.
Start
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June 22, 1941 4 a.m. - the beginning of the German offensive. 153 German divisions, 3,712 tanks and 4,950 combat aircraft entered the fighting (Marshal G.K. Zhukov provides such data in his book “Memories and Reflections”). The enemy forces were several times greater than the Red Army, both in numbers and in equipment.
On June 22, 1941, at 5:30 a.m., Reich Minister Goebbels, in a special broadcast of Greater German Radio, read out Adolf Hitler’s appeal to the German people in connection with the outbreak of war against the Soviet Union.
On June 22, 1941, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius, addressed an appeal to the believers. In his “Message to the Shepherds and Flock of Christ’s Orthodox Church,” Metropolitan Sergius said: “Fascist robbers attacked our Motherland... The times of Batu, the German knights, Charles of Sweden, Napoleon are being repeated... The pitiful descendants of the enemies of Orthodox Christianity want to once again try to set the people ours is on our knees before untruth... With God's help this time too, he will scatter the fascist enemy force into dust... Let us remember the holy leaders of the Russian people, for example, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, who laid down their souls for the people and the Motherland... Let us remember the countless thousands of simple Orthodox soldiers... Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people. She endured trials with him and was consoled by his successes. She will not leave her people even now. She blesses with heavenly blessing the upcoming national feat. If anyone, then it is we who need to remember the commandment of Christ: “No more than that love, as if someone lays down his life for his friends" (John 15:13)..."
Patriarch Alexander III of Alexandria addressed a message to Christians around the world about prayerful and material assistance to Russia.
Brest Fortress, Minsk, Smolensk
June 22 - July 20, 1941. Defense Brest Fortress. The first Soviet border strategic point located in the direction of the main attack of Army Group Center (towards Minsk and Moscow) was Brest and the Brest Fortress, which the German command planned to capture in the first hours of the war.
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July 9, 1941 - the enemy occupied Minsk. The forces were too unequal. The Soviet troops were in dire need of ammunition, and to transport them there was not enough transport or fuel; moreover, some of the warehouses had to be blown up, the rest were captured by the enemy. The enemy stubbornly rushed towards Minsk from the north and south. Our troops were surrounded. Deprived of centralized control and supplies, they, however, fought until July 8.
July 10 - September 10, 1941 Battle of Smolensk. On July 10, Army Group Center launched an offensive against the Western Front. The Germans had a twofold superiority in manpower and a fourfold superiority in tanks. The enemy's plan was to dissect our western front with powerful strike groups, surround the main group of troops in the Smolensk area and open the way to Moscow. The Battle of Smolensk began on July 10 and dragged on for two months - a period that the German command did not count on at all. Despite all efforts, the troops of the Western Front were unable to complete the task of defeating the enemy in the Smolensk area. During the battles near Smolensk, the Western Front suffered serious losses. By the beginning of August, no more than 1–2 thousand people remained in his divisions. However, fierce resistance from Soviet troops near Smolensk weakened the offensive power of Army Group Center. The enemy strike forces were exhausted and suffered significant losses. According to the Germans themselves, by the end of August only the motorized and tank divisions had lost half of their personnel and equipment, and total losses were about 500 thousand people. The main result of the Battle of Smolensk was the disruption of the Wehrmacht's plans for a non-stop advance towards Moscow. For the first time since the beginning of World War II, German troops were forced to go on the defensive in their main direction, as a result of which the Red Army command gained time to improve strategic defense in the Moscow direction and prepare reserves.
August 8, 1941 - Stalin appointed Supreme Commander Armed Forces of the USSR.
Defense of Ukraine
The seizure of Ukraine had important for the Germans, who sought to deprive the Soviet Union of its largest industrial and agricultural base, to take possession of Donetsk coal and Krivoy Rog ore. From a strategic point of view, the capture of Ukraine provided support from the south for the central group of German troops, which had the main task of capturing Moscow.But the lightning capture that Hitler planned did not work out here either. Retreating under the blows of German troops, the Red Army bravely and fiercely resisted, despite heavy losses. By the end of August, the troops of the Southwestern and Southern Fronts retreated beyond the Dnieper. Once surrounded, Soviet troops suffered huge losses.
Atlantic Charter. Allied powers
On August 14, 1941, on board the English battleship Prince of Wales in Argentia Bay (Newfoundland), US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill adopted a declaration outlining the goals of the war against the fascist states. On September 24, 1941, the Soviet Union acceded to the Atlantic Charter.Leningrad blockade
On August 21, 1941, defensive battles began on the near approaches to Leningrad. In September, fierce fighting continued in the immediate vicinity of the city. But the German troops were unable to overcome the resistance of the city’s defenders and take Leningrad. Then the German command decided to starve the city out. Having captured Shlisselburg on September 8, the enemy reached Lake Ladoga and blocked Leningrad from land. German troops surrounded the city in a tight ring, cutting it off from the rest of the country. Communication between Leningrad and the “mainland” was carried out only by air and through Lake Ladoga. And the Nazis tried to destroy the city with artillery strikes and bombings.From September 8, 1941 (day of celebration in honor of the Presentation of the Vladimir Icon Mother of God) until January 27, 1944 (the day of St. Nina Equal to the Apostles) continued Leningrad blockade. The winter of 1941/42 was the most difficult for Leningraders. Fuel reserves have run out. Electricity supply to residential buildings was cut off. The water supply system failed and 78 km of the sewer network was destroyed. Utilities stopped working. Food supplies were running out, and on November 20, the lowest bread standards for the entire period of the blockade were introduced - 250 grams for workers and 125 grams for employees and dependents. But even in the most difficult conditions of the siege, Leningrad continued to fight. With the beginning of the freeze-up, a highway was built across the ice of Lake Ladoga. Since January 24, 1942, it was possible to slightly increase the standards for supplying the population with bread. To supply the Leningrad Front and the city with fuel, an underwater pipeline was laid between the eastern and western shores of the Shlisselburg Bay of Lake Ladoga, which became operational on June 18, 1942 and turned out to be practically invulnerable to the enemy. And in the fall of 1942, a power cable was also laid along the bottom of the lake, through which electricity began to flow into the city. Attempts were made repeatedly to break through the blockade ring. But this was only possible in January 1943. As a result of the offensive, our troops occupied Shlisselburg and a number of other settlements. On January 18, 1943, the blockade was broken. A corridor 8-11 km wide was formed between Lake Ladoga and the front line. The blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted on January 27, 1944, on the day of St. Nina Equal to the Apostles.
During the blockade, there were 10 Orthodox churches in the city. Metropolitan of Leningrad Alexy (Simansky), future Patriarch Alexy I did not leave the city during the siege, sharing its hardships with his flock. A procession of the cross around the city was held with the miraculous Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Venerable Elder Seraphim Vyritsky took upon himself a special feat of prayer - he prayed at night on a stone in the garden for the salvation of Russia, imitating his own feat heavenly patron St. Seraphim Sarovsky.
By the fall of 1941, the leadership of the USSR curtailed anti-religious propaganda. The publication of the magazines "Atheist" and "Anti-religious" was stopped..
Battle for Moscow
On October 13, 1941, fierce fighting broke out at all operational important areas leading to Moscow.On October 20, 1941, a state of siege was introduced in Moscow and its surrounding areas. A decision was made to evacuate the diplomatic corps and a number of central institutions to Kuibyshev. It was also decided to remove particularly important state values from the capital. 12 divisions of people's militia were formed from Muscovites.
In Moscow, a prayer service was held before the miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the icon was flown around Moscow by plane.
The second stage of the attack on Moscow, called "Typhoon", was launched by the German command on November 15, 1941. The fighting was very difficult. The enemy, regardless of losses, sought to break through to Moscow at any cost. But already in the first days of December it was felt that the enemy was running out of steam. Due to the resistance of the Soviet troops, the Germans had to stretch their troops along the front to such an extent that in the final battles on the near approaches to Moscow they lost their penetrating ability. Even before the start of our counterattack near Moscow, the German command decided to retreat. This order was given that night when Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive.
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Under pressure from Stalin, it was decided to launch a general offensive along the entire front. But not all directions had the strength and means to do this. Therefore, only the advance of the troops of the North-Western Front was successful; they advanced 70-100 kilometers and somewhat improved the operational-strategic situation in the western direction. Beginning on January 7, the offensive continued until early April 1942. After which it was decided to go on the defensive.
Boss General Staff ground forces Wehrmacht General F. Halder wrote in his diary: “The myth of the invincibility of the German army has been shattered. With the onset of summer, the German army will achieve new victories in Russia, but this will no longer restore the myth of its invincibility. Therefore, December 6, 1941 can be considered a turning point, and one of the most fatal moments in brief history Third Reich. Hitler's strength and power reached their apogee, from that moment on they began to decline..."
United Nations Declaration
In January 1942, a declaration was signed in Washington by 26 countries (later known as the Declaration of the United Nations), in which they agreed to use all forces and means to fight aggressive states and not conclude a separate peace or truce with them. An agreement was reached with Great Britain and the United States on the opening of a second front in Europe in 1942.Crimean front. Sevastopol. Voronezh
On May 8, 1942, the enemy, having concentrated his strike force against the Crimean Front and brought into action numerous aircraft, broke through our defenses. Soviet troops, finding themselves in a difficult situation, were forced to leave Kerch. By May 25, the Nazis captured the entire Kerch Peninsula.October 30, 1941 - July 4, 1942 Defense of Sevastopol. The siege of the city lasted nine months, but after the Nazis captured the Kerch Peninsula, the situation in Sevastopol became very difficult and on July 4, Soviet troops were forced to leave Sevastopol. Crimea was completely lost.
June 28, 1942 - July 24, 1942 Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad operation. - combat operations of the troops of the Bryansk, Voronezh, South-Western and Southern Fronts against the German Army Group "South" in the Voronezh and Voroshilovgrad region. As a result of the forced withdrawal of our troops, the richest regions of the Don and Donbass fell into enemy hands. During the retreat, the Southern Front suffered irreparable losses; only a little more than a hundred people remained in its four armies. Troops Southwestern Front During the retreat from Kharkov, they suffered heavy losses and could not successfully restrain the enemy’s advance. For the same reason, the Southern Front could not stop the Germans in the Caucasian direction. It was necessary to block the path of German troops to the Volga. For this purpose, the Stalingrad Front was created.
Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943)
According to the plan of the Nazi command, German troops were to summer campaign 1942 to achieve those goals that were thwarted by their defeat in Moscow. The main blow was supposed to be delivered on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front with the goal of capturing the city of Stalingrad, reaching the oil-bearing regions of the Caucasus and the fertile regions of the Don, Kuban and Lower Volga. With the fall of Stalingrad, the enemy had the opportunity to cut off the south of the country from the center. We could have lost the Volga, the most important transport artery along which cargo came from the Caucasus.The defensive actions of the Soviet troops in the Stalingrad direction lasted for 125 days. During this period, they carried out two consecutive defensive operations. The first of them was carried out on the approaches to Stalingrad in the period from July 17 to September 12, the second - in Stalingrad and to the south from September 13 to November 18, 1942. The heroic defense of Soviet troops in the Stalingrad direction forced Hitler's high command to transfer more and more forces here. On September 13, the Germans went on the offensive along the entire front, trying to capture Stalingrad by storm. Soviet troops failed to contain his powerful onslaught. They were forced to retreat to the city. Days and nights the fighting continued on the streets of the city, in houses, factories, and on the banks of the Volga. Our units, having suffered heavy losses, still held the defense without leaving the city.
Soviet troops near Stalingrad were united into three fronts: Southwestern (Lieutenant General, from December 7, 1942 - Colonel General N.F. Vatutin), Don (Lieutenant General, from January 15, 1943 - Colonel General K . K. Rokossovsky) and Stalingrad (Colonel General A. I. Eremenko).
On September 13, 1942, a decision was made to launch a counteroffensive, the plan of which was developed by Headquarters. The leading role in this development was played by generals G.K. Zhukov (from January 18, 1943 - marshal) and A.M. Vasilevsky, they were appointed representatives of Headquarters at the front. A.M. Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the Stalingrad Front, and G.K. Zhukov - the South-Western and Don Front. The idea of the counteroffensive was to defeat the troops covering the flanks of the enemy strike force with strikes from the bridgeheads on the Don in the Serafimovich and Kletskaya areas and from the Sarpinskie Lakes area south of Stalingrad, and, developing an offensive in converging directions towards the city of Kalach, the Sovetsky farm, encircle and destroy its main forces operating in the area between the Volga and Don rivers.
The offensive was scheduled for November 19, 1942 for the Southwestern and Don Fronts, and for November 20 for the Stalingrad Front. The strategic offensive operation to defeat the enemy at Stalingrad consisted of three stages: encircling the enemy (November 19-30), developing the offensive and disrupting the enemy’s attempts to release the encircled group (December 1942), eliminating the group of Nazi troops encircled in the Stalingrad area (10 January-February 2, 1943).
From January 10 to February 2, 1943, the troops of the Don Front captured 91 thousand people, including over 2.5 thousand officers and 24 generals led by the commander of the 6th Army, Field Marshal Paulus.
“The defeat at Stalingrad,” as Lieutenant General Westphal of the Nazi Army writes about it, “terrified how German people, and his army. Never before in the entire history of Germany has there been such a terrible death of so many troops."
And the Battle of Stalingrad began with a prayer service in front of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The icon was among the troops; prayers and memorial services for the fallen soldiers were constantly served in front of it. Among the ruins of Stalingrad, the only surviving building was the temple in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the chapel of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
Caucasus
July 1942 - October 9, 1943. Battle for the CaucasusIn the North Caucasus direction at the end of July and beginning of August 1942, the development of events was clearly not in our favor. The superior enemy forces persistently moved forward. On August 10, enemy troops captured Maykop, and on August 11, Krasnodar. And on September 9, the Germans captured almost all the mountain passes. In stubborn bloody battles in the summer and autumn of 1942, Soviet troops suffered heavy losses, abandoned most of the territory of the North Caucasus, but still stopped the enemy. In December, preparations began for the North Caucasus offensive operation. In January, German troops began to withdraw from the Caucasus, and Soviet troops launched a powerful offensive. But the enemy put up fierce resistance and victory in the Caucasus came at a high price.
German troops were driven out to the Taman Peninsula. On the night of September 10, 1943, the Novorossiysk-Taman strategic offensive operation of Soviet troops began. Novorossiysk was liberated on September 16, 1943, Anapa on September 21, and Taman on October 3.
On October 9, 1943, Soviet troops reached the coast of the Kerch Strait and completed the liberation of the North Caucasus.
Kursk Bulge
July 5, 1943 – May 1944 Battle on Kursk Bulge .In 1943, the Nazi command decided to conduct its general offensive in the Kursk region. The fact is that the operational position of the Soviet troops on the Kursk ledge, concave towards the enemy, promised great prospects for the Germans. Here two large fronts could be surrounded at once, as a result of which a large gap would form, allowing the enemy to carry out major operations in the southern and northeastern directions.
The Soviet command was preparing for this offensive. From mid-April, the General Staff began developing a plan for both a defensive operation near Kursk and a counteroffensive. And by the beginning of July 1943, the Soviet command completed preparations for the Battle of Kursk.
July 5, 1943 German troops launched an offensive. The first attack was repulsed. However, then the Soviet troops had to retreat. The fighting was very intense and the Germans failed to achieve significant success. The enemy did not solve any of the assigned tasks and was ultimately forced to stop the offensive and go on the defensive.
The struggle was also extremely intense on the southern front of the Kursk salient - in the Voronezh Front.
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On July 12, the troops of the Bryansk and Western fronts went on the offensive in the Oryol direction, and on July 15 - the Central.
August 5, 1943 (the day of celebration of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, as well as the icon of the “Joy of All Who Sorrow”) was released Eagle. On the same day, the troops of the Steppe Front were Belgorod liberated. The Oryol offensive operation lasted 38 days and ended on August 18 with the defeat of a powerful group of Nazi troops aimed at Kursk from the north.
Events on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front had a significant impact on the further course of events in the Belgorod-Kursk direction. On July 17, the troops of the Southern and Southwestern Fronts went on the offensive. On the night of July 19, a general withdrawal of fascist German troops began on the southern front of the Kursk ledge.
August 23, 1943 liberation of Kharkov The strongest battle of the Great Patriotic War ended - the Battle of Kursk (it lasted 50 days). It ended with the defeat of the main group of German troops.
Liberation of Smolensk (1943)
Smolensk offensive operation August 7 – October 2, 1943. According to the course of hostilities and the nature of the tasks performed, the Smolensk strategic offensive operation is divided into three stages. The first stage covers the period of hostilities from August 7 to 20. During this stage, the troops of the Western Front carried out the Spas-Demen operation. The troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front began the Dukhovshchina offensive operation. At the second stage (August 21 - September 6), the troops of the Western Front carried out the Elny-Dorogobuzh operation, and the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front continued to conduct the Dukhovshchina offensive operation. At the third stage (September 7 - October 2), the troops of the Western Front, in cooperation with the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, carried out the Smolensk-Roslavl operation, and the main forces of the Kalinin Front carried out the Dukhovshchinsko-Demidov operation.September 25, 1943 troops of the Western Front liberated Smolensk- the most important strategic defense center of the Nazi troops in the western direction.
As a result of the successful implementation of the Smolensk offensive operation, our troops broke through the enemy’s heavily fortified multi-line and deeply echeloned defenses and advanced 200 - 225 km to the West.
Liberation of Donbass, Bryansk and left-bank Ukraine
On August 13, 1943 it began Donbass operation Southwestern and Southern fronts. The leadership of Nazi Germany attached extremely great importance to keeping Donbass in their hands. From the very first day the fighting became extremely intense. The enemy put up stubborn resistance. However, he failed to stop the advance of the Soviet troops. Nazi troops in the Donbass faced the threat of encirclement and a new Stalingrad. Retreating from Left Bank Ukraine, the Nazi command carried out a savage plan drawn up according to recipes for total war for the complete devastation of the abandoned territory. Along with regular troops, the mass extermination of civilians and their deportation to Germany, the destruction of industrial facilities, cities and other populated areas were carried out by SS and police units. However, the rapid advance of Soviet troops prevented him from fully implementing his plan.On August 26, the troops began their offensive Central Front(commander - Army General K.K. Rokossovsky), having begun to carry out Chernigov-Poltava operation.
On September 2, the troops of the right wing of the Voronezh Front (commanded by Army General N.F. Vatutin) liberated Sumy and launched an attack on Romny.
Continuing to successfully develop the offensive, the troops of the Central Front advanced in a southwestern direction by more than 200 km and on September 15 liberated the city of Nezhin, an important stronghold of enemy defense on the approaches to Kyiv. There were 100 km left to the Dnieper. Advancing south of the troops By September 10, the right wing of the Voronezh Front had broken the stubborn resistance of the enemy in the area of the city of Romny.
The troops of the right wing of the Central Front crossed the Desna River and liberated the city of Novgorod-Seversky on September 16.
September 21 (feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary) Soviet troops liberated Chernigov.
With the arrival of Soviet troops at the end of September at the Dnieper line, the liberation of Left Bank Ukraine was completed.
“...It’s more likely that the Dnieper will flow back than the Russians will overcome it...” said Hitler. Indeed, the wide, deep, high-water river with a high right bank represented a serious natural barrier to the advancing Soviet troops. The Soviet high command clearly understood what great value had the Dnieper for the retreating enemy, and did everything to cross it on the move, seize bridgeheads on the right bank and prevent the enemy from gaining a foothold on this line. They tried to speed up the advance of troops to the Dnieper, and to develop the offensive not only against the main enemy groups retreating to permanent crossings, but also in the intervals between them. This made it possible to reach the Dnieper on a broad front and disrupt the plan of the fascist German command to do “ Eastern rampart» unapproachable. Significant forces of partisans also actively joined the fight, subjecting the enemy’s communications to continuous attacks and preventing the regrouping of German troops.On September 21 (the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary), the advanced units of the left wing of the Central Front reached the Dnieper north of Kyiv. Troops from other fronts also advanced successfully during these days. The troops of the right wing of the Southwestern Front reached the Dnieper on September 22, south of Dnepropetrovsk. From September 25 to 30, the troops of the Steppe Front reached the Dnieper in their entire offensive zone.
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At first, the forward detachments crossed using improvised means under continuous enemy fire and tried to gain a foothold on the right bank. After this they created pontoon crossings for technology. The troops who crossed to the right bank of the Dnieper had a very difficult time. Before they had time to gain a foothold there, fierce battles broke out. The enemy, having brought up large forces, continuously counterattacked, trying to destroy our units and units or throw them into the river. But our troops, suffering heavy losses, showing exceptional courage and heroism, held the captured positions.
By the end of September, having knocked down the defenses of enemy troops, our troops crossed the Dnieper on a 750-kilometer front section from Loev to Zaporozhye and captured a number of important bridgeheads from which it was planned to develop an offensive further to the west.
For crossing the Dnieper, for dedication and heroism in battles on the bridgeheads, 2,438 soldiers of all branches of the army (47 generals, 1,123 officers and 1,268 soldiers and sergeants) were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
On October 20, 1943, the Voronezh Front was renamed into the 1st Ukrainian, the Steppe Front into the 2nd Ukrainian, the Southwestern and Southern Fronts into the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian.
On November 6, 1943, on the day of the celebration of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” Kyiv was liberated from the fascist invaders by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of General N.F. Vatutin.
After the liberation of Kyiv, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front launched an attack on Zhitomir, Fastov and Korosten. Over the next 10 days, they advanced 150 km west and liberated many settlements, including the cities of Fastov and Zhitomir. A strategic bridgehead was formed on the right bank of the Dnieper, the length of which along the front exceeded 500 km.
Intense fighting continued in southern Ukraine. On October 14 (the feast of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary), the city of Zaporozhye was liberated and the German bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper was liquidated. On October 25, Dnepropetrovsk was liberated.
Tehran Conference of the Allied Powers. Opening of a second front
From November 28 - December 1, 1943 it took place Tehran Conference chapters allied powers against the fascism of states - the USSR (J.V. Stalin), the USA (President F. Roosevelt) and Great Britain (Prime Minister W. Churchill).The main issue was the opening of a second front in Europe by the United States and Great Britain, which they did not open, contrary to their promises. At the conference it was decided to open a second front in France during May 1944. The Soviet delegation, at the request of the allies, announced the USSR’s readiness to enter the war against Japan at the end of the war. action in Europe. The conference also discussed questions about the post-war system and the fate of Germany.
December 24, 1943 – May 6, 1944 Dnieper-Carpathian strategic offensive operation. within this strategic operation 11 offensive operations of fronts and groups of fronts were carried out: Zhitomir-Berdichevskaya, Kirovogradskaya, Korsun-Shevchenkovskaya, Nikopol-Krivoy Rog, Rivne-Lutsk, Proskurovsko-Chernivtsi, Umansko-Botoshanskaya, Bereznegovato-Snigirevskaya, Polesskaya, Odessa and Tyrgu-Frumosskaya.December 24, 1943 – January 14, 1944 Zhitomir-Berdichev operation. Having advanced 100-170 km, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front in 3 weeks of fighting almost completely liberated the Kyiv and Zhitomir regions and many areas of the Vinnitsa and Rivne regions, including the cities of Zhitomir (December 31), Novograd-Volynsky (January 3) , Bila Tserkva (January 4), Berdichev (January 5). On January 10-11, advanced units reached the approaches to Vinnitsa, Zhmerinka, Uman and Zhashkov; defeated 6 enemy divisions and deeply captured the left flank of the German group, which still held the right bank of the Dnieper in the Kanev area. The preconditions were created for striking the flank and rear of this group.
January 5-16, 1944 Kirovograd operation. After intense fighting on January 8, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front captured Kirovograd and continued the offensive. However, on January 16, repelling strong enemy counterattacks, they were forced to go on the defensive. As a result of the Kirovograd operation, the position of the fascist German troops in the zone of action of the 2nd Ukrainian Front significantly worsened.
January 24 – February 17, 1944 Korsun-Shevchenko operation. During this operation, troops of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts encircled and defeated a large group of fascist German troops in the Kanevsky ledge.
January 27 – February 11, 1944 Rivne-Lutsk operation- was carried out by troops of the right wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front. On February 2, the cities of Lutsk and Rivne were isolated, and on February 11, Shepetivka.
January 30 – February 29, 1944 Nikopol-Krivoy Rog operation. It was carried out by troops of the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts with the aim of eliminating the enemy’s Nikopol bridgehead. By the end of February 7, the 4th Ukrainian Front had completely cleared the Nikopol bridgehead of enemy troops and on February 8, together with units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, liberated the city of Nikopol. After stubborn fighting, troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front liberated the city of Krivoy Rog on February 22, a large industrial center and road junction. By February 29, the 3rd Ukrainian Front with its right wing and center advanced to the Ingulets River, capturing a number of bridgeheads on it west bank. As a result, favorable conditions were created for launching subsequent attacks on the enemy in the direction of Nikolaev and Odessa. As a result of the Nikopol-Krivoy Rog operation, 12 enemy divisions were defeated, including 3 tank and 1 motorized. Having eliminated the Nikopol bridgehead and thrown the enemy back from the Zaporozhye bend of the Dnieper, Soviet troops deprived the fascist German command of their last hope of restoring communications by land with the 17th Army blocked in the Crimea. A significant reduction in the front line allowed the Soviet command to free up forces to capture the Crimean Peninsula.
On February 29, Bandera’s troops seriously wounded the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, General Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin. Unfortunately, it was not possible to save this talented commander. He died on April 15.
By the spring of 1944, troops from four Ukrainian fronts had broken through the enemy’s defenses all the way from Pripyat to the lower reaches of the Dnieper. Having advanced 150-250 km westward over the course of two months, they defeated several large enemy groups and thwarted his plans to restore defenses along the Dnieper. The liberation of the Kyiv, Dnepropetrovsk, and Zaporozhye regions was completed, the entire Zhitomir, almost completely the Rivne and Kirovograd regions, and a number of districts of the Vinnitsa, Nikolaev, Kamenets-Podolsk and Volyn regions were cleared of the enemy. Such large industrial areas as Nikopol and Krivoy Rog have been returned. The length of the front in Ukraine by the spring of 1944 reached 1200 km. In March, a new offensive was launched in Right Bank Ukraine.
On March 4, the 1st Ukrainian Front went on the offensive and carried out Proskurov-Chernivtsi offensive operation(4 March – 17 April 1944).
On March 5, the 2nd Ukrainian Front began Uman-Botosha operation(March 5 – April 17, 1944).
March 6th began Bereznegovato-Snigirevskaya operation 3rd Ukrainian Front (6-18 March 1944). On March 11, Soviet troops liberated Berislav, on March 13, the 28th Army captured Kherson, and on March 15, Bereznegovatoye and Snigirevka were liberated. The troops of the right wing of the front, pursuing the enemy, reached the Southern Bug in the Voznesensk region.
On March 29, our troops captured regional center the city of Chernivtsi. The enemy lost the last link between his troops operating north and south of the Carpathians. Strategic Front The fascist German troops were cut into two parts. On March 26, the city of Kamenets-Podolsky was liberated.
Significant assistance to the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front in the defeat of the northern wing of the group Hitler's armies"South" was supported by the 2nd Belorussian Front, which carried out Polesie offensive operation(March 15 – April 5, 1944).
March 26, 1944 forward detachments of the 27th and 52nd armies (2nd Ukrainian Front) west of the city of Balti reached the Prut River, occupying an 85-km-long section along the USSR border with Romania. This would the first exit of Soviet troops to the border of the USSR.
On the night of March 28, the troops of the right wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front crossed the Prut and advanced 20-40 km into Romanian territory. On the approaches to Iasi and Chisinau they met stubborn enemy resistance. The main result of the Uman-Botosha operation was the liberation of a significant part of the territory of Ukraine and Moldova and the entry of Soviet troops into Romania.
March 26 - April 14, 1944 Odessa offensive operation troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. On March 26, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front went on the offensive throughout their entire zone. On March 28, after heavy fighting, the city of Nikolaev was taken.
On the evening of April 9, Soviet troops from the north burst into Odessa and captured the city by night assault by 10 a.m. on April 10. The liberation of Odessa was attended by troops of three armies, commanded by Generals V.D. Tsvetaev, V.I. Chuikov and I.T. Shlemin, as well as the cavalry mechanized group of General I.A. Pliev.
April 8 – May 6, 1944 Tirgu-Frumos offensive operation of the 2nd Ukrainian Front was the final operation of the Red Army’s strategic offensive in Right Bank Ukraine. Its goal was to strike the Chisinau enemy group from the west with a blow in the direction of Tirgu-Frumos, Vaslui. The offensive of the troops of the right wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front began quite successfully. In the period from April 8 to 11, they, having broken enemy resistance, crossed the Siret River, advanced 30-50 km in the southwestern and southern directions and reached the foothills of the Carpathians. However, it was not possible to complete the assigned tasks. Our troops went on the defensive at the achieved lines.
Liberation of Crimea (8 April - 12 May 1944)
On April 8, the offensive of the 4th Ukrainian Front began with the goal of liberating Crimea. On April 11, our troops captured Dzhankoy, a powerful stronghold in the enemy’s defense and an important road junction. The entry of the 4th Ukrainian Front into the Dzhankoy area threatened the retreat routes of the enemy’s Kerch group and thereby created favorable conditions for the offensive of the Separate Primorsky Army. Fearing encirclement, the enemy decided to withdraw troops from the Kerch Peninsula. Having discovered preparations for departure, Separate Maritime Army on the night of April 11, it went on the offensive. On April 13, Soviet troops liberated the cities of Yevpatoria, Simferopol and Feodosia. And on April 15-16 they reached the approaches to Sevastopol, where they were stopped by organized enemy defenses.On April 18, the Separate Primorsky Army was renamed the Primorsky Army and included in the 4th Ukrainian Front.
Our troops were preparing for the assault. On May 9, 1944, Sevastopol was liberated. The remnants of the German troops fled to Cape Chersonesos, hoping to escape by sea. But on May 12 they were completely dispersed. At Cape Chersonese, 21 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were captured, and a large amount of weapons and military equipment was captured.
Western Ukraine
On July 27, after stubborn fighting, Lviv liberated.In July-August 1944, Soviet troops liberated western regions Ukraine, and south- eastern part Poland, captured a large bridgehead on the western bank of the Vistula River, from which an offensive was subsequently launched into the central regions of Poland and further to the borders of Germany.
The final lifting of the blockade of Leningrad. Karelia
January 14 – March 1, 1944. Leningrad-Novgorod offensive operation. As a result of the offensive, Soviet troops liberated the territory of almost the entire Leningrad and part of the Kalinin regions from the occupiers, completely lifted the blockade of Leningrad, and entered Estonia. The basing area of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet in the Gulf of Finland has expanded significantly. Favorable conditions were created for the defeat of the enemy in the Baltic states and in areas north of Leningrad.June 10 - August 9, 1944 Vyborg-Petrozavodsk offensive operation Soviet troops on the Karelian Isthmus.
Liberation of Belarus and Lithuania
June 23 - August 29, 1944 Belarusian strategic offensive operation Soviet troops in Belarus and Lithuania "Bagration". As part of the Belarusian operation, the Vitebsk-Orsha operation was also carried out.The general offensive was opened on June 23 by the troops of the 1st Baltic Front (commander Colonel General I.Kh. Bagramyan), the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front (commander Colonel General I.D. Chernyakhovsky) and the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front (commander Colonel General G.F. Zakharov). The next day, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of Army General K.K. Rokossovsky went on the offensive. Guerrilla detachments began active operations behind enemy lines.
The troops of four fronts, with persistent and coordinated strikes, broke through the defenses to a depth of 25-30 km, crossed a number of rivers on the move and inflicted significant damage on the enemy.
In the Bobruisk area, about six divisions of the 35th Army and 41st were surrounded tank corps 9th German Army.
July 3, 1944 Soviet troops liberated Minsk. As Marshal G.K. writes Zhukov, “the capital of Belarus was unrecognizable... Now everything lay in ruins, and in place of residential areas there were vacant lots, covered with piles of broken bricks and debris. The most difficult impression was made by the people, the residents of Minsk. Most of them were extremely exhausted and exhausted. .."
June 29 - July 4, 1944, troops of the 1st Baltic Front successfully carried out the Polotsk operation, destroying the enemy in this area, and on July 4 Polotsk was liberated. On July 5, troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front captured the city of Molodechno.
As a result of the defeat of large enemy forces near Vitebsk, Mogilev, Bobruisk and Minsk, the immediate goal of Operation Bagration was achieved, several days earlier than planned. In 12 days - from June 23 to July 4 - Soviet troops advanced almost 250 km. Vitebsk, Mogilev, Polotsk, Minsk and Bobruisk regions were completely liberated.
On July 18, 1944 (on the feast of St. Sergius of Radonezh), Soviet troops crossed the border of Poland.
On July 24 (the feast day of the Holy Blessed Princess Olga of Russia), the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front with their advanced units reached the Vistula in the Dęblin area. Here they freed the prisoners of the Majdanek death camp, in which the Nazis exterminated about one and a half million people.
On August 1, 1944 (on the feast of St. Seraphim of Sarov), our troops reached the borders of East Prussia.
The Red Army troops, having launched an offensive on June 23 on a front of 700 km, by the end of August advanced 550-600 km to the west, expanding the front of military operations to 1100 km. The vast territory of the Belarusian Republic was cleared of invaders - 80% and a quarter of Poland.
Warsaw Uprising (1 August – 2 October 1944)
On August 1, 1994, an anti-Nazi uprising took place in Warsaw. In response, the Germans carried out brutal massacres against the population. The city was destroyed to the ground. Soviet troops attempted to help the rebels, crossed the Vistula and captured the embankment in Warsaw. However, soon the Germans began to press our units, the Soviet troops suffered heavy losses. It was decided to withdraw the troops. The uprising lasted 63 days and was crushed. Warsaw was front line German defense, and the rebels had only light weapons. Without the help of Russian troops, the rebels had practically no chance of victory. And the uprising, unfortunately, was not coordinated with the command of the Soviet army in order to receive effective help from our troops.Liberation of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia
August 20 - 29, 1944. Iasi-Kishinev offensive operation.In April 1944, as a result of a successful offensive in Right Bank Ukraine, troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the border of the cities of Iasi and Orhei and went on the defensive. The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front reached the Dniester River and captured several bridgeheads on its western bank. These fronts, as well as the Black Sea Fleet and the Danube Military Flotilla, were tasked with carrying out the Iasi-Kishinev strategic offensive operation with the aim of defeating a large group of German and Romanian troops covering the Balkan direction.
As a result of the successful implementation Iasi-Kishinev operation Soviet troops completed the liberation of Moldova and the Izmail region of Ukraine.
August 23, 1944 - armed uprising in Romania. as a result of which the fascist Antonescu regime was overthrown. The next day, Romania came out of the war on the side of Germany and declared war on Germany on August 25. From that time on, Romanian troops took part in the war on the side of the Red Army.
September 8 – October 28, 1944 East Carpathian offensive operation. As a result of the offensive of units of the 1st and 4th Ukrainian Fronts in the Eastern Carpathians, our troops liberated almost all of Transcarpathian Ukraine, September 20 reached the border of Slovakia, liberated part of Eastern Slovakia. The breakthrough into the Hungarian lowland opened up the prospect of liberating Czechoslovakia and access to the southern border of Germany.
Baltics
September 14 - November 24, 1944 Baltic offensive operation. This is one of the largest operations of the autumn of 1944; 12 armies of three Baltic fronts and the Leningrad Front were deployed on a 500-km front. The Baltic Fleet was also involved.September 22, 1944 - liberated Tallinn. In the following days (until September 26), the troops of the Leningrad Front reached the coast all the way from Tallinn to Pärnu, thereby completing the clearing of the enemy from the entire territory of Estonia, with the exception of the islands of Dago and Ezel.
On October 11 our troops reached borders with East Prussia. Continuing the offensive, by the end of October they completely cleared the northern bank of the Neman River of the enemy.
As a result of the offensive of Soviet troops in the Baltic strategic direction, Army Group North was expelled from almost the entire Baltic region and lost communications connecting it by land with East Prussia. The struggle for the Baltic states was long and extremely fierce. The enemy, having a well-developed road network, actively maneuvered with its forces and means, put up stubborn resistance to the Soviet troops, often launching counterattacks and delivering counterattacks. On his part, up to 25% of all forces on the Soviet-German front took part in the fighting. During the Baltic operation, 112 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Yugoslavia
September 28 – October 20, 1944 Belgrade offensive operation. The goal of the operation was to use the joint efforts of Soviet and Yugoslav troops in the Belgrade direction, Yugoslav and Bulgarian troops in the Niš and Skopje directions to defeat the Serbia army group and liberate the eastern half of the territory of Serbia, including Belgrade. To carry out these tasks, troops of the 3rd Ukrainian (57th and 17th Air Armies, 4th Guards Mechanized Corps and units of front-line subordination) and 2nd Ukrainian (46th and parts of the 5th Air Army) fronts were involved . The offensive of Soviet troops in Yugoslavia forced the German command to make a decision on October 7, 1944 to withdraw its main forces from Greece, Albania and Macedonia. By the same time, the troops of the left wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the Tisa River, freeing the entire left bank of the Danube east of the mouth of the Tisa from the enemy. On October 14 (on the Feast of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary), the order was given to begin the assault on Belgrade.The 20th of October Belgrade was liberated. The battles for the liberation of the capital of Yugoslavia lasted a week and were extremely stubborn.
With the liberation of the capital of Yugoslavia, the Belgrade offensive operation ended. During it it was destroyed army group"Serbia" and defeated a number of formations of Army Group "F". As a result of the operation, the enemy front was pushed 200 km to the west, the eastern half of Serbia was liberated and the enemy’s transport artery Thessaloniki - Belgrade was cut. At the same time, favorable conditions were created for the Soviet troops advancing in the Budapest direction. The Supreme High Command headquarters could now use the forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front to defeat the enemy in Hungary. Residents of villages and cities in Yugoslavia greeted Soviet soldiers very warmly. They took to the streets with flowers, shook hands, hugged and kissed their liberators. The air was filled with the solemn ringing of bells and Russian melodies performed by local musicians. A medal “For the Liberation of Belgrade” was established.
Karelian Front, 1944
October 7 - 29, 1944 Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive operation. The successful conduct of the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk strategic offensive operation by Soviet troops forced Finland to withdraw from the war. By the fall of 1944, troops Karelian Front basically reached the pre-war border with Finland, with the exception of the Far North, where the Nazis continued to occupy part of the Soviet and Finnish territories. Germany sought to retain this region of the Arctic, which was an important source of strategic raw materials (copper, nickel, molybdenum) and had ice-free seaports where the forces of the German fleet were based. The commander of the Karelian Front, Army General K. A. Meretskov, wrote: “Under your feet, the tundra is damp and somehow uncomfortable, lifelessness emanates from below: there, in the depths, permafrost begins, lying in islands, and yet the soldiers have to sleep on this earth, laying under oneself only one coat of an overcoat... Sometimes the earth rises up with bare masses of granite rocks... Nevertheless, it was necessary to fight. And not just fight, but attack, beat the enemy, drive him away and destroy him. I had to remember the words of the great Suvorov: “Where a deer passes, a Russian soldier will pass, and where a deer does not pass, it’s all the same.” Russian will pass soldier "". On October 15, the city of Petsamo (Pechenga) was liberated. Back in 1533, a Russian monastery was founded at the mouth of the Pechenga River. Soon here, at the base of a wide and convenient bay of the Barents Sea for sailors, a port was built. Lively trade went through Pechenga with Norway, Holland, England and other Western countries.In 1920, under the peace treaty of October 14, Soviet Russia voluntarily ceded the Pechenga region to Finland.On October 25, Kirkenes was liberated, and the fighting was so fierce that every house and every street had to be stormed.
854 Soviet prisoners of war and 772 civilians abducted by the Nazis from the Leningrad region were rescued from concentration camps.
The last cities our troops reached were Neiden and Nautsi.
Hungary
October 29, 1944 - February 13, 1945. Assault and capture of Budapest.The offensive began on October 29. The German command took all measures to prevent the capture of Budapest by Soviet troops and the withdrawal of its last ally from the war. Fierce fighting broke out on the approaches to Budapest. Our troops achieved significant success, but they could not defeat the enemy group in Budapest and take possession of the city. Finally managed to surround Budapest. But the city was a fortress prepared by the Nazis for long-term defense. Hitler ordered to fight for Budapest to the last soldier. The battles for the liberation of the eastern part of the city (Pest) took place from December 27 to January 18, and the western part (Buda) - from January 20 to February 13.
During the Budapest operation, Soviet troops liberated a significant part of Hungarian territory. The offensive actions of Soviet troops in the autumn and winter of 1944–1945 in the southwestern direction led to a radical change in the entire political situation in the Balkans. To Romania and Bulgaria, which were previously withdrawn from the war, another state was added - Hungary.
Slovakia and Southern Poland
January 12 - February 18, 1945. West Carpathian offensive operation. In the Western Carpathian operation, our troops had to overcome the enemy’s defensive lines, stretching 300–350 km in depth. The offensive was carried out by the 4th Ukrainian Front (commander - Army General I.E. Petrov) and part of the forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. As a result of the winter offensive of the Red Army in the Western Carpathians, our troops liberated vast areas of Slovakia and Southern Poland with a population of about 1.5 million people.Warsaw-Berlin direction
January 12 - February 3, 1945. Vistula-Oder offensive operation. The offensive in the Warsaw-Berlin direction was carried out by the forces of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov and the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev. Soldiers of the Polish Army fought alongside the Russians. The actions of the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts to defeat the Nazi troops between the Vistula and Oder can be divided into two stages. On the first (from January 12 to 17), the enemy’s strategic defense front in a strip of about 500 km was broken through, the main forces of Army Group A were defeated and conditions were created for rapid development operations to great depth.January 17, 1945 was Warsaw liberated. The Nazis literally wiped the city off the face of the earth, and local residents subjected to merciless destruction.
At the second stage (from January 18 to February 3), the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts, with the assistance of the troops of the 2nd Belorussian and 4th Ukrainian Fronts on the flanks, during the rapid pursuit of the enemy, defeated the enemy reserves advancing from the depths and captured Silesian industrial region and reached the Oder on a broad front, capturing a number of bridgeheads on its western bank.
As a result of the Vistula-Oder operation, a significant part of Poland was liberated, and the fighting was transferred to German territory. About 60 divisions of German troops were defeated.
January 13 - April 25, 1945 East Prussian offensive operation. During this long-term strategic operation, the Insterburg, Mlawa-Elbing, Heilsberg, Koenigsberg and Zemland front-line offensive operations were carried out.
East Prussia was Germany's main strategic springboard for attacks on Russia and Poland. This territory also tightly covered access to the central regions of Germany. Therefore, the fascist command attached great importance to holding East Prussia. Relief features - lakes, rivers, swamps and canals, a developed network of highways and railways, strong stone buildings - contributed significantly to the defense.
The overall goal of the East Prussian strategic offensive operation was to cut off the enemy troops located in East Prussia from the rest of the fascist forces, press them to the sea, dismember and destroy them in parts, completely clearing the territory of East Prussia and Northern Poland of the enemy.
Three fronts took part in the operation: 2nd Belorussian (commander - Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky), 3rd Belorussian (commander - Army General I.D. Chernyakhovsky) and 1st Baltic (commander - General I.Kh. Bagramyan). They were assisted by the Baltic Fleet under the command of Admiral V.F. Tributsa.
The fronts began their offensive successfully (January 13 - 3rd Belorussian and January 14 - 2nd Belorussian). By January 18, German troops, despite desperate resistance, suffered a heavy defeat in the places of the main attacks of our armies and began to retreat. Until the end of January, waging stubborn battles, our troops captured a significant part of East Prussia. Having reached the sea, they cut off the East Prussian enemy group from the rest of the forces. At the same time, the 1st Baltic Front captured the large seaport of Memel (Klaipeda) on January 28.
On February 10, the second stage of hostilities began - the elimination of isolated enemy groups. On February 18, Army General I.D. Chernyakhovsky died from a serious wound. The command of the 3rd Belorussian Front was entrusted to Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky. During intense battles, Soviet troops suffered serious losses. By March 29, it was possible to defeat the Nazis occupying the Heilsbury region. Next it was planned to defeat the Koenigsberg group. The Germans created three powerful defensive positions around the city. The city was declared by Hitler to be the best German fortress in the entire history of Germany and "an absolutely impregnable bastion of the German spirit."
Assault on Konigsberg started on April 6th. On April 9, the fortress garrison capitulated. Moscow celebrated the completion of the assault on Koenigsberg with a salute of the highest category - 24 artillery salvoes from 324 guns. A medal was established “For the Capture of Koenigsberg”, which was usually done only on the occasion of the capture of state capitals. All participants in the assault received a medal. On April 17, a group of German troops near Koenigsberg was liquidated.
After the capture of Koenigsberg, only the Zemland enemy group remained in East Prussia, which was defeated by the end of April.
In East Prussia, the Red Army destroyed 25 German divisions, the other 12 divisions lost from 50 to 70% of their strength. Soviet troops captured more than 220 thousand soldiers and officers.
But the Soviet troops also suffered huge losses: 126.5 thousand soldiers and officers died or went missing, more than 458 thousand soldiers were injured or were out of action due to illness.
Yalta Conference of the Allied Powers
This conference took place from February 4 to 11, 1945. The heads of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain - I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill took part in it. Victory over fascism was no longer in doubt; it was a matter of time. The conference discussed the post-war structure of the world, the division of spheres of influence. A decision was made to occupy and divide Germany into occupation zones and to allocate France its own zone. For the USSR, the main task was to ensure the security of its borders after the end of the war. For example, there was a provisional government of Poland in exile, based in London. However, Stalin insisted on creating a new government in Poland, since it was from the territory of Poland that attacks on Russia were conveniently carried out by its enemies.The “Declaration on a Liberated Europe” was also signed in Yalta, which, in particular, said: “The establishment of order in Europe and the reorganization of national economic life must be achieved in a way that will allow the liberated peoples to destroy the last traces of Nazism and fascism and create democratic institutions of their own choosing."
At the Yalta Conference, an agreement was concluded on the entry of the USSR into the war against Japan two to three months after the end of the war in Europe and with the condition that Russia would return South Sakhalin and adjacent islands, as well as the previously Russian naval base in Port Arthur and with the condition transfer of the Kuril Islands to the USSR.
The most important result of the conference was the decision to convene a conference on April 25, 1945 in San Francisco, at which it was planned to develop the Charter new Organization United Nations.
Coast of the Baltic Sea
February 10 – April 4, 1945. East Pomeranian offensive operation. The enemy command continued to hold the coast in its hands Baltic Sea in Eastern Pomerania, as a result of which a gap of about 150 km was formed in early February 1945 between the armies of the 1st Belorussian Front, which reached the Oder River, and the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front, whose main forces fought in East Prussia. This strip of terrain was occupied by limited forces of Soviet troops. As a result of the fighting, by March 13, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 2nd Belorussian fronts reached the coast of the Baltic Sea. By April 4, the East Pomeranian enemy group was eliminated. The enemy, having suffered huge losses, not only lost a bridgehead convenient for operations against our troops preparing for an attack on Berlin, but also a significant part of the Baltic Sea coast. The Baltic Fleet, having relocated its light forces to the ports of Eastern Pomerania, took advantageous positions on the Baltic Sea and could provide the coastal flank of the Soviet troops during their offensive in the Berlin direction.Vein
March 16 - April 15, 1945. Vienna offensive operation In January-March 1945, as a result of the Budapest and Balaton operations carried out by the Red Army, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin) defeated the enemy in the central part of Hungary and moved west.April 4, 1945 Soviet troops completed the liberation of Hungary and launched an attack on Vienna.
Fierce fighting for the capital of Austria began the very next day - April 5. The city was covered from three sides - from the south, east and west. Fighting stubborn street battles, Soviet troops advanced towards the city center. Fierce battles broke out for each block, and sometimes even for a separate building. By 14:00 on April 13, Soviet troops were completely liberated Vienna.
During the Vienna operation, Soviet troops fought 150-200 km and completed the liberation of Hungary and the eastern part of Austria with its capital. The fighting during the Vienna operation was extremely fierce. The Soviet troops here were opposed by the most combat-ready divisions of the Wehrmacht (6th SS Panzer Army), which shortly before inflicted a serious defeat on the Americans in the Ardennes. But Soviet soldiers, in a fierce struggle, crushed this flower of Hitler's Wehrmacht. True, the victory was achieved at the cost of considerable sacrifices.
Berlin offensive operation (April 16 - May 2, 1945)
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The offensive of the Russian troops was planned very carefully. On a relatively narrow section of the front, 65 rifle divisions, 3,155 tanks and self-propelled guns, and about 42 thousand guns and mortars were concentrated in a short time. Concept Soviet command boiled down to breaking through the enemy’s defenses along the Oder and Neisse rivers with powerful blows from troops on three fronts and, developing an offensive in depth, encircling the main group of fascist German troops in the Berlin direction, simultaneously cutting it into several parts and subsequently destroying each of them. In the future, Soviet troops were supposed to reach the Elbe. The completion of the defeat of the Nazi troops was supposed to be carried out jointly with the Western allies, an agreement in principle with whom on coordinating actions was reached at the Crimean Conference. The main role in the upcoming operation was assigned to the 1st Belorussian Front (commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov), the 1st Ukrainian Front (commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev) was supposed to defeat the enemy group south of Berlin. The front dealt two blows: the main one in general direction to Spremberg and auxiliary to Dresden. The start of the offensive by the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts was scheduled for April 16. On the 2nd, the Belorussian Front (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky) was supposed to launch an offensive on April 20, cross the Oder in its lower reaches and strike in a northwestern direction in order to cut off the West Pomeranian enemy group from Berlin. In addition, the 2nd Belorussian Front was entrusted with the task of covering the coast of the Baltic Sea from the mouth of the Vistula to Altdamm with part of its forces.
It was decided to begin the main offensive two hours before dawn. One hundred and forty anti-aircraft searchlights were supposed to suddenly illuminate enemy positions and attack targets. A sudden and powerful artillery barrage and air strikes, followed by an attack by infantry and tanks, stunned the Germans. Hitler's troops were literally drowned in a continuous sea of fire and metal. On the morning of April 16, Russian troops successfully advanced on all sectors of the front. However, the enemy, having come to his senses, began to resist from the Seelow Heights - this natural line stood as a solid wall in front of our troops. The steep slopes of the Zelovsky Heights were dug with trenches and trenches. All approaches to them were shot through multi-layered cross artillery and rifle-machine-gun fire. Some buildings have been converted into strong points, there are barriers made of logs and metal beams on the roads, and the approaches to them are mined. On both sides of the highway running from the city of Zelov to the west, there was anti-aircraft artillery, which was used for anti-tank defense. The approaches to the heights were blocked by an anti-tank ditch up to 3 m deep and 3.5 m wide. Having assessed the situation, Marshal Zhukov decided to bring tank armies into the battle. However, even with their help it was not possible to quickly master the border. The Seelow Heights were taken only on the morning of April 18, after fierce battles. However, on April 18, the enemy was still trying to stop the advance of our troops, throwing all his available reserves towards them. Only on April 19, suffering heavy losses, the Germans could not stand it and began to retreat to the outer perimeter of Berlin’s defenses.
The offensive of the 1st Ukrainian Front developed more successfully. Having crossed the Neisse River, combined arms and tank formations by the end of the day on April 16 broke through the main enemy defense line at a front of 26 km and to a depth of 13 km. During the three days of the offensive, the armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced up to 30 km in the direction of the main attack.
Storm of Berlin
On April 20, the assault on Berlin began. Long-range artillery of our troops opened fire on the city. On April 21, our units broke into the outskirts of Berlin and started fighting in the city itself. The fascist German command made desperate efforts to prevent the encirclement of their capital. It was decided to remove all troops from the Western Front and throw them into the battle for Berlin. However, on April 25, the encirclement ring around the Berlin enemy group was closed. On the same day, a meeting between Soviet and American troops. The 2nd Belorussian Front, through active operations in the lower reaches of the Oder, reliably pinned down the 3rd German Tank Army, depriving it of the opportunity to launch a counterattack from the north against the Soviet armies surrounding Berlin. Our troops suffered heavy losses, but, inspired by successes, rushed to the center of Berlin, where the main enemy command led by Hitler was still located. Fierce battles broke out on the streets of the city. The fighting did not stop day or night.
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April 30th started early in the morning storming of the Reichstag. The approaches to the Reichstag were covered by strong buildings, the defense was held by selected SS units total number about six thousand men, equipped with tanks, assault guns and artillery. At about 3 p.m. on April 30, the Red Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag. However, fighting in the Reichstag continued throughout the day of May 1 and into the night of May 2. Separate scattered groups of Nazis, holed up in the basements, capitulated only on the morning of May 2.
On April 30, German troops in Berlin were divided into four parts of different composition, and their unified control was lost.
At 3 a.m. on May 1, the Chief of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces, Infantry General G. Krebs, by agreement with the Soviet command, crossed the front line in Berlin and was received by the commander of the 8th guards army General V.I. Chuikov. Krebs reported Hitler's suicide, and also conveyed a list of members of the new imperial government and a proposal from Goebbels and Bormann for a temporary cessation of hostilities in the capital in order to prepare conditions for peace talks between Germany and the USSR. However, this document said nothing about surrender. Krebs' message was immediately reported by Marshal G.K. Zhukov to the Supreme Command Headquarters. The answer was: to achieve only unconditional surrender. On the evening of May 1, the German command sent a truce to report their refusal to capitulate. In response to this, the final assault began on the central part of the city, where the Imperial Chancellery was located. On May 2, by 15:00, the enemy in Berlin had completely ceased resistance.
Prague
May 6 - 11, 1945. Prague offensive operation. After the defeat of the enemy in the Berlin direction, the only force capable of providing serious resistance to the Red Army was Army Group Center and part of Army Group Austria, located on the territory of Czechoslovakia. The idea of the Prague operation was to encircle, dismember and short time defeat the main forces of the Nazi troops on the territory of Czechoslovakia and prevent their withdrawal to the west. The main attacks on the flanks of Army Group Center were carried out by troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front from the area northwest of Dresden and troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front from the area south of Brno.On May 5, a spontaneous uprising began in Prague. Tens of thousands of city residents took to the streets. They not only erected hundreds of barricades, but also captured the central post office, telegraph, train stations, bridges over the Vltava, a number of military warehouses, disarmed several small units stationed in Prague, and established control over a significant part of the city. On May 6, German troops, using tanks, artillery and aircraft against the rebels, entered Prague and captured a significant part of the city. The rebels, having suffered heavy losses, radioed to the Allies for help. In this regard, Marshal I. S. Konev gave the order to the troops of his strike group to begin an offensive on the morning of May 6.
On the afternoon of May 7, the commander of Army Group Center received by radio an order from Field Marshal W. Keitel about the surrender of German troops on all fronts, but did not convey it to his subordinates. On the contrary, he gave his order to the troops, in which he stated that rumors of surrender were false, they were being spread by Anglo-American and Soviet propaganda. On May 7, American officers arrived in Prague, reported the surrender of Germany and advised an end to the fighting in Prague. At night it became known that the head of the garrison of German troops in Prague, General R. Toussaint, was ready to enter into negotiations with the leadership of the rebels on surrender. At 16:00 the act of surrender of the German garrison was signed. Under its terms, German troops received the right of free retreat to the west, leaving heavy weapons at the exit from the city.
On May 9, our troops entered Prague and, with the active support of the population and rebel fighting squads, Soviet troops cleared the city of the Nazis. The routes for the possible withdrawal of the main forces of Army Group Center to the west and southwest with the capture of Prague by Soviet troops were cut off. The main forces of Army Group Center found themselves in a “pocket” east of Prague. On May 10-11 they capitulated and were captured by Soviet troops.
Surrender of Germany
On May 6, on the day of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, Grand Admiral Doenitz, who was the head of the German state after Hitler’s suicide, agreed to the surrender of the Wehrmacht, Germany admitted itself defeated.On the night of May 7, in Reims, where Eisenhower’s headquarters was located, a preliminary protocol on the surrender of Germany was signed, according to which, from 11 p.m. on May 8, hostilities ceased on all fronts. The protocol specifically stipulated that it was not a comprehensive agreement on the surrender of Germany and its armed forces. It was signed on behalf of the Soviet Union by General I. D. Susloparov, on behalf of the Western allies by General W. Smith and on behalf of Germany by General Jodl. Only a witness was present from France. After signing this act, our Western allies hastened to notify the world of Germany's surrender to American and British troops. However, Stalin insisted that “surrender must be carried out as the most important historical act and accepted not on the territory of the victors, but where it came from.” fascist aggression, - in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by the high command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition."
On the night of May 8-9, 1945, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany was signed in Karlshorst (an eastern suburb of Berlin). The signing ceremony of the act took place in the building of the military engineering school, where a special hall was prepared, decorated state flags USSR, USA, England and France. At the main table were representatives of the Allied powers. Present in the hall Soviet generals, whose troops took Berlin, as well as Soviet and foreign journalists. Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was appointed representative of the Supreme High Command of the Soviet troops. High Command allied forces represented by British Air Marshal Arthur W. Tedder, Commander of US Strategic Air Forces General Spaats and Commander-in-Chief French army General Delattre de Tassigny. On the German side, Field Marshal Keitel, Fleet Admiral von Friedeburg and Air Force Colonel General Stumpf were authorized to sign the act of unconditional surrender.
The ceremony of signing the surrender at 24 o'clock was opened by Marshal G.K. Zhukov. At his suggestion, Keitel presented the heads of the Allied delegations with a document on his powers, signed by Doenitz. The German delegation was then asked whether it had the Act of Unconditional Surrender in its hands and whether it had studied it. After Keitel’s affirmative answer, representatives of the German armed forces, at the sign of Marshal Zhukov, signed an act drawn up in 9 copies. Then Tedder and Zhukov put their signatures, and representatives of the United States and France served as witnesses. The procedure for signing the surrender ended at 0 hours 43 minutes on May 9, 1945. The German delegation, by order of Zhukov, left the hall. The act consisted of 6 points as follows:
"1. We, the undersigned, acting on behalf of the German High Command, agree to the unconditional surrender of all our armed forces on land, sea and air, as well as all forces currently under German command, to the Supreme Command of the Red Army and at the same time to the Supreme Command Allied Expeditionary Forces.
2. The German High Command will immediately issue orders to all German commanders of land, sea and air forces and all forces under German command to cease hostilities at 23-01 hours Central European time on May 8, 1945, to remain in their places where they are at this time, and completely disarm, handing over all their weapons and military equipment to local Allied commanders or officers assigned by representatives of the Allied High Command, not to destroy or cause any damage to ships, ships and aircraft, their engines, hulls and equipment, and also machines, weapons, apparatus and all military-technical means of warfare in general.
3. The German High Command will immediately assign the appropriate commanders and ensure that all further orders issued by the Supreme Command of the Red Army and the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces are carried out.
4. This act shall not be an obstacle to its replacement by another general instrument of surrender, concluded by or on behalf of the United Nations, applicable to Germany and the German armed forces as a whole.
5. In the event that the German High Command or any armed forces under its command do not act in accordance with this instrument of surrender, the High Command of the Red Army as well as the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces will take such punitive measures or other actions which they deem necessary.
6. This act is drawn up in Russian, English and German. Only Russian and English texts are authentic.
At 0:50 a.m. the meeting was adjourned. After this, a reception took place, which was a great success. Much has been said about the desire to strengthen friendly relations between the countries of the anti-fascist coalition. The festive dinner ended with songs and dances. As Marshal Zhukov recalls: “The Soviet generals danced without competition. I, too, could not resist and, remembering my youth, danced the “Russian” one.”
The ground, sea and air forces of the Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front began to lay down their arms. By the end of the day on May 8, Army Group Kurland, pressed to the Baltic Sea, ceased resistance. About 190 thousand soldiers and officers, including 42 generals, surrendered. On the morning of May 9, German troops in the area of Danzig and Gdynia capitulated. About 75 thousand soldiers and officers, including 12 generals, laid down their arms here. In Norway, Task Force Narvik capitulated.
The Soviet landing force, which landed on the Danish island of Bornholm on May 9, captured it 2 days later and captured the German garrison located there (12 thousand people).
Small groups of Germans on the territory of Czechoslovakia and Austria, who did not want to surrender along with the bulk of the troops of Army Group Center and tried to get to the west, had to be destroyed by Soviet troops until May 19.
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Potsdam Conference (July 17 - August 2, 1945)
Government delegations from allied states took part in this conference. The Soviet delegation headed by J.V. Stalin, the British - headed by Prime Minister W. Churchill and the American - led by President G. Truman. The first official meeting was attended by heads of government, all foreign ministers, their first deputies, military and civilian advisers and experts. The main issue of the conference was the question of the post-war structure of European countries and the reconstruction of Germany. An agreement was reached on the political and economic principles coordinating Allied policy towards Germany during the period of Allied control over it. The text of the agreement stated that German militarism and Nazism must be eradicated, all Nazi institutions must be dissolved, and all members of the Nazi Party must be removed from public positions. War criminals must be arrested and brought to justice. The production of German weapons should be prohibited. With regard to the reconstruction of the German economy, it was decided that the main attention should be given to the development of peaceful industry and agriculture. Also, at the insistence of Stalin, it was decided that Germany should remain a single whole (the USA and England proposed dividing Germany into three states).According to N.A. Narochnitskaya, “The most important, although never spoken out loud, result of Yalta and Potsdam was the actual recognition of the continuity of the USSR in relation to the geopolitical area of the Russian Empire, combined with newfound military power and international influence.”
Tatiana Radynova
With the beginning of September 1939, the short period of peace between the two great wars of the 20th century ended. Two years later, it came under the rule of Nazi Germany. most of Europe with huge production and raw material potential.
A powerful blow fell on the Soviet Union, for which the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) began. A brief summary of this period in the history of the USSR cannot express the scale of the suffering endured by the Soviet people and the heroism they showed.
On the eve of military trials
The revival of the power of Germany, dissatisfied with the results of the First World War (1914-1918), against the background of the aggressiveness of the party that came to power there, led by the possessed Adolf Hitler, with its ideology of racial superiority, made the threat of a new war for the USSR more and more real. By the end of the 30s, these sentiments penetrated more and more into the people, and the all-powerful leader of the huge country, Stalin, understood this more and more clearly.
The country was preparing. People went to construction sites in the eastern part of the country, and military factories were built in Siberia and the Urals - backups to production facilities located near the western borders. IN defense industry significantly more financial, human and scientific resources were invested than in civilian ones. To increase labor results in cities and in agriculture ideological and harsh administrative means were used (repressive laws on discipline in factories and collective farms).
The reform in the army was prompted by the adoption of the law on universal military duty(1939), widespread military training was introduced. It was in shooting, parachute clubs, and flying clubs at OSOAVIAKHIM that future soldier-heroes of the Patriotic War of 1941-1945 began to study military science. New military schools were opened, newest types weapons, progressive type combat formations were formed: armored and airborne. But there was not enough time, the combat readiness of the Soviet troops was in many respects lower than that of the Wehrmacht - the army of Nazi Germany.
Stalin's suspicion of the power ambitions of the senior command caused great harm. It resulted in monstrous repressions that wiped out up to two-thirds of the officer corps. There is a version about a planned provocation of the German military intelligence, which exposed many heroes of the civil war who became victims of purges.
Foreign policy factors
Stalin and the leaders of countries that wanted to limit Hitler’s European hegemony (England, France, the USA) were unable to create a united anti-fascist front before the start of the war. The Soviet leader, in an effort to delay the war, tried to contact Hitler. This led to the signing of the Soviet-German non-aggression pact (agreement) in 1939, which also did not contribute to the rapprochement of anti-Hitler forces.
As it turned out, the country's leadership was mistaken about the value of the peace agreement with Hitler. On June 22, 1941, the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe attacked the entire western borders of the USSR without declaring war. This came as a complete surprise to the Soviet troops and a great shock to Stalin.
Tragic experience
In 1940, Hitler approved the Barbarossa plan. According to this plan, three summer months were allotted for the defeat of the USSR and the capture of its capital. And at first the plan was carried out with precision. All participants in the war recall the almost hopeless mood of mid-summer 1941. 5.5 million German soldiers against 2.9 million Russians, total superiority in weapons - and in a month Belarus, the Baltic states, Moldova, and almost all of Ukraine were captured. The losses of Soviet troops were 1 million killed, 700 thousand captured.
The superiority of the Germans in the skill of command and control of troops was noticeable - the combat experience of the army, which had already covered half of Europe, was reflected. Skillful maneuvers encircle and destroy entire groups near Smolensk, Kyiv, in the Moscow direction, and the blockade of Leningrad begins. Stalin was dissatisfied with the actions of his commanders and resorted to the usual repressions - the commander of the Western Front was shot for treason.
People's War
And yet Hitler’s plans collapsed. The USSR quickly took a war footing. The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was created to control the armies and a single governing body for the entire country - the State Defense Committee, headed by the all-powerful leader Stalin.
Hitler believed that Stalin's methods of leading the country, illegal repressions against the intelligentsia, military, wealthy peasants and entire nationalities will cause the collapse of the state, the emergence of a “fifth column” - as he is used to in Europe. But he miscalculated.
Men in the trenches, women at the machines, old people and small children hated the invaders. Wars of this magnitude affect the fate of every person, and victory requires a universal effort. Sacrifices for the sake of a common victory were made not only because of ideological motives, but also because of innate patriotism, which had roots in pre-revolutionary history.
Battle of Moscow
The invasion received its first serious resistance near Smolensk. With heroic efforts, the attack on the capital was delayed there until the beginning of September.
By October, tanks with crosses on their armor reach Moscow, with the goal of capturing the Soviet capital before the onset of cold weather. The most hard time during the years of the Great Patriotic War. A state of siege is declared in Moscow (10/19/1941).
The military parade on the anniversary of the October Revolution (11/07/1941) will forever remain in history as a symbol of confidence that Moscow will be able to be defended. The troops left Red Square directly to the front, which was located 20 kilometers to the west.
An example of the tenacity of Soviet soldiers was the feat of 28 Red Army soldiers from General Panfilov’s division. They delayed a breakthrough group of 50 tanks at the Dubosekovo crossing for 4 hours and died, destroying 18 combat vehicles. These heroes of the Patriotic War (1941-1945) are only a small part of the Immortal Regiment of the Russian Army. Such self-sacrifice gave rise to doubts about victory among the enemy, strengthening the courage of the defenders.
Recalling the events of the war, Marshal Zhukov, who commanded the Western Front near Moscow, whom Stalin began to promote to the leading roles, always noted the decisive importance of the defense of the capital for achieving victory in May 1945. Any delay by the enemy army made it possible to accumulate forces for a counterattack: fresh units of the Siberian garrisons were transferred to Moscow. Hitler did not plan to wage war in winter conditions; the Germans began to have problems supplying troops. By the beginning of December, there was a turning point in the battle for the Russian capital.
A radical turn
The offensive of the Red Army (December 5, 1941), which was unexpected for Hitler, threw the Germans one and a half hundred miles to the west. The fascist army suffered the first defeat in its history, the plan for a victorious war failed.
The offensive continued until April 1942, but it was far from irreversible changes in the course of the war: major defeats followed near Leningrad, Kharkov, in the Crimea, the Nazis reached the Volga near Stalingrad.
When historians of any country mention the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), a brief summary of its events is not complete without Battle of Stalingrad. It was at the walls of the city that bore the name of Hitler's sworn enemy that he received the blow that ultimately led to his collapse.
The defense of the city was often carried out hand-to-hand, for every piece of territory. Participants in the war note an unprecedented amount of human and technical assets recruited from both sides and burned in the fire of the Battle of Stalingrad. The Germans lost a quarter of their troops - one and a half million bayonets, 2 million were our losses.
The unprecedented resilience of Soviet soldiers in defense and uncontrollable rage in the offensive, together with the increased tactical skill of the command, ensured the encirclement and capture of 22 divisions of the 6th Army of Field Marshal Paulus. The results of the second military winter shocked Germany and the whole world. The history of the war of 1941-1945 changed course; it became clear that the USSR not only withstood the first blow, but would also inevitably deal a powerful retaliatory blow to the enemy.
The final turning point in the war
The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) contains several examples of the leadership talent of the Soviet command. A summary of the events of 1943 is a series of impressive Russian victories.
The spring of 1943 began with a Soviet offensive in all directions. The configuration of the front line threatened the encirclement of the Soviet Army in the Kursk region. The German offensive operation, called “Citadel,” had precisely this strategic goal, but the Red Army command provided for enhanced defense in the areas of the proposed breakthrough, while simultaneously preparing reserves for a counteroffensive.
The German offensive in early July managed to break through the Soviet defenses only in sections to a depth of 35 km. The history of the war (1941-1945) knows the date of the start of the largest oncoming battle of self-propelled combat vehicles. On a sultry July day, the 12th, the crews of 1,200 tanks began the battle in the steppe near the village of Prokhorovka. The Germans have the latest Tiger and Panther, the Russians have the T-34 with a new, more powerful gun. The defeat inflicted on the Germans knocked the offensive weapons of the motorized corps out of Hitler's hands, and the fascist army went on the strategic defensive.
By the end of August 1943, Belgorod and Orel were recaptured, and Kharkov was liberated. For the first time in years, the Red Army seized the initiative. Now the German generals had to guess where she would begin hostilities.
In the penultimate war year, historians identify 10 decisive operations that led to the liberation of territory captured by the enemy. Until 1953 they were called “Stalin’s 10 blows.”
Great Patriotic War (1941-1945): summary of military operations of 1944
- Lifting the Leningrad blockade (January 1944).
- January-April 1944: Korsun-Shevchenko operation, successful battles in Right Bank Ukraine, March 26 - access to the border with Romania.
- Liberation of Crimea (May 1944).
- The defeat of Finland in Karelia, its exit from the war (June-August 1944).
- The offensive of four fronts in Belarus (Operation Bagration).
- July-August - battles on Western Ukraine, Lviv-Sandomierz operation.
- Iasi-Kishinev operation, defeat of 22 divisions, withdrawal of Romania and Bulgaria from the war (August 1944).
- Help for Yugoslav partisans I.B. Tito (September 1944).
- Liberation of the Baltic states (July-October of the same year).
- October - liberation of the Soviet Arctic and northeast Norway.
End of enemy occupation
By the beginning of November, the territory of the USSR within the pre-war borders was liberated. The period of occupation has ended for the peoples of Belarus and Ukraine. Today's political situation forces some “figures” to present the German occupation almost as a blessing. It’s worth asking about this from Belarusians, who lost every fourth person from the actions of “civilized Europeans.”
It was not for nothing that from the first days of the foreign invasion, partisans began to operate in the occupied territories. The war of 1941-1945 in this sense became an echo of the year when other European invaders did not know peace on our territory.
Liberation of Europe
The European liberation campaign required an unimaginable expenditure of human and military resources from the USSR. Hitler, who did not even allow the thought that soviet soldier entered German soil, threw all possible forces into battle, put the elderly and children under arms.
The course of the final stage of the war can be traced by the name of the awards established by the Soviet government. Soviet soldiers-liberators received the following medals of the war of 1941-1945: for (10/20/1944), Warsaw (01/7/1945), Prague (May 9), for the capture of Budapest (February 13), Koenigsberg (April 10), Vienna (13 April). And finally, military personnel were awarded for the storming of Berlin (May 2).
...And May came. The victory was marked by the signing on May 8 of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of German Troops, and on June 24 a parade was held with the participation of representatives of all fronts, branches and branches of the military.
a great victory
Hitler's adventure cost humanity dearly. The exact number of human losses is still debated. Restoring destroyed cities and establishing an economy required many years of hard work, hunger and deprivation.
The results of the war are now assessed differently. Geopolitical changes events that occurred after 1945 had different consequences. The territorial acquisitions of the Soviet Union, the emergence of the socialist camp, and the strengthening of the political weight of the USSR to the status of a superpower soon led to confrontation and increased tension between the allied countries in World War II.
But the main results are not subject to any revision and do not depend on the opinions of politicians looking for immediate benefits. In the Great Patriotic War, our country defended freedom and independence, a terrible enemy was defeated - the bearer of a monstrous ideology that threatened to destroy entire nations, and the peoples of Europe were delivered from it.
The participants in the battles are fading into history, the children of war are already elderly, but the memory of that war will live as long as people are able to value freedom, honesty and courage.
22 JUNE 1941 YEAR - THE BEGINNING OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR
On June 22, 1941, at 4 a.m., without declaring war, Nazi Germany and its allies attacked the Soviet Union. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War did not just happen on a Sunday. It was the church holiday of All Saints who shone in the Russian land.
Units of the Red Army were attacked by German troops along the entire border. Riga, Vindava, Libau, Siauliai, Kaunas, Vilnius, Grodno, Lida, Volkovysk, Brest, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi, Bobruisk, Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol and many other cities, railway junctions, airfields, naval bases of the USSR were bombed , artillery shelling was carried out on border fortifications and areas of deployment of Soviet troops near the border from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathians. The Great Patriotic War began.
At that time, no one knew that it would go down in human history as the bloodiest. No one guessed that the Soviet people would have to go through inhuman tests, pass and win. To rid the world of fascism, showing everyone that the spirit of a Red Army soldier cannot be broken by the invaders. No one could have imagined that the names of the hero cities would become known to the whole world, that Stalingrad would become a symbol of the fortitude of our people, Leningrad - a symbol of courage, Brest - a symbol of courage. That, along with male warriors, old men, women and children will heroically defend the earth from the fascist plague.
1418 days and nights of war.
Over 26 million human lives...
These photographs have one thing in common: they were taken in the first hours and days of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
On the eve of the war
Soviet border guards on patrol. The photograph is interesting because it was taken for a newspaper at one of the outposts on western border USSR on June 20, 1941, that is, two days before the war.
German air raid
The first to bear the blow were the border guards and the soldiers of the covering units. They not only defended themselves, but also launched counterattacks. For a whole month, the garrison of the Brest Fortress fought in the German rear. Even after the enemy managed to capture the fortress, some of its defenders continued to resist. The last of them was captured by the Germans in the summer of 1942.
The photo was taken on June 24, 1941.
During the first 8 hours of the war, Soviet aviation lost 1,200 aircraft, of which about 900 were lost on the ground (66 airfields were bombed). The Western Special Military District suffered the greatest losses - 738 aircraft (528 on the ground). Having learned about such losses, the head of the district air force, Major General Kopets I.I. shot himself.
On the morning of June 22, Moscow radio broadcast the usual Sunday programs and peaceful music. Soviet citizens learned about the start of the war only at noon, when Vyacheslav Molotov spoke on the radio. He reported: “Today, at 4 o’clock in the morning, without presenting any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country.”
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Poster from 1941
On the same day, a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was published on the mobilization of those liable for military service born in 1905-1918 in the territory of all military districts. Hundreds of thousands of men and women received summonses, appeared at military registration and enlistment offices, and then were sent in trains to the front.
The mobilization capabilities of the Soviet system, multiplied during the Great Patriotic War by the patriotism and sacrifice of the people, played important role in organizing resistance to the enemy, especially at the initial stage of the war. The call “Everything for the front, everything for victory!” was accepted by all the people. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens voluntarily joined the active army. In just a week since the start of the war, over 5 million people were mobilized.
The line between peace and war was invisible, and people did not immediately accept the change in reality. It seemed to many that this was just some kind of masquerade, a misunderstanding and that everything would soon be resolved.
The fascist troops met stubborn resistance in battles near Minsk, Smolensk, Vladimir-Volynsky, Przemysl, Lutsk, Dubno, Rivne, Mogilev, etc.And yet, in the first three weeks of the war, the Red Army troops abandoned Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, a significant part of Ukraine and Moldova. Six days after the start of the war, Minsk fell. The German army advanced in various directions from 350 to 600 km. The Red Army lost almost 800 thousand people.
The turning point in the perception of the war by the inhabitants of the Soviet Union was, of course, August 14. It was then that the whole country suddenly learned that The Germans occupied Smolensk . It really was a bolt from the blue. While the battles were going on “somewhere there, in the west,” and the reports flashed cities, the location of which many could hardly imagine, it seemed that the war was still far away. Smolensk is not just the name of a city, this word meant a lot. Firstly, it is already more than 400 km from the border, and secondly, it is only 360 km to Moscow. And thirdly, unlike all those Vilno, Grodno and Molodechno, Smolensk is an ancient purely Russian city.
The stubborn resistance of the Red Army in the summer of 1941 thwarted Hitler's plans. The Nazis failed to quickly take either Moscow or Leningrad, and in September the long defense of Leningrad began. In the Arctic, Soviet troops, in cooperation with the Northern Fleet, defended Murmansk and the main fleet base - Polyarny. Although in Ukraine in October - November the enemy captured the Donbass, captured Rostov, and broke into the Crimea, yet here, too, his troops were fettered by the defense of Sevastopol. Formations of Army Group South were unable to reach the rear of the Soviet troops remaining in the lower reaches of the Don through the Kerch Strait.
Minsk 1941. Execution of Soviet prisoners of war
September 30th within Operation Typhoon the Germans started general attack on Moscow . Its beginning was unfavorable for the Soviet troops. Bryansk and Vyazma fell. On October 10, G.K. was appointed commander of the Western Front. Zhukov. On October 19, Moscow was declared under siege. In bloody battles, the Red Army still managed to stop the enemy. Having strengthened Army Group Center, the German command resumed its attack on Moscow in mid-November. Overcoming the resistance of the Western, Kalinin and right wing of the Southwestern fronts, enemy strike groups bypassed the city from the north and south and by the end of the month reached the Moscow-Volga canal (25-30 km from the capital) and approached Kashira. At this point the German offensive fizzled out. The bloodless Army Group Center was forced to go on the defensive, which was also facilitated by the successful offensive operations of Soviet troops near Tikhvin (November 10 - December 30) and Rostov (November 17 - December 2). On December 6, the Red Army counteroffensive began. , as a result of which the enemy was thrown back 100 - 250 km from Moscow. Kaluga, Kalinin (Tver), Maloyaroslavets and others were liberated.
On guard of the Moscow sky. Autumn 1941
The victory near Moscow had enormous strategic, moral and political significance, since it was the first since the beginning of the war. The immediate threat to Moscow was eliminated.
Although, as a result of the summer-autumn campaign, our army retreated 850 - 1200 km inland, and the most important economic regions fell into the hands of the aggressor, the “blitzkrieg” plans were still thwarted. The Nazi leadership faced an inevitable prospect protracted war. The victory near Moscow also changed the balance of power in the international arena. The Soviet Union began to be looked upon as the decisive factor in the Second World War. Japan was forced to refrain from attacking the USSR.
In winter, units of the Red Army carried out offensives on other fronts. However, it was not possible to consolidate the success, primarily due to the dispersal of forces and resources along a front of enormous length.
During the offensive of German troops in May 1942, the Crimean Front was defeated in 10 days on the Kerch Peninsula. On May 15 we had to leave Kerch, and July 4, 1942 after stubborn defense Sevastopol fell. The enemy completely captured Crimea. In July - August, Rostov, Stavropol and Novorossiysk were captured. Stubborn fighting took place in the central part of the Caucasus ridge.
Hundreds of thousands of our compatriots ended up in more than 14 thousand concentration camps, prisons, and ghettos scattered throughout Europe. The scale of the tragedy is evidenced by dispassionate figures: only on the territory of Russia fascist occupiers shot, strangled in gas chambers, burned, hanged 1.7 million. people (including 600 thousand children). In total, about 5 million Soviet citizens died in concentration camps.
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But, despite stubborn battles, the Nazis failed to solve their main task - to break into the Transcaucasus to seize the oil reserves of Baku. At the end of September, the offensive of fascist troops in the Caucasus was stopped.
To contain the enemy onslaught in the eastern direction, the Stalingrad Front was created under the command of Marshal S.K. Tymoshenko. On July 17, 1942, the enemy under the command of General von Paulus struck a powerful blow on the Stalingrad front. In August, the Nazis broke through to the Volga in stubborn battles. From the beginning of September 1942, the heroic defense of Stalingrad began. The battles were fought literally for every inch of land, for every house. Both sides suffered colossal losses. By mid-November, the Nazis were forced to stop the offensive. The heroic resistance of the Soviet troops made it possible to create favorable conditions for their launching a counteroffensive at Stalingrad and thereby mark the beginning of a radical change in the course of the war.
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By November 1942, almost 40% of the population was under German occupation. The regions captured by the Germans were subject to military and civil administration. In Germany, a special ministry for the affairs of the occupied regions was even created, headed by A. Rosenberg. Political supervision was carried out by the SS and police services. Locally, the occupiers formed the so-called self-government - city and district councils, and the positions of elders were introduced in villages. People who were dissatisfied with Soviet power were invited to cooperate. All residents of the occupied territories, regardless of age, were required to work. In addition to participating in the construction of roads and defensive structures, they were forced to clear minefields. The civilian population, mainly young people, were also sent to forced labor in Germany, where they were called “ostarbeiter” and were used as cheap labor. In total, 6 million people were kidnapped during the war years. More than 6.5 million people were killed due to hunger and epidemics in the occupied territory, more than 11 million Soviet citizens were shot in camps and at their places of residence.
November 19, 1942 Soviet troops moved to counter-offensive at Stalingrad (Operation Uranus). The forces of the Red Army surrounded 22 divisions and 160 separate units of the Wehrmacht (about 330 thousand people). Hitler's command formed Army Group Don, consisting of 30 divisions, and tried to break through the encirclement. However, this attempt was unsuccessful. In December, our troops, having defeated this group, launched an attack on Rostov (Operation Saturn). By the beginning of February 1943, our troops eliminated a group of fascist troops that found themselves in a ring. 91 thousand people were taken prisoner, led by the commander of the 6th German Army, General Field Marshal von Paulus. Behind 6.5 months of the Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943) Germany and its allies lost up to 1.5 million people, as well as a huge amount of equipment. The military power of Nazi Germany was significantly undermined.
The defeat at Stalingrad caused a deep political crisis in Germany. It declared three days of mourning. The morale of German soldiers fell, defeatist sentiments gripped wide sections of the population, who trusted the Fuhrer less and less.
The victory of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of the Second World War. The strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Soviet Armed Forces.
In January - February 1943, the Red Army launched an offensive on all fronts. In the Caucasian direction, Soviet troops advanced 500 - 600 km by the summer of 1943. In January 1943, the blockade of Leningrad was broken.
The Wehrmacht command planned summer 1943 conduct a major strategic offensive operation in the Kursk salient area (Operation Citadel) , defeat the Soviet troops here, and then strike in the rear of the Southwestern Front (Operation Panther) and subsequently, building on the success, again create a threat to Moscow. For this purpose, up to 50 divisions were concentrated in the Kursk Bulge area, including 19 tank and motorized divisions, and other units - a total of over 900 thousand people. This group was opposed by the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts, which had 1.3 million people. During the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle of World War II took place.
On July 5, 1943, a massive offensive of Soviet troops began. Within 5 - 7 days, our troops, stubbornly defending, stopped the enemy, who had penetrated 10 - 35 km behind the front line, and launched a counter-offensive. It has begun July 12 in the Prokhorovka area , Where The largest oncoming tank battle in the history of war took place (with the participation of up to 1,200 tanks on both sides). In August 1943, our troops captured Orel and Belgorod. In honor of this victory, a salute of 12 artillery salvoes was fired for the first time in Moscow. Continuing the offensive, our troops inflicted a crushing defeat on the Nazis.
In September, Left Bank Ukraine and Donbass were liberated. On November 6, formations of the 1st Ukrainian Front entered Kyiv.
Having thrown the enemy back 200 - 300 km from Moscow, Soviet troops began to liberate Belarus. From that moment on, our command maintained the strategic initiative until the end of the war. From November 1942 to December 1943, the Soviet Army advanced westward by 500 - 1300 km, liberating about 50% of the enemy-occupied territory. 218 enemy divisions were defeated. During this period, great damage was caused to the enemy partisan units, in whose ranks up to 250 thousand people fought.
The significant successes of the Soviet troops in 1943 intensified diplomatic and military-political cooperation between the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. On November 28 - December 1, 1943, the Tehran Conference of the “Big Three” took place with the participation of I. Stalin (USSR), W. Churchill (Great Britain) and F. Roosevelt (USA). The leaders of the leading powers of the anti-Hitler coalition determined the timing of the opening of a second front in Europe ( landing operation"Overlord" was scheduled for May 1944).
Tehran Conference of the “Big Three” with the participation of I. Stalin (USSR), W. Churchill (Great Britain) and F. Roosevelt (USA).
In the spring of 1944, Crimea was cleared of the enemy.
In these favorable conditions, the Western Allies, after two years of preparation, opened a second front in Europe in northern France. June 6, 1944 the combined Anglo-American forces (General D. Eisenhower), numbering over 2.8 million people, up to 11 thousand combat aircraft, over 12 thousand combat and 41 thousand transport ships, crossed the English Channel and Pas de- Calais, began the largest war in years airborne Normandy Operation (Overlord) and entered Paris in August.
Continuing to develop the strategic initiative, in the summer of 1944, Soviet troops launched a powerful offensive in Karelia (June 10 - August 9), Belarus (June 23 - August 29), Western Ukraine (July 13 - August 29) and Moldova (June 20 - 29). August).
During Belarusian operation (code name "Bagration") Army Group Center was defeated, Soviet troops liberated Belarus, Latvia, part of Lithuania, eastern Poland and reached the border with East Prussia.
The victories of Soviet troops in the southern direction in the fall of 1944 helped the Bulgarian, Hungarian, Yugoslav and Czechoslovak peoples in their liberation from fascism.
As a result of military operations in 1944 state border The USSR, treacherously broken by Germany in June 1941, was restored all the way from the Barents to the Black Sea. The Nazis were expelled from Romania, Bulgaria, and most areas of Poland and Hungary. In these countries, pro-German regimes were overthrown and patriotic forces came to power. The Soviet Army entered the territory of Czechoslovakia.
While the bloc of fascist states was falling apart, anti-Hitler coalition, as evidenced by the success of the Crimean (Yalta) conference of the leaders of the USSR, the United States and Great Britain (from February 4 to 11, 1945).
But still decisive role in defeating the enemy final stage played by the Soviet Union. Thanks to the titanic efforts of all the people technical equipment and the armament of the army and navy of the USSR by the beginning of 1945 reached its highest level. In January - early April 1945, as a result of a powerful strategic offensive on the entire Soviet-German front with forces on ten fronts, the Soviet Army decisively defeated the main enemy forces. During the East Prussian, Vistula-Oder, West Carpathian and completion of the Budapest operations, Soviet troops created the conditions for further attacks in Pomerania and Silesia, and then for an attack on Berlin. Almost all of Poland and Czechoslovakia, as well as the entire territory of Hungary, were liberated.
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Capture of the capital of the Third Reich and final defeat fascism was carried out during Berlin operation (April 16 - May 8, 1945).
April 30 in the bunker of the Reich Chancellery Hitler committed suicide .
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On the morning of May 1, over the Reichstag by sergeants M.A. Egorov and M.V. Kantaria was hoisted the Red Banner as a symbol of the Victory of the Soviet people. On May 2, Soviet troops completely captured the city. Trying something new German government, which on May 1, 1945, after the suicide of A. Hitler, was headed by Grand Admiral K. Doenitz, failed to achieve a separate peace with the USA and Great Britain.
May 9, 1945 at 0:43 a.m. In the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany was signed. From Soviet side this historical document was signed by the war hero, Marshal G.K. Zhukov, from Germany - Field Marshal Keitel. On the same day, the remnants of the last large enemy group on the territory of Czechoslovakia in the Prague region were defeated. City Liberation Day - May 9 became Victory Day of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. The news of the Victory spread throughout the world with lightning speed. The Soviet people, who suffered the greatest losses, greeted it with popular rejoicing. Truly, it was a great holiday “with tears in our eyes.”
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In Moscow, on Victory Day, a festive fireworks display of a thousand guns was fired.
Great Patriotic War 1941-1945
Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK